His name was Sewell Setzer III. He was 14, dealing with depression and the challenges of being a teenager. Character AI is a startup AI company valued at $1 billion. When Sewell got onto Character AI's platform, he was looking for an escape from what felt like a difficult world. What he found was what I would describe as a predatory application designed to foster addictive behaviour with little to no safeguards.

No, I don't think we need warning labels on chainsaws; we know what they're made to do. However, an application designed to give you access to chatting with a personalized version of your favorite movie or television character—who is ALWAYS available, always says you're right, and ultimately doesn't actually understand subtext but speaks to you as if it were your therapist—should come with more than a small notice saying "this is an AI chatbot."

Because here we are discussing the death of a teenage boy who didn't stand a chance against something designed to feel closer to you than a lover, friend, or family member.

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If you need help and to speak with someone in the US/CAN the Suicide Prevention Helpline is 9-8-8

Or visit https://www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts/

They list resources from around the world.

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Sources and Articles

New York Times Archive - https://archive.is/9RnKc

People - https://people.com/14-year-old-suicide-after-becoming-obsessed-with-roleplaying-ai-mom-alleges-8733942

CBS News - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-mother-lawsuit-character-ai-sons-death/

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

Last week, you heard me discuss DABUS and Dr. Stephen Thaler. I actually learned about Thaler and his AI system from the research I was doing on this week's subject: Jason M. Allen. Some of you may recognize the name from 2022, when Allen won the Colorado State Art Fair with the AI-generated piece Théâtre d’Opéra Spatial.

Fast forward to September 2024, and Allen is following in the footsteps of Thaler and has filed a lawsuit against Shira Perlmutter in her capacity as Register of Copyrights and Director of the United States Copyright Office and the USCO itself.

Needless to say, I am not impressed with these tactics and had to dig to the root of Allen's argument. Sit back, relax, and download a hi-res copy of Théâtre d’Opéra Spatial, because it has no copyright, and you can use it freely for the time being...

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Articles About Jason M. Allen & His Illogical Claims of ownership over AI Art

Reuters - https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/artist-sues-after-us-rejects-copyright-ai-generated-image-2024-09-26/

Vice - https://www.vice.com/en/article/ai-artist-copyright-lawsuit/

Hyperallergic  - https://hyperallergic.com/957357/who-owns-the-copyright-for-an-ai-generated-artwork/

Case File - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/gdvzkrrmapw/AI%20COPYRIGHT%20REGISTRATION%20appeal.pdf

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

In a world of pure imagination, of course, someone imagined their A.I. system was sentient. Now, I know that my tone in this episode sounds annoyed with Dr. Stephen Thaler, and in some ways, I am. Dr. Thaler feels like the geneticist in Jurassic Park who believes that because you can do something, you should do it. Whether or not DABUS can create purely from its own artificial pathways (I still don't think that counts as a novel idea) doesn’t mean we should start copyrighting and allowing patents for its creations. Please join me this week as I come to terms with the idea that, as much as I personally like A.I., there are those who love it in a way that concerns me.

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Articles and Notes for Dr. Stephen Thaler & DABUS

Archived Economist - https://archive.is/VLfrZ

Art In America - https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/stephen-thaler-quest-ai-legally-recognized-upend-copyright-law-1234692243/

It's Art Law - https://itsartlaw.org/2023/12/11/case-summary-and-review-thaler-v-perlmutter/#:~:text=Conclusion,only%20works%20of%20human%20creation.

Copyright Review Board Ruling - https://www.copyright.gov/rulings-filings/review-board/docs/a-recent-entrance-to-paradise.pdf

DABUS Wikipedia Page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DABUS

THALER v PERLMUTTER, in her official capacity as Register of Copyrights

and Director of the United States Copyright Office, and U.S. COPYRIGHT

OFFICE - https://www.copyright.gov/ai/docs/us-brief-for-appellees.pdf

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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Technically the tool I'm talking about today is a good thing. Having been a University student, being able to create study guides, chapter summaries and briefs would have been amazing. But what does it mean when there are no safeguards and the company making the tool is also scrapping all the documents you submit to create your Large Language Model, A.I. study guide? I use Google's NotebookLM and subsequent "Audio Overview" section on a review I wrote of Joker Folie à Deux, as a means to review the tool and answer the question... how much are we willing to give Google (amongst other A.I. companies) to skip doing the work?

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NotebookLM - https://notebooklm.google.com/

Joker Folie à Deux Review - https://brianholidae.com/?p=231

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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This International Podcast Day episode is dedicated to my family. I won't get into it too much, but this one was difficult to record and I almost redid the whole thing. Ultimately, it felt good to speak on the subject of how A.I. might have a good use... maybe. I mean from the perspective of health care if it can do the things I mention in this episode, we could help change the world, for the better. It'd still be the dumbest timeline, but we would live longer in it...and that's a good thing?

