The Cave Project – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Cave Project

Jenny and Greg Swan

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Frequency: 1 episode/35d. Total Eps: 22

Join Jenny and Greg Swan and delve into the shadows with “The Cave Project,” a podcast exploring the nuance of our modern-day reality and the tension of our technological future. Each episode, we navigate the realms of futurism and humanism, dissecting societal constructs, work, parenting, marriage, and inviting insightful guests to help us challenge the everyday shadows on the wall. Join us as we seek enlightenment beyond the cave and venture into the world of ideas and compassion. Discover, debate, and lean into the future. With love. That’s what it’s all about.

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Data updated on 14/07/2026

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https://thecaveproject.substack.com/
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https://thecaveproject.substack.com/p/the-cave-projects-black-friday-must
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http://thecaveproject.substack.com
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https://www.instagram.com/the.cave.project
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https://www.youtube.com/@The.Cave.Project

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Score global : 28%

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This Is How Reality Ends: Not With a Bang, But a Bunny on a Trampoline

Thursday, November 13, 2025 • Duration 01:19:56

Are we absolutely sure that what we’re seeing is even real?

In this episode, we dig into the increasingly blurry line between real and fake online—from AI-generated bunny videos to deepfakes of ourselves, and the billion-dollar platforms that are encouraging all of it. We explore how tech companies like Meta and OpenAI are normalizing synthetic content at scale and what that means for trust, identity, and the future of human connection.

This isn’t a “look what AI can do” episode. It’s a conversation about what it’s already doing—to our feeds, our friendships, and our sense of reality.

Along the way, we talk about:

🐰 Why that bunny-on-a-trampoline video might be the end of the internet
🎭 How deepfakes are shifting from creepy to commonplace
📉 The death of real content in algorithm-driven feeds
🔓 The risks of uploading your face and voice to AI tools
🚫 Why “don’t share it if it feels weird” might be your best defense
🧠 What brain science says about why we fall for fakes—and how to fight it
👀 How to protect yourself (and your kids) in an era of hyperreal lies
🔧 What the tech bros aren’t telling us about the future they’re building

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This Feels Bad, Because It Is Bad: When the Internet Is Too Much

Friday, September 12, 2025 • Duration 01:09:23

Are we all just… not okay?

In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan unpack the emotional and digital overwhelm of the past few weeks — from political violence and algorithmic trauma to school shootings and the unbearable pressure to post through it all.

They dig into the cultural churn, social media's emotional toll, and the growing desire to simply log off. This isn’t a hot take. It’s a human one.

Along the way, they talk about:

🌀 When the algorithm trains you, not the other way around
📱 Why muting, unfollowing, or pausing your feed is not failure — it’s survival
🧒 How to talk to your kids about scary things without transferring your own panic
🧠 The mental load of being extremely online right now
🤖 Why “everyone’s yelling” energy is contagious — and how to break the cycle
🛑 What not to post, even when you’re mad
🧍‍♀️ The power of asking real people real questions — instead of subtweeting them
⚠️ Gentle reminder: You don’t have to become the dumpster fire you see online

This episode is for anyone feeling off, overwhelmed, or overexposed. The internet is a tool . Not a place you have to live. Take care of your brain. Then come back when you're ready.

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Are We Being Mean to Robots? The Rise of ‘Clankers,’ AI Slurs, and the Ethics of Punching Down

Wednesday, July 30, 2025 • Duration 41:36

Are we being mean to robots? Is it just internet snark or the start of something deeper and more dangerous?

In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan explore the sudden rise of “clanker” as an anti-robot slur. They dig into whether discrimination toward AI is harmless fun, a new moral frontier, or just a mirror reflecting how we treat anything with less power than us (including each other).

Along the way they unpack science fiction, Star Wars lore, power dynamics, Ray Kurzweil’s predictions, and why your Roomba probably deserves a little more respect.

