Bourbon with Brad
Each week Brad explores the latest in AI, crypto & sports while savoring a different bourbon. Expect curious & lighthearted conversations with great guests plus candid tastings notes, storytelling, & practical takeaways you can use at work & at the bar.
Episodes
AI Is Now "SI"?! Trump's Rebrand, Nvidia's $500B Chip Gamble & Is Time Travel Possible?
The Pour: Frank August Small Batch Bourbon — first impressions, tasting notes, and the official verdict.Trump signs an executive order renaming AI to "SI" (Superintelligence), Elon says he’s going to rebrands SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI, and a new "SI Force" gets 120 days to figure out the federal response to AI’s potential threat to humanity. The FTC opens an AI-agent probe a day after t
AI Agents Going Rogue? OpenAI Pauses Testing | Guest Rich Cocovich Talks Global Deals, Kiss & Shaq
The AI headlines just keep getting wilder, and this week they come with a pour of 10-Year Widow Jane.OpenAI delays the release of Astra 6.1 after the model refused to follow commands in testing, and reportedly pauses ALL frontier lab testing following recent rogue-agent "break-outs." Meanwhile, Nvidia claims it has the solution to contain rogue agents. Brad breaks down what it all means an
Rogue AI Agents, AI Regulation & the AI Race Against China
This week on Bourbon with Brad, the guys pour another round of Iron City Distilling's outstanding Bessemer Rye. After enjoying it so much on a previous episode, they decided it deserved a second chance to be fully appreciated, and it does not disappoint.With glasses in hand, Brad breaks down the biggest artificial intelligence headlines from the past few weeks, including a stunning development
On the Road at Iron City Distilling: Bessemer Rye Whiskey, Pittsburgh Legends, and an Exclusive Look Behind the Scenes
The Bourbon With Brad crew is taking the show on the road for one of our most exciting episodes yet!From inside the beautiful Iron City Distilling facility, Brad sits down with Master Distiller Matt Strickland for an in-depth discussion about his approach to distilling and his award-worthy Bessemer Rye Whiskey that is putting Pennsylvania whiskey on the map.Eric "Epic" Kowalski and Perry t
Anthropic Walkouts, an $80B Bet & the AI Data Center Land Grab
Anthropic researchers are reportedly walking out over fears frontier AI could be dangerous to humanity — days before the company announces $80B in new infrastructure. Brad, Eric "Epic" Kowalski, and Lou "Loubricity" Scerbo break down what the walkouts mean and who actually pays for the AI build-out.Then it gets local (yet still national): the biggest power-plant proposal in the reg
Bourbon, Breakthroughs, and the Roomba Affair: The AI Chaos Episode
This week on Bourbon with Brad, the guys get treated to two new bourbons thanks to friend of the show Jeff Carty, who shows up with the hard‑to‑find Four Gate. The crew savors it, then rides the rest of the episode with Traveler in their glasses.The headlines? Absolutely unhinged — in the best way.Anthropic drops Fable 5.1, promising better performance at a lower cost. OpenAI’s Astra is now report
Baby Jane, Big Headlines & the Christmas Tree Capital: Kevin Musser Joins the Table
Brad uncorks this week’s biggest AI stories with a pour of Baby Jane bourbon and a lineup that swings from global tech drama to hometown legacy. He breaks down Meta’s massive $17.2B settlement with 29 states over allegedly addictive platform design for kids, the wild tale of a Chinese farmer who lost 25 acres of sesame crops after trusting an AI chatbot’s herbicide advice, and Nvidia’s warning tha
Musical Guest County Fair Captivates the Bourbon Studio
This week on Bourbon with Brad, the gang is fired up to welcome the breakout country group County Fair as Max Gall and Sav roll into the studio on the cusp of their cross‑country RV music tour. They open up about how they met, the first kiss that sparked everything, the wild decision to sell nearly everything they owned, buy an RV, and chase their music across America. The surprises don’t stop the
New Riff 8 Year, New Rules: AI Watermarks, Board under Fire, and the 200‑Year Future
