In this episode we talk about what vibe coding actually is, where the term came from, and why it’s showing up everywhere right now. I break down how vibe coding differs from AI-assisted coding, why the distinction matters, and what’s exciting and risky about both. The goal is to help you understand what’s real, what’s hype, and how to approach this space with curiosity instead of confusion.

• Where the term “vibe coding” came from
• Andrej Karpathy’s original definition
• Natural language instead of code review
• Public vibe coding tools like Lovable and Replit
• Prototypes vs production software
• Security and fragility concerns
• Vibe coding vs AI-assisted coding
• Coding as a spectrum, not a binary
• Recent ChatGPT use: Creating featured images for blog posts

• Check out the Curious Companion Blog
• Build Your Own Apps self-paced course
• The AI Accelerator by Khe Hy
• Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion
• Submit a Question
• Visit the Website
• Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

• (00:00:00) - ChatGPT Curious
• (00:00:38) - What is Vibe Coding?
• (00:04:12) - What Is Vibe Coding?
• (00:08:16) - Coding 101: The niche
• (00:08:34) - A New World of AI-assisted Coding
• (00:11:11) - Vibe Coding: Call to Action!
• (00:12:58) - Cursor vs. Claude Code
• (00:15:44) - Vibe Coding: Do Vibe Codes Change Jobs?
• (00:16:18) - Vibe Coding and AI-assisted Coding
• (00:17:27) - Vibe Coding and Security
• (00:22:39) - How I Use ChatGPT

Let’s get curious about Google Notebook LM! I walk through what it is, how it works, what makes it different from ChatGPT, and how I’ve personally used it to create mind maps, slide decks, and one-sheets. We also talk about learning styles, hallucinations, citations, pricing, and why this tool feels especially aligned with how I believe AI should be used.

• What Google Notebook LM is (and isn’t)
• “Understand Anything”
• Uploading sources and learning from them
• Types of learning resources it can create
• Why it doesn’t hallucinate
• Internal vs external use cases
• One-sheets and pattern recognition
• Pricing and Google Workspace
• Recent ChatGPT use: Vibe coding assistant

• Check out Google NotebookLM
• Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion
• Submit a Question
• Visit the Website
• Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

• (00:00:00) - ChatGPT Curious
• (00:00:38) - The Best AI Tool You've Never Heard of
• (00:01:40) - A ChatGPT Lesson: Google Notebook
• (00:03:10) - Google Notebook LM: Mind Blowing AI Learning App
• (00:09:01) - Mind Maps: The democratization of learning
• (00:13:50) - Google Notebook: Better Than Chat?
• (00:17:59) - How I Use ChatGPT to Code my First Web App

In this episode I break down whether it’s actually worth paying for ChatGPT or sticking with the free tier. I walk through the concrete differences between free and Plus, talk honestly about what matters and what doesn’t, and explain why “worth it” is always subjective. This episode is less about convincing you and more about giving you enough clarity to decide for yourself.

• Why I avoided this episode
• Ethics and discomfort around paying for AI
• Why “worth it” is subjective
• Free vs Plus vs Pro tiers
• Why Pro is an immediate no
• What the free tier includes
• What the Plus tier unlocks
• What actually matters in real usage
• Usage caps, throttling, and limits
• Memory, Projects, Tasks, and Custom GPTs
• Who should and shouldn’t pay
• Trying Plus without commitment
• Where OpenAI might be headed
• Recent ChatGPT use: Computer science and coding deep-dive

• Listen to Ep. 11: WTF is a Custom GPT
• Subscribe to the ChatGPT Curious Newsletter: The Curious Companion
• Submit a Question
• Visit the Website

Feeling curious AND generous? Click here to support the podcast.

• (00:00:00) - ChatGPT Curious
• (00:00:38) - Chat GPT: Curious
• (00:01:56) - Paying for ChatGPT
• (00:06:43) - Paying for Chat: Is It Worth It?
• (00:10:30) - Gemini: The Free vs. Plus Tier
• (00:14:36) - ChatGPT: The $20+ tier
• (00:19:47) - OpenAI: Are You Paying for Chat?
• (00:24:22) - How I Use ChatGPT this Week
• (00:29:02) - Curious: The Code That AI Makes