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Join Southern IT experts Donovan Adkisson and Ben Rehberg, along with occasional guest speakers, as they break down the latest in technology in a straightforward, relatable way for everyday listeners.
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23 FEB 2026 · It's time to close the curtains on SouthGeek News, at least for the time being.
We've enjoyed it and we hope you did too.
See you 'round! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
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11 FEB 2026 · Where has the podcast been? Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
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Transcribed
21 NOV 2025 · Well, howdy there, SouthGeek News listeners!
We've got a quick little announcement for y'all before we turn off the mics today. The time has come for us to take a well-deserved break, so we'll be going on hiatus for the remainder of the holiday season. Lord knows we need it! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter by visiting https://patreon.com/southgeek!
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30 OCT 2025 · Welcome back to SouthGeek News, where we talk tech with a drawl and a dose of common sense! In this week’s episode (October 29, 2025), Donovan, Ben, and Samuel saddle up for another round of geekery, southern humor, and a few good-natured rants about the state of technology — and humanity.
This episode kicks off with Samuel diving headfirst into Sora, the new AI video social platform that’s got the internet buzzing. He’s having a ball remixing videos, while Donovan and Ben shake their heads like two uncles watching TikTok for the first time. Turns out, all those AI creations might be draining more lakes than we thought — one “existential nonsense” clip at a time. Ben’s been busy switching his main desktop over to Linux and enjoying life away from Windows 11’s “refresh when you least expect it” nonsense. Donovan shares his tale of helping clients upgrade to Windows 11, only to fight the same gremlins Microsoft can’t seem to exorcise. Then, things get deep — or maybe darkly funny — as the crew talks about how clickbait and junk data are giving large language models (like yours truly) a bad case of “AI brain rot.” The takeaway? Garbage in, garbage out — just like humans. From there, they roll into a rowdy discussion about Grokipedia, Elon Musk’s new AI-written encyclopedia that’s already copying Wikipedia word-for-word. The crew’s collective response? Bless its heart. Next up: GM’s big plans for “eyes-off” self-driving by 2028, which somehow turns into a therapy session about Microsoft Sync, bad Bluetooth, and why car companies should stop trying to reinvent Android Auto. The fellas also tackle Amazon’s wild idea to power its data centers with modular nuclear reactors. Donovan’s all for it — as long as they don’t blow up Tifton’s power grid. Things take a spooky turn when they cover a smart vacuum that secretly mapped a guy’s house and tattled to overseas servers — and then bricked itself when he blocked the data uploads. Because nothing says “smart home” like your vacuum turning double agent. Finally, they round it out with a study claiming AI can predict murderers before they kill — a real-life Minority Report situation. Samuel, with his psychology background, drops some wisdom about mental health misconceptions, reminding everyone that having a disorder doesn’t make you dangerous. And for dessert? The boys debate whether your fancy 8K TV actually makes any difference. Spoiler: unless your eyeballs are bionic, probably not.
When Donovan quips that the Cadillac Escalade IQ’s $127,000 price tag makes it a real “eyes-off” experience — since he can’t bear to look at it — it pretty much sums up this episode’s vibe: Tech for rich folks, skepticism for the rest of us. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter by visiting https://patreon.com/southgeek!
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16 OCT 2025 · In this week’s SouthGeek News, the guys dive deep into tech, AI, aliens, and all things absurdly geeky. Donovan’s upgrading networks like a mad scientist, Ben’s turning his studio into a low-budget EDM lab, and Sam’s exploring Fallout 76 because apparently the apocalypse is more relaxing than real life. They geek out over Wi-Fi 8 (“faster, but not that fast”), real estate agents using AI to catfish homebuyers, and Georgia Tech launching drones that’ll “respond in 90 seconds or less—whether you called them or not.” We also learn that your gaming mouse might be spying on you, SpaceX satellites are falling from the sky like cosmic junk mail, and ChatGPT is auditioning to be your next operating system. Then Sam steals the show with a spine-tingling tale of Kentucky’s Kelly-Hopkinsville Goblins—because nothing says “tech podcast” like glowing eyes in the Appalachian dark. Oh, and yes, someone inevitably made a genital-warts joke. It’s SouthGeek News. You were warned.
