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Will Smith's new National Geographic documentary, and the director who defrauded Netflix of A$16 million. Also: Ayaneo Pocket Play phone with a slide-out controller, an Australian radio station's big AI fail, and why we stop caring about social graces as we age.

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🌍 Will Smith has a documentary series coming with National Geographic, travelling 'pole to pole' to discover a bunch of things. It'll be on Disney+ from January 14.

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🍿 A court has determined that way back in 2013, director Carl Erik Rinsch was indeed guilty of defrauding Netflix of A$16 million. Zoinks! (Kinda feel like it's a shame he didn't get away with it...)

"Instead of putting the money toward finishing the series, prosecutors say he used the funds to make a series of investments, leading him to lose “more than half” of those funds in less than two months. He then spent the rest of his money on investing in cryptocurrency and lavish items, including “at least $3.3 million furniture, antiques, and mattresses; at least $387,000 on a Swiss watch; and at least $2.4 million on five Rolls Royces and a red Ferrari.”"

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🎮 The new Ayaneo Pocket Play takes inspiration from Sony's failed (or simply ahead of its time) 2011 Xperia Play, hiding a slide-out games controller behind its display. I'll be fighting the temptation monster on this one!

Damn... I'm now once again depressed that Sony so entirely gave up on proper portable gaming.

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📠 If you're in Melbourne, the National Communication Museum has a really cool series of activities for the kids over the Summer, from Jan 7-31!

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💡 I wouldn't say I'm into torches, but this torch seems damn handy. It charges wirelessly, has two magnets, and can swivel its lamp into two different orientations. I kinda want it?

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🍿 Animal Farm, but a comedy. "Based on the masterpiece by George Orwell". Oh dear. Is this the only way to make sure younger generations know the story?

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🧑‍🔬 "What scientific discovery sounds fake but is 100% real and still freaks you out?" This thread is hit after hit.

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🤖 Radio stations in South Australia happily ran an AI-produced bulletin about a physical real attack on police officers, but the AI misdentified the attacker as... the journalist who first reported on it.

Hilariously bad form. There are so many obvious failsafes that could’ve easily averted this, and should have at such an early stage in the development of these 'AI-enabled' tools. But nope, these clowns just went ahead and threw the clanker on air!

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📰 Long read: Aging Out of Fucks: The Neuroscience of Why You Suddenly Can’t Pretend Anymore – why we care less about the nuances of social grace as we age, and how it hits women so much harder than men.

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📷 The best and worst camera gear of 2025, according to the PetaPixel team.

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