AwesomeCast 783: Road Trip Tech, World Cup Culture Shock, Strong Museum, and Gemini Pro
AwesomeCast is back on the road! Sorg and Katie check in from Michigan while covering another motorsports trip, Dave Podnar joins from the Pod Cave, and Missy keeps the studio running back in Pittsburgh.
The episode opens with a very travel-season AwesomeCast vibe: Airbnb couches, road setups, remote production, and a little chaos from making a podcast happen across multiple locations.
Dave kicks things off with one of the most fun side effects of the World Cup: international fans discovering everyday American culture. From Walmart and Waffle House to Costco, Bucky’s, ranch dressing, yellow school buses, and oversized portions, the crew talks about how visitors from around the world are reacting to things Americans take for granted.
Sorg and Katie also share their own travel surprise: stumbling into a World Cup watch party at Niagara Falls. With big screens, fans, fireworks, and the falls lit up at night, it became one of those unexpected road trip moments that makes the whole detour worthwhile.
Katie’s awesome thing of the week is a 26th-floor IHOP overlooking Niagara Falls. It is exactly as strange and amazing as it sounds: pancakes, crepes, tourist pricing, and one of the best breakfast views imaginable. By night, the same space apparently transforms into a steakhouse.
For Pride Month, Dave highlights Sophie Wilson, a computing pioneer connected to ARM processor architecture. The crew talks about how ARM powers so many of the devices people use today, including phones, Macs, and more modern computing hardware.
Chachi checks in with the Video Game Minute, covering Crazy Taxi, Ocarina of Time, TMNT: The Last Ronin, Marvel’s Wolverine, a record-breaking Super Mario Bros. auction, and Tupac’s unusual upcoming appearance in Stranger Than Heaven.
The road trip continues with Sorg and Katie’s visit to the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. They explore the Video Game Hall of Fame, giant Donkey Kong, Oregon Trail, Street Fighter, Sonic, Sesame Street, Peanuts, Hello Kitty, Dungeons & Dragons, board games, and interactive exhibits. They also visit Nerdvana, a restaurant where you can play Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, or board games right at the table.
Dave brings a clever automotive tech story about Ford hiding a QR code in the camouflage of a prototype electric pickup. Since people are already taking spy photos of camouflaged vehicles, Ford turned that attention into an interactive marketing moment.
Finally, Sorg talks about discovering Google Gemini Pro access through his Google storage plan. That leads to a conversation about Gemini, ChatGPT, Google Forms automation, vibe coding, AI-assisted app development, and how AI tools are being bundled into services many people already pay for.
It is a travel-heavy, tech-heavy, very AwesomeCast kind of episode.
