Free Daily Podcast Summary
ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Randy Kindig, Kay Savetz, Brad Arnold
We cover Atari news, reviews, and a special feature each show for the Atari 8-bit line of computers (400/800/XL/XE/XEGS)
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 1 weeks ago1h 25m
ANTIC Interview 464 - Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group
Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group/WCI Labs Walt Klappert worked at Atari's Advanced Development Group/WCI Labs in New York, and later at Take One Enterprises in California. He worked with Nancy and Steve Mayer on a variety of projects with a concentration on creating software for girls. He is credited as Director of "Fisher Price Dance Fantasy", a dance choreography game for small children. He also worked on a system for authoring CD+G, an enhancement to the compact disc spec that allowed graphics and lyrics to be displayed synchronized with music. This interview took place on August 14, 2026. Video version of this interview Walt's YouTube page Dance Fantasy at AtariMania ANTIC Interview 65 - Steve Mayer, 400/800 Designer
- 1 weeks ago1h 37m
ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode
ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We trip all over our own tongues trying to bring you all the news fit to print in the Atari 8-bit computer world… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eaten By a Grue Next Without For What we've been up to Diskmenu manual - archive.org/details/apx-diskmenu-manual 30th anniversary of Classic Computer Magazine Archive - AtariMagazines.com: Discussion - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391744-30th-anniversary-of-classic-computer-magazine-archive/ Atari Yahoo Groups archives: https://archive.org/details/@savetz?query=atari+yahoo+group https://archive.org/details/@savetz?query=identifier%3Ayahoo-group*&and%5B%5D=mediatype%3A%22texts%22 Atari Usenet group archive additions - https://archive.org/details/ANTIC_podcast_extras?tab=collection&query=usenet MPP MicroportXL board manual - https://archive.org/details/Supra_Microport-XL_for_Atari_manual New Atari Legacy magazine - https://atarilegacy.com/ Recent Interview Shows Interview index: here https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-459-mike-lorenzen-atari-program-text-editor-pitfall-ii https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-460-tim-jenkins-cheating-at-roulette ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari <
- 3 weeks ago49 min
ANTIC Interview 463 - Steve Bryson, game programmer
Steve Bryson, game programmer Steve Bryson was a programmer for EPYX and The Connelley Group, where he ported many games to various 8-bit systems. He ported Dragonriders of Pern, an action/strategy game based on the Anne McCaffrey novels, to Atari and Commodore 64. He ported Jumpman to the Apple II, and Lower Reaches of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Temple of Ra to the C64. This interview took place on August 5, 2026. Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/SdK56W9bd6Y Steve's personal web site: https://www.stevepur.com Randy Glover, Jumpman interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i171/i171-transcript.html Tom Zimmerman, AMY chip interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i431/i431-transcript.html Jon Freeman, Freefall Associates interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i070/i070-transcript.html Dragonriders of Pern at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/a8b_Dragonriders_of_Pern_The_1983_Epyx_US Dragonriders of Pern at AtariMania: https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-dragonriders-of-pern_1723.html
- Aug 15, 202625 min
ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari
Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari Bob Fraser worked at Atari for four years: he worked on the early CX70 light pen, helped write the specs for an unreleased database manager for the Atari 8-bits. and later moved into Atari's Games Design Research Group under Alan Kay, where he experimented with 3-D graphics. He wrote a chapter of De Re Atari — chapter 7, all about sound — and two applications that were published by Atari Program Exchange: Supersort, a data sorting routine; and Insomnia, a sound editor. Supersort was APX catalog number 20030, and was for sale starting with the first APX catalog, summer 1981. Insomnia was catalog number 20073 and was available about six months later in the winter 1981 catalog. The CX70 light pen: it's rare — according to AtariWiki, it was only offered by Atari for a few months in 1981. After our interview, Bob sent me his: prototype #2. He also sent me a lot of floppy disks (around 70) which I was able to get the data off of. They include many of his 3-D rendering demonstrations, source code for an early version of the Ballsong demo, several early versions of Mike Lorenzen's MEDIT text editor, light pen software, internal development tools, and more. I've put them all online, have fun digging through them. This interview took place on June 10, 2026. Video version of this interview Download Bob's disks, and conversation about them Supersort in the summer 1981 APX catalog Supersort at Atarimania Insomnia in the winter 1981 APX catalog Insomnia at Atarimania De Re Atari CX70 Light Pen at AtariWiki CX70 discussion at AtariAge Invest like a Billionaire by Bob Fraser Dale Yocum interview Chris Crawford interview Douglas Crockford interview
- Aug 2, 202625 min
ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System
