This Week in Tech (Audio)

TWiT 1064: TWiT Best 0f 2025 - 2025's Best Moments on TWiT

December 28, 2025

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  • The hosts of *This Week in Tech* are celebrating the show's 20th anniversary in 2025, acknowledging listener dedication and the financial support from Club TWiT members that helped them survive recent cost-cutting measures. 
  • The discussion highlights the intense controversy in Hollywood over the use of AI, even for minor tasks like tweaking foreign language dialogue in the film *The Brutalist*, contrasting this with the long-accepted use of visual effects technology. 
  • The segment on 'vibe coding' suggests that generative AI tools like OpenAI's Codex are fundamentally changing software development by allowing non-coders to generate complex applications quickly, potentially leading to significant job displacement in technical crafts and shifting the startup paradigm toward business insight over technical co-founders. 
  • Tech product launch events, particularly Apple's iPhone events, are increasingly prioritizing influencers over traditional tech journalists, leading to a shift in event atmosphere and content creation dynamics. 
  • Brian Wolf detailed an extensive, multi-step process to build a completely anonymous, untraceable laptop, highlighting the difficulty of achieving true digital anonymity even with tools like VPNs and MAC address spoofing. 
  • The discussion on AI tools like ChatGPT revealed that while they are powerful aids for non-programmers (like 'vibe coding'), they confidently present incorrect information, necessitating a strong base knowledge for verification. 

