Shows / Bad at Magic
Episodes
Bad at MagicEpisode 188 – Band Dad
Josh and Ben discuss corporate technology ecosystems, Josh's new [not a] webcomic "Becca and Sophie", cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the unsettling…
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Episode 187 – Murderbot
Josh enlists ChatGPT as a board-game referee, Ben sits around wondering if Weezer is famous enough to make him wait this long, we finally finish our…
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Episode 186 – AI-pocalypse
Josh falls headfirst into the ChatGPT rabbit hole, Ben rages against bureaucracy (again), and the guys ask whether the latest predictions that AI will kill us…
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Episode 185 – What the Flock?
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…
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Episode 184 – Touch the Piece
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…
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Episode 183 – Brand New Day
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…
Bad at MagicEpisode 182 – Blink
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…
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Episode 181 – The AI Bubble
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…
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Episode 180 – Lost (in) Vegas
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…
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Episode 179 – Parenting Rope
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…
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Episode 178 – The Breadwinner
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…
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Episode 177 – Star Wars Small Claims Court
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…
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Episode 176 – The Tyranny of Zero
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…
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Episode 175 – Snip Snip
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??)…
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Episode 174 – Project Alignment
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…
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Episode 173 – Mastermind AI
Josh and Ben discuss the new Major League Baseball Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, Planar Standard, some Bad at Parenting, smelling nice vs…
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Episode 172 – Give me a Knob
Ben and Josh wax prolific about movies, work, and tech in this potpourri episode.
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Episode 171 – Love is Algaecide
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…
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Episode 170 – Falling Down
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…
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Episode 169 – Squeegee the Shower
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…
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Episode 168 – Ways of the Realm
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…
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Episode 167 – New Year’s Bingo Redux
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…
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Episode 166 – Tiny Tim Goes to Disney
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…
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Episode 165 – The Murtaugh List
Ben and Josh weigh in on the death of the penny, AI in video game development, the evils of social media, and finally a trip to the Emergency Room over the…
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Episode 164 – House of Dynamite
Ben and Josh discuss why Elon Musk threatened to buy Hasbro Corporation, office potlucks, fender benders, political thrillers that have come true 30 years…
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Episode 163 – Bad Blood
Ben and Josh tentatively embrace the newest Magic set (Avatar: The Last Airbender) prior to its release, Josh complains about Daylight Savings Time (again)…
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Episode 162 – Sleeping in a Panini Press
In this potpourri episode, Josh wrestles with Microsoft Corporation, Ben goes camping on Tatooine, Josh has another fast food disaster, the AWS outage turns…
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Episode 161 – Tron Ares
Ben responds to the church shooting in Michigan, Josh faces a Halloween costume crisis, Ben starts Year 2 at Hogwarts, Josh has WORDS about the book he's been…
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Episode 160 – The Siege
Josh's electric car almost burns down his house, Ben gets a "fat guy clap" in the office 5K, the hosts propose a Disney Baddie Showdown (coming soon!), and…
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Episode 159 – All the CLIX
Ben goes to Disneyland but not without managing to be bad at parenting, Josh creates an intensity metric for the 3rd of the 5 Love Languages (Quality Time) in…
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Episode 158 – Andor Season 2
Josh is bad at Korean, Ben almost dies in a Tesla, and the guys give the full Bad at Magic treatment to Andor, Season 2.
