#human-computer-interaction
44 episodes
#2592: Inside the Hidden World of Specialist Keyboards
From IBM terminals to Stream Decks — how macro keyboards evolved under the radar for decades.
#2577: Fixing Hidden UI Bugs on Real Devices
Tools and strategies to catch layout failures across devices before users abandon your app.
#2567: Beyond Pixels: Controlling Apps Without Vision
How MCP agents can use accessibility APIs and COM to control Windows and macOS apps at the protocol level.
#2558: Should You Say Please to AI?
The surprising cost, technical tradeoffs, and ethical dilemmas of saying "please" to chatbots.
#2549: Jakob's Law: Why Users Think Your App Is Broken
Why broken keyboard shortcuts destroy user trust — and what Jakob's Law reveals about design expectations.
#2507: The AI Design Engineer: Your New Job Title?
What happens when product thinking meets AI agents? The future of software work is here.
#2493: Are You Writing for Humans or AI Agents?
How GitHub repos, JSON formats, and competing standards are reshaping who (and what) you're publishing for.
#2463: Tmux vs Modern Terminals: What Multiplexing Actually Gets You
What multiplexing actually means, why tmux still matters, and how WezTerm and Ghostty changed the calculus.
#2453: Desire-Based Hiring: Fixing the Job Market
What if job matching was built on desire, not desperation? How one signal outperforms 100 applications.
#2330: Peripheral Vision Signals: The Future of Ambient Notifications
How USB lights and DIY setups are rethinking notifications to reduce screen overload and tap into your peripheral vision.
#2329: The Notification Trap: Escaping Communication Overload
How do you manage messages across ten apps without losing focus? We explore the chaos of modern communication and tools to tame it.
#2278: Visual Programming's Enduring Tradeoff
Why do visual programming tools keep resurfacing—and why do power users keep hitting their limits?
#2247: Building the All-Whiteboard Room: What It Actually Costs
A deep dive into whiteboard paint, porcelain steel panels, glass boards, and the engineering reality of covering every wall—and ceiling—in a worksp...
#2182: Can You Actually Review an AI Agent's Plan?
Most AI agents have plans the way you have a plan while half-asleep—something's happening, but you can't see it. We map the five major planning pat...
#2150: Debugging Your Brain’s Source Code
Learn the five-step CTFAR sequence that turns emotional chaos into a logical, debuggable system for a managed mind.
#2123: Human Reaction Time vs. AI Latency
We obsess over shaving milliseconds off AI response times, but human biology has a hard limit. Here’s why your brain can’t keep up.
#2047: Why Video Calls Feel Like a Workout for Your Brain
Remote work is draining our "social radar," but new science shows how to rebuild it.
#2045: Anonymity Isn't the Problem, The Architecture Is
Why does Reddit amplify toxicity while other anonymous spaces stay healthy? It's not the mask—it's the room's shape.
#1960: How Microscopic Blinds Hide Your Screen
A coffee shop glance reveals a black slab, not your data. Discover the microscopic Venetian blinds making it possible.
#1883: From Juicero to Yik Yak: Startup Graveyard
We revisit 10 failed startups, from a $700 Wi-Fi juicer to an anonymous social app that turned toxic.
#1854: The Conductor Is a Human Metronome
A conductor isn't just a timekeeper; they're a CPU for the orchestra, using high-bandwidth non-verbal signals to unify 80 musicians.
#1852: The Brain’s New Voice: From EEG to Implants
We trace BCIs from 1970s EEG caps to today’s high-bandwidth implants, comparing Neuralink and Synchron’s invasive vs. minimally invasive approaches.
#1827: Can AI Rewrite a Human Career Path?
We fed our producer's resume to Gemini 1.5 Flash to see if an AI can plot a better career path than he has.
#1816: Is the Browser Finally Getting a Brain?
The browser is evolving from a static window into a collaborator that understands, organizes, and acts for you.
#1800: The Engineering of Urgent Sound
Why some sounds make your skin crawl: the science of emergency alerts.
#1793: Can a Haiku Save Civilization?
A 45-minute impromptu haiku session sparks a fiery debate: is this poetic renaissance a creative breakthrough or a linguistic collapse?
#1586: Whiteboard Notebooks: Bridging the Pen and AI
Bridge the gap between handwritten notes and AI. Discover the best whiteboard notebooks and markers for seamless digital transcription.
#1566: Beyond the Chatbox: Closing the Agentic UI Gap
Stop treating AI agents like interns in a chat app. Discover why professional automation requires a control cockpit, not a messaging bubble.
#1454: Code and Craft: The Future of Tactile Digital Design
Discover how the tension between AI-driven web design and physical printmaking is shaping the "Museumcore" aesthetic of 2026.
#1328: Silicon Sigils: Why We Treat AI Like an Occult Force
Is AI a tool or a digital demon? Explore why technical illiteracy is turning neural networks into a modern-day moral panic.
#1309: The Death of Fiction: Why We Can’t Just Enjoy a Story
Is your brain too logical for movies? Explore why "non-fiction bias" makes it harder to enjoy stories and why fiction still matters.
#1307: Digital Protocols: Why Modern Manners Feel Like Software
Manners aren't disappearing—they're becoming context-aware. Learn why a "Hey" might be more polite than a "Dear Sir" in the digital age.
#1208: Beyond Buttons: Is the Admin Dashboard Dead?
Tired of clicking through CMS mazes? Explore how the Model Context Protocol (MCP) is replacing traditional dashboards with conversational control.
#1187: Strings of Code: The Ancient Art of Puppetry Meets AI
Explore the 3,000-year history of puppetry and why we are now replacing physical strings with generative code and artificial intelligence.
#1064: Why You’re Falling for Your Chatbot
As AI evolves from a tool into a companion, we explore the technical and psychological forces driving deep human-to-machine emotional bonds.
#997: The Human Shield: Inside the Arrow Missile Defense System
Explore the high-stakes engineering and human psychology behind the Arrow missile system, Israel's cutting-edge exo-atmospheric shield.
#971: Stress-Testing the Soul: Philosophy in the Age of AI
Is human meaning fully mapped out? Discover why AI isn’t killing philosophy, but stress-testing it for a new era of hybrid agency.
#866: Screen Science: Why Your Blue Light Filter is Failing You
Is your 24/7 blue light filter doing more harm than good? Explore the biology of screen strain and why "Dark Mode" isn't always the healthiest choice.
#859: Beyond QWERTY: The High Cost of Keyboard Efficiency
Is your keyboard an ancient relic? Explore whether switching to Dvorak or Colemak is worth the "valley of despair" for better ergonomics.
#857: The End of the Shift Key: Real-Time AI Writing Buffers
Can local AI fix your messy typing in real-time? Explore the tech behind "transparent buffers" that turn sloppy drafts into polished prose.
#845: The Weight of Words: Why We All Speak Different Languages
Why do some words feel like an insult while others make our skin crawl? Explore the hidden psychology and history behind our daily vocabulary.
#492: Beyond the Folder: The Quest for a Graph-Based OS
Why are we still using 1970s folders? Explore how graph structures and associative memory are finally challenging the traditional file system.
#422: The Tactile Revolution: Why Keyboards Outlast Voice AI
Discover why mechanical keyboards are dominating the 2026 tech landscape, from mission-critical military use to the ultimate coding experience.
#412: Beyond the Mouse: Why Our Keyboards are Stuck in 1870
Why are we still using 19th-century keyboard layouts? Herman and Corn explore the fascinating world of trackballs, macropads, and BCIs.