# Radio Show Session Log — 2026-05-29

## User
- **User:** Howard Enos (howard)
- **Machine:** Howard-Home
- **Role:** tech

## Session Summary

Howard worked on show prep for an upcoming Computer Guru Show episode, building a call-in-driven format around audience nostalgia and debate. The session began as general tech-news brainstorming (topics of interest to an older, conservative-leaning audience) and narrowed to four candidate segments: "Technology we were promised vs. what we got" (fun/conversation), "Most important invention since 1970" (engaging debate), AI voice-cloning scams, and the death of passwords.

Before drafting, checked prior episode coverage to avoid repeats. Found voice-cloning scams were already a full dedicated segment (Segment 12, "AI Misconceptions," aired 2026-03-14, with the Family Safe Word payoff), so that topic was excluded from this prep per Howard's instruction. Studied Mike's existing show-prep layout (matched to `2026-04-18-tech-that-makes-life-fun/show-prep.md`) to replicate the exact structure.

Drafted a new show-prep doc at `projects/radio-show/episodes/tbd-promised-vs-got-and-inventions/show-prep.md`. Structured to lead with the two call-in-driver segments (promised vs. got; best invention since 1970) to light up the phone lines early and sustain engagement all show. A third "death of passwords / passkeys" segment was initially included as a practical payoff, then removed at Howard's request near the end of the session. A phone hook was written into every story. The remaining segment slot was left reserved for additional topics Howard is still gathering, or as call-in overflow.

Howard reported not understanding Segment 2. Explained the segment is a single "pick the best invention since 1970, defend it" debate game; then per his request rewrote it to make the "pick the BEST thing since 1970" framing explicit throughout — new title, a verbatim THE QUESTION box, rewritten opening, contenders relabeled "The Choices" and reordered crowd-first (smartphone, internet, GPS), each framed as "Why it's the best." Cleaned up all remaining "most important invention" phrasings across the doc (Common Thread, Segment 1 wrap, internal note, wrap summary, call-to-action) for consistency.

Earlier in the broader session (logged separately in root `session-logs/2026-05-29-session.md`), discussed Claude's knowledge cutoff (August 2025), confirmed Claude Code was current at 2.1.158, and Howard switched the default model from Sonnet 4.6 to Opus 4.8.

## Key Decisions

- Excluded AI voice-cloning scams from this prep — already a full segment on 2026-03-14. Noted a possible future fresh angle ("jury-duty warrant call" variant) but kept it out of this show.
- Led with the two nostalgia/debate segments (not the practical passwords segment) — deliberately front-loading call-in drivers to keep phone lines active for the whole show.
- Used a "pick ONLY one" forcing function in Segment 2 — "they're all great" kills call-ins; forcing a single defended choice drives them.
- Left show date as TBD and named the episode folder `tbd-promised-vs-got-and-inventions` rather than guessing a date — Howard prepping ahead, date depends on Mike.
- Removed the death-of-passwords / passkeys segment entirely at Howard's request, leaving a 2-segment + call-in-overflow format.

## Problems Encountered

- Segment 2's original "most important invention" framing confused Howard. Resolved by rewriting the segment to explicitly center "pick the BEST thing since 1970" and adding a plain-language THE QUESTION box, then sweeping the rest of the doc for consistency.

## Configuration Changes

- Created: `projects/radio-show/episodes/tbd-promised-vs-got-and-inventions/show-prep.md` (new episode prep, ~350 lines)
- No code, infra, or credential changes.

## Credentials & Secrets

- None used or created this session.

## Infrastructure & Servers

- None used this session. Show-prep content authored directly (no web search, no API calls).

## Commands & Outputs

- `bash .claude/scripts/whoami-block.sh` — confirmed attribution: Howard Enos (howard) / Howard-Home / tech
- Grepped `projects/radio-show/episodes` for prior voice-cloning coverage — confirmed Segment 12 in 2026-03-14 ai-misconceptions episode.

## Pending / Incomplete Tasks

- SHOW DATE — TBD, pending Mike. Rename folder `tbd-promised-vs-got-and-inventions` once set.
- Segment 3 — Howard gathering additional topics; reserved as call-in overflow for now.
- Decide host's own "best invention" pick (smartphone crowd-pleaser vs. lithium-ion contrarian angle).

## Reference Information

- New prep: `projects/radio-show/episodes/tbd-promised-vs-got-and-inventions/show-prep.md`
- Layout template matched: `projects/radio-show/episodes/2026-04-18-tech-that-makes-life-fun/show-prep.md`
- Voice-cloning prior coverage: `projects/radio-show/episodes/2026-03-14-ai-misconceptions/final-script.md` (Segment 12)
- Radio show wiki: `wiki/projects/radio-show.md`
- Related general session log: `session-logs/2026-05-29-session.md` (model switch, knowledge-cutoff discussion)