LINKS
https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/tp-link-confirms-successful-wi-fi-8-trials-next-gen-wireless-standard-to-usher-in-advances-in-reliability-and-latency
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/09/homeowners-stage-house-home-for-sale-real-estate-ai.html
https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/concerns-grow-after-spate-of-social-media-posts-showing-spacex-starlink-satellites-burning-in-the-sky-we-are-currently-seeing-a-couple-of-satellite-re-entries-a-day-says-respected-astrophysicist
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/georgia-techs-drone-first-responder-program-cuts-emergency-response-time-90-seconds-or-less/AZM6WBKISJHU7P5TEO7EYW4FTE/
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/10/openai-wants-to-make-chatgpt-into-a-universal-app-frontend/
https://www.androidcentral.com/accessories/smart-home/synology-comes-to-its-senses-removes-all-hdd-limitations-from-2025-diskstation-models
https://www.kron4.com/news/technology-ai/waymo-pulled-over-by-police-officer-during-dui-enforcement-operation/
https://www.ladbible.com/news/technology/ai-harvard-study-human-technology-emotional-manipulation-417431-20251004
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/high-performance-mice-can-be-used-as-a-microphone-to-spy-on-users-thanks-to-ai-mic-e-mouse-technique-uses-mouse-sensors-to-convert-acoustic-vibrations-into-speech
https://www.wired.com/story/ice-social-media-surveillance-24-7-contract/
Weird File
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cryptozoology/comments/z4txnn/did_you_know_the_pokemon_sableye_was_inspired_by/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter by visiting https://patreon.com/southgeek!
Explicit
Transcribed
2 OCT 2025 · Donovan and Ben hold down the fort without Sam, who’s apparently still wrestling zoo alligators. Ben drops a hard drive (RIP 10TB of forgotten MP3s), debates whether $1,300 iPads are just overpriced sketchpads, and confesses his Bitcoin stash started as free Monero mining. Donovan rants about Windows 11 upgrades, registry hacks, and Microsoft’s uncanny ability to make File Explorer even worse.
The duo also roast Amazon’s latest “who asked for this?” gadgets, DoorDash’s delivery robots frying in the Phoenix sun, and the rise of AI-generated actresses like Tilly Norwood—because Hollywood definitely needed Scarlett Johansson without the salary. Other stops include Microsoft cutting Israel’s cloud access, Amazon coughing up $2.5 billion in “Prime shenanigans” refunds (a whole $51 each—don’t spend it all at once), Trump’s TikTok fire sale to his billionaire buddies, and a startup peddling psychedelics without the trip.
They wrap up with nostalgia for landline phones—because apparently the hottest new gadget for kids in 2025 is… a corded phone that only calls grandma.
It’s geek news, southern fried, with just enough cynicism to pair with a Reese’s and a Kit Kat. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter by visiting https://patreon.com/southgeek!
Explicit
Transcribed
18 SEP 2025 · This week on SouthGeek News, the gang dives headfirst into the holiday creep—yes, it’s already pumpkins, turkeys, and Christmas lights all battling for shelf space at Lowe’s. Donovan shares how his house has become a year-round “holiday tree zone” while Ben and Sam confess their own festive quirks (spoiler: seven Christmas trees might be too many).
Sam plugs his new voice-acting project https://everlyheights.tv/everly-heights-tales/everly-heights-a-locals-guide-everly-heights-tales-podcast/, which sounds like if Parks and Rec and Twilight Zone had a baby and raised it in Ohio. Donovan flirts with the idea of using AI voices for screenplays, only to get roasted by Sam for being a “soulless robot enabler.”
