This week, Aaron, Jess and Joey revisit their 2025 prognogs from Episode 296. They talk about the micro social media surge, cynicism, platform madness, informed styling, blockbusters, weaponized compliance, non-apocalyptic runaway AI moments, and our AI overlords. They don’t talk about eggprogs.

references

• If I ruled the world ...
• People: Bob Mackie Says 'People Were Horrified' by Cher's 'Naked' 1974 Met Gala Dress, Even Ripping Her Photo off Magazine Covers
• Tasting ultra-aged eggnog
• America's Test Kitchen: How to Make the Absolute Best Eggnog
• Louis Pasteur
• Memphis Group
• Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend Podcast: Conan Blames Jason Bateman For His Dad's Death
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Split Fiction
• AAA (video game industry)
• quod erat demonstrandum
• The New York Times: Gonzo Fans Have Made ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Into a Global Blockbuster
• Michiko Kakutani's 1995 The New York Times book review of Wicked: Let's Get This Straight: Glinda Was the Bad One? (paywall)
• Bloomberg: OpenAI's Nvidia, AMD Deals Boost $1 Trillion AI Boom With Circular Deals (paywall)
• The Food Lab: How to Roast the Best Potatoes of Your Life

What does your Zero Farts Land future look like?

This week, Aaron, Joey, and Jess talk about fucks. And farts.

references

• Empire: Jamie Lee Curtis Is Done Compromising – And She’s Not Slowing Down
• George Wallace (not George Wallace)
• Kenan Thompson on We Might Be Drunk with Normand and Morril
• Janelle James on Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

How do you strategy?

This week, Aaron and Joey talk about Elliott Kalan, the School of Let's Figure It Out, emotional distance from work, working in teams, meandering, and strategy that bleeds. They don’t talk about Jamesy P.

references

• Pure Moods
• Joke Farming: How to Write Comedy and Other Nonsense by Elliott Kalan
• 99% Invisible Podcast Episode 646: Interview with Elliott Kalan
• Corrections Department: Les has never ever ever heard, touched, or even seen a copy of Pure Moods and now fears his colleagues do not understand him at all.

Why do we expect the worst?

This week, Aaron and Jess talk about simple solutions, Karen moments, assuming malice, Thanos, Falkland's Law, and lemmings. They don’t talk about the famous former power forward for the Boston Celtics or the Hamburger Peddler's rhyming buddy.

references

• Corrections Department: Camila Cabello "I'll Be Home for [Quizmois]"
• Glee's Kevin McHale
• Kevin McHale on the Loss of Naya Rivera
• Hanlon’s Razor
• Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
• Cringe Blvd.
• Slow Horses
• Falkland's Law

How has technology made us less sure of ourselves?

This week, Jess and Joey talk about technological change, Christmas cards, scraping, phone numbers, friendships, and FaceTime. They don’t talk about beepers.

references

• Ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop
• Rolodex
• propinquity
• Don't lose that number, Jenny
• Sternberg’s Triangular Theory and The 8 Types of Love
• Mr. Postman
• Desiigner "LOD Freestyle"

Is it better to generalize or to specialize?

This week, Joey and Jess talk about polymaths, running, functional fitness, idea people, curiosity, and Starship Troopers. They don’t talk about dilettantes.

references

• Specialization is for insects.
• Stardew Valley
• Forbes: Going Pi-Shaped: How To Prepare For The Work Of The Future
• 129 Ways to Get a Life
• Robert A. Heinlein

Are there actually interesting life innovations that are coming out of the content creation boom?

This week, Joey and Jess talk about homemade pop tarts, learning letters, the power of song, TikTok, mastering movements, and apple dumplings. They don’t talk about Action Bronson.

references

• The recipe is the sooonnggg.
• cool.missp: ABCs Turn Up
• EBITDA
• What Are Popovers And What Do They Taste Like?
• Pepperidge Farm Bakery Frozen Spiced Apple Dumplings Pastry

How many other things do we have that we think of as imprecise but are actually pretty precise and agreed upon?

This week, Joey and Jess talk about box plots, New York neighborhood names, Australian colloquialisms, measurement language, baking, and square roots. They don’t talk about The Smiths.

references

• Box plot
• Reading a Box and Whisker Plot
• Perceptions of Probability
• The New York Times: An Extremely Detailed Map of New York City Neighborhoods
• The Journal of Neuroscience: Distinct Contributions of the Cerebellum and Basal Ganglia to Arithmetic Procedures
• Goldilocks Zone
• Square root
• Spiral of Theodorus
• Klein bottle