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There are 2.5 minutes of content between 2 minutes of pre-roll ads and the first ad break, which lasts for another 2.5 minutes. At least the ads are of decent quality, unlike Better Offline. iHeart sure loves them some gambling, supplements, pharma and VPNs.

Advertising breakdown for the 09/30 episode of the Vergecast.

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There are four advertising sections in a ~25-minute podcast resulting in a 2:1 content-seconds-to-ads-seconds ratio. I understand the economic reasons for paywalling the site and don't have any better suggestions for revenue, but the ad load is making the podcast experience suck more than I'd like.

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Here's another podcast advertising breakdown -- this time for the 09/30 episode of the Vergecast. Since the site paywalled most of their content I've come to rely on their podcasts to keep up with their reporting. Their switch to daily podcasts hasn't been great, in my opinion.

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Another recommendation from my movie-watching project: Crimes of the Future (2022). This one feels like a return to form, which makes sense because Cronenberg wrote it in 1998, just before Existenz came out. The 'breakfaster' chair is a hoot. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimes_...

Crimes of the Future (2022 film) - Wikipedia

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iHeart flogs their other talent to do ad-reads. I'm unlikely to listen to other iHeart-related podcasts, but I'm somehow especially turned off by this practice and I'm not entirely sure why. I'm at the point that I'm just hate-listening to the "monologue" episodes in order to break down the ads.

Pre-roll and post-roll advertising breakdown for the 09-30-2026 episode of Better Offline.

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Ed's "monologue" episodes are lazy rants about the state of the AI industry with incredibly high ad-to-content ratios. His 09/30 episode achieved a 1:1 ratio. I forget what the rant is about the second an ad break starts. This time there were actually more seconds of ads than seconds of content.

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One of the big reasons I went hard for podcasts was that it wasn't radio. But when radio got into the podcasting game it brought all of its awful advertising with it and it makes for a terrible listening experience. Example: Better Offline with Ed Zitron. This thread breaks down the ad content.

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The Rentals - Friends Of P. (Video)

I haven't recorded any music for a long while, but what about an updated approach to 'Friends of P.' focused on @hcrichardson.bsky.social ? www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-H...

youtube.com

YouTube video by Warner Records Vault

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Here's another one I watched last week: Dead Man (1996), also from Jim Jarmusch. If you can get past Johnny Depp you'll be rewarded by a pretty insane cast. Gary Farmer is great. The family comprised of Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop and Jared Harris, for example. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Man

Dead Man - Wikipedia

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All year long I've been trying to get away from the 'puter in the evenings and engage in some old-school art. It's been great for my creative impulses, mental health and soul. From last week's viewing: Down by Law (1986). Afterwards listen to some Waits and Lurie. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_by...

Down by Law (film) - Wikipedia

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 29/09/2026

Now THIS is what I would expect from a contemporary Missouri Republican. '“I think you’ve already perjured yourself,” Schmitt declared.' "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." -- Inigo Montoya www.thedailybeast.com/maga-senator...

thedailybeast.com

MAGA Senator Humiliates Himself With Botched Gotcha Moment

He’s just been tipped as JD Vance’s “intelligent” running mate—then the wheels came off.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 29/09/2026

This is not at all what I would expect from a contemporary Missouri Republican. '...consistently kept Bailey at arm's length and cut him out of meetings the deputy FBI director should attend because Bailey was constantly flagging things that were unconstitutional.' www.cbsnews.com/news/top-fbi...

cbsnews.com

Top FBI official Andrew Bailey, who was once widely seen as Patel successor, resigns

Bailey was originally brought in to help ease tensions between former Attorney General Pam Bondi and former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 29/09/2026

Yeah, this will make a difference. Like it or not, it's almost certainly fair use to train AI on podcast content and I would be astonished if iHeart isn't training internal AI on non-iHeart podcast content. Because everyone is. The image depicts MP3 metadata wherein AI training is forbidden.

The image depicts MP3 metadata wherein AI training is forbidden.

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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 28/09/2026

I’m not sure why Andrew Bailey is leaving the FBI, but we know it’s not for engaging in bestiality.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 26/09/2026

Maybe this time it will stick. Keep in mind that every complaint MO Republicans have about this situation is the result of their own actions in a scheme to steal Cleaver's seat and hand it to Brattin. Missouri Republicans are fundamentally antidemocratic. missouriindependent.com/2026/09/25/u...

missouriindependent.com

US Supreme Court again blocks Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map • Missouri Independent

The U.S. Supreme Court weighted in for the third time on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map and whether it can be used in November.

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Seth Masket @smotus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Interviewing the inventor of napalm about his hats

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 25/09/2026

BTW -- open source tech exists which allows citizens to turn the tables here -- at least to an extent. That's why they insist on wearing masks, regardless of local laws. Every Second Amendment fetishist who isn't triggered by this government tyranny is complicit. villagegreennj.com/community/ic...

villagegreennj.com

ICE Agents Use Intimidation Tactics on Bystanders During Arrest in Maplewood - The Village Green

”They were using their full names and addresses, telling them to go back inside, not to bother. It was clear that it was being done to intimidate or suppress the community from being out and being res...

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Benn Jordan @bennjordan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It would've been easy to bash Flock in Senate today, but the reality is that this crisis would've not happened had there been any form of regulation or guard rails. So, let's demand them. And let's vote with the same ferocity we post with.

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Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 25/09/2026

Politico’s owner gave Peter Thiel an award today. Hardly surprising, since Peter Thiel gave the guy’s son $50 million. Have you heard of “The German JD Vance”? www.thenerdreich.com/politico-pet...

thenerdreich.com

Politico's $50M Peter Thiel Problem

Is Axel Springer CEO's son the 'German JD Vance'?

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Rob Beschizza @beschizza.com · 25/09/2026

Every time I see a photo of Sam Altman it makes me think the Xenomorphs from Aliens were so appalled by Carter Burke's conduct that they put him on trial instead of cocooning him for the facehuggers to impregnate.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 24/09/2026

These assholes again. This isn't how Section 230 works. It immunizes platforms (X, Facebook) against dumb shit posted by evil idiots (Hoskins, Brattin). Posters own their speech, not platforms. Get rid of 230 and the internet gets very quiet very quickly. courthousenews.com/missouri-pol...

courthousenews.com

Missouri pols demand immunity over Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting posts

A man mistakenly identified as the shooter claims Missouri Senator Rick Brattin and Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins falsely identified him as a violent illegal immigrant on social media.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 21/09/2026

@doctorow.pluralistic.net has me thinking about smoothness and texture. I appreciate flipping the AI discourse to see what we learn about ourselves. I've always preferred texture to smoothness. Fuzziness. Spikiness. Friction. pluralistic.net/2026/09/18/s... pluralistic.net/2026/09/21/s...

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 21/09/2026

'So why go through this history? Well, it’s because I am trying to show the problem is not a lack of AI regulation. We have AI regulation. The problem is there’s an elite consensus that the rule of law simply does not apply to the powerful.' www.thebignewsletter.com/p/ai-is-an-e...

AI Is an Elite Crime Spree

Documents show a Microsoft exec called AI the "largest theft of labor in human history.” New AI regulations are besides the point, the problem is we don’t apply existing laws to the powerful.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 21/09/2026

'...the OpenAI and Anthropic misalignment incidents is that they are entirely about things which went on in the computer. You would never get a flight incident report which restricted itself to mechanical issues. Human factors might be really important.' backofmind.substack.com/p/13-theses-...

backofmind.substack.com

13 theses on agentic AI and regulation

thinking out loud and showing traces of reasoning

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 20/09/2026

I'm prepared to admit that Flock and its products possess one redeeming quality: it annoys police unions. "The union filed a complaint and insisted the MPD stop using Flock to track officers. " therecord.media/dc-police-un...

therecord.media

Flock camera use by internal affairs unit puts DC police at odds with officers’ union

Washington, D.C.'s police department has used information from Flock cameras for misconduct investigations, prompting a formal complaint from its officers' union.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 20/09/2026

'...searches, such as for “vehicle with trump bumper sticker,” “don’t treat on me flag,” “coexist number sticker,” “religious cars,” and “Star of David” had a warning box pop up, but Flock says in a blog post published in April that police can bypass this...' www.404media.co/flock-city-p...

404media.co

‘Flock City PD:’ The Fake Flock-Owned ‘Police Department’ That Searched Real Cameras for Real People

Flock ran searches for “coexist bumper sticker,” “white truck with a trump sticker,” and “Star of David,” apparently to demonstrate what cops shouldn't search for.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 19/09/2026

I love that grievance farmers have AI to make them even crazier, but this is clearly not about Catholics. It's about resentment politics. "Surprisingly, AI was rather fair to Catholics. It mostly focused on providing rather banal conversation starters." www.catholicleague.org/artificial-i...

catholicleague.org

Artificial Intelligence’s Authentic Bigotry - Catholic League

Michael P. McDonald

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 19/09/2026

When I moved the mouse away from the window CNN offered a presumably AI-generated article summary pitch. They should have their QA AI take a look at this kind of thing and context in which it is presented.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 19/09/2026

Whoops, I guess? "...AI has put pressure on analysts to produce and disseminate intelligence faster, opening the door for mistakes. Young analysts in particular, several sources said, are natives on these tools and more likely to trust them uncritically." www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...

cnn.com

Exclusive: US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report, sources say | CNN Politics

The episode shows the risks of using this new, relatively poorly understood technology in the middle of the Iran war

Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 18/09/2026

Quit using Chrome, y'all. It's bad for you. 'Because Google got away without any meaningful penalties in the antitrust cases, Google is continuing on the Heavy Ad Interventions/“Privacy Sandbox” path, and using the Chrome browser to squeeze out non-Google ads.' blog.zgp.org/corporate-cr...

blog.zgp.org

corporate crimeblogging in the training set

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 16/09/2026

Awesome! It's my hair from 2017 sitting next to my mustache from 2013!

