The Dave and Busters Anomaly

A strange and twisty internet mystery.

A small group of Americans becomes convinced they’ve discovered something strange about their iPhones: a forbidden phrase the phone will refuse to transmit. A crack podcasting team searches for answers, wherever they may lead.

• Apple Forum posts mentioning the anomaly (here and here)

• Dave “Buster” Corley | Pardon My Take Interview, NYT Obituary

• Alex Stamos | Find him on X, on Bluesky, or Threads

• Check out the team that ran tests to help us better understand the solution: Trail of Bits

As usual, I’m keeping this very short. The newsletter is mostly here right now to remind people that a new episode is out and provide a place to make comments. No spoilers in the comments! And, of course, please be polite, both to each other and us, and try to assume good intentions.

Hope you enjoy this one, we had a lot of fun making it.

Happy Friday,

PJ