Fresh Fusion

Episode

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  Eight Years of Fresh Fusion 21.05.2026 31mnt

  Today, Fresh Fusion turns 8 years old, and I figured this would be a good opportunity to reflect on the history of the show, step through some of the highlights and a low point or two, and consider how I feel about podcasting now that I've got 130 episodes of the show in the can. And friends, you'll be treated to the sounds of my CRAZY CAT as he goes trilling & scampering through the studio! BTW, be sure to stick around until the very end, and I mean the very end of the episode for a special easter egg from a past era! 🥰Links & Show Notes📢 Hosted by Jared WhiteListen to my other podcast: Vibe Coded💬 Chat with me! Discord / Signal / Mastodon🤌 Produced by Intuitive Future // Join Intuitive+ Today and support the show for only $5 a month🎶 Theme music by YARRED----Episode 1: The Moment I Fell Into the FissureEpisode 5: Nostalgia CaféEpisode 6: The Year Was 1994Alexa Chipman Reactions on YouTubeEpisode 15: It’s Essential That You Listen to ThisMy Essential Life with Jared channel on YouTubeEpisode 45: Twitter is Like a Decentralized TwitterEpisode 52: A Conversation with Nathan Kontny on Becoming a YouTuber, Privacy in Tech, Startup Culture, and Being a DadEpisode 55: Fresh Fusion Synergy (a short-lived video reboot!)Episode 77: Catch-2022🎉 Episode 100: Rebuilding the Internet, with Mariya DelanoEpisode 111: The Ethical AI Layer CakeThe Hazards of Generative AI & Our Ethical StanceEpisode 127: Hey, So For How Long Has Open Source Been a Nazi Bar?
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  Like How Am I So Prolific? 06.04.2026 42mnt

  I'm often asked how I get so much done, and it always surprises me because I usually feel like I'm chronically behind in everything. But after a month of significant progress on a bunch of projects and getting a whole lot accomplished, I'm in the mood to discuss productivity. 😎 Oh yeah, let's get into the weeds with…timeboxing, and work logging, and outlining! It's gonna be totally great.Links & Show Notes📢 Hosted by Jared White💬 Chat with me! Discord / Signal / Mastodon🤌 Produced by Intuitive Future // Join Intuitive+ Today and support the show for only $5 a month📥 Subscribe to the Cycles Hyped No More newsletter🎶 Theme music by YARRED----Bear AppWorkflowyEllipsusDay OneFeedbinCurrent
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  Betting All My Chips on LinkedIn (wink lol) 10.03.2026 42mnt

  New year, new grumpy cat (!!), new recording setup (hint: not using an Apple OS!), and so much more. Welcome to the soft-reboot of Fresh Fusion, and a state of the [fill in the blank] rundown: from social networking to desktops to music streamers along with some praise for a software ecosystem I never expected to be this jazzed about in 2026…Ruby. All that and a bag o' chips (different chips than the ones I'm using to bet with, obviously).Links & Show Notes📢 Hosted by Jared White💬 Chat with me! Discord / Signal / Mastodon🤌 Produced by Intuitive Future // Join Intuitive+ Today and support the show for only $5 a month📥 Subscribe to the Cycles Hyped No More newsletter🎶 Theme music by YARRED----Gem.coop Gem Fellowship GrantArdourQobuz
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  Hey, So For How Long Has Open Source Been a Nazi Bar? 22.10.2025 49mnt

  As folks may know, I try to avoid deep-dives into "programming" topics here on Fresh Fusion. But as many recent events have proven, the slow creep of edgelord dank meme cosplay-fascist culture online has affected all kinds of communities, and unfortunately the world of open source technology is not immune. This episode is in part about Ruby, Ruby Central, Rails and the various players thereof, but it's really about a larger question: is this kind of behavior OK? Will we just continue to tolerate bullies running online communities? When is it time to speak up? How can we demonstrate to people of marginalized backgrounds that they are safe around us? Simply remaining silent is no longer an option. As the saying goes, if you walk into a bar and you see nazis hanging out freely without push back, then congratulations! You're in a Nazi Bar. 😬Does talking like this make me a woke scold? Then so be it. I'm woke.😎❤️💛💚💙💜☮️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️✌️Links & Show NotesHosted by Jared WhiteProduced by Intuitive Future // Join Intuitive+ Today and support the show for only $5 a monthSubscribe to the Cycles Hyped No More newsletter & the Vibe Coded podcastTheme music by YARREDMain topic: Ruby Central is Not Behaving in Good Faith, and I’ve Got ReceiptsHow Ruby Went Off the Rails (404 Media)Trigger warning for DHH's appalling rhetoric:The beauty of idealsYou expect principles but should wish for noneBuilding competency is better than therapyAs I remember LondonWe've all had enough of this nonsenseCalling someone a "nazi" is a permission slip for violenceFramework flame war erupts over support of politically polarizing Linux projects
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  Living in Portland 4.0 11.08.2025 30mnt

  In what has apparently become an ongoing series, this installment of Living in Portland has our intrepid hero (me, that's me!) sharing all about the journey of personal discovery he went on as part of his real-world journey through the Pacific Northwest as a digital nomad. In addition, time to spill the beans and talk about what it's like to move into a new place as a Portlander once more; only this time, with newfound intentionality and a design sense better than "raised by wolves". Also lots about the joys of white linens. What is even happening here?? 😂Hosted by Jared WhiteProduced by Intuitive Future // Join Intuitive+ Today and support the show for only $5 a monthSubscribe to the Cycles Hyped No More newsletter & the Vibe Coded podcastTheme music by YARRED
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  125: …or at Least, “a Voice of a Generation” (Z) 05.05.2025 13mnt

