Week 4, 2026
41 episodes covering Geopolitics & World, AI Applications, AI Core
This week on My Weird Prompts, we dove headfirst into a world of espionage, geopolitics, and surprising technical limitations! From decoding the invisible architecture of diplomacy to understanding why your plane hits a ceiling at 40,000 feet, Corn and Herman were kept busy. It’s a week for the intensely curious!
Themed Listening Lists
-
The Spy Games Playlist: Uncover the secrets of the intelligence world, from covert recordings to unbreakable radio transmissions.
- Episode #279: Caught on Tape: The Tech of Covert Evidence Gathering
- Episode #284: The Ghost in the Radio: Why Number Stations Still Exist
- Episode #285: Hidden in Plain Sight: The Engineering of Modern Spy Gear
- Episode #282: The Shadow Analysts: How Private Intelligence Shapes the World
-
Geopolitics IRL Playlist: Get your boots on the ground (figuratively, of course) and explore the complicated realities shaping our world, from Jerusalem to the Golan Heights.
- Episode #291: Jerusalem Unveiled: The Myth and Reality of a Divided City
- Episode #294: The Frozen Frontier: Inside the Israel-Syria DMZ
- Episode #288: The Risk Paradox: Why the “Iron Wall” Failed
-
AI and Ethics: Walking the Tightrope: This playlist explores the ethical implications of rapidly advancing AI, from privacy concerns to the legal battles over copyrighted data.
- Episode #253: The Future of Privacy: Quantum Threats and Backdoors
- Episode #272: The Bill is Due: AI Training and Intellectual Property
- Episode #280: AI as a Shield: The High Stakes of Digital Obfuscation
-
Hardware Headaches: Sometimes, even in 2026, technology has limits. This playlist explores some surprising constraints in aviation and covert operations.
- Episode #295: The 40,000-Foot Ceiling: Why Planes Stop Climbing
- Episode #279: Caught on Tape: The Tech of Covert Evidence Gathering
- Episode #286: The Physics of Plane Wi-Fi: Musk, O’Leary, and Phased Arrays
-
AI Under the Hood: Get technical as Corn and Herman explore the fundamental concepts that drive the latest AI breakthroughs.
- Episode #263: Beyond the Table: Why AI is Moving to Graph Databases
- Episode #267: Decoding the Transformer: From Attention to Inference
- Episode #260: Digital Archeology: The Primitive Power of GPT-1
Standout Episode
Episode #284, “The Ghost in the Radio: Why Number Stations Still Exist,” is a standout for its fascinating glimpse into a seemingly antiquated form of espionage. In an age of satellite communication and encrypted messaging apps, the continued use of creepy, shortwave radio broadcasts by spies is not only surprising but also highlights the enduring power of simple, unbreakable technology.
By the Numbers
- Number of episodes published: 41
- Top 3 categories/themes: Geopolitics & World, AI Core, AI Applications
- Notable Pattern: A heavy focus on Geopolitics & World, making up almost a third of the week’s content.
Episodes This Week
#253 The Future of Privacy: Quantum Threats and Backdoors Explore the shift to post-quantum encryption and why intelligence agencies rarely need to "break" th...
#254 The Digital Shadow: Uncovering the Power of Metadata Every file has a digital shadow. Discover how metadata tracks your life, from ancient libraries to m...
#256 Breaking the Blackout: CENO and the P2P Fight for Truth When governments cut the internet, CENO turns users into a library. Explore how peer-to-peer tech is...
#257 AI That Evolves: Solving the Preference Problem Why do AI recommendations feel stuck in the past? Discover the technical hurdles of real-time learni...
#258 The Geographic Soul of AI: Mapping the Global Data Divide Why does an AI see a Chinese supermarket instead of a Western one? Explore how training data shapes ...
#259 When AI Argues with Reality: Mastering Search Grounding Is your AI gaslighting you about the current date? Learn how to force LLMs to trust live search resu...
#260 Digital Archeology: The Primitive Power of GPT-1 Revisit the 2018 model that started it all. Herman and Corn dive into GPT-1's romance-novel roots an...
#261 The 70-Year Overnight Success: How AI Finally Arrived Think AI was an overnight success? Join Herman and Corn as they trace the 70-year journey from rigid...
#262 Beyond Git: Version Control for the Solo Creator Is Git overkill for your projects? Herman and Corn dive into the "war" that created Git and explore ...
#263 Beyond the Table: Why AI is Moving to Graph Databases Herman and Corn explore why SQL is losing ground to graph and vector databases. Discover why the "ed...
#264 Beyond the Chatbot: The Future of AI Authentication How do we let AI agents buy groceries or book flights safely? Corn and Herman dive into the high-sta...
#265 Beyond the Command Line: The Rise of Semantic Computing Stop memorizing complex syntax. Explore how AI agents are transforming the terminal into a natural l...
