Up Against Reality

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

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

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

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

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.