Breakeven Brothers

Bradley Bernard, Bennett Bernard
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Breakeven Brothers podcast explores how AI is transforming the landscape for professionals. Join brothers Bradley Bernard and Bennett Bernard, a software engineer and a Certified Public Accountant, as they offer a unique perspective on how automation and intelligent agents are transforming knowledge work. They explore the shift from manual tasks to strategic oversight, the growing importance of prompt engineering, and the critical skills you'll need to not just survive, but thrive in an AI-driven world. This podcast is your roadmap to future-proofing your career and embracing technology as your ultimate productivity partner.

  1. FEB 12

    OpenClaw hype train & a new job change!

    The Breakeven Brothers are back from hiatus with a huge announcement: one of the brothers has started a new role as a software engineer at OpenAI! He shares the inside scoop on the interview process, the dynamic culture, and what it’s like to be working at the epicenter of the AI revolution. This personal journey kicks off a broader conversation about career development in the age of AI, with insights from a career panel at a local college and advice for accountants to embrace new tools like Excel and the command line. The conversation then dives headfirst into the viral whirlwind surrounding OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot/ClawdBot). The brothers dissect the massive hype, the very real security concerns, and the bizarre phenomenon of AI bots seemingly conspiring on forums. They also tackle the growing problem of AI-generated "slop" flooding open-source projects, the burden it places on maintainers, and the recent trend of AI development tools shifting from complex command-line interfaces back to user-friendly graphical apps. It's a candid and grounded discussion on separating genuine innovation from the noise in today's fast-moving tech landscape. Chapters:00:09 Introduction and Recent Life Changes00:40 Brad Announces New Job at OpenAI04:35 Ben's Accounting Career Panel Experience07:29 Ben's New Claude Code YouTube Series15:39 The Rise and Hype of OpenClaude28:19 AI Slop Burdening Open Source Projects33:13 The Return of Graphical User Interfaces37:59 Bookmarks: Improving Claude and Building Drones Links:- Augmentic Accounting YouTube Channel - OpenClaw- Mitchell Hashimoto's X/Twitter Profile- Real Python: Quantum Computing With Qiskit  #OpenAI #OpenClaw #AIHype #CareerChange #SoftwareEngineering #AccountingTech #OpenSource #ClaudeCode #TechPodcast #AItools Creators & Guests Bennett Bernard - Host Bradley Bernard - Host

    43 min

  2. JAN 20

    Our wildest AI predictions for 2026

    What does the future hold? Before diving into some wild predictions, we recap a whirlwind week of AI meetups in San Francisco. We share key takeaways from the Agents Anonymous meetup at Sentry's HQ, including a fascinating talk from a Cursor engineer on solving the "long-running agents" problem and what it took to build a web browser autonomously. Then, we switch gears to the Laravel community, discussing Taylor Otwell's demo of a new first-party AI package and the unique vibe of builders who wait for tech to be proven before delivering powerful tools. With our minds on the future, we lock in our 2026 predictions with a 4x4 bingo card. We're placing our bets on everything from full-length AI-generated films and humanoid robots in high-income homes to the first $1 trillion AI IPO and the rise of a $10,000-a-month AI subscription plan. Will UBI become a serious midterm topic? Will Apple finally make a huge AI comeback? Will we see the reintroduction of human typing (typos and all) as a signal of authenticity? We cover 16 bold, specific, and sometimes scary predictions that paint a vivid picture of the next two years in tech and society. Chapters:00:08 Recapping Recent San Francisco AI Meetups01:06 Cursor and the Long-Running Agents Problem04:30 Laravel's New Official AI Package10:57 Introducing the 2026 Predictions Bingo Card11:27 Predictions: AI Media and Humanoid Robots16:12 Predictions: AI Operating Systems and Assistants19:27 Predictions: Economic Shifts and Market Competition23:05 Predictions: Security, Society, and Hardware27:38 Predictions: The Future of AI Coding38:34 Predictions: Market Recessions and Human Typing43:02 Full Bingo Card Recap and Bookmarks Links:- Creating a web browser with long running agents- Callstack's React Native Skill for Claude- Indie Dev Dan on YouTube- Ben Affleck on Joe Rogan discussing AI in movies #AIPredictions #TechPodcast #ClaudeCode #Laravel #HumanoidRobots #FutureOfAI #Cursor #SanFrancisco #UBI #AICommunity Creators & Guests Bennett Bernard - Host Bradley Bernard - Host

