Welcome back to The Flop—your cozy corner for demystifying AI with warmth, wit, and a dash of whimsy!

🐰 Down the Rabbit Hole

What’s An AI-Enabled Application?

We’ve spent the last few weeks cozied up with chatbots—exploring how they work, how to build your own, and how they can make life easier.

But this week, I want to zoom out from chatbots and explore something a little bigger: AI-enabled applications.

Think of these like regular apps but with AI sprinkled in like magic dust 🪄. They're not necessarily built to be chatbots. Instead, they use AI behind the scenes to do things faster, smarter, or with a lot less hair-pulling on your part.

Some examples you might already be using (even if you didn’t realize they’re powered by AI):

✍️ Grammarly – helps you write better by suggesting clearer sentences (not just fixing your typos).

🎧 Spotify or Netflix – those eerily on-point recommendations? Yup, AI.

📷 Google Photos – when you search “beach trip with Mom,” and it magically finds just the right photos? That’s AI at work.

And then there are newer tools that make AI the main event:

• Sora turns written prompts into video.

• Descript lets you edit podcast audio by just editing text

• Notebook LM (👀 more on this below!) transforms documents into podcast-style summaries

The point is: AI isn’t just showing up in chat windows. It’s quietly powering the apps we use every day to make life feel a little more manageable. AI isn’t the next big thing—it’s the next every thing. Over time, it won’t feel like “using AI.” It’ll just feel like your technology got a whole lot smarter.

🛠️AI Hack of the Week

Create a Custom Podcast for That 45-Page Report You’ve Been Avoiding

This week, I turned a 45-page State of the Audiobook Industry report into a podcast I could listen to on a drive. 🙌

This particular report had been sitting in my inbox for weeks. Then it graduated to an open browser tab I dutifully ignored. Eventually, in a burst of optimism, I even printed it out—as if paper would finally make me read it.

Three weeks later? Still untouched.

So I used Notebook LM, a free tool from Google, to turn my guilt-PDF into something manageable: a short, personalized audio summary I could actually listen to on the go.

And here’s the wild part: The podcast isn’t some stiff summary or transcript-style reading. It’s two AI hosts chatting through the highlights—like they just read your document over coffee and want to fill you in on the good stuff. It’s surprisingly engaging and, dare I say, even enjoyable.

Maybe your version isn’t a report. Maybe it’s:

📝 A long thought piece sitting in your inbox

🏫 School board notes buried in your downloads

🎙️ A podcast you want to hear—but wish was half as long

We all have something we’re meaning to get to. But time and brain space? Not always available.

This little trick gives your eyes a break and turns “Ugh, I should read that” into “Oh hey, I’m caught up.”

✅ Step-by-Step: Turning Content into a Custom Pod

1. Go to NotebookLM
   It’s powered by Google, and it’s free. So all you need to do is log in with your gmail account.

2. Upload your Content
   Click “Create New” and then upload your content.

   

3. NotebookLM will accept PDFs, website links, Youtube links, pasted, and Google drive content and mp3 files. I simply dragged my report into the window.

4. Generate Your Pod
   Once your content is loaded, click Generate in the right-side window under “Deep Dive conversation”. Wait a few minutes for the pod to be created.

   

5. Email the File to Yourself
   Click download to get the audio file and email the file to yourself. Open the email on your phone, click on the audio file and start listening.

   

Why this hack works:
Because sometimes the kindest thing you can do for yourself is look away from a screen.

This lets you get the gist of something important—like a 45-page report—without squinting at small text, scrolling endlessly, or pretending you’re totally focused when you’re absolutely not.

You can listen while driving, walking, or folding laundry. No tabs. No blue light. Just smart info, delivered on your terms.

🙂 Tiny Delights

Binkies & Zoomies

This week’s joy-bringer: Yuka—a free app that scans food and personal care products and tells you, in plain English (and color-coded scores), whether they’re actually good for you.

My kids are obsessed. They love to grab a snack, scan it with Yuka, and try to guess the score before it pops up.

Here’s how it works:

• You scan a barcode using your phone.

• Yuka instantly rates the product from 0 to 100, using easy colors:
  💚 Excellent • 💛 Good • 🧡 So-so • ❤️ Eek

• It tells you why the score is what it is (too much sugar? sketchy additive?).

• And if it’s not great, it even suggests better alternatives.

🌳 Moment of Calm

AI Antidote: Where in the World?

Before we wrap, here’s a little moment of calm for your eyeballs. No AI, no productivity hack—just nature doing its thing.

Can you guess which National Park this is?

Last week’s mystery photo had serious swampy vibes—and Michael nailed it with this gem of a guess: “Looks like a place Shrek would call home… Everglades?” 🐸🌿

Correct and hilarious. You win this round, Michael.

Got a guess for this week’s nature snapshot? Hit reply and tell me where you think it is (bonus points if you make us laugh).

👋 Until Next Week

Thanks for being here. I know your inbox is a busy place, and I hope this one made you feel just a little smarter and more prepared in this new world of AI.

Warmly,
Ricci

Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up for the weekly email here.

Missed out on last week’s edition? You can read it here.

🙏 Thanks to our Sponsor: 1440

Seeking impartial news? Meet 1440.

Every day, 3.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a brief 5-minute email. Enjoy an impartial news experience.

Join for free today!