Just in time for Halloween, Kevin Cirilli takes flight into the shadows with Dr. Nitin Sanket, assistant professor of robotics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute — whose lab is building tiny flying robots that navigate like bats. Forget broomsticks and ghosts — these real-life “bat bots” use sound and echolocation to find people trapped in smoke, fog, or darkness, where human rescuers — and even drones — can’t see. Funded by the National Science Foundation, Dr. Sanket’s team is designing ultra-light, sound-guided robots powered by AI that can swarm into collapsed buildings, wildfires, or disaster zones — navigating purely through sound, like a colony of digital bats. Kevin and Dr. Sanket explore how nature’s oldest flyers are inspiring the next generation of autonomous rescue tech, what it means for the future of disaster response, and why these “creatures of the night” might just become heroes of the light.

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What Are We Betting On Next? Kevin Cirilli sits down with Dustin Gouker, one of America’s leading experts on sports betting and the former Vice President of Content for North America at Catena Media, to explore how gambling has become a defining part of modern sports culture — and where it’s now crossing the line. As news breaks that NBA figures including Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier have been arrested in alleged Mafia-linked betting and game-fixing schemes, Kevin and Dustin examine what this moment says about the multi-billion-dollar legal sports-wagering industry. From fantasy leagues to real-time micro-bets on who scores next, the rise of mobile betting has turned fans into participants — and every play into a potential payout. But as AI, analytics, and inside data blur the boundary between prediction and manipulation, what happens to the integrity of the game itself? Is this the new frontier of entertainment — or proof that the digital gambling boom has outpaced its safeguards? This is the high-stakes, high-speed future of fandom — and the biggest integrity test in modern sports.

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In this episode, Kevin Cirilli welcomes Max Haot, CEO of Vast, to explore how space could change the future of medicine — and even life itself. As Haven-1 nears launch, Vast and its partners are preparing to conduct cutting-edge biomedical experiments in orbit, from stem-cell research to growing human organs in microgravity. Without Earth’s pull, cells form more complex structures — opening the door to breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, cancer treatment, and tissue engineering. Kevin and Max discuss why the first commercial space station might double as the world’s most advanced biotech lab, how collaboration with NASA and Redwire Space is shaping this new frontier, and what happens when humanity learns not just to live — but to heal — in space.

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Kevin Cirilli welcomes back Dr. Ed Lu, Executive Director of the Asteroid Institute and veteran NASA astronaut, to discuss a headline straight out of Armageddon: should we use nuclear weapons to stop an asteroid — not from hitting Earth, but the Moon? A team of scientists, including NASA researchers, has floated the idea of nuking an asteroid that poses a small threat of colliding with the Moon in 2032. Kevin and Ed explore the science, ethics, and strategy behind this audacious plan — and what it reveals about humanity’s growing power to reshape, and defend, our place in the cosmos.

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Adjunct Artificial Intelligence Policy Advisor Chloe Autio joins Kevin Cirilli to talk about the rise of “AI slop” — the wave of low-quality, machine-generated content flooding our feeds. From auto-written headlines to algorithmic art, originality is being replaced by imitation. But maybe the real threat isn’t that AI is taking our jobs — it’s that we’re letting it take our imagination. Kevin and Chloe explore what “Original Intelligence” means, how artists and educators can fight back, and why staying human might be the most radical act of all.

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Kevin Cirilli sits down with Max Haot, CEO of Vast, the company racing to launch Haven-1 — which aims to be the world’s first private space station. Scheduled for liftoff in May 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, Haven-1 is designed not as a luxury hotel but as humanity’s first true commercial habitat in orbit: a compact, human-centered station with private sleeping pods, Starlink internet, and a science lab for groundbreaking research. A conversation about innovation, ambition, and what it means to design a future that can actually sustain life off-world.

Learn more about Max's work at Vast

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Jeff Burningham, author of The Last Book Written by a Human: Becoming Wise in the Age of AI, joins host Kevin Cirilli to explore how artificial intelligence mirrors the human mind. Is AI reflecting our creativity and compassion—or our fear and bias? Together, they unpack what this technology says about who we are and who we’re becoming, and how that reflection might help us grow wiser in the age of machines.

Purchase Jeff's NEW Book HERE

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Kevin Cirilli welcomes Chloe Autio to unpack how AI is reshaping the way we learn — and maybe even the way we think. In a world where students use ChatGPT to write essays faster than teachers can grade them, is curiosity dying, or just evolving? Kevin and Chloe dive into the politics of AI in classrooms, the ethics of “study buddies that never sleep,” and what happens when prompting replaces questioning. A fast, funny, and slightly terrifying look at the next generation of learners — and the future of real thought.

Learn more about Chloe's work HERE

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