Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
AppStories
This week, Federico and John explain how they go about creating personal productivity tools with the assistance of AI and walk through some of what they have created.
On AppStories+, we talk about our Black Friday tech purchases.
NPC: Next Portable Console
This week, AYANEO goes big – very, very big – and we read the tea leaves from Sean Hollister’s interview of Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais.
Then on NPC XL, no one could resist Black Friday, so everyone wound up with a new PC.
Comfort Zone
Chris is making a bunch of changes going into 2026, Niléane has another snazzy audio app update, and everyone navigates the pain of trying to use a new keyboard layout.
In the Cozy Zone, the gang drafted fonts. As you can image, strong opinions were felt.
MacStories Unwind
This week, Federico and John share their favorite videogames of 2025.
AppStories, Episode 464, ‘Vibe Coding Your Own Productivity Tools’ Show Notes
Vibe Coding Personal Productivity Tools
- Simon Willison’s blog
- Harper Reed
- Vibe coding apps and startups:
AppStories+ Post-Show: Our Black Friday Purchases
- Federico
- John
Subscribe to AppStories+
Visit AppStories.net to learn more about the extended, high bitrate audio version of AppStories that is delivered early each week and subscribe.
NPC, Episode 60, ‘Monster Handhelds and Valve’s Big Bet on ARM’ Show Notes
The Latest Portable Gaming News
- ANBERNIC Officially Reveals RG477V Retro Handheld
- Ayaneo Announces a Monster of a New Gaming Handheld
- iiSU Alpha
- Sean Hollister of The Verge interviews Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais
- Retro Game Corps Reviews the Ayn Odin 3
NPC XL: A PC Shopping Spree:
- John: GMKtec EVO-X2 and 32” ASUS OLED Display
- Federico: Beelink SER9 Pro
- Brendon: OMEN 16L Gaming Desktop TG03-0055m PC
Subscribe to NPC XL
NPC XL is a weekly members-only version of NPC with extra content, available exclusively through our new Patreon for $5/month. Each week on NPC XL, Federico, Brendon, and John record a special segment or deep dive about a particular topic that is released alongside the “regular” NPC episodes. You can subscribe here.
Comfort Zone, Episode 79, ‘I Got a Flu From This Keyboard’ Show Notes
Main Topics
Other Stuff We Talked About
- Alan Dye is leaving Apple
- Colemak
- Dvorak
- BÉPO
- Blot.im
- How old is your belt?
- This Year by John Darnielle
- Bamboo Lab A1 Mini
- LEGO U.S.S. Enterprise
Cozy Zone
For even more from the Comfort Zone crew, you can subscribe to Cozy Zone. Cozy Zone is a weekly bonus episode of Comfort Zone where Matt, Niléane, and Chris invite listeners to join them in the Cozy Zone where they’ll cover extra topics, invent wilder challenges and games, and share all their great (and not so great) takes on tech. You can subscribe to Cozy Zone for $5 per month here or $50 per year here.
MacStories Unwind, ‘Best Videogames of 2025’ Show Notes
This episode is sponsored by:
- Sequel – Track Now. Enjoy Later.
2025’s Best Videogames
- Federico’s Backlog:
- John’s Backlog:
- Federico’s Top Games:
- Federico’s No. 1 Game:
- John’s Top Games:
- Ball x Pit
- Mario Kart World
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Sektori
- John’s No. 1 Game:
Unwind Deal
?️?⚡️ Catch up on the Tron universe with all three movies for just $39.97 in the TV app. Enjoy three neon-soaked sci-fi adventures where humans get pulled into a digital world of deadly games, rogue programs, and high-speed light cycles.
MacStories Unwind+
We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free with high bitrate audio every week. To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.
MacStories launched its first podcast in 2017 with AppStories. Since then, the lineup has expanded to include a family of weekly shows that also includes MacStories Unwind, Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, NPC: Next Portable Console, and First, Last, Everything that collectively, cover a broad range of the modern media world from Apple’s streaming service and videogame hardware to apps for a growing audience that appreciates our thoughtful, in-depth approach to media.
If you’re interested in advertising on our shows, you can learn more here or by contacting our Managing Editor, John Voorhees.
