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Surprise - It's Not a Toaster

Surprise - It's Not a Toaster

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 Discover the realm where digital expertise meets candid conversations on "Surprise - It’s Not a Toaster" - a podcast led by digital experts and technophiles Ed Bennett and co-host Chris Boyer. Together, they venture into the fabric of online experiences, dissecting annoyances and irritations about navigating the modern online world. In each episode, they unveil contemporary tools, technologies, and software solutions, providing a firsthand exploration of what's shaping the digital landscape and the hosts challenge the limits of GenAI, where questions are posed to various LLMs, illuminating the interplay between human expertise and machine-generated insights. Tune in to navigate the digital maze, equip yourself with valuable insights, and engage in compelling discussions that bridge the gap between the human and digital worlds.touch point media © 2023. All rights reserved.
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  • Wrapped With a Bow (and a Lock-In Clause)

    Wrapped With a Bow (and a Lock-In Clause)
    Dec 26 2025
    In this end-of-year episode of Surprise - It’s Not a Toaster, Ed Bennett and Chris Boyer take on the annual ritual of being “Wrapped.” What began as a fun reflection has turned into a full-blown platform performance review, with apps across music, social, productivity, fitness, and even calendars proudly telling you just how much of your life they consumed. Because nothing says personal growth like a branded slide deck about your screen time. The conversation unpacks how year-end recaps quietly celebrate overuse, encourage public self-promotion, and reinforce platform lock-in. It’s the perfect Boxing Day episode: the wrapping paper is gone, the boxes are everywhere, and you’re left sorting through what you actually wanted versus what just showed up. In part two, the SNAT Book Club continues with Enshitification by Cory Doctorow, diving into how platforms trap users, businesses, and regulators through lock-in, dependency, and the steady erosion of exit ramps. It’s a clean explanation of why leaving bad platforms feels harder every year and why things don’t improve on their own. And because it wouldn’t be SNAT without testing the limits of artificial intelligence, the episode closes with a lighthearted experiment in whether today’s AI tools can offer genuinely useful guidance when faced with a very seasonal, very awkward real-world problem - with mixed results. Streaming. Wrapped. Trapped. Boxed in. Happy Boxing Day. Mentions from the Show: SNL - “Uber Eats Wrapped” skit Husk IRL YouTube page Enshitification book Chris Boyer on LinkedIn Ed Bennett on LinkedIn Chris Boyer website Ed Bennett of BlueSky Chris Boyer on BlueSky
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    36 Min.
  • The Holiday Gift Guide Nobody Wanted

    The Holiday Gift Guide Nobody Wanted
    Dec 12 2025
    In this very special holiday episode, Ed Bennett and Chris Boyer crack open the shimmering, pine-scented world of modern “smart” gifts — which somehow manage to be both futuristic and profoundly unnecessary. Think of it as a retro 1970s holiday catalog, except every item inside requires WiFi, a firmware update, and a dedicated support group. First up: the PetLibro smart litter box, a device so advanced it may have opinions about your cat. Then there’s the Ember mug, for people who believe hot beverages should come with patch notes. Add in the Bluetooth pen — the perfect gift for someone who wants handwriting to be laggy — and the pièce de résistance: a WiFi-enabled grill that texts you about your brisket like a needy coworker. As always, the chaos of the digital age provides the setup for Part Two: the kickoff of the SNAT Book Club, featuring Cory Doctorow’s Enshitification. Ed and Chris break down the big idea behind why everything online slowly curdles over time, from platforms to products to your holiday wish list. It’s festive. It’s ridiculous. It’s the only holiday gift guide brave enough to say: maybe none of this should exist. Mentions from the Show: PetLibro smart litter box Ember smart coffee mug C-TAP smart Bluetooth fountain pen Briskit Grillsx Enshitification book Chris Boyer on LinkedIn Ed Bennett on LinkedIn Chris Boyer website Ed Bennett of BlueSky Chris Boyer on BlueSky
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    32 Min.
  • How Streaming Became Cable, But Worse

    How Streaming Became Cable, But Worse
    Nov 20 2025
    Hosts Ed Bennett and Chris Boyer face the modern entertainment apocalypse: streaming content. What started as freedom from cable has devolved into a fragmented, confusing, overpriced mess where your favorite show is always on the one service you canceled last month. They unpack the chaos behind subscription juggling, studio feuds (yes, YouTube TV vs. ESPN/Disney, we see you), and why your monthly bill now looks suspiciously like 2008 Comcast. This week’s recommendation is for Cory Doctorow’s new book “Enshitification” - a takedown of how platforms rot from the inside. The hosts then kick-off the official “Surprise - It’s Not a Toaster” Book Club - asking readers to follow along from home. In the AI Stump, they use various GenAI tools to create a new word describing the fear of leaving something behind. Tune in to find out which tool - ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity - created the best term. SNAT50: Streaming is broken, AI is weird, books are angry, and now we have a new neurosis. Mentions from the Show: Enshitification book Chris Boyer on LinkedIn Ed Bennett on LinkedIn Chris Boyer website Ed Bennett of BlueSky Chris Boyer on BlueSky
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    29 Min.
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