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 13/09/2026

From the The Rule of Law Narrative: 'I was sort of shocked, and then I realized it was more realistic for him to imagine that bots would take over our civilization and supplant humanity than to imagine that we might apply the rule of law to Sam Altman.' www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-artific...

Why are big AI firm trying to create billionaires from a technology they say may end the world? There are real risks to AI, but something is very off about the latest social panic.

Stop Panicking About AI

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 13/09/2026

This isn't the hottest take, but needs to be kept in mind: 'As an academic computer scientist who has been around this world for a decade told me, “It’s a weird quasi religion, like a cult. The core people are sociopaths and then the rest are neurotics."' www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-artific...

Why are big AI firm trying to create billionaires from a technology they say may end the world? There are real risks to AI, but something is very off about the latest social panic.

Stop Panicking About AI

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 13/09/2026

Matt Stoller's latest has some interesting takes on the state of our current AI discourse. It also has several mentions of Cal "Weedwhacker on a Dog" Newport, as these things tend to do these days. Here's a thread with some quotes that jumped out at me. www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-artific...

Why are big AI firm trying to create billionaires from a technology they say may end the world? There are real risks to AI, but something is very off about the latest social panic.

Stop Panicking About AI

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 11/09/2026

Nothing to laugh at, if you're a rock-ribbed, law-and-order-type. Ross Ulbricht did some shit. He got two life sentences without parole. Trump pardoned him. Check out the drug shit, money laundering and murder-for-hire stuff. No wonder the right loves this guy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ul...

Ross Ulbricht - Wikipedia

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David Ryan Miller @davidryanmiller.com · 11/09/2026

Did James David Vance translate this from the original German?

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 11/09/2026

Y'all ought to check out Denny Hoskins' best pal, Rick Brattin, for whom he was trying to steal Cleaver's seat. The dude's comically evil. Even Missouri Republicans have gone on record about his performatively cruel bullshit. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Br...

Y'all ought to check out his best pal, Rick Brattin, for whom he was trying to steal Cleaver's seat. The dude's comically evil. Even Missouri Republicans have gone on record about his performatively cruel bullshit.

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Nerd Inferno @nerdinferno.com · 11/09/2026

Well, well, well. Turns out Dennyboy's attempt to steal Cleaver's seat and give it partner-in-crime Rick Brattin didn't work out so well. I'd almost forgotten what good news felt like. More like this, please. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

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kottke.org @kottke.org · 10/09/2026

Teaser trailer for Musk, a 3h45m-long documentary film on fascist businessman Elon Musk, directed by Alex Gibney. “He’s chaotic, random, capricious. He is manifestly cruel and selfish. In a science fiction novel, he would not be a hero.” [youtube.com]

youtube.com

MUSK | Official Teaser Trailer HD

A thorough and unvarnished analysis of Elon Musk, a technology billionaire who serves as the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter. Only in theatres this fall.

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There's more, but I'll close with the guy he drove to suicide by falsely accusing him of being an undocumented immigrant and the perpetrator of the 2024 Kansas City parade shooting.

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Regarding "Rainbow Story Time" at a library: He and best bud Denny Hoskins held a press conference and said if the event was LEGAL he would try to make it illegal. As though there was any question about the legality of such a thing. The attempt to connect the concept and the event was obvious.

On his stupid Medicaid/abortion filibuster: Republicans Lincoln Hough and Mike Parson described the act as "pathetic political gamesmanship" and "deliberate dysfunction."

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On welfare: Brattin believes that poor people should not have junk food or rich people food. "A recipient of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits shall not use such benefits to purchase cookies, chips, energy drinks, soft drinks, seafood, or steak."

On free speech Brattin seems to be mostly concerned with college athletes protesting, but also proposed a bill authorizing the USE OF DEADLY FORCE AGAINST PROTESTERS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.

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Brattin supports election fuckery via obfuscating language from his pal the Secretary of State -- you know -- the one who's up for a contempt hearing for ignoring the will of the voters.

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Brattin is opposed to basic democracy. He spoke against a voter initiative on paid sick leave saying that voters did not have "skin in the game" or understand the impact on business. Brattin is a high school graduate who spent six years in the military. Seriously, fuck this guy.

Brattin is opposed to basic democracy. He opposed a voter initiative on paid sick leave saying that voters did not have "skin in the game" or understand the impact on business.

Brattin is a high school graduate who spent six years in the military. Seriously, fuck this guy.