Basic AF: a (mostly) tech podcast

Robin Kai, based in Munich, Germany, is a husband, dad, and writer on Medium and at ForMacUsers.com. He's built a simple, flexible system around Apple's built-in apps that actually fits real life: family, day job, and side projects.
In this episode, Robin walks us through how he captures tasks without thinking about it, organizes them into a structure that doesn't require daily upkeep, and builds a custom "today" view that shows exactly what matters — without the noise.
Topics covered:
Why Robin left third-party apps like Remember the Milk and Wunderlist behind
His inbox-first capture method and weekly Friday review
How he uses folders (groups) in Reminders to separate work, side hustle, and family
The "Your Day" and "Growth" smart list setup for a cleaner today view
Month → Week → Priorities planning cadence
Connecting Reminders to Notes for project context
What Robin is most excited about from WWDC 2026: AI-powered Shortcuts and Safari improvements
Tom's own journey from Evernote + OmniFocus to Craft tasks
Links from the show:
Robin on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@robinsanahkai
ForMacUsers.com: https://www.formacusers.com/
Robin's Apple Reminders guide on Medium: https://medium.com/macoclock/apple-reminders-full-setup-deb28e755eb6?sk=21ab358dbf39f28ed90133d706fb7cf5
Stories from Ukraine: The True Price of War: https://a.co/d/0gu6KDAl
Question or Comment? Send us a Text Message!
Support the show
Contact Us
Drop us a line at feedback@basicafshow.com
You’ll find Jeff at @reyespoint on Threads and reyespoint.bsky.social on Bluesky
Find Tom at @tomanderson on Threads
Join Tom’s newsletter, Apple Talk, for more Apple coverage and tips & tricks.
Tom has a new YouTube channel
Show artwork by the great Randall Martin Design

Enjoy Basic AF? Leave a review or rating!
Review on Apple Podcasts
Rate on Spotify
Recommend in Overcast

Intro Music: Psychokinetics - The Chosen
Apple Music
Spotify

Transcripts and some images are AI generated and may contain errors and general silliness.

Tom and Jeff are joined by returning guests Riley Hill (Slatepad.org) and Joe Moyer (24letters.net) for a full roundtable on what Apple announced during the WWDC keynote and what it means for everyday users.
Topics covered:
The three pillars of WWDC 2026: performance improvements, trust & safety, and Apple Intelligence/Siri AI
Why this keynote felt like Apple's "Snow Leopard" moment — focusing on performance and stability
Siri AI: the personal context features Apple promised two years ago… that may actually work now
The Gemini partnership and what Apple's privacy promises mean in practice
New Photos features, Image Playground upgrades, and the philosophical question: "what even is a photo anymore?"
Safari custom extensions built by Siri — Riley tried it live on the dev beta
AI-powered Shortcuts: promising, half-working, and full of potential
Parental controls overhaul and why it still needs a centralized management solution
Which devices get left behind — iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Watch compatibility breakdowns
Tim Cook's farewell WWDC keynote 
Links from the show:
Riley Hill: slatepad.org
Joe Moyer: 24letters.net (and The Journaling Guide newsletter)
Support the show: basicafshow.com
Question or Comment? Send us a Text Message!
Support the show
Contact Us
Drop us a line at feedback@basicafshow.com
You’ll find Jeff at @reyespoint on Threads and reyespoint.bsky.social on Bluesky
Find Tom at @tomanderson on Threads
Join Tom’s newsletter, Apple Talk, for more Apple coverage and tips & tricks.
Tom has a new YouTube channel
Show artwork by the great Randall Martin Design

Enjoy Basic AF? Leave a review or rating!
Review on Apple Podcasts
Rate on Spotify
Recommend in Overcast

Intro Music: Psychokinetics - The Chosen
Apple Music
Spotify

Transcripts and some images are AI generated and may contain errors and general silliness.

Both of us did something a little unusual this month: we both walked away with the MacBook Air M5. Tom grabbed the 15-inch for work, Jeff picked up the Midnight Blue 13-inch — and after a couple weeks of use, we've got a lot to say about battery life, setup philosophy, and one genuinely weird bug.
This week we cover:
Jeff's "only install what you actually need" setup approach — and why it's working brilliantly
Tom's mysterious MacBook Air lockup issue, and the macOS 26.4 bug that turned out to be the culprit
Jeff's Studio Display needed a reset — turns out it runs a full iOS-based OS, and a simple unplug trick fixes a lot
The Canvas (not Canva!) ransomware hack that hit 9,000+ schools right during finals week
Apple shoots a live MLS game entirely on iPhone 17 Pro — sports history, or marketing stunt?
Apple Card's "free" AirPods Pro 3 promo: the catch hiding in the fine print
Kansas City Public Schools replacing 30,000 Windows PCs and Chromebooks with Apple devices
Apple Sports app now covers the World Cup
Field Notes Explore America notebooks: Tom has a new problem
Links from the show:
Buy Jeff's MacBook Pro M2: https://swappa.com/listing/view/LAFC35203
Field Notes Explore America: fieldnotesbrand.com/products/explore-america
Apple TV + iPhone 17 Pro MLS broadcast: apple.com/newsroom
Sign up for Tom's newsletter: tomfanderson.com
Question or Comment? Send us a Text Message!
Support the show
Contact Us
Drop us a line at feedback@basicafshow.com
You’ll find Jeff at @reyespoint on Threads and reyespoint.bsky.social on Bluesky
Find Tom at @tomanderson on Threads
Join Tom’s newsletter, Apple Talk, for more Apple coverage and tips & tricks.
Tom has a new YouTube channel
Show artwork by the great Randall Martin Design