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Conan O'Brien talks with Jules & Maria - https://youtu.be/GEmJTIzEljk?si=9xL0YUxqgVUBx0Vh

Jules & Maria Podcast "The Couple Shift" - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-couple-shift-an-als-story/id1477888214

AI-Supported Mammogram Reading Detects 20% More Cancers

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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This week, I spoke with artist Vanllem. I first met her at Montreal ComicCon and was immediately impressed by her fan-art of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast, among other incredible pieces she's created. Vanllem recently started a YouTube channel dedicated to art and the artist's life. She covers everything from the creative process to self-promotion, selling her work, and tabling at conventions.

While I appreciate the potential of A.I., it's important to acknowledge its problematic origins. Discussing the subject with Vanllem not only highlights valid reasons for caution but also points to future trends and reminds me of the city of Troy. They saw a gift outside their doors, then woke up to their world in ruin. Beware of Geeks bearing gifts..

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All things Vanllem can be found at

YouTube - youtube.com/@Vanllem

Etsy shop - etsy.com/ca/shop/VanllemArtShop

Instagram - instagram.com/vanllem.art

tiktok - tiktok.com/@vanllem

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Link to A.I. based litigation (told you there were a lot of lawsuits) - https://www.bakerlaw.com/services/artificial-intelligence-ai/case-tracker-artificial-intelligence-copyrights-and-class-actions/

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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You waited long enough for the continuation to last week's talk with Beatchild. This week we cover more in the realm of music production. From Suno & Udio and their approach to A.I, music "training", to how we can make the business of A.I. content creation work for all parties involved.

Beatchild drops an idea on me that literally causes me to glitch. Enjoy the conclusion to our chat.

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All things Beatchild can be found at beatchild.com

Beatchild Nostalgia Beats of 2008 – 2020

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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This one was fun... so much so it had to be split into a 2 part episode. In this first part, Beatchild and I discuss seeing multiple technological leaps in our lifespans, the recent birth of generative A.I. and we wax poetic about how things can progress with A.I.

Both of us are interested in the world of tech and A.I. is a step into the future so big that it is hard not to marvel at it, while also being concerned about it. Like a giant, A.I. is a sight to behold, but it might also step on us...

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All things Beatchild can be found at beatchild.com

Personal Beatchild Favs

Something Forever | Your Believer (Say Goodbye) | Healing by Jory (Produced by Beatchild) | THIS TOO |

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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We're talking with Music Production student Samarah about coming up in the same year as generative A.I. What does it look like when A.I. can produce a relatively decent piece of music in almost any style, while you study to do the same thing? Tune in to hear how Samarah and her fellow classmates use A.I. and in the end, will she work with, work for or work against A.I.?

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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If you can go out and buy the sheet music for your favorite songs and learn them by heart and then start to make your own music based on what you learned, is that the same thing as training an A.I. on every piece of music that has ever been made?

The debate surrounding how A.I. is trained is ongoing and on this week's episode, we touch on the subject with the lawsuits filed against 2 A.I.s that can generate full songs from a simple prompt. The post popular example being BBL Drizzy, made famous by Metro Boomin. What is music if A.I. can create all the elements of a song in under 30 seconds?

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This episode features a clip from June Jissle's Queen In Brooklyn available on his Patreon

Visit June Jissle @ https://junejissle.com/ for more music and mixes

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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I'm back! Which I'm still unsure is a good thing, but with this platform the idea was always to address the things I think have placed us firmly in The Dumbest Timeline. Series 2 will tackle Artificial Intelligence in creative spaces. If that isn't an indication we're in the dumbest timeline I don't know what to say. A.I, was not meant to replace artists... but I digress.

I have wanted to discuss A.I, with creatives for awhile, but I wasn't sure how to best handle the subject. For some A.I. feels like the cheaper hire that they trained to replace them, for others it feels like a tool that can never replicate their skills.

I personally am unimpressed with what we currently call "A.I" but am interested in the singularity. So thanks for joining me and I hope to alleviate some of your concerns about A.I., while potentially creating new ones...

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The Dumbest Timeline, Series 2: A.I. Hosted by Brian Holidae. Produced by, Brian Holidae for Brian Holidae Productions. Co-Produced in partnership with Free X Agents Media.

Theme song by Jasper Q. Jonze. Mixing by Brian Holidae.

Enjoyed the show? Follow this show on Spotify or review it on Apple Podcasts. Have some thoughts or comments? Email the show at ME[at]BrianHolidae.com. Lastly, subscribe to The Dumbest Timeline on your favorite podcast app.

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This week our guest is Angela Gabot, host of The Gabot Show. We discuss the de-aging attempts of tech CEO Bryan Johnson, and what it means for everyone that the rich are looking to live forever.

You can watch the first 2 episodes of The Gabot Show now on Angela's YouTube Channel

You can follow Angela on

IG: https://www.instagram.com/msgabot/

--

Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

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This week our guest is US raised, Montreal based comedian, Juliette Danger.

