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