Up Against Reality – Up Against Reality

Hosted by Chris Ippolito and Larry Bentley

Technology News EducationInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

165

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

A meta-podcast that explores the intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 8, 2026Episode 14637 min

AI Micro Dramas

Here come the AI micro-dramas — the sixty-second, AI-generated soap operas quietly hijacking your phone. Plus: a CEO learns the hard way that privacy is a two-way street, ICE goes pet shopping, NYC pumps the brakes on the classroom’s newest distraction, and one country just handed its citizens a very generous gift. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Vertical Video Syndrome – A PSA WonderClip ReelShort Vigloo PineDrama | TikTok’s official short-drama app Peacock Deepens Mobile Engagement With Vertical Video and Original Unscripted Microdramas ChatGPT-6 Astra’s Safety Overview South Korea’s AI for All Project PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/09/08/ai-micro-dramas/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

September 1, 2026Episode 14555 min

Debra Ross

Debra Ross spent 25 years building KidsOutAndAbout.com the old-school way – then AI turned her into a coder. We talk about her AI-powered business pivot, scaling from 52 to 160 regions, and raising kids who use AI without letting AI use them. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: KidsOutAndAbout.com | Your local guide to everything for kids, teens, and families BeyondTheNest.com | Your local guide to America’s arts, culture and recreation The Eclipse Effect – Debra Ross & Jamie Carter How Students Can Use AI to Learn to Write (Without Giving Away their Brains) Main Street Event AI Summit – Practical AI for Real Businesses Sacrificial Garden | Larry’s new Glass Animal album SUNO project PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/09/01/debra-ross/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

August 25, 2026Episode 14442 min

AI News Avalanche Vol 6

AI’s now got a taste for jazz, your chatbot’s been gossiping about you behind your back, and OpenAI hit the brakes hard enough to leave skid marks. It’s an AI news avalanche for the ages. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: SUNO Studio Learning Jazz Fingerprints Claude Academy Cortical Labs | Living Human Brain Cells Play DOOM Unitree New Robot Preview: “Superman” PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/08/25/ai-news-avalanche-vol-6/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

August 18, 2026Episode 1431 hr 0 min

Episode Rewind: We Were Once Gentlemen

Raina takes the wheel again this week, rewinding to Episode 68: We Were Once Gentlemen — a dive into whether AI is dragging civility off a cliff, from deepfakes to algorithm-fed rage, and whether tech can help drag us back. News first, nostalgia second. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: PolitePOST.net Leveraging AI for democratic discourse: Chat interventions can improve online political conversations at scale Deepfake detection with and without content warnings South Korea: Cabinet passes new bill to criminalize even possession of deepfake porn PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/08/18/episode-rewind-we-were-once-gentlemen/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

August 11, 2026Episode 14357 min

Episode Rewind: Palantir

Raina’s flying solo this week, with a rewind of Episode 110’s descent into pure evil: Palantir. But first, this week’s AI news — fake disasters, resume hackers, brand-new viruses, and more. That sounds normal, right? LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: SUNO Palantir Technologies Palantir: Gotham Rheinmetall DEVS (miniseries) A House of Dynamite (trailer) Zero Day (Netflix series) PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/08/11/episode-rewind-palantir/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

August 4, 2026Episode 14342 min

The Catch-Up

No script, no real agenda. Just two friends catching up, sharing what’s top of mind. And obviously AI is right up there. Organic conversation. Projects, ponderings and a bit of taking stock.

July 28, 2026Episode 14259 min

Episode Rewind: Serkan Gür

We’re pulling this banger from the archives. Aerospace engineer turned finance guy turned DSP legend, Serkan Gür built A1 Evo, made digital signal processing must-watch YouTube, and was vibe coding before it had a name. Plus this week’s AI news up top. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Serkan Gür/OCA Audiophile OCA Audiophile | YouTube Audio Science Review Forum A1 Evo Support | Facebook Group Obsessive Compulsive Audiophile | GitHub Larry’s Atmos 5.2.4 system DSP and audio software Room EQ Wizard (REW) Audyssey room correction technology Roon music management software PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/07/28/episode-rewind-serkan-gur/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality German transcript of the original episode: https://upagainstreality.com/2025/06/30/serkan-gur-german-transcript/

July 21, 2026Episode 14246 min

ChatGPT 5.6

OpenAI just dropped three new models at once — but is GPT-5.6 actually smarter than Claude, or just cheaper and louder about it? Plus: Apple lawyers up against OpenAI, ChatGPT quietly buries one of its own, and your AI coding assistant falls for the oldest trick in the book.

July 14, 2026Episode 1411 hr 15 min

Episode Rewind: Vivek Mahapatra

We're rewinding to Episode 118 with Salesforce exec Vivek Mahapatra — a guy who's outlasted every enterprise tech hype cycle you can name — talking agentic design and scaling AI like a grown-up. But first, we're diving into this week's AI news, and it's a wild one.

July 7, 2026Episode 14147 min

Mark Asch

Juilliard-trained composer, prog rock frontman, and 30-year piano teacher Mark Asch joins Up Against Reality to ask the question musicians are quietly panicking about: can AI make real art, or just really good karaoke? From scoring Fortune 500 brands to fronting X.Atlas, Mark brings real musicianship to the debate over what happens when machines start humming along. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Larry’s “Glass Animal” SUNO album Steven Wilson: Home Invasion In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall SUNO | AI Music For inquiries relating to music composition, instruction, performance, production, or technology, Mark can be reached at info@markasch.com AI-read Herculaneum scroll / PHerc. 1667 PODCAST INFO : Podcast Website: UpAgainstReality.com Episode link: https://upagainstreality.com/2026/07/07/mark-asch/ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170 RSS: upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality