The Seduction of Streaks

12/06/2025 27 min
The Seduction of Streaks

Listen "The Seduction of Streaks"

Episode Synopsis

Chris Boyer and Ed Bennett unravel the oddly powerful pull of digital streaks. Whether it’s Duolingo applauding your 99-day run or the shame spiral from missing one puzzle in the NYT Games app, streaks are everywhere — and they’re working. We explore how streaks mirror childhood sticker charts, why they’re engineered to keep us hooked, and whether rituals wrapped in self-optimization might actually offer comfort in chaotic times.

Our tech tip: hiarthur.com — a GenAI-powered search tool that finally makes Amazon shopping less infuriating.

Then, in our GenAI test segment, we investigate the latest MAHA controversy involving fake citations in a health AI report. We challenge today’s top AI models to see if they can resist the urge to hallucinate citations. Spoiler: they cannot.

Streaks. Search. Shenanigans. And an owl who knows too much.

Mentions from the Show: 



Best Practices - NYT Article




https://hiarthur.com/ 




Chris Boyer on LinkedIn




Ed Bennett on LinkedIn




Chris Boyer website




Ed Bennett of BlueSky




Chris Boyer on BlueSky