Al, Andrew, Dave and Kevie come together again to find their way through some FOSS pickings sprinkled with creative common tunes. They start as always with a round-up of recent releases found on distrowatch.com.

Dave and Al have taken a look at cluster of tools named after burrowing animals – Pangolin, Gerbil, Badger and Newt – which provides solutions for tunneling, reverse proxies and authentication. The collective noun for such things is, apparently, a fossorial 🙂

Going from the complex to the simple, at least for the end-user, Kevie and Andrew try out Deku SMS which describes itself as “proof-of-concept for secure SMS messaging, SMS image transmission and SMS-Cloud communications”.

Podcrawl Easter 2025 will be on Saturday 18 April 2025 from 5pm UTC (UK time). All our welcome with details of how to join being available here.

If you have a comment to make or a suggestion of what we might review in the future, please do contact us.

Creative commons tunes played in this episode includes:

1. Thecoffeeinthefridge – London Baby
2. NaTaN CoLD – Unbroken Circle
3. Radioontheshelf – When Yesterday Was Smooth (feat. Mr Yesterday)
4. Richard Shekari – You Are Enough

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on The Bugcast: Apple does the wrong thing, stalker poses as missing girl, and eight tracks of amazing Creative Commons and independent music.

Songs played

• CJ Redan – Opposite – from Canada – source
• Electric Rime – Bottleneck – from Kyiv, Ukraine – source
• Stefan Kartenberg – I’m That Guy (feat. Admiral Bob) – from Germany – source
• Joshua Wales – All Over – from London, UK – source
• Gothic Resonance – Shadows Embrace – from France – source
• Yonder Breaks – Luna – from USA – source
• Ed Napoli – Life In The City – from Brazil – source
• L.M.W. – Bubblegum Kiss – from Bristol, UK – source

Intro: Chris Juergensen – Bug Lips
Outro: Mark Marshall – Man Walking

Topics

BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgj54eq4vejo">Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx29k37lyp9o">Woman in court over McCann family stalking charges</a>

Upcoming events

<strong>It’s time to start <a href="https://thebugcast.org/choice/">submitting tracks for the Listeners Choice</a>, episode 850 in May.</strong>

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Podcasts mentioned

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Announcements

• Please leave us feedback on the music or any of the topics that we’ve discussed.
• The next show will be episode 841 which will be streamed live on Friday 28 February 2025 at 21:30-ish UK time (UTC).
• Join us during the week on our Telegram group chat – click here to join
  (you’ll need a Telegram account)

Special thanks go to

Our <a href="https://thebugcast.org/support">supporters</a>!<br />
The artists for allowing us to play their music.<br />
Everyone who joined us in the chat room for the live broadcast of this show.<br />
<a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> for hosting the media files<br />
Yannick (FrenchguyCH) for the use of his Shoutcast server

The Bugcast is a proud founder member of the Other Side Podcast Network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on The Bugcast: extraordinary portraits, political hit jobs, Adrián and the Whale, and eight tracks of amazing Creative Commons and independent music.

Songs played

• Square A Saw – Jupiter And Mars – from Eschweiler, Germany – source
• Radioontheshelf – When Yesterday Was Smooth (feat. Mr Yesterday) – from Earth – source
• Oswold – Opowiem Ci – from Poland – source
• Gadže – Phurdel – from Zlín, Czech Republic – source
• The Metamodern – A Scent Of Disillusion – from New York, NY – source
• Stefan Kartenberg – Rains On Everything (feat. Ivan Chew, Minwen) – from Germany – source
• Lyndon Tyler – Gathering Green – from UK – source
• AJ Rosales – Thunderclouds – from Chicago, IL – submitted by August Forte from NoVo Management and Publicity

Intro: Chris Juergensen – Bug Lips
Outro: Mark Marshall – Man Walking

Topics

Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bradford2025/videos/932432038870735">Extraordinary Portraits – totes emosh – Claire (and Rizwan – no link yet)</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77r05nx11po">Political hit job? Rachel Reeves</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly50k8zypmo">Humpback Whale and the Kayaker</a>

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Upcoming events

<strong>Podcrawl ?? 2025</strong> on Saturday ?? from 18:00 UK time - <a href="https://tuxjam.otherside.network/podcrawl/">more details</a><br />

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Podcasts mentioned

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Announcements

• Please leave us feedback on the music or any of the topics that we’ve discussed.
• The next show will be episode 840 which will be streamed live on Friday 21 February 2025 at 21:30-ish UK time (UTC).
• Join us during the week on our Telegram group chat – click here to join
  (you’ll need a Telegram account)

Special thanks go to

Our <a href="https://thebugcast.org/support">supporters</a>!<br />
The artists for allowing us to play their music.<br />
Everyone who joined us in the chat room for the live broadcast of this show.<br />
<a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> for hosting the media files<br />
Yannick (FrenchguyCH) for the use of his Shoutcast server

The Bugcast is a proud founder member of the Other Side Podcast Network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on The Bugcast: lots of remember but little to celebrate, and eight tracks of amazing Creative Commons music.