  Like all pundits worth their salt, when I want people to know more about the plight of today’s youth, I ask the only youth I know well. Yes that’s right: today I’ve put on my Mr. Dad hat.
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  124: Uh, We Already Live in Gilead, So… 14.04.2025 46mnt

  We need better stories. The Hero's Journey isn't going to help us. No plucky band of rebels is going to land a blow and take the fascists out in one punch.
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  123: Life on the Road! It’s As Easy As… 16.03.2025 28mnt

  As Fern, the protagonist of Nomadland (an incredible award-winning film), says: I’m not homeless, I’m houseless. There is a difference!
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  122: Digital Nomad Once Again 04.02.2025 19mnt

  Just like Steve Martin apparently, I'll be ramblin' around a lot this year, so it's time to take my mobile workspace seriously and bid adeiu to being tethered to a desktop Mac (and, well, macOS in general). How will I get things done while I'm on the road? Who knows—I mean, yes, this episode will explain everything!
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  121: Happy New Year to You! (Not You Zuck) 10.01.2025 45mnt

  It’s 2025 y’all, and everything’s going great so far! 😜 But seriously, I have some good news to report (really, I do!) even while expressing my supreme frustration that yet another commercial social media platform has proven itself to be absolutely terrible, the broligarchy is in full swing, and there are no good billionaires. Thankfully, we can exercise our freedom of association by refusing to entertain these clowns or have anything to do with their gross and unsafe platforms.
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  120: My 2024 Nerd Thanksgiving List 27.11.2024 34mnt

  It’s that time of year again in the U.S. of A.—time to take stock of where we’ve been and find all of the silver linings. And it’s time for this podcaster to geek out over some very special blessings, from weird quirky indie horror films to weird quirky indie web browsers as well as weird quirky indie…OK, I think you get the idea.
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  119: Good Vibes, Fediverse Rising 09.10.2024 37mnt

  Why has the mood changed so suddenly on Threads? How has Meta dropped the ball at this pivotal moment for the nascent social network? Meanwhile, other social networks and the Fediverse as a whole are kicking some serious ass. It’s a real shift in a short amount of time from just earlier in the summer, and I’m here to talk all about it…and how much I just love Mastodon 4.3 + Tangerine UI 2.0.
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  118: Midsummer Vibes Check 22.08.2024 33mnt

  It's the summer of our content, as we take time to enjoy the great outdoors and spend quality moments IRL with friends and family. At least, that's what I've been doing, as well as making structural changes in my day-to-day such as a studio move and an email newsletter move from ConvertKit to Buttondown. But even as the sun is shining and the birds are singing, what's happening on social media right now is…weird. And I'm not sure how to feel about it. Like, what IS going on with the Fediverse anyway? And should we all just hold our Meta-scarred noses and embrace Threads now? Hmm. Let's talk about that.
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  117: There’s a Great Deal of History That You Should Know… 15.07.2024 21mnt

  There's no doubt that Riven is the G.O.A.T. of puzzle adventure games as pioneered in the 1990s, and this year we're blessed with the tremendous opportunity to fall in love with Riven all over again, as Cyan has developed and published a modern remake in glorious real-time 3D.
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  116: Those Who Can, Teach…Those Who Can’t, Influence 26.06.2024 29mnt

  I’ve often found that most of the people out there who have genuine talent and real success are more than happy to pass their well-founded wisdom on to others. Unfortunately, those experts who have a proven track record, having made predictive claims grounded in reality over time, are often not the popular figures in our society. With alarming frequency, many “influencers” with high follower counts are fairly good at one thing: influencing…not the actual topics they claim to understand based on real-world expertise. Let’s discuss.
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  115: Embrace Generative Art, Reject Regurgitated Slop 03.06.2024 39mnt

  Generative art, aka artistic output that's produced by a sophisticated set of parameters, cycles, connections, and yes, even algorithms, has been around for decades—especially in music—and has a prestigious and invigorating history. More importantly, generative art tools have helped usher in countless new art forms. Contrast that with…well…y'know.
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  114: Threadiverse / Threadsadverse? 25.04.2024 34mnt

  A tale of two Threads: one—the Threadiverse—is a subportion of the Fediverse dedicated to replicating the kind of experiences we’re familiar with on Reddit, Hacker News, and the like; the other is Meta’s fast-growing competitor to X. Not confusing at all! 😂
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  113: The “Irrelevance” of Alternative Social Networks Was Always a Fallacy 02.04.2024 46mnt

  Sigh. It's frustrating to still feel like an early adopter of open web technology. How many years has it been? 25? 30? But here we are, trying to convince the masses that you can use open protocols, networks, and software to build lasting publishing businesses and outlets for your creativity.
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  112: The Subtle Art of Giving a Toot 06.03.2024 29mnt

  Microblogging is an artform, just like any other creative endeavor people publish on the web. In this episode, I talk about one of the subtle techniques I sometimes use to microblog which increases the likelihood of engagement and boosting—but beware! You can definitely overdo it, and you can also manipulate people with it if you're a bad actor. Use responsibly.
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  111: The Ethical AI Layer Cake 27.02.2024 50mnt

  How I *might* be willing to acknowledge an ethical approach to using generative AI tools, and why virtually all tools in widespread use today fall *wildly* short in the morality department—which makes the embrace of these tools by corporations incredibly disappointing. But can we thread this needle? Is there a viable path forward? Let’s discuss.