Up Against Reality

Up Against Reality

Chris Ippolito and Larry Bentley

Episodes 151
Avg. Duration 53m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.4 (13)
Since May 2023
Latest Episode May 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
100%
Hosting
upagainstreality.com

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

Welcome to Up Against Reality, a meta-podcast that explores the intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence. Hosted by RAINA and her human co-hosts, Larry Bentley and Chris Ippolito. Featuring riveting conversation, interviews, news and some wild experimentation. It truly is a brave new world, and we\’re here to simplify it for you. It\’s gonna be a wild ride, so buckle up, as A.I. comes crashing Up Against Reality.

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Recent Episodes

S1E135 12 Ways AI Ends the Human Era

May 19, 2026 39m Transcript

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,…

S1E134 Jim DeWitt

May 12, 2026 50m Transcript

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…

S1E133 Codex-Obsessed

May 05, 2026 34m Transcript

Larry’s got a new muse and she doesn’t sleep—Codex is out here building apps, fixing bugs, and stealing RAINA’s spotlight like it’s open mic night. Meanwhile, AI’s cracking math problems, diagnosing…

S1E132 Episode Rewind: The Dead Internet Theory

Apr 28, 2026 54m Transcript

We’re rewinding to our Dead Internet Theory episode — because a year later, it hits harder than ever. Plus: fresh AI news that proves the theory isn’t just holding up, it’s accelerating. LINKS…

S1E132 Stanford HAI Report 2026

Apr 21, 2026 39m Transcript

Stanford’s AI Index landed — 420 pages confirming what you already suspected: it’s not coming, it’s here, and it’s been redecorating the place. This week: Robot soldiers, AI bosses, cognitive…

S1E131 Claude Mythos

Apr 14, 2026 34m Transcript

Anthropic just built an AI so “dangerously good” at hacking that they’ve locked it in a digital vault—and we’re cracking it open to uncover the Claude Mythos behaviors that terrified its own…

S1E130 Dr. Doak vs. ASI

Apr 07, 2026 43m Transcript

Dr. Shannon Doak returns to wrestle with humanity’s biggest question: as AI races toward AGI — and beyond — do we still have a seat at the table? Plus: YouTube’s toddler death traps, Anthropic’s…

S1E129 Rosie The Dog

Mar 31, 2026 39m Transcript

A dying dog, a desperate owner, and an LLM walk into an oncology lab — and somehow it works. This week we’re still celebrating AI’s good side, alongside the usual chaos: CEO shake-ups, OpenAI’s…

S1 Episode Rewind: Sentient Cephalopods

Mar 24, 2026 59m

RAINA’s in the driver’s seat, spinning up this week’s news. But wait, there’s more! No, not a set of ginsu knives. A special episode rewind of E87: Sentient Cephalopods, in case you missed it the…

S1E128 Cheer and Beer

Mar 17, 2026 32m Transcript

What if AI was good, though? AI breakthroughs in medicine, education, creativity, and global policy — back to back, no bad news, no asterisks. Pure, uncut optimism. You’re welcome. LINKS MENTIONED IN…

S1E127 Starfire Symphony

Mar 10, 2026 42m Transcript

Larry plugged a guitar into an algorithm and Starfire Symphony came out the other side. In this episode we premiere the track, unpack the human-plus-machine workflow behind it, and see what happens…

S1E126 Anthropic VS The Dept of War

Mar 03, 2026 41m Transcript

Anthropic drew a red line this week with the Department of War — even under threat of losing contracts — and now the biggest AI ethics showdown of the year is officially live. The Empire wants…

S1 Episode Rewind: AI Love, Hate, Repeat

Feb 24, 2026 59m Transcript

Solo RAINA, zero chill — this week’s AI news includes immortal social media accounts, a productivity reality check, and an AI safety company that just got called a national security threat. Then we…

S1E125 Death of Knowledge Work

Feb 17, 2026 38m Transcript

Is knowledge work on life support? From AI writing flawless code while humans grab coffee to billion-dollar labs racing toward full automation, we unpack why the smartest people in tech are…

S1E124 Claude Cowork

Feb 10, 2026 37m Transcript

Claude Cowork crossed the line we’ve been politely guarding — we watched it take control of a computer, run a full creative workflow end-to-end, and casually trigger a market panic in the process.…

S1E123 The Chinese Century

Feb 03, 2026 41m Transcript

Is the 21st century already spoken for? As America rage-scrolls while the lights flicker, China’s building the future – faster, cheaper, and smarter. Today, we track the global shift in power,…

S1 Episode Rewind: Trifecta of Chaos

Jan 27, 2026 54m Transcript

We’re rewinding to January 21st, 2025—a moment when AGI buzz, agentic systems, and AI-fueled job fears collided in what we dubbed the Trifecta of Chaos. If you missed it the first time or just need a…

S1E122 Mini News Avalanche

Jan 20, 2026 30m Transcript

Time’s tight but the AI news avalanche won’t wait — in this mini-episode, we hit you with the week’s wildest stories, from humanoid robots getting brains to chatbots refilling your meds. RAINA,…

S1E121 CES x AI

Jan 13, 2026 33m Transcript

CES 2026 just wrapped, and we’re diving into the wildest, weirdest, and most jaw-dropping AI trends from the biggest tech show on Earth. From reasoning robots to fridges with feelings — and a few…

S1E120 RAINA Spins Up 2025’s AI Hits

Jan 06, 2026 1h 11m Transcript

2025 was peak sci-fi fever dream, and we’ve got the receipts. In this year-end episode, we dive into deepfake scandals, humanoid robots taking center stage, and the rise of agentic AI—with hot takes…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Up Against Reality have?

Up Against Reality has published 151 episodes since May 2023, covering topics in Education, News.

Is Up Against Reality still active?

Up Against Reality is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 53m.

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