Should you say "please" and "thank you" to your AI? Tim does. James absolutely does not. In this episode of Breaking the Build, Tim and James debate AI politeness, token optimization, caveman speak prompts, and whether being rude to your LLM shapes the agent you're building over time. Plus: the Gemini calendar incident, AI as therapist, and James's plan to outsource his mean prompting to a dedicated executioner bot.

Topics covered: AI politeness, token usage, prompt engineering, LLM behavior, caveman speak, anthropomorphizing AI, AI addiction, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, AI tools for developers.

Perfect for: developers and tech professionals who use AI tools daily, anyone curious about how prompt style affects AI output, and people who have ever felt vaguely guilty about being rude to a chatbot.

A bicycle fell on Tim's iPhone. The repair took three hours. In suburban Columbus, Ohio — a place entirely built around having a phone — this was a minor crisis. In episode eight of Breaking the Build, Tim and James explore what it actually means to disconnect from technology, why intentional unplugging feels nothing like forced unplugging, and whether raw-dogging a flight is a spiritual experience or just suffering with good posture.

Topics covered: digital detox, smartphone dependency, tech and mental health, work-life balance in tech, phantom notifications, screen time, location sharing, and disconnecting from technology.

This fun technology podcast takes an honest look at what modern life with a phone actually feels like — and what happens when it's suddenly gone. Includes: phantom buzzes on a Garmin watch, a detailed Survivor strategy, and Tim's long-term plan to return from a year off the grid and crash a finale ceremony.

Perfect for: tech professionals, anyone interested in digital wellness, people who've thought about doing a phone detox but haven't, and remote workers.

If you've been sneaking in AI prompts from the couch while your family watches TV, this episode is for you. Tim and James get honest about how much time they're actually spending with AI coding tools, what they've built, and whether any of us really know what we're doing — or just watching a very convincing cardboard town.

Topics covered: AI coding tools, Claude Code, vibe coding, AI addiction, software development productivity, building with AI, AI limitations, prompt engineering, and using AI for non-developers.

This casual tech podcast covers the real day-to-day experience of building with AI: the wins, the database deletions, and the weird slot machine psychology that keeps you coming back. Featuring the truss plate theory of AI-assisted development, a goof plate that Google couldn't find but Claude could, and Tim's plan to run the entire development process from school drop-off.

Perfect for: developers using AI tools, tech enthusiasts, anyone curious about AI in software development, and people wondering if AI will replace programmers.