Enjoy Basic AF? Leave a review or rating!
Review on Apple Podcasts
Rate on Spotify
Recommend in Overcast

Intro Music: Psychokinetics - The Chosen
Apple Music
Spotify

Transcripts and some images are AI generated and may contain errors and general silliness.

There's a lot happening in Apple land right now. Mac mini prices just went up, a Siri class action settlement might land in your inbox soon, and a fresh iOS 27 rumor has some good news for anyone who'd rather talk to Claude than ChatGPT. Tom and Jeff break it all down.
In this episode:
Apple Notes tips: how search really works, Smart Folders, and ProNotes — a free plugin that brings markdown and slash commands to the Notes app
Mac mini's base model is gone — the entry price jumps to $799, and Tim Cook says supply constraints won't recover for several months
Apple Education Store now requires UNiDAYS verification, and Apple Watch just joined the discount program
iOS 27 rumor: you may soon choose Claude or Gemini as your Apple Intelligence AI instead of ChatGPT
Apple's $250M Siri lawsuit settlement — if you own an iPhone 15 Pro or 16 series, you might be owed $25–$95
M5 MacBook Air first impressions: Jeff's testing one alongside his MacBook Pro — and Tom's university just ordered 100 of them
Links from the show:
Apple Notes: Four Tips That Make Finding Things Effortless
Four Fast Ways to Capture to Apple Notes 
ProNotes (free Apple Notes plugin) 
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor 
Playworld by Adam Ross 
We'd be honored if you'd drop a 5-star rating for us on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify!
Question or Comment? Send us a Text Message!
Support the show
Contact Us
Drop us a line at feedback@basicafshow.com
You’ll find Jeff at @reyespoint on Threads and reyespoint.bsky.social on Bluesky
Find Tom at @tomanderson on Threads
Join Tom’s newsletter, Apple Talk, for more Apple coverage and tips & tricks.
Tom has a new YouTube channel
Show artwork by the great Randall Martin Design

Enjoy Basic AF? Leave a review or rating!
Review on Apple Podcasts
Rate on Spotify
Recommend in Overcast

Intro Music: Psychokinetics - The Chosen
Apple Music
Spotify

Transcripts and some images are AI generated and may contain errors and general silliness.

Big news out of Cupertino: Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus set to take the helm this September. Tom and Jeff spend a few minutes on the transition — then welcome back guest Bill McLean for an honest, no-hype check-in on AI tools: what they're actually using, what's working, and where the marketing is writing checks the technology can't cash.
In this episode:
The Tim Cook → John Ternus CEO handoff and what a hardware guy at the top might mean for Apple's software
Which AI platforms Tom and Bill settled on, and why ChatGPT got dropped
Claude Co-Work in real life: web scraping, YouTube analytics, and why you still have to babysit it
The "dopamine hit" problem: why AI-generated ideas can kill your motivation to actually do the work
How Bill replaced his Squarespace subscription using Claude Code with zero coding background
Why context might be AI's real superpower and why Apple could have the biggest edge
MCP integrations worth building: Readwise, Craft, Apple Reminders
Why Claude projects and skills outperformed an Obsidian vault for real workflow results
A must-read New Yorker profile on Sam Altman
Links from the show:
Bill McLean on YouTube: youtube.com/@BillMcLean
Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? - The New Yorker
Question or Comment? Send us a Text Message!
Support the show
Contact Us
Drop us a line at feedback@basicafshow.com
You’ll find Jeff at @reyespoint on Threads and reyespoint.bsky.social on Bluesky
Find Tom at @tomanderson on Threads
Join Tom’s newsletter, Apple Talk, for more Apple coverage and tips & tricks.
Tom has a new YouTube channel
Show artwork by the great Randall Martin Design

Enjoy Basic AF? Leave a review or rating!
Review on Apple Podcasts
Rate on Spotify
Recommend in Overcast

Intro Music: Psychokinetics - The Chosen
Apple Music
Spotify

Transcripts and some images are AI generated and may contain errors and general silliness.