Songs played

• Artisflamina – Parole Senza Suono – from Italy – source
• Ed Napoli – Will Never Understand – from Brazil – source
• Radioontheshelf – The Phoney Generations (feat. Panu) – from Earth – source
• Susan Tiz – Mujer – from Spain – source
• Wiseman – Whispers (feat. Quiana Nadine) – from Gothenburg, Sweden – source
• Kay Nal – The Red-Haired Girl – from Russia – source
• Raja – Finally Lost You (feat. Stefan Kartenberg, Bianca Stücker) – from Germany – source
• The DeeD – Bird Of Paradise – from Russia – source

Intro: Chris Juergensen – Bug Lips
Outro: Mark Marshall – Man Walking

Topics

BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9vp24z6qo">Coogan spared lengthy driving ban to film The Trip</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom">Five years since the first case of Covid-19 in the UK</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwxpnxyrnvo">Grenfell Tower to be taken down, government confirms</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7epd3mz0ro">Swedish school shooting victims were seven women and three men</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxeg4q0rddo">Sitcom actor Brian Murphy dies aged 92</a>

Upcoming events

<strong>Podcrawl Mid-Winter 2025</strong> on Saturday 8 February from 18:00 UK time – <a href="https://tuxjam.otherside.network/podcrawl/">more details</a>

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Podcasts mentioned

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Announcements

• Please leave us feedback on the music or any of the topics that we’ve discussed.
• The next show will be episode 839 which will be streamed live on Friday 14 February 2025 at 21:30-ish UK time (UTC).
• Join us during the week on our Telegram group chat – click here to join
  (you’ll need a Telegram account)

Special thanks go to

Our <a href="https://thebugcast.org/support">supporters</a>!<br />
The artists for allowing us to play their music.<br />
Everyone who joined us in the chat room for the live broadcast of this show.<br />
<a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> for hosting the media files<br />
Yannick (FrenchguyCH) for the use of his Shoutcast server

The Bugcast is a proud founder member of the Other Side Podcast Network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Our FOSStering foursome – Kevie, Dave, Andrew and Al – forge forward into 2025 feeling funny. First off, as usual, they review recent OS releases on Distrowatch.

Then the “fun” begins with Kevie and Andrew’s review of FunOS. Is it fun? If so, who will have fun with it? To find out you’ll have to listen.

Next up is fun of a more literal kind with the Miyoo Mini Plus (pronounced Miyoo Mini Plus) which offers up retro gaming in an inexpensive compact handheld device. Al and Dave-the-non-gamer went through the hardship of reviewing it, although the latter has since become Dave-the-Dr-Mario-Maestro. The Reddit post that discusses the Miyoo Mini Plus images can be found here.

We were delighted to have received quite a bit of feedback to review. If you have a comment to make or a suggestion of what we might review in the future, please do contact us.

Podcrawl Late-Winter 2025 (or Late-Summer for antipodeans) will be on Saturday 8 February 2025 from 6pm UTC (UK time). All our welcome with details of how to join being available here.

Creative common and other tunes played with permission in this episode include:

1. Dan Lynch – (demo) –No Way Out
2. Cole Powell – Simple Things (ft. Kyle Graves) (Unfiltered X Version)
3. Boogie Belgique – The Bartender
4. Christian Petermann – Dreamy Road

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on The Bugcast: the Green Belt, elections, blood, Marianne Faithfull, and eight tracks of amazing Creative Commons music.

Songs played

• FromSkyToAbyss – Out Of The Blue Into the Black – from Moscow, Russia – source
• SoulBits – Adulting Ain’t Easy – from USA – source
• Ryan Martin – Dry – from York, UK – source
• Boogie Belgique – A Night With Captain Midnight – from Brussels, Belgium – source
• I Love You – No Hook – from USA – source
• Stefan Kartenberg – Rescue Me (feat. mykleanthony, Kara Square) – from Germany – source
• Liz Sumner – The Scene Of Your Crime – from Pergola, Italy – source
• J.Lang – 51st State, Eh? (rock mix) (feat. Admiral Bob) – from Waterbury, CT – source