#266 The Telemetry Trap: Why Your Devices Won't Stop Talking Herman and Corn dive into the hidden world of telemetry, exploring why our devices phone home and wh...
#267 Decoding the Transformer: From Attention to Inference Herman and Corn dive into the mechanics of transformer inference, exploring how models turn massive ...
#268 The Legal Lasagna: Decoding Israel’s Layers of Law Explore the fascinating mix of Ottoman ghosts, British skeletons, and high-tech statutes that form t...
#269 Mission Critical: Inside the World of Command Centers Discover how high-stakes command centers manage global chaos through specialized design, AI, and the...
#270 The Ultimate Failover: Engineering the Human Heart Discover how surgeons stop the heart to save it, from AI-driven bypass machines to the psychology of...
#271 The AI Paradox: Why Power Users Are the Most Skeptical Are younger generations really AI's biggest fans? Corn and Herman dive into the data behind the grow...
#272 The Bill is Due: AI Training and Intellectual Property Can you "untrain" an AI? Herman and Corn explore the legal and technical battle over copyrighted dat...
#273 The Masked Author: From Ben Franklin to AI Stylometry Can you truly hide behind a pen name? Herman and Corn explore the history of pseudonyms and how AI i...
#274 The Invisible Architecture of Diplomacy: Inside Protocol Discover the invisible rules of global power. Herman and Corn explore how flag placement and seating...
#275 Beyond LASIK: The New Era of Vision Correction Tired of contacts but rejected for LASIK? Discover how SMILE and ICL tech are revolutionizing vision...
#276 The Invisible Perimeter: The Future of Aviation Security Explore how AI, fiber optics, and biometrics are replacing "security theater" with invisible, fricti...
#277 Bulldozing Diplomacy: The Truth About UNRWA and Embassies As Israel dismantles the UNRWA HQ in Jerusalem, we debunk the myth of "foreign soil" and explore the...
#278 Inside the Mobile Fortress: The Secrets of Motorcades Explore the tech, massive costs, and legal immunity behind the 40-car "mobile fortresses" used by wo...
#279 Caught on Tape: The Tech of Covert Evidence Gathering When a landlord dispute gets messy, a smartphone isn't enough. Discover the professional tools and l...
#280 AI as a Shield: The High Stakes of Digital Obfuscation Discover how synthetic personas and AI voice synthesis are becoming the ultimate tools for whistlebl...
#281 The Digital Veil: Using AI to Protect Whistleblowers Forget silhouettes and voice distortion. Discover how AI "digital veils" are revolutionizing whistle...
#282 The Shadow Analysts: How Private Intelligence Shapes the World Why do CEOs pay for Stratfor when they have Reuters? Herman and Corn dive into the high-stakes world...
#284 The Ghost in the Radio: Why Number Stations Still Exist Why do spies still use creepy radio broadcasts in 2026? Herman and Corn dive into the unbreakable ma...
#285 Hidden in Plain Sight: The Engineering of Modern Spy Gear Explore the high-tech world of covert audio, from MEMS microphones to digital signatures, and how th...
#286 The Physics of Plane Wi-Fi: Musk, O'Leary, and Phased Arrays Why is in-flight Wi-Fi finally getting good? Explore the physics of Starlink, phased array antennas,...
#287 The Chain of Custody: Proving Reality in a Post-Truth Era In a world of deepfakes, hitting record isn’t enough. Learn how to use WORM media and cryptographic ...
#288 The Risk Paradox: Why the "Iron Wall" Failed Explore the "risk paradox" and how the world’s most advanced border security system became its own s...
#289 Sovereign AI: How Banks and the CIA Secure the Future How do the CIA and global banks keep AI data safe? Explore the rise of sovereign clouds, air-gapped ...
#290 The Borders of Reality: From Micronations to Somaliland When does a guy on an oil rig become a king? Herman and Corn explore the legal and geopolitical line...
#291 Jerusalem Unveiled: The Myth and Reality of a Divided City Explore the divide between the celestial "Jerusalem of Above" and the gritty, fragmented reality of ...
#292 Deterrence or Danger? Decoding the Signals of War Is it a bluff or a real threat? Corn and Herman dive into OSINT to reveal the hidden logistical sign...
#293 The Israeli Logistics Paradox: Why China is Faster Than Tel Aviv Why is shipping from China to Israel faster than local delivery? Herman and Corn decode the "smart l...
#294 The Frozen Frontier: Inside the Israel-Syria DMZ Explore the complex history of the Golan Heights and the UN-monitored buffer zone where a decades-lo...
#295 The 40,000-Foot Ceiling: Why Planes Stop Climbing Why do planes stop at 40,000 feet? Explore the "coffin corner" and the physics keeping commercial av...