James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System James W. Burley is the programmer of Data Base/Report System, which was sold by Atari Program Exchange beginning with the Summer 1982 APX catalog. It was catalog number 20134 with a price of $22.95. APX sold it for about a year, through the Summer 1983 catalog. APX awarded Data Base/Report System first prize for new software in the "Business & Professional Applications/Personal Finance & Record Keeping" category: for that, James was awarded an Atari Star plaque and $2000 prize. (He received the plaque, but says he never received the money.) The software may have also been sold by Main Street Publishing. Here's what the APX catalog had to say: Data Base/Report System by James W. Burley Recommended for experienced data base users/Written in BASIC and machine language If you've ever used a data base manager on a large computer system, you'll appreciate the many features of DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM. This general-purpose system for ATARI 800 Home Computers creates and maintains records having up to ten units of information ("fields"), with a maximum field length of 100 characters and a maximum record length of 255 characters. The total number of records you can store varies with record key size, a key being the unique identifier for each record) and available computer memory. Generally, you can store about 1300 records having a five-character key on a system with 40K of memory. You use the main program to create a new file; add, update, and remove records; sort the file; and print reports. Auxiliary programs reorganize the data files to free unused diskette space; redefine the file by adding fields, modifying field sizes, or changing field headings; delete old files; and print special reports. ... These and other features make DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM a really versatile data base management system for your ATARI 800 Home Computer. REVIEW COMMENTS: You need some data base knowledge to use the program; it's a bit complex, but all the features are worthwhile. The print formatting and file reorganization features are very useful. The sort and search routines, written in assembly language, work quickly. In 1983, Antic magazine featured the program as one of the "Ten Best from APX". In 2024, Wade at the Inverse ATASCII podcast did a deep dive into Data Base/Report System: check the show notes for the link to that review, which includes dozens of screenshots, sample print output, and information about the database's file format. Wade gave the software a rating of 5 out of 8. As of this recording, the Atari community doesn't yet have a scan of the APX manual for Data Base/Report System: if you have a copy, let me know, or scan it and upload it to Internet Archive. The Main Street Publishing version — both disk and manual — are also not preserved. This interview took place on May 22, 2026. Data Base/Report System at AtariMania Data Base/Report System in the APX Summer 1982 APX catalog Antic Magazine - February 1983 - Ten Best from APX Inverse ATASCII reviews Data Base/Report System
- Jul 19, 202628 min
ANTIC Interview 460 - Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette
Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette with an Atari Computer Tim Jenkins is the author of several humorous memoirs: "Missions Accomplished: And some funny business along the way", "More Missions Accomplished: And a lot more funny business", and "Business Missions Accomplished: Silly travel tales on the corporate dime". I wanted to talk to Tim about one chapter in his 2018 book More Missions Accomplished: the chapter is titled "Gaming the System" and it tells the tale of him trying to cheat a roulette using his Atari 800 computer. A brief excerpt from that chapter: "Las Vegas — 1989. Shortly after the dawn of the personal computer revolution, opportunity beckoned. Some people wrote software and sold it over retail counters. Others launched services that harnessed the databasing and processing power of the PC to help people find a job, a date, or other people with the same interests. I put my own Atari 800 computer to work simulating roulette. ... If you kept increasing your bet every time you lost a spin of the wheel, eventually your number would come up: The question was, would you earn back all the money you'd previously lost and make a profit? Yes. That is, you would if you did not first run into the table limit. ... How to get there without hitting the max bet? That's what I set out to simulate on my Atari computer. ... The program showed this to be a winning strategy, if perfectly executed." This interview took place on May 22, 2025. More Missions Accomplished at amazon: https://amzn.to/446MrVP At Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/moremissionsacco0000timj/page/138/mode/2up Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/EW-pDXlBDQg
- Jul 5, 20262h 28m
ANTIC Interview 459 - Mike Lorenzen: Atari Program-Text Editor, Pitfall II
Mike Lorenzen: Atari Program-Text Editor, Pitfall II Mike Lorenzen worked at Atari, Activision, and Accolade, creating games for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, and Commodore 64 computers. At Atari, Mike coded Golf and Circus Atari for the Atari 2600. For the 8-bit computers, he wrote MEDIT (which he told me stands for Mike's EDITor.) Atari got a lot of mileage from MEDIT, using versions of that text editor in several products: first, in Atari Program-Text Editor (which was bundled with Atari's Macro Assembler), and in two Atari Program Exchange products: APX 20075, Atari Program-Text Editor; and APX 20076: Word Processing Diskette, where it was bundled with a text formatter. Both Program-Text Editor and Word Processing Diskette first appeared in the Winter 1981 APX catalog (the second APX catalog) with a price of $39.95 for Program-Text Editor and $49.95 for Word Processing Diskette — relatively hefty prices, considering the median price for software in that catalog was just $17.95. At Activision, he ported Pitfall and Pitfall II Lost Caverns to the Atari 8-bit — and in that, created the undocumented Easter egg of an additional game inside: Pitfall III, which appears only in the Atari 8-bit version. At Accolade, Mike developed the game "Psi-5 Trading Company" for the C64, which he called "the most sophisticated Commodore 64 program ever written". This interview took place on June 4, 2026. Software mentioned: Macro Assembler and Program-Text Editor at AtariMania APX 20075: Atari Program-Text Editor at AtariMania APX 20076: Word Processing Diskette at AtariMania Pitfall at AtariMania Pitfall II Lost Caverns at AtariMania People mentioned: Scott Scheiman interview Dale Yocum interview Chris Crawford interview Fred Thorlin interview Brad Fregger on Lorenzen's overwork More information: Inverse ATASCII reviews APX Program-Text Editor AtariWiki on Program-Text Editor Psi-5 Trading Company