Intro: Chris Juergensen – Bug Lips
Outro: Mark Marshall – Man Walking

Topics

Alex ‘Green Belt in Taekwondo’ Lee<br />
Dave has been elected to the committee of his local Amateur Radio Society<br />
Caroline gave blood today<br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8k931j423o">Singer and actress Marianne Faithfull dies at 78</a>

Upcoming events

<strong>Podcrawl Mid-Winter 2025</strong> on Saturday 8 February from 18:00 UK time – <a href="https://tuxjam.otherside.network/podcrawl/">more details</a>

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Podcasts mentioned

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Announcements

• Please leave us feedback on the music or any of the topics that we’ve discussed.
• The next show will be episode 838 which will be streamed live on Friday 7 February 2025 at 21:30-ish UK time (UTC).
• Join us during the week on our Telegram group chat – click here to join
  (you’ll need a Telegram account)

Special thanks go to

Our <a href="https://thebugcast.org/support">supporters</a>!<br />
The artists for allowing us to play their music.<br />
Everyone who joined us in the chat room for the live broadcast of this show.<br />
<a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> for hosting the media files<br />
Yannick (FrenchguyCH) for the use of his Shoutcast server

The Bugcast is a proud founder member of the Other Side Podcast Network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on The Bugcast: a storm batters the UK, a tragedy that could have been avoided, and eight tracks of amazing Creative Commons music.

Songs played

• Boogie Belgique – The Bartender – from Brussels, Belgium – source
• I Love You – Nagg’s Machine – from USA – source
• Dan Lynch – No Way Out (demo) – from Liverpool, UK – source
• Kinematic – Seaside Town – from Melbourne, Australia – source
• Igor Pumphonia – Skies So Blue – from St. Petersburg, Russia – source
• Chello Dachance – I See Green – from USA – source
• Stefan Kartenberg – Hey Noob (feat. Calling Sister Midnight) – from Germany – source
• The Tamarros – Bandidos – from Italy – source

Intro: Chris Juergensen – Bug Lips
Outro: Mark Marshall – Man Walking

Topics

BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy5kwlpzlnkt">Storm Éowyn</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgmn1rxpk4o">Southport killer charged</a> – upcoming investigation

Upcoming events

<strong>Podcrawl Mid-Winter 2025</strong> on Saturday 8 February from 18:00 UK time – <a href="https://tuxjam.otherside.network/podcrawl/">more details</a>

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Podcasts mentioned

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Announcements

• Please leave us feedback on the music or any of the topics that we’ve discussed.
• The next show will be episode 837 which will be streamed live on Friday 31 January 2025 at 21:30-ish UK time (UTC).
• Join us during the week on our Telegram group chat – click here to join
  (you’ll need a Telegram account)

Special thanks go to

Our <a href="https://thebugcast.org/support">supporters</a>!<br />
The artists for allowing us to play their music.<br />
Everyone who joined us in the chat room for the live broadcast of this show.<br />
<a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> for hosting the media files<br />
Yannick (FrenchguyCH) for the use of his Shoutcast server

The Bugcast is a proud founder member of the Other Side Podcast Network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on The Bugcast: a lot of bad and sad news to discuss, plus eight tracks of amazing Creative Commons music.

Songs played

• Ryan Martin – More Than Human – from York, UK – source
• Bessonn&sa – Like Before – from Russia – source
• Garient – I Used To Buy You Flowers – from Manchester, UK – source
• HB – Lyrical Inferno – from India – source
• Occasionally Humans – Wanting and Waiting – from Los Angeles, CA – source
• Stefan Kartenberg – Yesterday (feat. Blafo) – from Germany – source
• Poskok DJ – Maslina I More – from Croatia – source
• Radioontheshelf – Directions (feat. Unreal dm & Rag, Tag and Bobtail) – from Earth – source

Intro: Chris Juergensen – Bug Lips
Outro: Mark Marshall – Man Walking

Topics

BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3e18qylq5do">Tik Tok ban in US</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn01dynqx7ro">Neil Gaiman – More allegations</a><br />
Week of loss: Joan Plowright, Paul Danan, Linda Nolan, Tony Slattery, David Lynch, Denis Law<br />
The Guardian: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/jan/16/california-la-wildfires-updates">LA Fires still burning</a> (Less coverage in UK now)

Upcoming events

<strong>Podcrawl Mid-Winter 2025</strong> on Saturday 8 February from 18:00 UK time – <a href="https://tuxjam.otherside.network/podcrawl/">more details</a>

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Podcasts mentioned

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Announcements

• Please leave us feedback on the music or any of the topics that we’ve discussed.
• The next show will be episode 836 which will be streamed live on Friday 24 January 2025 at 21:30-ish UK time (UTC).
• Join us during the week on our Telegram group chat – click here to join
  (you’ll need a Telegram account)

Special thanks go to

Our <a href="https://thebugcast.org/support">supporters</a>!<br />
The artists for allowing us to play their music.<br />
Everyone who joined us in the chat room for the live broadcast of this show.<br />
<a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> for hosting the media files<br />
Yannick (FrenchguyCH) for the use of his Shoutcast server

The Bugcast is a proud founder member of the Other Side Podcast Network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on The Bugcast: we discuss Zuckerberg’s latest own goal, and the wildfires in Los Angeles, plus eight tracks of amazing Creative Commons music.