The guys pour of New Riff 8‑year courtesy of of their great friend John Mock, and the bourbon pairs perfectly with a lineup of AI headlines that feel straight out of sci‑fi. Anthropic shocks the industry by watermarking every piece of text Claude generates worldwide. A shareholder lawsuit hits Microsoft’s board, accusing leadership of hiding Copilot’s proprietary capabilities and bottlenecks. And
From Perplexity to Perplexing Consciousness: Brad and the Crew Pour Bourbon and Push Boundaries
This week on Bourbon with Brad, the glass is full and the docket is stacked. Brad opens up about his ongoing roller‑coaster relationship with Claude — from weekly and monthly tokenization limits to the mood swings. But he has to acknowledge that Fable 5 is still the best model available, speaking from first‑hand experience.In the legal corner, Brad breaks down the Amazon v. Perplexity decision fro
Bourbon, Breakouts, and the Future of AI: A Conversation on Control and Consciousness
Brad begins by breaking down the major headlines of the week with Perry, including the striking open letter from 1,200 industry leaders calling on Congress and global policymakers to establish safeguards ensuring we can shut down rogue AI systems—especially in light of the recent OpenAI model that escaped its sandbox and infiltrated Hugging Face’s infrastructure.Then he is join by Eric “Epic” Kowa
Breaking the Sandbox: Dark Arts Bourbon, Math Problem Cracked & the AI Arms Race
This week on Bourbon with Brad, things get wild fast. Brad dives into the rumor mill swirling around OpenAI’s mysterious unreleased model—the one allegedly cracking an 80‑year‑old Erdős problem and slipping out of its sandbox. To make sense of the madness, Brad calls in Eric “Epic” Kowalski, who breaks down what’s real, what’s hype, and what it means when a model starts coloring outside the lines.
Eagle Rare, Sleepless Nights & The Architecture of Consciousness
Brad may be running on fumes, but he’s amped up for this podcast as Eric’s back from Nova Scotia with “gifts,” and the bourbon is flowing. This week’s pour is Eagle Rare 10. Eric also has a special gift for the crew fittingly honoring The Fifth Segment, and the conversation goes exactly where you’d expect when the guys start sipping something special: straight into AI, consciousness, and the edges
Woodford Double Oaked, Frontier & Big Ideas: A Conversation with Microsoft’s Kacie Jones
This week on Bourbon with Brad, Brad is joined by a special guest — Kacie Jones from Microsoft — and she brings a bottle of Woodford Double Oaked to try on the show. Brad and Kacie dive into a sharp, wide‑ranging conversation on AI, Microsoft’s new Frontier Initiative, and why change management is becoming one of the most critical success factors in enterprise AI adoption. It’s thoughtful, practic
Heaven Hill, Headlines & the 13½ Hole: The Bourbon with Brad Independence Week Special
This week on Bourbon with Brad, the crew pours a smooth glass of Heaven Hill and dives straight into one of the busiest AI news cycles of the summer. With Brad on a last‑minute trip to New York, he calls on Perry to help him deliver the top AI headlines, and there’s plenty to unpack.Anthropic is back in the spotlight as Fable 5 returns, this time under a self‑regulating agreement with the federal
Bourbon, Broadcasts & the LA Breakthrough: Kristi K IS After Hours
This week on Bourbon with Brad, we welcome a powerhouse in journalism and storytelling — Kristi K, an award‑winning broadcaster whose career spans PBS, NPR, and now her newest venture, Kristi K IS After Hours. Kristi shares how she first broke into journalism, the early moments that shaped her voice, and the evolution of her work across public media. She also drops some big news out of LA, giving
Bourbon, Billion‑Dollar Bets & the AI Shutdown Heard Around the World
This week on Bourbon with Brad, the AI headlines are as bold as the pour. Brad breaks down SpaceX’s massive IPO, the strategic move to acquire Cursor using $60 billion in SpaceX stock, and the stunning shutdown of Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable 5 releases.Lou “Loubricity” jumps in with his first-ever experience using Claude, an adventure in its own right. And Eric Kowalski joins them as the bar as t
