Outside of the Box

Joseph Betz of Betz Botz on Outside of the Box

On this episode I got to chat with a young entrepreneur with a passion for combat robotics - Joseph Betz! He started competing in combat robotics a few years ago and has turned that initial interest into so much more. We talked about his beginnings in the sport, organizing events as well as the new building kit he now has on his website. You can also check out one of his events this weekend in Wisconsin!
 
www.betzbotz.com

Talking Nerdy With Special Guest Sandeep Parikh

You likely know him from the cult classic series The Guild or The Legend of Neil - my guest on this episode is none other than Sandeep Parikh. I talked to Sandeep about the magical friendship that he and his Guild castmates have maintained for the past (almost!) 20 years, teaching tech bros how to defeat a Beholder, and how he has been able to bring his South Asian culture to the D&D world through Desiquest. You can expect great stories and a discussion about the importance of cultural representation in this amazing chat with one of my favorite people in entertainment.
Check out what Sandeep has going on at https://effinfunnyproductions.com/

June 22 NHRL Beetleweight Breakdown Featuring Mako, Turbofiend and Jelly Baby

We're back with another NHRL Recap, although this one is solely focused on the 3lb robots - specifically, Mako, Turbofiend and Jelly Baby. I first sat down with siblings Julian and Dima to talk about their exciting run into the Top 16 for Mako and Top 8 for Turbofiend including how each of them felt about fighting meltybrain The Greatest Challenge. I also caught up with Paige of Jelly Baby to chat about the lifter that is taking the NHRL by storm this year, who would win between Jelly Baby and Chainsaw Kitty and why it is best to pretend fire bots aren't real. Check out these amazing interviews with incredibly talented builders! #nhrl #combatrobotics

NHRL June 22 Event Preview on Outside of the Box

The month of June is full of combat robotics events and in this episode we chat about the June 22nd NHRL event with a group of builders who will be competing - Julian Papsian/Mako, Michael Cross/Stag Beetle Bot, Alex Curtis/Floor Letter Word, Mitchell Sullivan/Yakety Yak, Zack Knight/Pramheda, and Corey Nason/Synthesis. We went through every weight class chatting about many of the bots who will be at the event and potential matchups including some friendly smack talk. Check out what everyone had to say!

Twitch Streamer Totally Kaal on Talkin' Nerdy

If you like video games as much as I do, you'll thoroughly enjoy my guest on this episode of Talkin' Nerdy - Totally Kaal who has been a Twitch affiliate for several years now. Kaal is a variety streamer with a soft spot for Souls-like games and Pokemon. We talked about the process of starting and growing a community as well as a lot of the fun things he does for engagement on his channel that have made watching his streams such a fun and inclusive time. Shout out to everyone in the Totally Kaal community (you know who you are!) and I hope everyone enjoys this really fun chat with my favorite streamer. https://www.twitch.tv/totally_kaal

Talkin' Nerdy (& Robots!) at Indy POP Con 2024

This week, I am sharing a recap of my wonderful experience at Indy POP Con! I had the pleasure of attending the Podcast Awards where Outside of the Box was a Finalist as well as leading a discussion/workshop on combat robotics and we did a LIVE podcast recording from the POP Con floor with my guest/co-host Ashley Foor chatting about all things nerdy including whether Mandalorian actor Pedro Pascal was hiding at the con dressed as his character. Finally, I have a short interview I did with prop maker and creative genius John Marks while hanging out with his life-size Appa creation from Avatar The Last Airbender.

June NHRL Teams Preview featuring Havoc Rundown on Outside of the Box

Are you hyped about the NHRL Teams event on June 1st? Well, I was joined by the crew from Havoc Rundown including Ashley, Ryan, Justin, Thomas & Tony to break down the groupings in each division to discuss matchups and who we will will win it all! This episode is packed full of fun discussions like theories on how Paws could win it all in the 3lb division as well as some friendly smack talk between Ashley and Thomas. This is definitely one you won't want to miss!

Safety in Combat Robotics on Outside of the Box

Introducing this very important episode on the importance of safety in combat robotics where in the first half I chat with Quantum's James Cooper on the safety fundamentals and everyone's responsibilities to put together a safe event followed by a discussion with Triton's Brad Hanstad and Synthwave builder Kyle Kuffrey about why good safety practices are so essential to the growth of the sport and how event organizers have had to adapt and continue to adapt to the evolution of combat robots. This is an important one you won't want to miss!

WPI Takeover on Outside of the Box

It is another roundtable and this time I gathered together one of the most dominant forces in the NHRL - Team WPI! We talked about many things including the importance of growing combat robotics, the Loophole controversy and how it subsequently promoted more creativity in the sport, what you can expect from Team Too Hot To Handle at NHRL's Teams event and a special conversation with Gabe & Alex about the dominance of Clyde in April and what may be in store for Finals. It is all here!

April NHRL Recap Featuring Team Robojackets and Team Stamdamonium

In one of my biggest episodes to date, I got a bunch of strong performers together from the April NHRL event including the builders of Golden Dumpster winners Chonkiv (30lb) and Ambisbaena (12lb). Hear all about how the RoboJackets of Georgia Tech felt about having to fight each other in the competition and why their bot names usually end in the letter 'i'. Also, hear from Team Stamdamonium who had a great day with many qualifying robots including the punchy BattleTots and the amazing story of how builder Matt Lantry did not even know qualifier Half Life would be competing until shortly before the competition started. This is such a fun episode so make sure you check it out!
 
More about the RoboJackets: https://robojackets.org/
Team Pandamonium Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/Rp3ZDb26Ej6dDBby/?mibextid=qi2Omg
Team Stamina page: https://www.facebook.com/share/hjzkopZHrCu5Bymp/?mibextid=qi2Omg