This week on ConCast, Ash, Little Beard, and Cookie go full throttle on geek culture. They recap San Diego Comic Con’s biggest trailers, including Peacemaker and Spinal Tap 2, and dive deep into Ash’s shiny new $300 Elegoo Centauri 3D printer that’s performing as well as machines 4x the cost. The trio debates the Visa/MasterCard Steam debacle, celebrates Crunchyroll’s new anime theater initiative, and ponders the return of parody movies. Plus, plenty of love for Terry Pratchett, Tim Curry, and those chaotic internet corners where Rule 34 lives. Also: Muppets, Klingon K-Pop, and cosplay collectibles.

This week on ConCast, Ash, Little Beard, and Cookie are joined by Buddy from the Bawdy Buccaneers in a full-blown Ren Fest reunion that dives into everything from embarrassing smoker show stories to the rise of AI-generated VFX in Hollywood. We Geekgasam over tricorders, the secret life of Elmo’s Twitter, and the fine line between fan fiction and lawsuits. Come for the chaos, stay for the corn jokes and watermelons.

This week on ConCast, we’re joined by Angela Kearney, the mastermind behind the very first Topeka Renaissance Festival! She walks us through the wild ride of bringing an 8-year dream to life—from pirate meetups at Golden Corral to building a full-blown Ren Fest complete with jousting, Viking encampments, mermaids, and even a pole dancer in the 21+ pirate bar. We talk about the grassroots hustle, dealing with old-school gatekeepers, the creative reuse of garage sale treasures, and what it takes to make magic on a shoestring budget. Plus, as always, we wrap up with geeky news, mead talk, and toy-collector heartbreak over She-Ra Barbies.

S3E18 | Bigfoot, Ghostbusters, and Giant Spiders: The Con Report!

Ash and Little Beard are back, tired but full of stories after a packed weekend of events. The episode kicks off with some fun banter about Bigfoot vlogs and Ash’s latest weird TikTok algorithm obsession: Stick Nation.

The crew gives a rundown of their weekend adventures:

• McConnellCon – A surprisingly packed six-hour military base convention, with free signed memorabilia from Darth Vader actor Spencer Wilding and R2D2 actor Jimmy Vee (Little Beard hilariously blanked on the name mid-show).
  Highlights included a chaotic Dirty Smoker show moment where R2D2 "fought" Darth Vader onstage—an unscripted con memory that stole the show.

• Big Game Market – Over 200 vendors, great food, and a good crowd despite the heat. Little Beard encountered a disgruntled attendee who mistakenly blamed the Scallywags for a prior bad show (turns out another group used their name as a scapegoat).

Geekgasms of the week included:

• Little Beard’s new lightweight 1984 Ghostbusters proton pack (with future smoke and sound mods planned).

• Ash discovering PCBWay’s open-source project hub and cheap ways to replicate expensive brewery hydrometers.

Tech & Geek News included:

• Amazon testing humanoid delivery robots.

• Melbourne researchers advancing toward an HIV functional cure.

• OpenAI models resisting shutdown commands (!).

• AI-powered weapon detection at hospitals.

• Superpower.com – a new AI-driven personal health platform aiming to optimize longevity and wellness.

• Researchers successfully gene-editing spiders to produce fluorescent red silk—raising both scientific promise and giant-spider horror movie vibes.

The show wrapped with some playful discussion about AI's risks, mocap trends, and Eight-Legged Freaks vs. Arachnophobia. Ash also teased upcoming events including the Topeka Ren Faire and Anime Fest Wichita.

In this lively episode, Ash, Little Beard, and special guest Jon Pic delve into upcoming conventions, geek culture, and some wild AI developments. Ash reveals his family's surprising Mayflower lineage and geekgasm-worthy 3D printed "Most Important Machine in the Universe." Jon shares insights into organizing McConnell Con, a military-focused convention that bridges Wichita’s geek community with Airmen and their families. Topics include 3D printing trophies, AI-generated video content, cosplay contest prizes, and upcoming guests like Spencer Wilding and Scott Innes. The crew also debates the new Harry Potter series casting and the AI-fueled future of pop culture. Expect laughs, behind-the-scenes banter, and a healthy dose of fandom love.

Ash and Little Beard kick off the episode reminiscing about their custom podcast intro music and how AI tools like Suno are reshaping creative work. The duo dives deep into the chaos of AI-generated fake trailers, especially surrounding Spider-Man Noir, and reflect on the challenges of identifying real content online. They preview and analyze trailers for Superman, Peacemaker, and Spider-Man Noir, discussing concerns over bloated casts, tone inconsistencies, and James Gunn's creative control.

This week on ConCast, Ash andLittle Beard dive into the biggest geek and nerd news for May 2025! We’re talking about Disney’s new villain-themed musical ride, Comic-Con expanding to Spain (with Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom!), and OpenAI taking a swing at the social media world. Plus, we spotlight the Slate Truck—an EV straight outta a minimalist’s dream—and celebrate the brightest breakthroughs in futurism: fusion power, dolphin translators, biodegradable pacemakers, and more!

We also share updates from the winery, 3D printing triumphs and tragedies, a potential He-Man casting catastrophe, and why Wichita’s Riverfest button might be giving us AI-induced headaches.

In this week’s episode, Ash and Little Beard plow through a deluge of new trailers—including Fantastic Four: First Steps, Toxic Avenger, Thunderbolts, Predator: Badlands, and more. We rant about cosplay boot prices, con guest burnout, nostalgia overload, and why Galactus might need a zoning permit in Manhattan. We also serve up fresh geek news on Critical Role’s publishing empire, Star Wars: Starfighter with Ryan Gosling, and YouTube’s 20th birthday. Bonus: tales of stripper boots and the great White Castle Kansas conundrum.