Outside of the Box
Check out the award-nominated podcast featuring host Christine Giver talking to guests spanning the combat robotics and STEM communities as well as a little nerdy talk with friends in entertainment and gaming. We have many segments including Bot Buddies, Robot Roundtables and both BattleBots and NHRL breakdowns featuring special co-host Ashley Beckman! If you love nerding out about robots, STEM, gaming and more, this channel is for you!
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Episodes
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
It is finally time for the nominees of the 1st Annual Boxy Awards to be announced! Check it out as Ashley and I talk about all of the amazing nominees in the combat robotics community who you will have the opportunity to vote for until December 1st when the voting period closes. We break down all 14 categories and discuss the deserving folks who made the list this year.
You can cast your vote using this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScciH2bLp1qjtkbKccSiL-1scOi0u8icIyLL-1Tjus-UOircg/viewform
We look forward to announcing the winners in December!
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Monday Nov 20, 2023
If you love big, scary vertical weapons and a good fork game, you'll love this spirited chat I had with Jack Barker of Giant Nut winner EndGame. We went all the way back to his robot's origins and the journey it has taken during their time at BattleBots. We talked about skill vs strategy, spent time breaking down the fights from the Golden Bolt tournament including the epic finals match vs Sawblaze and we got into Jack and Nick's efforts to help grow the combat robotics scene in New Zealand through Robot Rampage. Check it out!
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
Tuesday Nov 14, 2023
Ashley and I had a wheely good time breaking down the culmination of Battlebots Champions - the Golden Bolt Tournament where the winners of each bracket faced off with current and former Giant Nut winners. We saw domination by all of the champions throughout the bracket which ended in an epic battle between EndGame and Sawblaze, with another Bolt headed to New Zealand. Hear all the little details that only those who were at filming were aware of as we break everything down. Congrats to EndGame on a hard fought tournament!
Tuesday Nov 07, 2023
Tuesday Nov 07, 2023
It was a night of exciting matchups to cap off the second season of BattleBots Champions' qualifying rounds where the field was full of contenders. Ashley and I talked about every match up including strong showings from a number of teams including Claw Viper who threw everything at Hypershock in the fight of the night. The pizza proved to be too dominant however as RIPperoni came out on top to advance to the Golden Bolt. Check out what we had to say as well as what we think about the final episode coming up this week!
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Just ahead of the BattleBots Champions Golden Bolt Finals, I got together with Giant Nut winners Ray Billings, Donald Hutson, Jamison Go, Alex Grant and Aren Hill about their personal journeys as champions. We touched on a range of topics from dipping back into the past and exploring how combat robotics has evolved and how the landscape has changed for those pursuing the ultimate prize and how that evolution may continue into the future. We also touched on the ongoing debate regarding whether Bite Force could dominate in today's field, the power of inspiration and whether making monster truck versions of BattleBots is the best idea ever. This is definitely one you won't want to miss!
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
Tuesday Oct 31, 2023
The judges stayed very busy during this past week of BattleBots Champions and Ashley broke it down with me. There were so many close fights including one of the closest we have ever seen between Jackpot and Lucky which ended up sending Jackpot to the final match and on to qualify for the Golden Bolt Tournament. We discussed the major role their minibot Ace played in their victory and so much more. #battlebots #goldenbolt #champions
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
In advance of the most competitive NHRL Finals yet, I sat down with a number of the competitors across the 3lb, 12lb & 30lb weight classes. Joining me were Ariel Smith of Beetlejuice, Zach Knight of Pramheda, Eli Davis of Hot Wings, Brandon Young of Phenomenon, Vorion & Fracas, Jake Hoffmann of Maximizer, Johnny Tsoumpas of Spartan, Tony D'Ambrosio of Blackbird, Michael Schorr of Voxel 12lb, Kevin Biagini of IDKWTFID and Corey Nason of Synthesis 3lb & 30lb. There was plenty of friendly smack talk amongst this group of seriously talented builders as we dove into each division and everyone gave their favorites and also potential dark horses to win it all. Check it out!
#nhrl #combatrobotics #championship #goldenbrett
Saturday Oct 28, 2023
Saturday Oct 28, 2023
Many people are not fans of being near bugs let alone eating them, however Aly Moore is out to change minds about the power of bugs when it comes to things like improving food insecurity issues, creating jobs and so much more. We spoke at length about her position as a STEMbassador for the National STEM Challenge which is accepting submissions through November 12 from the creative minds of 6th-12th graders. We also got into an array of interesting topics such as the many insect products available today, how bugs could be the sushi of the future and the very interesting dilemma for vegans that is not as straightforward as it may seem. Aly was such an amazing guest so please check it out!
#stem #stemeducation #eatbugs #nationalstemchallenge
Tuesday Oct 24, 2023
Tuesday Oct 24, 2023
We're back with more BattleBots Breakdown for an episode that seemed likely to end in some domination from down under, but ended up with free slushies for everyone courtesy of Free Shipping. We saw a couple of bots in this episode that we have only seen in exhibition matches - Double Tap and Slammo along with a couple of BattleBots regulars in Gigabyte and Mammoth. We also saw a couple of returning international favorites this season in Beta and DeathRoll as well as relative newcomer Triton. There certainly were some big hits and surprise knockouts in this one! See what we have to say about all of it! Also, hear our thoughts on the next two weeks of these qualifying rounds. Who else might make it in?
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
Tuesday Oct 17, 2023
It is week 2 of BattleBots Champions and you know Ashley and I were ready to talk about everything that went down on Whiplash's way to punching its ticket into the Golden Bolt tournament. The first round of fights in this episode were mostly short-lived and several of them ended in fire. Black Dragon gave the judges a lot to think about and Malice tried to keep their hot season going. Hear what we thought about all of it!