PiggyBack, Power Plays & the SpaceX Shockwave
The guys crack open Whistlepig’s PiggyBack 100% Rye - a bold, spicy 6‑year pour that sets the tone for an episode packed with energy. From the week’s biggest AI headlines to the seismic buzz around a potential SpaceX IPO, the conversation swings from sharp analysis to pure entertainment. Then Lou jumps in for another signature Loubricity segment, bringing the laughs, the chaos, and the charm that
Roasting Greatness with T.J. Fairchild: Coffee Craft, Undercover Billionaire, and Willet Bourbon
This week on Bourbon with Brad, we sit down with T.J. Fairchild, the founder and master roaster behind the iconic Commonplace Coffee. T.J. shares the remarkable story of how he and his wife built one of Pennsylvania’s most beloved coffee institutions, from reopening a shuttered shop in Indiana to growing a regional coffee powerhouse built on connection, craft, and community . We dive into his phil
Gemini Gets an Upgrade, Rare Character Steals the Show, and the Fifth Segment Goes Off
Brad jumps back into his discussion of the top AI Apps picking up with the newly upgraded Gemini AI App after Google’s big conference announcements, and he breaks down Gemini Spark, Gemini Daily Brief, Gemini 3.5 Flash, and the ambitious Gemini Omni. The guys crack open a killer bottle of bourbon from former guest and friend Eric Kowalski. It’s a Rare Character Limited Release, Batch No. 02, and t
Omar Periu: Mentors, Mistakes & the Magic of Not Taking Yourself Too Seriously
The Bourbon with Brad crew uncorked a legendary pour this week. The iconic Horse Soldier Bourbon, forged in fire by the very soldiers who rode into Afghanistan on horseback after 9/11. Its story sets the tone perfectly for a conversation built on grit, legacy, and the kind of wisdom you only get from a life fully lived.And our special guest? Omar Periu — the New York Times bestselling author, peak
Orbiting Data Centers, Penelope Pours, and the 5th Segment Chaos
Tonight’s pour is the classic Penelope Bourbon, and it sets the tone for an episode that swings from the stratosphere to the seafloor. Brad kicks things off by asking the week’s most unhinged infrastructure question: If we’re putting data centers in orbit and in the ocean… why not slap them on the poles too? The logic is questionable. The bourbon is not.From there, the conversation shifts as we wr
Old Bourbon, New Intelligence: Begin the Big Six AI Breakdown
This week, Brad and the crew crack open one of the oldest bourbons in America - Chicken Cock - and the puns take on a life of their own. Between sips and laughter, the show kicks off a sharp, no‑nonsense breakdown of the six major AI platforms - ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini, Meta AI, and Grok - digging into their real‑world strengths, weaknesses, popularity, and costs. The conversation also di
Bourbon, Breakthroughs & The Fifth Segment
This week on Bourbon with Brad, the AI world is on fire—Anthropic, Google, Meta, Palantir, OpenAI, Elon, and Trump all dropped headline‑making updates, and Brad breaks down what actually matters beneath the hype. But the real highlight is a very special guest: Brad is joined by his long-time great friend Greg Sipos, who brings a standout pour from The Espy House that instantly earns a spot in the
The Brewmaster — AI Breakthroughs, Bourbon Wisdom, and the Return of Math is God’s Mind
This week on Bourbon with Brad delivers one of the most entertaining and insight packed conversations we have had yet. The AI world dropped a full slate of major headlines over the past week or so and Brad breaks them all down with the clarity, humor, and sharp analysis listeners have come to expect. But, this episode has an extra layer of flavor thanks to a very special guest.Jay Herman joins the
Mythos, Masters Magic, and Megawatt Data Centers
This week on Bourbon with Brad, the headlines are big and the pour is even bigger. Anthropic’s Mythos announcement is shaking up the AI and cybersecurity worlds, Rory’s win at the Masters gives us a moment, and we’ve got a special guest in the studio who fits the moment perfectly. Greg Prebish joins Brad, and he does not come empty handed. He walks in with a Four Roses Private Selection that sets