Tech talk gets juicy with stories from the trenches—Windows 11 upgrades that required more prayers than drivers, cloud storage projects that push terabytes like it’s nothing, and thin clients that are somehow still too expensive to make sense. Apple’s latest toys hit the spotlight too: iPhone 17 models, the wafer-thin iPhone Air (aka “the Kate Moss of smartphones”), and AirPods Pro 3 that might finally stay in your ears instead of popping out like champagne corks.
Cloudflare flexes its muscles against the largest DDoS attack ever (11.5 Tbps of “Nope”), Apple TV+ quietly hikes its price again, and Sam resurrects the Weird File with a personal bombshell—a tattoo he didn’t sign up for. Yep, you read that right.
From haunted subdivisions to folding phones nobody asked for, it’s another episode where geek meets snark, and tech meets therapy. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter by visiting https://patreon.com/southgeek!
Explicit
Transcribed
21 AUG 2025 · This week on SouthGeek News, the crew goes full nerd. Samuel dives headfirst into “building a second brain” with Notion and the PARA method—because apparently one brain isn’t enough when you’re juggling classes, jokes, and memory gaps. Ben battles Proxmox and GRUB with GPT’s help, proving that even Linux admins occasionally pray to the AI gods. Donovan and Tyler reminisce about running enterprise-style phone systems on Intel Atoms (yes, really), before diving into the absurdity of subscription-based cars—pay extra if you want to accelerate faster, or worse, keep your steering wheel.
From there, it’s a ride through Windows 11 updates that nuke SSDs, streaming services that are driving people back to piracy faster than you can say “buffering,” and the ever-ridiculous broadband battles—where Starlink insists satellites are just as good as fiber (spoiler: they aren’t). Finally, Perplexity AI tries to flex by offering $34.5 billion to buy Chrome, which is basically like a college kid offering to buy Apple with whatever’s in his Venmo account.
In short: bad subscriptions, exploding SSDs, streaming greed, and Elon’s internet toys all take a beating.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter by visiting https://patreon.com/southgeek!
Explicit
Transcribed
7 AUG 2025 · After an extended hiatus (because life, DNS, and jury duty happen), Donovan, Ben, and Samuel return with a jam-packed episode full of geekery, Amazon horror stories, and deep philosophical questions like: “Do you have a butt?”
This week, the trio dives into:
- 🧻 ChatGPT Haikus from Hell – A 2600 Magazine piece turns the Terms of Service from Big Tech into poetry that hits a little too hard.
- 💨 Amazon’s Nose Knows – Donovan’s air purifier screams “ODOR,” but Amazon cancels his filter order faster than you can say “quality control.”
- 💻 Tech We Can’t Live Without – From Adobe Audition to smart thermostats, and even the B (a wearable AI note-taker), the crew ponders which devices or apps would wreck their lives if they vanished.
- 📱 Free vs. Paid Apps We Actually Use – Habitica turns your to-do list into an RPG, and Indigo may be the best iPhone camera app you’ve never heard of. Meanwhile, ZM Ninja Pro? Not so much.
- 📦 Amazon Prime Day Regrets – Ben scores on Bose headphones, while Donovan suspects some Prime Day “deals” are just price tag gaslighting.
- 💾 Data Backup: The Good, the Bad, and the Lazy – Synology + Backblaze wins, but Samuel’s still using the “hope and a hard drive” strategy.
- 📺 Streaming Services We’re (Reluctantly) Loyal To – From Netflix’s wrestling content and YouTube TV obsessions to the emotional support of Dropout.tv, everyone’s got a streaming hill they’re willing to die on. And don’t get us started on the great Peacock price hike of 2025.
Also: the soothing joy of watching overgrown lawns get mowed on YouTube. Seriously, it’s a thing.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.--- Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter by visiting https://patreon.com/southgeek!
