10 chapters across the catalog
Adam Curry shares the history of founding MTV.com in 1993 using a Gopher server and his early email exchange with Marc Andreessen regarding the Mosaic browser. The discussion shifts to the future of finance under Trump, with Curry speculating that stablecoins like Tether could be used as a "money printing system" backed by U.S. Treasuries.
Tim Walz, School Shooters Flub and Michigan Game
Tim Walz faced mockery for a verbal slip during the debate where he claimed to have "become friends with school shooters." The hosts also discuss Walz being booed at a University of Michigan football game while representing the Minnesota Gophers. Jason Miller's CNN interview regarding Walz's "goofy" public persona is reviewed.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has issued warnings about a potential "cyber pandemic" that could spread ten times faster than COVID-19, necessitating a total internet disconnect. This warning is framed alongside a retrospective on the early internet, including the Gopher protocol and the commercialization of domain names like MTV.com. The hosts argue that the centralization of the internet has allowed elites to exert more power through propaganda and control.
Adam Curry Refutes Minnesota Post Gopher Article
The Minnesota Post published an article about the Gopher Protocol that Adam Curry claims is factually incorrect regarding his involvement. Curry clarifies that he wore a Gopher t-shirt on MTV not as a promotion, but as part of a legal settlement with the University of Minnesota to waive a $5,000 commercial licensing fee for his use of the software.
A retrospective on the early internet describes the registration of MTV.com and the era when AOL keywords were considered more valuable than URLs. The discussion covers failed proprietary systems like Apple's eWorld and the IBM-owned Prodigy, which ignored the burgeoning World Wide Web. Early social tools like ICQ and the CB simulator on CompuServe are credited with laying the groundwork for modern social media.
Vice President Mike Pence announced that FEMA has moved to "Level One" operational status following the enactment of the Stafford Act. The U.S.-Canada border has also been closed to non-essential travel by mutual consent between President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau. Adam Curry shares "lore" from the early 1990s regarding FEMA's "black boxes" and secure server racks in Northern Virginia.
Virtue Signaling and Internet Activism, Post-Gopher Era
The hosts discuss the rise of "virtue signaling," where individuals feel they have taken political action simply by changing a profile picture or posting a complaint online. They trace this trend back to the early days of the web and the transition from the Gopher protocol to modern browsers.
A host recounts registering MTV.com in the early 1990s and setting up a Gopher server before the World Wide Web became dominant. The University of Minnesota issued a cease-and-desist over commercial use of the Gopher software, which was settled by the host wearing a university T-shirt on-air at MTV.
University of Minnesota Gopher Server Licensing Dispute
The University of Minnesota attempted to charge a $5,000 commercial licensing fee for the use of a Gopher server hosted at MTV.com in the early 1990s. To resolve the dispute, a deal was struck where the fee was waived in exchange for a VJ wearing a University of Minnesota Gopher t-shirt on-air. This event highlighted the early friction between academic internet protocols and emerging commercial interests.
Twitter Censorship and DigiNotar Security Breach
The show concludes with a discussion of Twitter's new policy to withhold tweets in specific countries and the security compromise of DigiNotar certificate authorities. Adam Curry jokes about a "self-censorship" tweet he sent to test user reactions before the hosts sign off for the episode.
