Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
AppStories
This week, Federico and John kick off their holiday app and automation experimentation season a little earlier than usual with a mix of apps, automations, and services.
On AppStories+, they look ahead, considering the future of Shortcuts and automation.
Comfort Zone
Niléane is getting bold with laptop appendages, Chris is nostalgic about the iPad Pro, and everyone gets weird with text files.
This week’s Cozy Zone is a deep dive into 2012’s Les Misérables film.
MacStories Unwind
This week, Federico and John explore tech nostalgia and the importance of tech history before picking a new TV series and music artist.
Magic Rays of Light
Sigmund and Devon discuss Devon’s new audiobook listening habit and what it’s taught him about adaptations. Then, they share gift ideas for the Apple TV fan in your life.
AppStories, Episode 461, ‘Our Latest App and Automation Experiments’ Show Notes
App and Automation Experiments
Follow-Up
Claude Skills
Federico’s Ongoing AI Testing
Typing Mind
OpenWeb UI
Kimi K2 on Groq
Kimi K2 Thinking
MiniMax M2
On MiniMax M2 and LLMs with Interleaved Thinking Steps
Cerebras integration of GLM 4.6 by Z.ai
John’s App Experiments
Bloom
Superhuman
Federico’s Service Experiments
Firecrawl
Parallel
Exa
Pushover
Zapier
John’s Claude Code – Python – Notion Experiments
Notion
Federico’s Drafts and Readwise Reader workflow
Drafts
Readwise Reader
AppStories+ Post-Show
John and Federico consider the future of Shortcuts in light of the rapidly evolving automation landscape.
Subscribe to AppStories+
Visit AppStories.net to learn more about the extended, high bitrate audio version of AppStories that is delivered early each week and subscribe.
Comfort Zone, Episode 76, ‘Sorry, Danielle’ Show Notes
Main Topics
Niléane’s laptop setup
The iPad Pro at 10
Other Stuff We Talked About
The Gulf livery mouse
Bandcamp
Baseline Obsidian theme
Retroma Obsidian theme
Primary Obsidian theme
Todoist Sync for Obsidian
Todoist Text for Obsidian
AeroSpace
Cozy Zone
For even more from the Comfort Zone crew, you can subscribe to Cozy Zone. Cozy Zone is a weekly bonus episode of Comfort Zone where Matt, Niléane, and Chris invite listeners to join them in the Cozy Zone where they’ll cover extra topics, invent wilder challenges and games, and share all their great (and not so great) takes on tech. You can subscribe to Cozy Zone for $5 per month here or $50 per year here.
MacStories Unwind, ‘Tech Nostalgia’ Show Notes
Tech Nostalgia Versus Tech History
NPC: Next Portable Console, GameCube To Go
Picks
John’s Pick:
Down Cemetery Road on Apple TV
Federico’s Pick:
American Motor Sports (420 CC Edition) by Bilmuri
Unwind Deal
John’s Favorite Christmas Movies (It’s early, I know, but there are some great deals right now.)
Classics
White Christmas
It’s A Wonderful Life
Comedy
Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
Wait, That’s a Christmas Movie
Die Hard
Trading Places
So Bad It’s Good
Hot Frosty on Netflix
8-Bit Christmas
MacStories Unwind+
We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free with high bitrate audio every week.
To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.
Magic Rays of Light, Episode 190, ‘Audiobooks, Adaptations, and a Gift Guide’ Show Notes
Gift Guide
Slow Horses
The Silo Series Collection
The Big Door Prize
The Last Thing He Told Me
The First Time I Saw Him
Foundation
Dark Matter
Audible Gift Cards, Credits, & Titles
Argylle
‘lil cinephile
Severance: Season Two (Apple TV Original Series Soundtrack)
CODA on Blu-Ray
F1: The Movie on 4K Blu-Ray
Reflections: On Cinematography by Roger Deakins
Muse En Scént Candles Inspired by Your Favorite Films
Spike Lee Candle
Franco Pepe: Pizza Chef
Crossroads: Extraordinary Recipes from the Restaurant That Is Reinventing Vegan Cuisine
Nomad Tracking Card Pro
imluckies Magnetic Laptop Phone Holder
8BitDo Pro 3 Bluetooth Controller
Trailer Talk
WondLa
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters — Season 2 Date Announcement
Releases
Extras
Bloodsong of Wycaro
F1 The Movie — Behind the Scenes
Sneaky Sasquatch Sticker Pack
Up Next
A Very Jonas Christmas Movie
After the Hunt
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Train Dreams
Good Boy
MacStories launched its first podcast in 2017 with AppStories. Since then, the lineup has expanded to include a family of weekly shows that also includes MacStories Unwind, Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, NPC: Next Portable Console, and First, Last, Everything that collectively, cover a broad range of the modern media world from Apple’s streaming service and videogame hardware to apps for a growing audience that appreciates our thoughtful, in-depth approach to media.
If you’re interested in advertising on our shows, you can learn more here or by contacting our Managing Editor, John Voorhees.