Bad at Magic
A Podcast about games, life, and other things
Episodes
Ben and Josh mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, argue about unfinished stories, discover the limits of corporate conflict-of-interest rules, and rage against bureaucracy (again). Also the guys finally discuss automated license plate readers (ALPRs), AI-enabled surveillance, and the uncomfortable question of what responsibility comes with the power of knowing too much about people's movements in public.
Josh rails against the creeping subscription-ification of everything from printers to cars, while Ben revisits a painful Air Force move that left his family trapped between two bureaucracies. Ben also reckons with his old assumptions after reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming, before we revisit The Lego Movie and discover that its absurdly quotable toy-commercial exterior is hiding a surprisingly thoughtful story about creativit...
We start Season 8 with a bang: Ben nearly burns down his house with a new HVAC system and Josh accidentally drinks eight Mai Tais by the pool. We also talk about self-driving Teslas getting wrecked, spoil Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and disagree on the goodness of The Hobbit as it comes to Magic: The Gathering.
The hosts talk AI data center water consumption, July 2026 at the movies (including Spider-Man and The Odyssey), Ben celebrates his parents' 50th wedding anniversary, Josh's Hardcore WoW character bites the dust, and the guys talk about why we do the things we do.
Ben and Josh talk dogs, swearing, World Cup Soccer, Arena Football, Doritos, Menopause, Star Trek Magic Cards, and last, but definitely not least: How AI is transforming our world today--3.5 years after their first brush with ChatGPT v1.0.
We revisit the joys of the 2026 World Cup, Europe has a lot less air conditioning than the United States, Josh is bad at vacationing across 3 states, Ben talks about why Ukraine is now blanketed in thin plastic wires, and in the first Bad at English in a LONG time: Ben teaches about eggcorns.
Colin Jost is made the unofficial mascot of the podcast, Josh has to activate the warranty on his month-old earbuds, Ben goes to see the Dungeons and Dragons movie but with the soundtrack played by a full orchestra, the guys sound off on the World cup coming back to North America for the first time since 1994, they examine the phenomenon of "critic-proof" movies, and finally they are decidedly, definitively Bad at Parenting. &...
Josh sets the record straight on Keanu's pay structure for John Wick, quits the INTVL app after one try, and takes his family to the movies 3 times. Ben reads a popular memoir, goes to the movies by himself, and invents 3 new infographics. The guys do a retrospective on the 1983 movie "Mr. Mom" by comparing it to the new Nate Bargatze movie "The Breadwinner". Also, the first new STAR WARS movie in 7 years!!!
Josh and Ben do a deep dive on the American cultural practice of "seat saving" at free-to enter events, discuss the new trend of graduates booing commencement speakers who mention AI, and finally they try several claims of Star Wars in the court of B@M opinion.
Josh joins the High School band booster club, Ben's Optometrist "almost served" in the military, the guys recap their trip to MagicCON Vegas 2026, they discuss the "red button or blue button" dilemma, and Ben updates his thesis that the accumulation of risk controls is an uncontrolled risk (AKA "The Tyranny of Zero").
Ben and Josh find out who is actually the most evil Disney baddie based on the crimes they committed, Josh cleans out his bookmarks bar (in 2026? Really??), Ben gets a cat (yes, really), and--CONTENT WARNING--the guys relive their vasectomies.
Ben and Josh review the fictional Project Hail Mary and the real-life Artemis II mission. They give props to the WNBA management and take them from the Chipotle app developers. The hosts explore being bad at work, sports, food, and love. And finally, they give the D&D alignment chart one last chance to help them find, well: alignment.
Josh and Ben discuss the new Major League Baseball Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, Planar Standard, some Bad at Parenting, smelling nice vs. smelling clean, and they take on an AI-generated round of Mastermind you won't want to miss!
Ben and Josh wax prolific about movies, work, and tech in this potpourri episode.
Ben and Josh take on "the most dangerous room in the house", group orders, skiing after 45, accountants as lawyers, and another dozen topics in the second Anthropocene Reviewed-style revue. Five stars.
Ben and Josh debate the origins of The Bible, Josh crashes headlong into his limitations, and the guys discuss what makes a good (and bad) series and what the payoffs and pitfalls are for revisiting an intellectual property.
Josh and Ben are (surprise, surprise) bad at parenting, the Cosmere is coming to TV with the oversight of Brandon Sanderson, Ben explains what a "trash bag move" is, and the guys fruitlessly debate which is better: fiction or nonfiction?
Ben and Josh talk about death, parenting, making your mark on the world, and present a new framework for analyzing business priorities they call "Ways of the Realm".
The Bad at Magic Disney Baddie Showdown reaches the Semifinals thanks to a sudden-death tiebreak on Patreon, Ben is bad at parenting (again), Josh's World of Warcraft characters died to his surprising great dismay, and the hosts set their New Year's resolutions with the now-customary bingo cards.
Happy holidays from the Bad at Magic podcast as Ben and Josh revisit last year's resolutions bingo cards, Josh shares some research on what probably happened to Tiny Tim in the Dickens' classic, and the guys do a deep dive following Josh's trip to Walt Disney World.
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