🤖 What “clanker” actually means and where it came from (thanks, Clone Wars)
🧠 Why people are projecting emotions onto robots — and then getting mad at them
🪞 The ethics of punching down and what it says about us as humans
🧼 How to be nice to your robot vacuum and why it matters more than you think
🧩 The Singularity, sentience, and whether AI slurs could become digital abuse
🔧 “NPCs,” “meat puppets,” and the language we use to dehumanize each other
🏆 WWOPD: What Would Optimus Prime Do?

This convo will have you rethinking how you talk to Alexa, your self-checkout kiosk, and maybe even your toaster. Because in the future, kindness might be the most human thing we’ve got.

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The future isn’t neutral. Let’s figure it out together. 🚀

Is ChatGPT Making Us Dumb or Are the Headlines?

Tuesday, July 8, 2025 • Duration 47:35

Did an MIT paper really prove that ChatGPT is scrambling our brains? Or did 54 Boston adults + a flashy press push just scramble the headlines?

In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan tear into the now-viral “Your Brain on ChatGPT” study. Along the way they tackle moral panics, blue-book nostalgia, and why blaming tech is easier than changing how we teach, parent, and work.

We unpack:

📰 Headline vs. homework – why you can’t stop at the title
🧠 EEG ≠ ESP – what brain-scan spikes really don’t tell u
📉 Correlation, causation & tiny sample sizes – stats teachers everywhere weep
📚 Blue books are back? – the “pens only” classroom backlash
🛠️ AI as calculator 2.0 – tooling up instead of dumbing down
🚸 Moral panics through history – from radios to Roblox
🏆 How to actually teach (and learn) with ChatGPT – prompts, policies, and personal responsibility

This convo will leave you side-eyeing every “AI is ruining humanity” tweet—and maybe crafting a healthier relationship with the robots and your own brain.

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The future isn’t neutral. Let’s figure it out together. 🚀

AI Is About to Invade the Toy Box

Thursday, July 3, 2025 • Duration 44:57

What happens when Barbie gets a large-language-model brain? Jenny and Greg Swan crack open Mattel’s new deal with OpenAI and take you on a 50-year joyride through “smart” toys—from the Speak & Spell to Teddy Ruxpin to the Furby that the NSA literally banned.

Then they unbox Gabo, a $99 GPT-powered plushie, and see if its kid-safe guardrails can survive three teenagers and Greg’s hacker heart.

Spoiler: dying batteries used to be the creepy part—now it’s data, subscriptions, and whether your toddler’s teddy is secretly on 5 G.

In this episode:

🧸 Speak & Spell → Teddy Ruxpin → Furby → Hello Barbie: how each wave of tech freaked parents out in its own way

🤖 Live demo: Gabo the plush robot tells tiger tales, speaks Spanish (¡mono!), and politely refuses to gossip about Jenny

🔒 COPPA, content filters, and why “guardrails are the new batteries”

💸 $99 vs. monthly doll-brain fees—will parents revolt?

🚀 What Mattel’s AI toys could look like under the 2025 tree (and why offline models might be the real MVP)

It’s not about making toys talk—it’s about helping kids stay human while they play.

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The future isn’t neutral. Let’s figure it out together. 🚀

Why Tech Needs More Whimsy, with Guest Dr. AnnMarie Thomas

Monday, June 23, 2025 • Duration 48:32

What if joy, whimsy, and surprise weren’t distractions—but design principles?
In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan sit down with educator, engineer, and deep sea explorer Dr. AnnMarie Thomas to talk about the power of play—and why we all need more of it.

AnnMarie has helped LEGO invent new tools for learning, collaborated with the band OK Go to create STEM curriculum, and taught college students how to build circuses to teach physics. She's also a recovering professor who walked away from tenure to rethink how we learn, create, and live.

In this episode, we unpack:🎈 What real play looks like (hint: it’s not pizza parties and ping pong tables)
🧠 Why Minecraft might be the best teamwork training Gen Alpha ever gets
🎭 How surprise rewires our brains—and why we need more of it in tech
📚 What even counts as “technology,” and why our definition is way too narrow
🤖 Whether innovation is actually being crushed by productivity culture

This conversation had us rethinking everything from AI to ice cream. If you’ve ever wondered how to stay creative in a hyper-optimized world, or why whimsy still matters, this one's for you.