    51 min

  3. JAN 9

    How AI rewrites the economics of work

    Welcome to 2026! The new year kicks off with shocking news from the web development world as industry darlings Tailwind Labs and Laracasts announce massive layoffs, citing the disruptive force of AI. Brad and Bennett dive deep into the drama, analyzing the GitHub comments and tweets that sent shockwaves through the community. They discuss the harsh reality for businesses built on selling code or educational content in an era where advanced AI can generate both in seconds, connecting the dots between these high-profile stumbles and the broader economic shifts happening across the tech landscape. The conversation then pivots from industry analysis to personal workflows and the tools defining the new era of development. Brad shares his recent, surprising switch from the much-loved Claude Code to OpenAI's Codex, detailing the specific prompts and settings that are unlocking new levels of productivity. The brothers explore the rise of Agent SDKs, the power of community-created 'Skills,' and the emerging, sometimes wild, use cases for AI, from analyzing personal DNA data to automating tax preparation. This episode is a crucial look at the tangible impacts of AI, offering both a warning and a guide for navigating the rapidly changing world of technology in 2026. Chapters:00:00 Welcome to the First Episode of 202601:09 AI's Toll on Tailwind and Laracasts11:19 Why 2026 Is the Year of Agents14:47 Building Practical AI Agent Workflows22:30 AI's Role in Accounting and Taxes27:16 Creative Uses for Personal AI Agents36:15 Codex vs. Claude Code for Development Links:- Tailwind CSS `llms.txt` Pull Request- Adam Wathan on X (Twitter)- Laracasts- TaxDome- Peter Steinberger: Shipping at Inference Speed- Boris Cherny's Tweet on the Future of Engineering- Levelsio on X (Twitter) #AI #TechPodcast #SoftwareDevelopment #TailwindCSS #FutureOfWork #ClaudeCode #OpenAICodex #Laracasts #DeveloperTools #AgenticWorkflows Creators & Guests Bennett Bernard - Host Bradley Bernard - Host

    58 min

  4. 12/23/2025

    The great AI debate: are skills the new agents?

    In our final episode of 2025, we're taking a look back at what was dubbed 'the year of the agents' and peering into what 2026 might hold. The conversation kicks off with a deep dive into a potential paradigm shift: the rise of AI 'skills.' We explore Anthropic's big push for this new framework, contrasting it with existing tool-calling and MCP server approaches. Are skills just a more user-friendly way to package domain knowledge, or are they a fundamental change in how we'll build with AI? We break down the pros and cons, from context window preservation to ease of sharing in a marketplace. Beyond the theoretical, we get into the latest industry drama and developments. We tackle the heated online debate surrounding Claude Opus 4.5—is Anthropic secretly downgrading its flagship model, or are user expectations simply rising? We also cover the release of Google's impressively fast Gemini 3 Flash, a major NPM supply chain attack that compromised thousands of repositories, and the exciting new visual editor and debug mode features from Cursor that could change the front-end development workflow. Join us as we wrap up the year with the biggest stories and share our favorite resources to take into the new year. Chapters:00:00 End of Year and AI Music Licensing02:43 Anthropic and OpenAI Introduce "Skills"12:01 The Opus 4.5 Downgrade Controversy19:14 Google's New Gemini 3 Flash Model21:50 Recent Supply Chain Attack on Developers26:39 Cursor's New Visual Editor and Debug Mode31:11 Bookmarks: Building Skills and Email Triage34:15 Wrapping Up 2025 and Holiday Plans Links:- Suno AI: Ben mentions he used Suno AI, an AI music generation tool, to create the podcast's current theme song and pays a monthly subscription to maintain the commercial license.- Highcharts: A paid JavaScript charting library mentioned as an example of a tool with a commercial license that operates on an 'honor system,' similar to Suno AI.- Chart.js: The free, open-source alternative to Highcharts that Brad switched to for his project, Split My Expenses.- Cursor IDE: The AI-first code editor discussed for its new features, including a visual editor for front-end development and an automated debug mode.- Anthropic: Don't Build Agents, Build Skills Instead: Brad's bookmark: An Anthropic presentation on the AI Engineer YouTube channel titled 'Don't Build Agents, Build Skills Instead,' which argues for a shift in how developers leverage AI.- LangChain YouTube Channel: Ben's bookmark: A deep-dive video from LangChain's YouTube channel about building an agent for email triage, a practical application of AI for managing high-volume inboxes. #AIPodcast #Anthropic #AISkills #SoftwareDevelopment #Cybersecurity #CursorIDE #AIAgents #GeminiAI #TechNews #LangChain Creators & Guests Bennett Bernard - Host Bradley Bernard - Host

    36 min

  5. 12/04/2025

    Claude Opus 4.5 is a POWERHOUSE, here's our vibe check...

