In the premiere episode of Tech Film Noir, hosts Lianne Potter, Jeff Watkins, and Simon Painter travel back to 1984 to dissect James Cameron’s career-defining masterpiece, The Terminator.

We’re putting Arnold’s cyborg under the microscope - literally. From the 6502 assembly language hidden in the Terminator’s HUD to the ‘Right to Repair’ scene that would make a modern technician weep, we explore why this low-budget slasher-turned-sci-fi remains the gold standard for AI storytelling. We also tackle the tough questions: Why does time travel require nudity (and will it encourage us to be ‘beach ready’ in the future)? And can we please acknowledge that Kyle Reese saved humanity while wearing deeply questionable, possibly biohazard-level trousers?

Whether you're here for the technical deep dive into Agentic AI or the high-octane roast of Terminator: Genisys, this episode has enough 80s nostalgia to power a Walkman for a decade.

Stick around to the end for our completely serious (not serious) food and drink pairings.

When movies guess the future, we check their work.

From cult classics to cinematic icons, each episode breaks down the tech behind the stories, whether it’s eerily accurate, wildly speculative, or completely absurd. We dig into everything from popping kernels to processing power, unpacking how films imagine, distort, and occasionally predict the future.

Is the tech visionary or laughable? Did the film get it right or miss the mark entirely?

If you love film, technology, and asking “what were they thinking?”, this is the podcast for you.

When movies guess the future, we check their work.