🪄 It’s not about being silly for the sake of it. It’s about being human.

🔥 Follow & Subscribe for More Tech, Culture & Chaos:

The future isn’t neutral. Let’s figure it out together. 🚀

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Innovating Our Relationship

Sunday, June 1, 2025 • Duration 01:19:21

Jenny and Greg Swan have been married five times—to each other. In this raw and funny episode, they unpack how tech, therapy, and shared calendars helped them redesign their relationship instead of ending it.

It’s not about making it work. It’s about making it work better.

🔥 Follow & Subscribe for More Tech, Culture & Chaos:
📖 Subscribe on Substack📺 Watch on YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram

The future isn’t neutral. Let’s figure it out together. 🚀

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The Busy Trap

Saturday, May 17, 2025 • Duration 58:24

Everyone says they’re busy. But what does that even mean anymore? In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan dig into the cultural chaos of “The Busy Trap”—from calendar overload and contaminated time to why canceled plans are basically a love language. Inspired by Tim Kreider’s now 13-year-old viral essay, they ask: what if being busy isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to navigate—with intention? If you’ve ever answered “How are you?” with a sigh and a rundown of your to-do list, this one’s for you.

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🤠 SXSW 2025: Anxiety, AI, and the Future We’re Choosing

Season 2 · Episode 9

Thursday, March 20, 2025 • Duration 01:28:51

South by Southwest 2025 just wrapped, and this year wasn’t just about what’s next in tech—it was about how much of it we’re actually okay with. AI chatbots are getting really personal. Deepfake fraud is up 2137%. Social media is broken (again). And even the people building the future are freaking out.

In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan unpack:
🤖 AI’s existential crisis—Is it a tool for human flourishing or the beginning of the end?
📱 Social media’s identity crisis—BlueSky, the Fediverse, and why no one trusts anything anymore.
🎭 Deepfake scams are here—Why you need a family password, like, yesterday.
😰 Tech anxiety is real—Even the nerds at SXSW are feeling it.

The big question: If we expect the future to be a disaster, do we make it one? Or can we actually shape what’s next?

🔥 Follow & Subscribe for More Tech, Culture & Chaos:
📬 Subscribe on Substack
📺 Watch on YouTube
📸 Follow on Instagram

The future isn’t neutral. Let’s figure it out together. 🚀

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📺 The Free TV That Watches You Back: A Telly Experiment

Season 2 · Episode 8

Thursday, February 27, 2025 • Duration 01:04:27

This week, Jenny and Greg Swan put their living room (and their personal data) on the line in the name of science. Meet Telly—a free 55-inch TV that comes with a mandatory second screen running ads 24/7. The catch? If you unplug it, move it, or refuse to connect it to WiFi, you get charged $1,000. Welcome to the future, where even your TV is tracking you.

🤝 Free Isn’t Free

Social media already monetizes our every move, but what happens when your television starts doing the same? Jenny and Greg break down the trade-offs of a free device that doubles as a consumer behavior experiment.

📢 The Ads Are… Not Great

From gas station job postings to medical scooters, the Telly’s ad targeting is chaotic at best. If you’re going to force ads into our home, at least make them relevant, right?

👀 The Bigger Question: Is This Our Future?

What happens when this model expands? A free fridge that won’t open until you watch an oat milk ad? A free Tesla that plays insurance commercials at red lights? Where’s the line between an acceptable value exchange and full-on surveillance capitalism?

Jenny’s biggest complaint? The TV is too small for football. Greg’s biggest takeaway? This is just the beginning. Would you take a free TV in exchange for your data?

Hit play to hear the full breakdown, and if you’re going to SXSW next month, let’s meet up! We’ve got stickers (which, we promise, do not serve you ads).

📩 Subscribe for more tech, culture, and existential dilemmas → thecaveproject.substack.com

The Cave Project – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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The Cave Project – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Substack3

Instagram1

Youtube2

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Substack3

Instagram1

Youtube2