- Jun 30, 20261h 43m
ANTIC Episode 129 - SDX and FNSlots
ANTIC Episode 129 - SDX and FNSlots In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast…Brad plays around with SDX, Kay and Randy bring you news from some vintage computer shows, we drool over all the new hardware news, and we bring you FujiNet news, including FNSlots… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eaten By a Grue Next Without For What we've been up to Box of stuff from Bob Fraser Light pen - https://atari8bitads.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-light-pen-is-here-and-now-its-gone.html Disks! Six early versions of MEDIT - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/381770-source-code-for-editorassembler-and-programtext-editor-released/#findComment-5854788 Prerelease version of DOS 2.0S - https://github.com/savetz/ballsong INIT HELLO https://init-hello.org/ at System Source Computer Museum https://museum.syssrc.com/ Print Slop https://www.savetz.com/print-shop-camera/atari.html discussion at https://forums.atariage.com/topic/324752-print-shop-atari-related-graphics/#comment-5854339 ANTIC Interview Transcripts site - https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/ SDX - https://sdx.atari8.info/index.php VCF SW - https://www.vcfsw.org/ National Videogame Museum - https://www.nvmusa.org ABBUC - https://www.abbuc.de Recent Interviews ANTIC Interview 457 - Atari at the Science Fair: Lisa Link Melville, Weather Prediction ANTIC Interview 458 - Allan Bushman, Atari archivist New & Updated Games EDGE: Eight-bit D*****! Game Engine - <a href= "https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390906-edge-eight-bi
Get ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast summaries in your inbox
Free AI-powered daily recaps. Key takeaways, quotes, and mentions — in a 5-minute read.
Get Free Summaries →Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
You Might Also Like
Listeners also like.
Retro Computing Roundtable
Retro Computing Roundtable
Retronauts
Explore the history of video games through in-depth discussions on classic titles, from early arcade machines to modern remakes.
The Flipside Pinball Podcast
A deep dive into pinball and retro gaming culture through interviews, gameplay, and nostalgic exploration by a longtime arcade enthusiast.
Accidental Tech Podcast
Three nerds discuss technology, Apple, programming, and related topics.
WhatCulture Gaming
Weekly gaming podcasts featuring news, interviews, discussions, and quizzes from industry insiders.
Primary Technology
Tech news covering consumer gadgets, AI, and major industry stories explained for a general audience.
The Jeff Gerstmann Show - A Podcast About Video Games
A weekly podcast covering video games and the gaming industry with deep expertise and enthusiasm.
Post Games
A weekly audio magazine exploring the culture, psychology, and industry behind video games through narrative reporting and interviews.
The Game Informer Show
A weekly gaming podcast featuring discussions on video game news, reviews, and industry topics with developers and special guests.
AI: Appalachian Intelligence
Explores paranormal phenomena, cryptids, conspiracies, and alternative history with a focus on Appalachian folklore and mysteries.
The AI XR Podcast.
Industry insiders interview top founders and executives on AI, spatial computing, VR/AR, and synthetic media.
Triple Click
A weekly podcast discussing video games, hosted by Kirk Hamilton, Maddy Myers, and Jason Schreier.
About ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast
We cover Atari news, reviews, and a special feature each show for the Atari 8-bit line of computers (400/800/XL/XE/XEGS)
Customized Recaps
AI-powered recaps with compact key takeaways, quotes, and insights.
Straight to Your Inbox
Get key takeaways from ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast in a 5-minute read.
Save Hours Every Week
Stay current on your favorite podcasts without falling behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Podzilla's ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast daily summary?
It's a free AI-powered email that summarizes new episodes of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast as soon as they're published. You get the key takeaways, notable quotes, and links & mentions — all in a quick read.
How does the ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast podcast summary work?
When a new episode drops, our AI transcribes and analyzes it, then generates a personalized summary tailored to your interests and profession. It's delivered to your inbox every morning.
Is this an official ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast product?
No. Podzilla is an independent service that summarizes publicly available podcast content. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by Randy Kindig, Kay Savetz, Brad Arnold.
Can I get summaries of other podcasts too?
Absolutely! The free plan covers up to 3 podcasts. Upgrade to Pro for 15, or Premium for 50. Browse our full catalog at /podcasts.
How often does ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast release new episodes?
ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast publishes biweekly. Our AI generates a summary within hours of each new episode.
What topics does ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast cover?
ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast covers topics including News, Technology. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
Start getting ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast summaries tomorrow morning.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.