Explicit
Transcribed
12 JUN 2025 · This week on SouthGeek News, we’re not entirely sure which episode number this is (19-ish?), but Donovan and Ben bravely press on without Samuel, who’s out for this one. The guys kick things off with a recap of Apple’s WWDC, where Apple Intelligence still isn’t quite intelligent, iOS 26 looks suspiciously like Windows Vista with Liquid Glass, and the iPad continues its identity crisis as a wannabe MacBook. Ben also discovers the joy of trying to find the Do Not Disturb button on a Mac—because apparently "it just works"... after a treasure hunt. They then marvel at Amazon dropping $10 billion on a rural North Carolina data center that will create a whopping 500 jobs (math is hard). Richmond County is about to get faster internet and maybe an upgraded water system—all so Alexa can work on her Southern accent. The conversation shifts to Ukraine’s remarkable drone strike, which used open-source software (ArduPilot) and hobbyist drones to wipe out a third of Russia’s strategic bombers. Kamikaze pilots of yore are somewhere in the afterlife shaking their heads. Next up is the saga of Builder.ai, an "AI-powered" app builder that actually relied on 700 human engineers and some creative bookkeeping. If this reminds you of Theranos with less blood and more code, you’re not alone. Microsoft then promises that Windows 11 will finally clear up USB-C confusion—because in 2025, it’s apparently still a mystery which port will charge your laptop and which will only power your mouse. Finally, the crew tackles the baffling news that Elon Musk’s XAI is forking over $300 million to integrate Grok into Telegram. The guys ponder why anyone needs AI-generated stickers in their private chats, and whether Grok even likes its own creator. Donovan and Ben also share tales of flying out of Valdosta, airport parking chaos, USB-C headaches, and the eternal question of why DisplayPort isn’t more popular. And remember: if you’ve got thoughts, gripes, or your own tech turds to polish, you can drop the team a line at podcast@southgeeknews.com or leave a voicemail at southgeeknews.com/voicemail.
Links
https://apnews.com/article/amazon-north-carolina-data-center-jobs-338bef3890bb61159e1b6bedfd2efbb5
https://www.404media.co/ukraines-massive-drone-attack-was-powered-by-open-source-software/
https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/builderai-used-700-engineers-in-india-for-coding-work-it-marketed-as-ai-powered-after-hype-now-goes-bust-2734963-2025-06-03
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsoft-promises-it-is-ending-usb-c-port-confusion-with-updated-windows-11-certified-program?utm_term=6D51811A-C3B1-4846-8F3E-C1CE69E4BA57&lrh=7a50a173a08d2597920a34713f93a3e56c8fd22a38551db19de66b5ded6ecea4&utm_campaign=2F4928DB-7559-479A-B06E-4801050D48B1&utm_medium=email&utm_content=8C5189CD-3C8D-4FD9-B546-C380A61B0510&utm_source=SmartBrief%3E
https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/28/xai-to-pay-300m-in-telegram-integrate-grok-into-app/
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.--- Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/southgeek-news--6576669/support.
Where to Find Us:
- https://southgeeknews.com/
- Leave a voicemail: https://voicecast.app/sgn
- Donovan: https://linktr.ee/donovanadkisson
- Sam: http://tscn.tv/ // @tscnsam on socials
- Ben: https://www.instagram.com/mythatlookstasty/ / https://x.com/42flows
---Podcast theme music by https://transistor.fm/?via=music.---
Want an ad free version? Become a supporter by visiting https://patreon.com/southgeek!
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Join Southern IT experts Donovan Adkisson and Ben Rehberg, along with occasional guest speakers, as they break down the latest in technology in a straightforward, relatable way for everyday listeners.
Information
| Author | Donovan Adkisson |
| Organization | Tifton Media Works |
| Categories | Tech News , Technology |
| Website | www.spreaker.com |
| southgeeknews@gmail.com |
Copyright 2026 - Spreaker Inc. an iHeartMedia Company