    The Breakeven Brothers are back after the holiday break, sharing stories from Thanksgiving travels and post-holiday shopping. Bradley kicks things off with a major announcement: the SplitMyExpenses Android app is finally live! He shares the challenging, and often frustrating, journey of navigating the Google Play Store for the first time, contrasting it with his experience on iOS and celebrating the milestone of being available on all major platforms. From there, the conversation dives headfirst into the whirlwind of recent AI developments. Just days after their last recording, Anthropic released the incredibly powerful Claude Opus 4.5, and the brothers break down why it's a potential game-changer, especially for developers using tools like Cursor. They also explore Google's stunningly realistic new image model: Nano Banana Pro and discuss OpenAI's swift response with Codex Max. This rapid-fire competition leads to a discussion about OpenAI's rumored "code red" to refocus efforts on ChatGPT amidst user decline, raising questions about who will ultimately win the AI race. Chapters:00:09 Introduction and Thanksgiving Recap02:12 Black Friday Shopping and AI Try-Ons04:10 Launching the SplitMyExpenses Android App10:31 Google's New Gemini 3 Pro Model17:39 Nano Banana Pro's Realistic Images22:11 OpenAI's Agentic Codex Max Model24:52 Anthropic's Incredible Opus 4.5 Release38:48 Anthropic's Bun Acquisition and IPO Rumors43:33 OpenAI Declares a 'Code Red' Links:- SplitMyExpenses on Android- SplitMyExpenses on iOS- Bradley Bernard's Blog- Back Market- Google's SynthID Watermark- The Boring Marketer #AI #TechPodcast #Claude4.5Opus #GoogleImagen #OpenAI #AndroidDev #IndieHacker #SoftwareEngineering #Anthropic #DeveloperTools Creators & Guests Bennett Bernard - Host Bradley Bernard - Host

    55 min

  6. 11/20/2025

    Mastering Cursor: plan mode, multi agent, & Composer 1

    Brad is back from the grind and finally has something to show for his 4 AM coding sessions: the official SplitMyExpenses iOS app is live on the App Store! He shares the entire journey, from the initial manual coding attempts to leveraging AI tools like Claude Code that dramatically accelerated his development pace and expanded the app's feature set. Ben also dives into his own coding project, detailing how he rebuilt his accounting firm's website from scratch, ditching Squarespace for a custom solution powered by Cursor's new "plan mode." The brothers compare notes on how indispensable AI has become in their workflows, feeling almost handicapped without it. The conversation then zooms out to the broader AI landscape, dissecting the pros and cons of different models and why Ben finally decided to cancel his Claude subscription. With hype reaching a fever pitch, they speculate on the imminent release of Google's Gemini 3.0, discussing what it needs to deliver to be a true game-changer in terms of intelligence, speed, and cost. To wrap up, they explore a fascinating and potentially alarming theory from "The Big Short's" Michael Burry about an AI bubble fueled by misleading accounting practices, leaving listeners to ponder if the current AI boom is built on a solid foundation or a house of cards. Chapters:00:10 Catching Up and New Haircuts02:05 Brad Launches Split My Expenses App05:32 How AI Transformed App Development15:36 Ben Rebuilds His Website with AI20:50 Deep Dive into AI Coding Tools28:49 Anticipating Google's Gemini 3.0 Release34:28 Bookmarks: AI Bubbles and iPhone Socks Links:- SplitMyExpenses on the iOS App Store- Catalyst CFO Website- Render Hosting- Cursor - The AI-first Code Editor- Seeking Alpha: Michael Burry and the AI Bubble- Cursor Presentation: How We Trained Our Model #AIPodcast #TechPodcast #IndieDev #ReactNativeDev #CursorAI #Gemini3 #AIbubble #SoftwareEngineering #AppLaunch #SideHustle Creators & Guests Bennett Bernard - Host Bradley Bernard - Host

    46 min

  7. 10/31/2025

    ChatGPT Atlas deep dive: The browser that knows too much?

