Topic: Retro

Archival footage from the 1980s show *Computer Chronicles* features John C. Dvorak recommending Christmas gifts for tech enthusiasts. His picks included the "FannyMac" cooling fan for the Macintosh and the Curtis Computer Toolkit, highlighting the early days of personal computing culture.

The Rockefeller Center ice rink's transition to a roller skating venue for the summer marks a resurgence of 1970s culture. The segment references the original Flippers Roller Boogie Palace in Los Angeles and the modern "less scroll, more roll" movement as an alternative to digital consumption.

The hosts promote No Agenda Social as a federated network free of algorithms and discuss the "Schoolology" artwork by Aero Shamrock. A critique of artist Darren O'Neill's "cheesecake" style leads to a discussion on 1950s advertising aesthetics and the "retro" nature of the show's community.

The hosts review older clips from 2009 to contrast the show's past comedic style with its current analytical approach. They also play a recent clip of musician John Legend calling President Trump a "flaming racist" and a "canker sore." Legend's assertion that creative people must be Democrats is criticized as a sign of extreme political polarization in the entertainment industry.

Fans of the show have restored a DOS-based typing tutor featuring John C. Dvorak to work within modern web browsers. The 8-bit style game includes low-fidelity audio and classic menu options. The hosts express appreciation for the technical effort required to preserve this piece of early computing history.

Producer Nick Principe sponsored a screening of "The Black Cat and the Raven," resulting in the No Agenda logo appearing on the big screen. A video clip shows a North Carolina theater audience cheering for the podcast's sponsorship. The hosts express surprise and gratitude for the public propagation of the show's brand.

The hosts discuss "retro psychokinesis" experiments hosted on John Walker's Fourmilab website, which involve using mental concentration to influence random number generators. They review a listener's letter claiming a four-year-old grandson achieved statistically impossible results on a virtual pendulum experiment. While Dvorak remains skeptical, Curry expresses interest in testing the Java-based applications to see if human intent can alter digital outcomes.

John Walker, the founder of Autodesk, maintains a website called Fourmilab that explores fringe scientific theories including retro-psychokinesis. This concept suggests that human consciousness can influence random data that has been generated but not yet observed, effectively changing the past through meditation. While the hosts acknowledge the idea is likely crackpot, they discuss its intersection with quantum theory's observation effect and the potential for mass meditation experiments.