Songs played

• The Tamarros – My Husqvarna (ed. 2025) – from Italy – source
• Out Of Orion (Ox3) – Spies – from Virginia Beach, WA – source
• Igor Pumphonia – Easy Livin’ (2nd version) – from St Petersburg, Russia – source
• Artisflamina – I Would Like – from Italy – source
• Same Old Shiver – Bones – from Los Angeles, CA – source
• Cole Powell – Simple Things (feat. Kyle Graves) (unfiltered X version) – from Jayess, MS – source
• Signed In Black – Enslaved – from Russia – source
• Forget The Whale – Poison – from Jersey City, NJ – source

Intro: Chris Juergensen – Bug Lips
Outro: Mark Marshall – Man Walking

Topics

Politico: <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/mark-zuckerberg-full-elon-musk-dump-facebook-fact-checker/">Zuckerberg fact checking payback</a><br />
Forbes: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2024/01/16/the-dead-internet-theory-explained/">Dead Internet Theory</a><br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cg7z9zjv90jt">LA Fires</a>

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Upcoming events

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Podcasts mentioned

–>

Announcements

• Please leave us feedback on the music or any of the topics that we’ve discussed.
• The next show will be episode 835 which will be streamed live on Friday 17 January 2025 at 21:30-ish UK time (UTC).
• Join us during the week on our Telegram group chat – click here to join
  (you’ll need a Telegram account)

Special thanks go to

Our <a href="https://thebugcast.org/support">supporters</a>!<br />
The artists for allowing us to play their music.<br />
Everyone who joined us in the chat room for the live broadcast of this show.<br />
<a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> for hosting the media files<br />
Yannick (FrenchguyCH) for the use of his Shoutcast server

The Bugcast is a proud founder member of the Other Side Podcast Network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week on The Bugcast: we welcome the new Bugcast year with snow warnings, the sad loss of Jimmy Carter, and eight tracks of amazing Creative Commons music.

Songs played

• Out Of Orion (Ox3) – Still Holding On – from Virginia Beach, VA – source
• Igor Pumphonia – Cyber Space (2nd Version) – from St Petersburg, Russia – source
• Raul Cabezali – Deep Blue Sea – from Spain – source
• Низам DRedd – Уставший зритель (feat. K.R.A.) – from Almaty, Kazakhstan – source
• Brody Blackburn – As A Boy – from Seattle, WA – source
• 20lb Sounds – Jimmy Carter – from Liverpool, UK – source
• Jon Worthy – Road Of Solace – from Nashville, TN – source
• Siobhan Dakay – Sad Gentleman (feat. QuianaNadine) – from Munich, Germany – source

Intro: Chris Juergensen – Bug Lips
Outro: Mark Marshall – Man Walking

Topics

What we’ve been up to over the Christmas/New Year week<br />
Amber snow warning in the UK for this weekend<br />
BBC News: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpww85w5p30o">Jimmy Carter, former US president, dies aged 100</a><br />
Wikipedia: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter">Jimmy Carter</a><br />
Mastodon: Dan Lynch <a href="https://mastodon.social/@methoddan">@methoddan@mastodon.social</a>

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Upcoming events

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Podcasts mentioned

–>

Announcements

• Please leave us feedback on the music or any of the topics that we’ve discussed.
• The next show will be episode 834 which will be streamed live on Friday 10 January 2025 at 21:30-ish UK time (UTC).
• Join us during the week on our Telegram group chat – click here to join
  (you’ll need a Telegram account)

Special thanks go to

Our <a href="https://thebugcast.org/support">supporters</a>!<br />
The artists for allowing us to play their music.<br />
Everyone who joined us in the chat room for the live broadcast of this show.<br />
<a href="https://archive.org/">Internet Archive</a> for hosting the media files<br />
Yannick (FrenchguyCH) for the use of his Shoutcast server

The Bugcast is a proud founder member of the Other Side Podcast Network

Podcast: Play in new window | Download