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Episode 157 – Positive Illusion
Ben and Josh court several sponsorship opportunities (NOT REALLY), are bad at A LOT of things (more than usual), Josh reads a whole bunch of trashy sci-fi…
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Episode 156 – Dungeon Crawler Carl
Ben recommends the new Fantastic Four movie (with no spoilers), Josh definitely does not recommend trying to pay down the national debt, Ben gets a new B@M…
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Episode 155 – Hardcore Misogi
Ben catches up on the hottest summer movies, Josh plays World of Warcraft Classic: Hardcore, the hosts search for their Misogi, and finally it's time to take a…
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Episode 154 – K-Pop Demon Hunters
Josh recounts his 4th of July celebration in small-town Kansas, Ben ponders what the boundaries are of the profession "Fire and Rescue", and the hosts strongly…
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Episode 153 – Y’shtola and Chandra
The hosts finally get together in Las Vegas to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the podcast. They share their summer adventures (including the #nokings…
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Episode 152 – Abundant Poo
Ben makes another attempt to define Rich's Law of autonomous systems, Josh is bad at so many things we lost count, the guys take on the Slate Truck, and they…
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Episode 151 – NotBadatMagic
The hosts do a quick review of the new MCU film Thunderbolts*, give a passing mention to The Accountant 2, and do a full-scale historic perspective on "The…
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Episode 150 – The Matrix Reflections
Ben takes on a massive vintage Tupperware collection, Josh uses AI to fake being good at routine social interactions, and the guys celebrate the 26th…
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Episode 149 – Chicken Jockey
Josh eats 5 hot dogs before the first pitch, Ben has to hack into the drink machine to get what he wants, Josh orders 50 cheeseburgers, the guys brave a movie…
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Episode 148 – The Far Side of the World
Ben and Josh discuss the "dirty soda" craze in Utah and debate whether the closing of Joann Fabrics is of any consequence. They lament the death of the career…
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Episode 147 – Capitalist Shtick
The hosts take on the move to self checkout, set the record straight on procedural and technological protections of information regarding military operations…
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Episode 146 – Cowards and Weaklings
Josh always orders the same thing except for when he's feeling spicy. The guys take on Artificial Intelligence and privacy, Josh reads a nonfiction book…
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Episode 145 – Making Decisions – Decisions, Decisions
Ben admits the truth about the US Patent Office in 1899, Josh accidentally sends some private photos to the wrong Nicole, Ben leaves the toilet seat up and…
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Episode 144 – Death and Taxes
Josh runs the show* and the guys talk about being leaders in the workplace, Wizards of the Coast's new tiered Commander ranking system, Frog Fractions, man…
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Episode 143 – The Tron Paradox
Ben goes to a UFC fight, Josh addresses the 12-hour TikTok ban, the guys examine some common logic problems that people find counter-intuitive, Josh tries…
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Episode 142 – UPT Revisited
Josh offers an alternative for shipwrecked TikTok users, the guys propose categories and intensity for the "Words of Affirmation" love language, Ben doesn't…
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Episode 141 – Capodanno Bingo
Ben and Josh review some games they love (and you will too!) and wrap their minds around the PayPal/Honey Influencer controversy. Josh gets visited by the box…
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Episode 140 – Christmas/Magic Mastermind
Ben and Josh are bad at parenting, husbanding, cancel culture, and remembering facts about Christmas and Magic in this very special listener-requested return…
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Episode 139 – Arcane Season 2
The hosts react to the UHC murder, research bread bag clips, recount life-threatening hijinks from long ago, and enjoy the heck out of Arcane: League of…
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Episode 138 – Scott Pilgrim vs Email
Ben and Josh are bad at Travel (skiplagging), Business (email), Reading, and reviewing current films. This time they take on the 2010 Edgar Wright film Scott…
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Episode 137 – Orange Man Bad
CONTENT WARNING: the hosts of the Bad at Magic podcast feel the election of Donald Trump to a second term as US President will be bad for the United States and…
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Episode 136 – Live from Las Vegas
Ben and Josh take on social norms in door holding, raising sociopathic children, the difference between the Return of the King book and Movie, and why Josh is…
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Episode 135 – The Return of the King
Ben and Josh conclude the epic trilogy of The Lord of the Rings with Return of the King. Also, Ben uses his wife's good scissors, Josh gets road raged at, and…
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Episode 134 – The Two Towers
Ben and Josh Review Peter Jackson's The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. They also discuss the apocalyptic shakeup in the Magic: The Gathering Commander…
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Episode 133 – The Fellowship
Ben and Josh plug their favorite Kickstarters, slide down the long tail (again), teach kids how to crochet, review the Anthropocene, and finally review The…
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Episode 132 – Fictional Tech
Ben and Josh set the record straight on obscure Olympic sports, Ben starts his new career in cybersecurity, Josh tries out the new World of Warcraft expansion…
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Episode 131 – Olympics & The Clone Wars
Ben and Josh recap the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, send the kids back to school, and finish off the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy with Attack of the…
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Episode 130 – The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary
Ben and Josh celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Bad at Magic Podcast by…celebrating the 25th anniversary of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. They also take on…
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Episode 129 – A Brief History of Intelligence
Ben and Josh discuss the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Josh's summer vacation to Colorado Springs (including his emotional return to USAFA for the…