Up Against Reality

Data centers had their moment — last week, actually. This week we’re talking about the other side: local LLMs, the Mac Mini as an accidental AI powerhouse, and why “just run it yourself” is suddenly a real answer.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Tone Match Lab | Larry’s vibe-coded audio processing web app

Beer Saloon | Larry’s Codex-coded “Tapper” style game

LM Studio

Ollama

Qwen models

Gemma Models

Hugging Face

OpenAI Codex

Anthropic Claude

Room EQ Wizard

Dirac speaker calibration

Running AI Agents Locally = Safe? Think Again | YouTube

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/06/09/local-llms/

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

They built the future in your backyard, signed an NDA with your mayor, and sent you the water bill. This week we force open the windowless boxes at the center of everything: data centers.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Kan Jam | Best game ever. Trust us.

IBM 2321 “Noodle Picker” storage system | Wikipedia

The ENIAC History | University of Pennsylvania

SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) & ARPANET History

Eddington | movie – official site

Virginia Is The World’s Data Center Hub | vpm.org

Two-Phase Liquid Immersion Cooling | YouTube

Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/06/02/data-centers/

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

We’re unpacking everything from Google I/O and why their head of AI says we’re standing in the “foothills of the singularity.” Plus, an all-AI feature film crashes Cannes, Barnes & Noble’s massive PR bonfire, and the Pope teaming up with an AI startup at the Vatican. Wait, what?

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Google I/O 2026

Google I/O 2026 announcements collection

100 things announced at Google I/O 2026

Google I/O 2026 keynote

Demis Hassabis and John Jumper Nobel Prize / AlphaFold

song.link | smart link tool for music and podcasts

Hell Grind | Official trailer for AI-generated feature film

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/05/26/google-i-o-2026/

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

99.9% of every species that ever existed is extinct. This week, we explore Max Tegmark’s twelve AI future scenarios and ask how artificial superintelligence, failed alignment, surveillance, automation, and human self-destruction could bring the human era to an end.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

MIT Explains the 12 Possible Endings for AI | YouTube

Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark

AI Aftermath Scenarios — Future of Life Institute

What does AI do when no one is watching? | YouTube

Statement on AI Risk — Center for AI Safety

1961 Goldsboro B-52 Crash | Wikipedia

Vasily Arkhipov | Wikipedia

The Underwater Cuban Missile Crisis at 60 | National Security Archive

Stanislav Petrov | Wikipedia

1983 Soviet Nuclear False Alarm Incident | Wikipedia

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/05/19/12-ways-ai-ends-the-human-era/

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

Jim DeWitt joins us to talk AI agents, portable brains, and why the future of intelligence might need an owner’s manual. Meanwhile: Spotify’s getting weirder, Hollywood’s panicking, and the AI gold rush just hit another absurd milestone. Business as unusual.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Evenrail | Jim DeWitt

MemPalace | Open-source AI memory system

Open Brain | Nate Jones

AI Second Brain | Matt Wolfe YouTube

Obsidian

Coffee Roaster Instruction Manual Rock Song | SUNO

LawrenceBentley.com | Larry’s Codex-coded website

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/05/12/jim-dewitt/

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