Rather than another lengthy run through the unpleasant headlines of the week, we are here with a more ruminative discussion about whether the relationships that have been strained by The Trumppening have a chance of being mended when it finally comes to an end. We also talk about a social network for AIs, and what it means to engage with purely arbitrary content created with no intention beyond pattern matching. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — Groundhogs of various bigotries
5:09 — A visit with old friends; Abe goes to MJ: The Musical; Jason Statham gets the AMC crowd all riled up
21:48 — What will a post-Trumppening look like?
52:52 — Moltbook, the social network for AIs, and how arbitrary content consumed purely individually breaks human brains
1:22:41 — Did CBS News’ Senior National Correspondent Mark Strassmann Get Off a Good One?
1:31:54 — Wrap-up! Shelter; Send Help

Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.

The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.

CIB has tunneled through enough ice and snow to record another spectacular episode of the only podcast, and within you will find our discussion of the killing of Alex Pretti by CBP officers and also a couple of football games, because America! Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — Lots of weather happened!
22:36 — Alex Pretti killed by CBP in Minnesota
1:29:35 — Cast Iron Balls: Conference championship games recap; Andruw Jones to the HoF, Belichick forced to wait a year
1:46:11 — Wrap-up! Mercy; Shoresy; The Chair Company; The Avengers

Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.

The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.

College football and NATO are basically the same, and Donald Trump and Fernando Mendoza are basically the same. That’s your summary! Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — Abe in the World, podcasting finally getting the recognition it deserves
7:32 — Trump in Davos
1:09:10 — Cast Iron Balls! NFL games recap
1:20:19 — Indiana beats Miami
1:54:41 — Wrap-up!

Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.

The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.

This week we’re here to discuss the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer last week, because you can never have too much of that, apparently. And on the way out, reviews of Greenland 2 and a quick game of FMK, HP6 Edition. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — …as it all falls apart.
8:45 — Minnesota ICE shooting
54:43 — Trump’s NYT interview
1:15:10 — Ever so briefly on Iran
1:20:47 — Wrap-up! Greenland 2; Harry Potter 6; Gay Hockey Show

Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.

The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.

It was a long weekend of spectacular playoff football action, and we’re here to yap about it all and ask important questions, like “hey maybe Justin Herbert is a dummy.” Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — Abe Live-Bets the Games!
7:39 — College Football Playoff semifinals recap
33:41 — NFL Wildcard Weekend
52:23 — 2025 CIB Football Pick ‘em Contest
53:39 — Wrap-up!

Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.

The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.

Something really weird happened on late Saturday night, and we’re here to try to talk our way through it. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — Too old and misshapen for the slopes, and a brief run-in with a Buc-ee’s
10:00 — NYE TV Chucklefuckery
16:55 — Venezuela’s President Maduro Dark Knight-ed to the US
1:18:40 — Wrap-up! We Bury the Dead; Oblivion; Wake Up Dead Man

Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.

The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.

Cast Iron Balls is finally here nearly a week later to recap the CFP quarterfinals and look ahead to the semis. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — Abe among the fellow hairless
5:50 — Recapping the CFP quarterfinals
41:41 — 2025 CIB Football Pick ‘em Game
1:02:10 — Wrap-up!

Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.

The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.

Following the lead of our sibling podcast—the much-awarded and world-renowned The Biffler—Cast Iron Brains has decided to do a year-end wrap-up show with absolute disregard for the time and patience of our audience. Instead of breaking things up into manageable episodes you might actually want to listen to, here’s an episode about the upcoming college football playoff games, the news of the year, our new year’s resolutions, and Mario Kart World Tour. Enjoy? Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it by joining the conversation on our Substack or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!

Show Rundown
Open — Inspired by The Biffler to speak interminably with neither discretion nor regard
5:18 — Cast Iron Balls! It’s Time for Sports! The Pop-Tarts Bowl, UVA vs Mizzou, CIB Pick ‘em Contest, CFP preview
37:32 — Our Bogus Future; The internet is overrun with AI slop, and resolutions to deal with that
1:25:30 — Pop Quiz, Hotshot! 2025 News Recap Edition!
1:46:55 — “Notably Dead” or “Still Quite Alive, How Dare You?”
2:03:19 — America’s Favorite Game Show: Did CBS News’s Senior National Correspondent Mark Strassmann Get Off a Good One?
2:11:49 — Wrap-up! Marty Supreme; Mario Kart World Tour

Relevant Linkage can be found by visiting https://brainiron.substack.com/, where, if you would like to support this and the other podcasting and blogging endeavors of the Brain Iron dot com media empire, you can also become a paying subscriber.

The opening and closing themes of Cast Iron Balls were composed by Marc Gillig. For more from Marc, go to tetramermusic.com.