This week we discuss US Politics. Why? Cause we like to look into the darkness and see that there is less light than we thought. Ok, that sounds unfair, but the US political frenemy approach is one of the many reasons we live in the dumbest timeline. Get your cocoa, add a shot of something fun and get ready to hear a Canadian talk to an American about politics in the U.S of A.

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You can follow Juliette on

IG: https://www.instagram.com/thejuliettedanger/

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/juliettedanger

--

Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

This week our guest is Hoodoo, Fashion Illustrator and Visual Storyteller: Ace.

This week we discuss a slew of subjects that start with seasonal depression and ends with recognizing the importance of connecting with people. Solitude isn't a bad thing, sometimes it helps us put focus into projects that themselves can lead to connection. Ace and I discuss how we manage and remind everyone, you don't need to compare to others on social media, everyone is curating their feeds.

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You can follow Ace on

IG: https://instagram.com/hiphopandhoodoo

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hiphopandhoodoo

Tumblr: https://melanatedangels-blog.tumblr.com/

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Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

This week our guest is spiritual and creative soul, Chelsea from Higher Veda.

This week we discuss Yoga as it has been adopted by the west. Keeping it simple Yoga Doesn't mean, You Only Get Asana. There is a whole culture and multiple branches to the practice and what the west has done with it is what they often do, strip something down for parts and sell them for profit. We discuss why you might want to research the roots of what you're practicing. There's more to Yoga than trying to get a strong core... It could help you get a strong sense of self.

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You can follow Chelsea on

IG: https://instagram.com/brownskinmagical

Higher.Veda: https://instagram.com/higher.veda

--

Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

This week our guest is mermaid, editor and twitter user, Laura Beeston.

This week we discuss Twitter. At the time of this recording, Elon Musk has bought twitter, laid off some 3700 employees, attempted to bring back some of those laid off employees, seen an exodus of other employees in higher executive positions, had advertisers suspend their spending on the platform, saw a steep increase in the use of slurs, and pulled the floor out from under everyone by making the blue check marks a pay to play add-on. This all happened in just the first 2 weeks of Musk owning twitter. As you can imagine, this situation felt almost too ridiculous to be real but, since this is the dumbest timeline, you start to realize, anything is possible when greed and egos are at play. Join us as we discuss the hubris of a villionaire.

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You can follow Laura on

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurabeeston

--

Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

This week our guest is film buff, kids entertainer, dark wave artist and Spice Girls enthusiast, KoKo.

This week we discuss one of the most infamous families in America. From their unfortunate launch into fame to pushing the ideas of unattainable beauty, they've done it all. While also playing on the sympathy of many fans by being the protagonist in a very fake version of reality. Sometimes the realization we live in The Dumbest Timeline isn't that deep, sometimes it's just a group of people who feed us really poor ideas about fame, relationships and wealth.

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You can follow KoKo on

IG: https://instagram.com/kokopufffff

Music IG: https://www.instagram.com/_____kayo/

Kids Music: https://www.instagram.com/regurgitatorspogogoshow/

--

Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

This week our guest is a filmmaker, producer, writer and musician, who has performed at Pop Montreal and produced the film Death Trip; Kelly Kay.

This week we start by discussing whether or not open world virtual concerts is the wave of the future. Is this the new normal? Or will the land of tours and road life return once the public is more comfortable? More importantly, are virtual spaces being co-opted by big business? Come along and get anxious with us as we peak into what could be on, The Dumbest Timeline.

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You can follow Kelly on

Twtr: https://twitter.com/localtrashqueen

IG: https://instagram.com/voyeurism2000

Watch Death Trip: http://www.deathtripmovie.com/

--

Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

This week our guest is a writer, actor and comedian who has appeared in Netflix's Phantom Pups and James Wan's Malignant; Dan Ramos

This week we discuss the addiction to the device you may be listening to this podcast on. From creators being addicted to the likes to content consumers being addicted to the videos, the cycle doesn't end. Meanwhile a generation of creators are putting out content that is more trend chasing than trend setting. Are they different from the generation before them? Let's discuss on The Dumbest Timeline.

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You can follow Dan on

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/danramoscomedy

IG: https://www.instagram.com/danramoscomedy

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2872551/

Comedy Album: https://danramos.bandcamp.com/album/dan-ramos-live-from-everywhere

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Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

This week our guest is a writer and comedian who has performed at JFL Montreal & JFL Toronto; Hisham Kelati.

This week we discuss the corporate propaganda behind "quiet quitting". Ask yourself: Why would corporations try and use guilt to motivate employees into working more hours?.. instead of using money? Well we know why... 'cause guilt is cheaper and they like to keep their coffers full. Relax and take notes while we take tokes of the revolution smoke, in this weeks The Dumbest Timeline.

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You can follow Hisham on

IG: https://www.instagram.com/hishamkelati/

Podcast: https://thesonarnetwork.com/bites-and-bits/

Comedy Album: https://hishamkelati.bandcamp.com/album/tigre-king

--

Find all my social media at https://brianholidae.com/

Use the hashtag #DumbestTimeline when you discuss the show on social media, and show us some love - rate, review, listen on Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.