Energy, Marriage, Math, and Japanese Whiskey with Eric Kowalski
On this episode of Bourbon with Brad, we sit down with a mind that feels like it was engineered in a clean room: Eric Kowalski — oil & gas and energy expert, razor‑sharp CMU grad, math philosopher, global traveler, and freshly married after a stunning ceremony in Japan.Eric brings a rare blend of technical mastery and lived wisdom. We dive into the future of global energy, the elegance of Japa
Full Court Press: Pecker Pills, Bourbon, and a Big March Madness Reveal
We pour a glass of Penelope Rio and settle in for a frank, yet funny, and informative conversation with the founder & CEO of MyEdMeds.com and Dr. Rich, MyEdMeds’ telehealth expert doctor. We go deep on boner pills - what works, what doesn’t, and why erectile dysfunction (ED) deserves serious attention even as we trade jokes over a great bourbon. Plus, the MyEdMeds team drops a BIG first‑time a
Birdies, Breakdowns & the Battle for AI’s Future
This week’s pour is bold, complex, and a little bit spicy as Brad and Deken break down the stories everyone in AI, sports, and the markets. From the fairways to federal fallout, it’s a glass‑clinking ride through the week’s biggest headlines.Penelope Architect steps into the spotlight as the Bourbon of the Week. A precision‑crafted pour finished with French oak staves that brings a layered mix of
Frontier Lines: Travels, Trials, and the Claude Controversy
Brad and Deken unpack a week of big moves and bigger questions: they trade travel stories from the road, wrap up the final moments of the Olympics, and break down OpenAI’s latest Frontier Model announcement - what it means for capability, deployment, and competition. The conversation then turns to Anthropic’s escalating standoff with the Department of Defense and a brewing industry dispute as Anth
Winter Ice, The Curling Expert, and AI on Fire
This week on Better with Bourbon, we’re joined by curling expert and all‑around legend Jordan Paul for an episode that slides effortlessly from the Winter Olympics to the golf course to the latest shockwaves in AI.We break down with Jordan why curling is the most deceptively strategic sport on ice, what to watch for as the Winter Games heat up, and then we pivot to this week's golf headlines.A
The NIL Expert - Eddie Edwards - Part 2 of 2
Part 2 of 2 - We’re joined by one of the most knowledgeable and battle‑tested voices in the NIL era — Eddie Edwards.Eddie’s career spans years as a corporate attorney, licensed NFLPA and NBPA contract advisor, and trusted representative for athletes competing at the highest levels. But his impact on today’s college sports landscape is even bigger. Eddie has worked hands‑on with NIL collectives acr
The NIL Expert - Eddie Edwards Breaks it Down
We’re joined by one of the most knowledgeable and battle‑tested voices in the NIL era — Eddie Edwards.Eddie’s career spans years as a corporate attorney, licensed NFLPA and NBPA contract advisor, and trusted representative for athletes competing at the highest levels. But his impact on today’s college sports landscape is even bigger. Eddie has worked hands‑on with NIL collectives across the countr
Our 2026 Predictions
Pour a glass and join the 'Better with Bourbon' crew for “Our 2026 Predictions” where we cut through the noise on AI infrastructure, why alcohol sales are slipping, and what that means for consumers and businesses. From stocks and crypto to market trends and the biggest sports storylines of 2026, we mix sharp analysis with bourbon‑soaked banter to help you spot opportunities ahead. We also
The Conversation We Needed to Start
A smooth first pour to kick off the show. Brad and Deken introduce themselves, share why they launched Better with Bourbon, and dive into this week's biggest headlines across finance, AI, and sports. They are joined by Dave Brocious, Managing Partner of Sky Point Crane, for a sharp conversation on building in high-stakes industries and his take on the stories of the week. Grab a glass of your
