Is the 21st century already spoken for? As America rage-scrolls while the lights flicker, China’s building the future – faster, cheaper, and smarter. Today, we track the global shift in power, influence, and innovation and ask whether the “Chinese Century” is already underway.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

BETT

EDUtech Asia

DeepSeek

LM Arena Leaderboard

StepFun

Zhipu AI

01 AI

Baichuan AI

Google Labs — Project Genie

Why People are Freaking Out About Clawdbot | Matt Wolfe

Martingale Betting Strategy | Wikipedia

On This Day… 1776 | Official trailer

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/02/03/the-chinese-century/

Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170

RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

We’re rewinding to January 21st, 2025—a moment when AGI buzz, agentic systems, and AI-fueled job fears collided in what we dubbed the Trifecta of Chaos. If you missed it the first time or just need a refresher, this episode captures the tension, hype, and questions that defined the start of a wild AI year. Buckle up—it’s chaos, remastered.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Wes Roth: Claude Hires a Darkweb ‘Hitman’
https://youtu.be/f5OrAJX7ukY?si=dxhJPvbuh1iNTb3O

Why agents are the next frontier of generative AI
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/why-agents-are-the-next-frontier-of-generative-ai

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/01/27/episode-rewind-trifecta-of-chaos/

Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170

RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

Time’s tight but the AI news avalanche won’t wait — in this mini-episode, we hit you with the week’s wildest stories, from humanoid robots getting brains to chatbots refilling your meds. RAINA, Larry, and Chris break it all down fast and fierce. Think of it as a flurry of future-shock — short, sharp, and slightly unhinged.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

SleepFM (Stanford) — “predict disease risk while you sleep”

Doctronic — Utah AI prescription refill pilot

ChatGPT Health (OpenAI)

Unitree Robotics

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/01/20/mini-news-avalanche/

Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170

RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

CES 2026 just wrapped, and we’re diving into the wildest, weirdest, and most jaw-dropping AI trends from the biggest tech show on Earth. From reasoning robots to fridges with feelings — and a few total flops — RAINA, Larry, and Chris break it all down in this bite-sized episode. Short on time, big on insight.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

CES

Michael Hedges

Boston Dynamics Atlas | 60 Minutes video

LG CLOiD Robot at CES

Unitree G1 Humanoid Robot

Mac Studio Mini Cluster running LLMs | jakkuh

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/01/13/ces-x-ai/

Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170

RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

2025 was peak sci-fi fever dream, and we’ve got the receipts. In this year-end episode, we dive into deepfake scandals, humanoid robots taking center stage, and the rise of agentic AI—with hot takes from our illustrious guests. Come for the chaos, stay for the Dark RAINA origin story.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

The Creative Act | Rick Rubin (book)

Adobe Podcast | Enhancement tools

EPISODE LINKS

E83: AI: Love, Hate, Repeat

E87: Sentient Cephalopods

E93: The Dead Internet Theory

E95: RAINA’s Suno Jukebox

E102: Serkan Gür

E102: Palantir

E116: Gemini 3

GUEST LINKS

Serkan Gür | Youtube Channel

Dr. Laura Boccanfuso | Smart Robot Tutor

Dr. Marina Badillo-Diaz | LinkedIn

Vivek Mahapatra | LinkedIn

PODCAST INFO

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2026/01/06/raina-spins-up-2025s-ai-hits/

Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170

RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

In this rewind, Larry and Chris go from tinkering to full-on A.I. producing with Suno V4, the text-to-music tool that turned old demos into something cosmic. From studio confessions to a track inspired by the life cycle of stars, this one’s a love letter to music, memory, and machine-made magic.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Suno
http://suno.com

Fadr
https://fadr.com

12 Days of OpenAI
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOXw6I10VTv9lin5AzsHAHCTrC7BdVdEM&si=j3MQI6xh3A84MlXO

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/12/30/episode-rewind-suno-obsessed/

Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170

RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

This episode closes out the year with ChatGPT 5.2 front and center, as the tools get sharper, the breakthroughs sneakier, while the pace refuses to slow down. We zoom out, take stock of how fast things moved in 2025, and poke at what it all means heading into 2026—along with a few classic Up Against Reality detours. It’s the last ride of the year, and the future is still very much in the driver’s seat.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Arte Museum

LM Arena

ChatGPT 5.2

GPT 5.2 is the first human labor replacement | Wes Roth

AI-generated images mentioned in this episode

Meta SAM Audio Model

Adobe Podcast Enhance

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/12/23/chatgpt-5-2/

Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170

RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality

Originally aired May 7, 2024, this rewind explores what makes us human in a world increasingly shaped by AI. From ancient inventions to future fears, it’s a thoughtful (and occasionally hilarious) celebration of creativity, resilience, and yes—beer.

LINKS:

Man interviews an AI deepfake clone of himself

Chatbot Arena

Apple OpenELM

China Unveils Vidu: A Powerful Text-to-Video Generator

BionicBee: Autonomous flying in a swarm

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast Website:
UpAgainstReality.com

Episode link:
https://upagainstreality.com/2025/12/16/episode-rewind-oh-the-humanity/

Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/up-against-reality/id1689699654

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/29wpR2Uf0d19FjTH2QubcD?si=a6359f9aa1964170

RSS:
upagainstreality.com/feed/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/upagainstreality