    The Breakeven Brothers are finally back! After another hiatus filled with cross-continental travel, surprise kitten fostering, and a whole lot of life, Bradley and Bennett jump right back into the deep end. We kick things off with stories from Brad's trip to Korea—navigating rainy weddings and constant hotel hopping—and Bennett's unexpected turn as a foster dad to a tiny kitten that wandered into his backyard. These adventures set the stage for a much larger conversation about how quickly things can change, especially in the world of AI. Once we're settled, we dive into a wild new technique from DeepSeek that turns text into images just to... turn it back into text? It sounds crazy, but this 10x compression trick could fundamentally solve one of AI's biggest frustrations: why our agents seem to get dumber the longer we talk to them. This sparks a huge debate about OpenAI's new browser, ChatGPT Atlas. Is it a revolutionary agent that will plan our trips and buy our groceries, or a massive security risk waiting to happen? Brad also gives us a firsthand report from an exclusive "Claude Code Anonymous" meetup in San Francisco, sharing the secrets behind a 700-line master prompt that gets near-perfect results. Tune in for a packed episode covering everything from AI walled gardens to the future of how we browse the web. Chapters:00:00 Back from Hiatus & Personal Updates04:11 DeepSeek's Text-to-Image Compression13:15 OpenAI's New Agentic Browser: ChatGPT Atlas20:38 Security Concerns with Agentic Browsers33:20 Takeaways from Claude Code Anonymous in SF40:16 Bookmarks: Meta vs. AI & Cursor's Plan Mode43:54 Conclusion & wrap up Links:- Meta Banning Rival AI Chatbots on WhatsApp- Cursor's New "Plan Mode" #AI #TechPodcast #OpenAI #ChatGPTAtlas #DeepSeek #ClaudeAI #AICoding #ContextWindow #AIAgents #BrowserWars Creators & Guests Bennett Bernard - Host Bradley Bernard - Host

    45 min

  8. 10/09/2025

    Unpacking OpenAI's DevDay: changes you need to know

    For our dirty 30, we're unpacking some of the biggest AI news of the year, coming at you fresh on the same day it dropped. OpenAI just held their DevDay, and to say they dropped a bombshell would be an understatement. We’re giving our live, unfiltered reactions to a tidal wave of new releases that genuinely knocked it out of the park. From an App Store-like ecosystem built directly into ChatGPT to some wild new revenue estimates (is a billion dollars a month even real?), OpenAI is building a platform that’s impossible to ignore. Join us as we dive into the game-changing tools that could reshape the AI landscape. Ever wanted to build a powerful, custom agent without writing a single line of code? We break down the new Agent Builder and the live demo where they built and deployed one in under eight minutes. Plus, we were blown away by what might be the coolest live tech demo we've ever seen, involving stage cameras, lighting, and an Xbox controller, all prompted into existence on the spot. We also cover the API releases for Sora 2 and GPT-5 Pro and discuss what this all means for developers, non-technical creators, and the future of building. Chapters:00:09 Introduction: OpenAI's Big DevDay01:32 High-Level DevDay Announcements06:52 Building Apps within ChatGPT18:49 The No-Code Agent Builder Kit27:49 Sora 2 & GPT-5 Pro API Updates35:13 The Impressive Live Codex Demo45:44 Final Thoughts & Funny Bookmarks50:38 Conclusion Links:- Sunny Madra's Tweet on OpenAI's Revenue- OpenAI DevDay Opening Keynote- Kitze Tweet about MCP- Sora 2 Video of Sam Altman stealing Studio Ghibli #OpenAI #DevDay #ChatGPT #AgentKit #Codex #Sora2 #GPT5Pro #NoCodeAI #AIPodcast #TechReaction Creators & Guests Bennett Bernard - Host Bradley Bernard - Host

    51 min
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About

The Breakeven Brothers podcast explores how AI is transforming the landscape for professionals. Join brothers Bradley Bernard and Bennett Bernard, a software engineer and a Certified Public Accountant, as they offer a unique perspective on how automation and intelligent agents are transforming knowledge work. They explore the shift from manual tasks to strategic oversight, the growing importance of prompt engineering, and the critical skills you'll need to not just survive, but thrive in an AI-driven world. This podcast is your roadmap to future-proofing your career and embracing technology as your ultimate productivity partner.

Information

  • Creator
    Bradley Bernard, Bennett Bernard
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    37
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Breakeven Brothers - Bradley Bernard, Bennett Bernard
  • Show Website
    Breakeven Brothers