Segments

TWiT 20th Anniversary Thanks (Unknown)
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  • Key Takeaway: None
  • Summary: None
AI Use in Film Controversy
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(00:02:12)
  • Key Takeaway: The film The Brutalist sparked outrage among Hollywood creatives for using an AI tool from a Ukrainian specialist to refine the Hungarian dialogue spoken by its lead actors.
  • Summary: The film The Brutalist, starring Adrian Brody and Felicity Jones, utilized an AI tool to enhance the authenticity of the Hungarian dialogue spoken by the actors. This use of AI generated backlash from Hollywood figures who suggested it should disqualify the film from awards consideration. The discussion noted the general fear of AI among creatives, contrasting it with the long-accepted use of visual effects technology like green screens.
Listener Stories and Show Origins
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(00:06:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Listeners shared stories of following the TWiT network since its inception, including one employee whose work on the USAA banking app check-deposit feature was praised by Leo Laporte.
  • Summary: The show began interspersing listener-submitted stories about how they started watching TWiT. One listener, Scott Simmons, traced his viewership back to Leo Laporte’s Tech TV days and expressed pride when Laporte praised a feature he helped develop at USAA. Another listener, Ron, wrote in from prison, thanking the network for making podcasts available to inmates via tablets.
Early TWiT Production Methods
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(00:10:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The very first This Week in Tech episode (Episode 0, April 17, 2005) was only 34 minutes long, recorded using a solid-state recorder at a brewpub before Skype enabled remote, multi-location podcasting.
  • Summary: Robert Heron recalled his first appearance on the precursor show, Revenge of the Screensavers, which was recorded locally using a solid-state recorder. The first official This Week in Tech episode was only 34 minutes long and featured Patrick Norton, Kevin Rose, and Robert Heron. The ability to conduct remote shows using Skype was a key technological shift that allowed the network to expand beyond its initial small studio space.
Vibe Coding and AI Development
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(00:16:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Vibe coding, defined as generating code by passing the ‘vibe’ or intent to an AI without typing code, is liberating for developers but may quickly generate code beyond their ability to easily maintain.
  • Summary: Harper Reed described ‘vibe coding’ as passing intent to an AI, noting that tools like OpenAI’s Codex allow users to generate complex applications quickly, sometimes without the user needing deep coding knowledge. Reed expressed concern that this process removes the craft of coding and could lead to developers losing the plot on complex generated code. He analogized the shift to industrial farming replacing artisanal farmers, suggesting that the craft of coding may become relegated to niche, bespoke work.
AI Impact on Jobs and Society (Unknown)
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  • Key Takeaway: None
  • Summary: None
Apple iPhone 16 Event Analysis
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(00:48:52)
  • Key Takeaway: The Apple event’s central thesis was ‘design,’ heavily emphasizing aesthetic features like ’liquid glass’ on the new iPhone Air, despite the incremental nature of the updates.
  • Summary: The Apple event revealed products that had largely been accurately leaked beforehand, with the event serving primarily to provide marketing context and storytelling around the new features. Victoria noted the overwhelming focus on design, evidenced by a video celebrating the clickwheel and the frequent use of the word ‘design’ throughout the presentation. The new ’liquid glass’ feature was criticized by some attendees as being more sizzle than steak, potentially reducing legibility and accessibility.
Apple Event Influencer Shift
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(00:58:10)
  • Key Takeaway: Apple events are increasingly prioritizing influencers over traditional reporters, evidenced by increased selfie sticks and performance content creation during the walk down the spiral staircase.
  • Summary: Apple’s product launch events show a clear focus shift toward influencers, who are now often prioritized over traditional media reporters. Attendees noted the prevalence of selfie sticks and influencers creating content, such as dancing, while descending the spiral staircase. This trend was also observed at the Made by Google event, suggesting a broader industry shift in how tech announcements are covered.
Google Event Audience Mismatch
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(01:01:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The recent Made by Google event felt ‘uncanny’ and wrong because it was explicitly produced for a general audience (’normies’) rather than the core ‘pixel gadget lovers’ or tech enthusiasts.
  • Summary: The Made by Google event, featuring Jimmy Fallon, was perceived as alienating to the core tech audience because it was aimed at a different, broader demographic. Speakers felt the event lacked context and authenticity, with many YouTubers merely reading press releases instead of offering genuine insights. The stated goal by some Google personnel was to reach ’normies,’ even if the execution failed to connect with anyone specific.
TWiT Listener Survey Promotion
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(01:03:47)
  • Key Takeaway: The annual TWiT survey is crucial for securing advertising revenue by providing data, such as audience demographics like IT decision-makers, to potential sponsors.
  • Summary: The annual TWiT survey is promoted as a vital way for listeners to support the show financially by providing basic demographic information to advertisers. This data helps the network quantify its audience, for example, stating that 80% of the audience are IT decision-makers. Listeners are directed to twit.tv/survey26 to participate.
Building an Anonymous Computer
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(01:05:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Brian Wolf successfully built a laptop designed to be completely untraceable back to him, using a cash-purchased VPN card and public library Wi-Fi for initial setup.
  • Summary: The project began after a desire to stream the European version of the Tour de France, leading to an exercise in creating a disassociated computer. Initial setup required purchasing a Mulvad VPN card anonymously with cash at Best Buy and using public library Wi-Fi to install the VPN before the device went silent. The setup was tested by friends who attempted penetration testing, confirming the VPN successfully blocked IP leaks even upon reboot.
AI as a Planning Tool
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(01:06:46)
  • Key Takeaway: ChatGPT served as a planning tool for the anonymous computer build, but its tendency to state incorrect information confidently (‘confidently wrong’) required significant debugging and base knowledge to navigate.
  • Summary: The anonymous laptop build served as an experiment in using ChatGPT for planning and execution, revealing its limitations. The AI confidently provided incorrect information, such as linking to a website for a necessary script written entirely in Thai. This demonstrated that while AI is a powerful tool for those with foundational knowledge, it can easily mislead users lacking the expertise to vet its output.
FDA-Approved Nearsightedness Glasses
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(01:15:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Esselore has an FDA-approved pair of glasses designed to slow nearsightedness in children, which Brian Wolf had a meeting scheduled to discuss the following day.
  • Summary: A discussion was prompted regarding new FDA-approved glasses by Esselore aimed at mitigating childhood nearsightedness. Brian Wolf confirmed he had an upcoming meeting scheduled with Esselore to learn the background concept of how these specific lenses function. The segment was cut short for a commercial break before the details could be fully explored.
Legal Protection for Anonymous Speech
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(01:16:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Protecting anonymous speech from legal incursions like subpoenas requires technical measures to ensure no traceable links remain, as current case law has not fully cemented First Amendment protections against such legal processes.
  • Summary: The technical efforts to remain untraceable are necessary because legal processes like subpoenas can target any link in the chain of information disclosure. The First Amendment protects anonymous speech, but there is insufficient case law cementing this protection against practical incursions from legal discovery. If a company has no useful information to disclose, the individual is much better off than relying solely on legal hope.
Acknowledging the TWiT Team and Listeners
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(01:18:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Leo Laporte expressed deep gratitude to the small, tight-knit TWiT team and the loyal audience, whose forbearance over 20 years makes the show possible.
  • Summary: The host thanked the production team, including Anthony Nielsen, Benito Gonzalez, and Kevin King, for their hard work behind the scenes. He specifically thanked the listeners for their kind forbearance over two decades, noting that without their listenership, the show would have no point. Financial support from Club TWiT members was also highlighted as making a significant difference to the network’s bottom line.