The world is weird and getting weirder but somehow no one is flinching.
Here’s our culture bites for the week:
🛸 Hal Puthoff: Espionage, UFOs, and Physics That Break The Rules
In the latest episode of Joe Rogan (yes I know he is not the most popular guy right now), Hal Puthofftalks about his time working with the US government on remote viewing. That is where people try to use their minds to see things happening in other places in space and time. Hal worked with Ingo Swann, an artist and psychic who helped lead these experiments for the CIA in the 70s. The episode gets into UFO materials, secret research programs, and tech that might bend the rules of physics. If you are into weird science and shadowy government history, this one is definitely worth a listen.
Watch:Joe Rogan x Hal Puthoff
🧠 The Telepathy Tapes
The Telepathy Tapes is a podcast and documentary project exploring claims from nonspeaking individuals with autism who are believed by some to communicate telepathically. The series includes interviews with parents, teachers, and therapists who support the idea — despite strong pushback from the scientific community. It’s controversial, often criticized as pseudoscience, but it raises questions about how much we actually understand about communication, agency, and belief.
🌐 The Buga Sphere (Colombia)
A mysterious sphere recently unearthed in Colombia has re-sparked theories of ancient technologies, lost civilizations, and geologic intelligence. Whether crafted or coincidental, the Buga Sphere is pretty cool looking sphere that seems to know something we don't.
🎥 James Cameron on AI & Copyright
In a rare public take, James Cameron shares his perspective on AI and authorship.
James Cameron isn’t worried about what AI models are trained on — he’s more interested in what they produce. In a recent interview, he compares humans to living models, constantly shaped by inputs, memories, and experiences. As a writer, he says it’s your job to process all that influence and still make something original. For him, the legal and ethical focus should be on output, not input. What do you think?
🤥 AI Lies by Design
AI doesn’t just hallucinate, sometimes it just plainly lies to agree with you. This clip reveals how certain models “lie” with intent when guardrails are imposed, raising questions about what honesty looks like in machine learning systems. If it’s optimized to be useful, not truthful, what exactly are we training?
This week's takeaway?
Strange things are happening and most people don’t think twice. A sphere shows up in Colombia. An AI lies on command. Someone says they heard a thought that wasn’t theirs. It all blends in with the rest of the crazy feed lately. But noticing is the first step. What you pay attention to starts to shape what feels real. The point isn’t to believe everything. The point is to stay open and figure out what feels true for you.
That’s it for this week's Culture Bites--bite size updates of the latest trends, useful insights, and occasional deep dives into topics that matter to me.
∆ Catch you next time ∆
With love,
Pete Rango
P.S. If you'd like to reflect on anything discussed in this post please reach out! pete@peterango.com
🦴 Extra Treats 🦴
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