How to Learn AI Without Feeling Behind

Feeling behind on AI? So are we. We're building an AI "couch to 5K": a manageable way to understand the language, get comfortable with tools like ChatGPT and Claude, and form our own views on the bigger questions. In this episode, we compare what's helping us learn, from explanations built around things we love to small weekly experiments. Mary brings the girly pop energy. Josh confronts his newsletter overload and an app that probably didn't need to be an app. Try this with us: pick one AI term you keep hearing, ask ChatGPT or Claude to explain it through something you love, then use it on one small, real task this week. At the end, we show you our new Learning tab, where you can browse AI terms, vote for topics you want us to cover, and suggest anything we've missed. CHAPTERS 00:00 Ask the question anyway 02:42 From zero to one 05:32 Fluency, agency and perspective 08:16 Build an information diet you will use 10:47 Make the learning stick 12:42 Build your fluency base 14:46 Agency: start with one useful thing 17:19 Solve the problem before building the app 20:53 Perspective: choose questions that matter 27:55 What is known, unknown and worth exploring 30:32 Fact-check and listen to the stakes 31:57 Keep us honest: measure progress 32:47 Explore the Learning tab and vote EXPLORE WITH US Website: https://outofourdepth.com Learning tab and topic requests: https://outofourdepth.com/learning RESOURCES MENTIONED Ben's Bites: https://www.bensbites.com Ethan Mollick / One Useful Thing: https://www.oneusefulthing.org tldraw: https://www.tldraw.com Gallup's April 2026 survey on Gen Z and AI: https://news.gallup.com/poll/708224/gen-adoption-steady-skepticism-climbs.aspx