John Voorhees

5214 posts on MacStories since November 2015

John is MacStories' Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015, and today, runs the site alongside Federico. John also co-hosts four MacStories podcasts: AppStories, which covers the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, which explores the fun differences between American and Italian culture and recommends media to listeners, Ruminate, a show about the weird web and unusual snacks, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about the games we take with us.

This Week's Sponsor:

SoundSource

New Year, New Audio Setup: SoundSource 6 from Rogue Amoeba


Making Sense of MCP: The Standard Connecting AI to Apps

This week, Federico and John demystify Model Context Protocol (MCP), covering how it works, where it’s heading, and practical examples of what it can do.

On AppStories+, Federico and John experiment with whether AI can make sense of the information firehose.


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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 455 - Making Sense of MCP: The Standard Connecting AI to Apps

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

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Interesting Links

Windows 95 Crocs are second only to Kentucky Fried Chicken Crocs. (Link) Adobe Premiere is available for the iPhone and iPad. I’m looking forward to trying this to see how it stacks up to Final Cut Pro on the iPad. (Link) LG showed off its 6K UltraFine display at CES in January and it’s...


App Debuts

Rogue Words Rogue Words brings roguelikes to word games. Although this Editor’s Choice game isn’t exactly new, it’s new to me, and I was impressed with how often it is updated. The game features word-building puzzles that incorporate the aspects of Scrabble combined with deck-building-like elements from roguelikes that result in a uniquely fun...


Prototyping Workflow Ideas and Speeding Up Research with ChatGPT

It all started as procrasti-work. It was mid-August, and I probably should have been writing my macOS Tahoe review. Instead, I was watching TV, thinking about my next week’s MacStories Unwind pick, and messing around with Shortcuts and AI tools, when an idea popped into my head, demanding my attention. Federico and I have been...


The PixelCam Collection

Yesterday I saw on Mastodon that The Iconfactory had sold its app BitcCm app to Héliographe. I had completely forgotten about BitCam, which sent me down the path of exploring other retro style camera apps. There are a lot of them on the App Store, but the good ones are few and far between. Here...


Podcast Rewind: Cozy Sports, Wallpaper Wars, Southern Cooking, and Bad Bunny

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

Niléane gets sporty and frosty, Chris is drowning in new Apple products, and Matt oversees the battle for the nicest iPhone wallpaper (where everyone wins).


MacStories Unwind

This week, Federico tries to recover from a rough week, John brings some Southern cooking to the show, Federico has a long backlog of videogames to attend to, and John has an Apple TV+ show and an album to share.


Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund is joined by 9to5Mac editor-in-chief Chance Miller to highlight Paul Greengrass’s emotional California fire triumph-over-disaster movie, Apple Music’s next Super Bowl half-time show headliner, and the indefinite postponement of The Savant.

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Apple Removes ICEBlock and Similar Apps From the App Store Under Pressure From the DOJ

Late yesterday, Apple pulled ICEBlock and similar apps from the App Store under pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice, according to Fox Business News. ICEBlock is a crowd-sourced app used to track the location of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so, [Attorney General Pam] Bondi said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

In a statement to Fox, Apple acknowledged pulling ICEBlock and similar apps saying:

We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps. Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.

Joshua Aaron, the developer of ICEBlock, which briefly held the top spot in the App Store’s social networking category, told Fox that the app has more than 1.1 million users. Aaron told Fox Business News that he intends to fight ICEBlock’s removal.

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Podcast Rewind: From AirPods Pro 3 to AYANEO’s Budget Handheld and Pok Pok’s Backstory

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John follow up after a week with new Apple hardware and dig into watchOS and visionOS 26.

On AppStories+, John is mixing up his link and data organization systems - again.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Claude – Get 50% off Claude Pro, including access to Claude Code.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, AYANEO introduces it’s most affordable handheld yet, but it’s not part of its budget line of devices. Plus, Qualcomm’s new chips pack a punch and the GDP Win 5 pack a punch, while Sony expands its Pulse line with desktop speakers.

This week on NPC XL, Federico’s disenchantment with the Sony PS5 kicks off a conversation about what’s been a very weird console generation.


First, Last, Everything

This week, Jonathan is joined by Esther Huybreghts. Esther is the Co-founder of the multi-award-winning app, PokPok. Since the app launched in 2021, it’s won an App Store award, an Apple Design award, and many other commendations. Pok Pok was also recently included on TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025. Pok Pok is a really special app, and Esther talked about its inception, plans for the future, and staying strong against negative – and sometimes hateful – feedback.

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Coming Soon: What’s New in October on Apple TV+

There’s a lot coming to Apple TV+ this month, and this is your handy guide to all of it, including trailers, and calendar links you can use to be sure you don’t miss their premieres. Let’s dig in.

The Lost Bus (October 3)

First off this month is The Lost Bus, which is premiering this Friday. The movie, which is directed by Paul Greengrass, stars Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. The story is based on the real-world events of the 2018 Camp Fire in California and is based on the 2021 book “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire” by Lizzie Johnson. McConaughey plays a school bus driver trying to get a group of students and their teacher to safety during the fire.

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The Sisters Grimm (October 3)

Also debuting on October 3rd is “The Sisters Grimm,” a new animated series that follows two orphaned sisters who navigate a town packed with people from fantasy and fairy tale stories. The series is based on Michael Buckley’s bestselling book series and features the voices of Ariel Winter as Sabrina and Leah Newman as Daphne. The series blends discovery, fantasy and adventure designed to appeal to all ages.

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The Last Frontier (October 10)

The Last Frontier is a thriller starring Jason Clarke as Frank Remnick, a U.S. marshal in charge of wilderness in Alaska. The story follows the crash of a prisoner transport plane, which sets violent inmates loose across the rugged landscape. The series, which explores the mysteries behind the crash airs the first two episodes of a 10-episode run beginning next week.

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Loot, Season 3 (October 15)

Loot is one of my favorite Apple TV+ comedies. Now in its third season, the series returns on October 15th. In season three, Maya Rudolph’s Molly Wells and her assistant head to a remote island to embark on what will be a 10-episode season that airs on Wednesdays.

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Mr. Scorsese (October 17)

Mr. Scorsese is a 5-part documentary that follows the career of filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Directed by Rebecca Miller, the documentary follows Scorsese’s life and artistic journey from NYU film student to legendary director through interviews with luminaries such as Robert De Niro, Mick Jagger, and Steven Spielberg, as well as unprecedented access to the director himself and his archives.

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Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost (October 24)

Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which is directed by Ben Stiller, tells the story of his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. The documentary will debut on October 17th in theaters with the Apple TV+ debut coming the following week. Stiller explores what Apple calls a “home, where the lines between creativity, family, life and art often blurred,” an intriguing framing that should make the documentary a great complement to Mr. Scorsese.

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Down Cemetery Road (October 29)

Down Cemetery Road is an eight-episode thriller written by Morwenna Banks, who wrote Slow Horses, one of my all-time favorite shows, for Apple TV+. The series is based on the book of the same name by Mick Herron who also wrote the Slow Horses book series. The story follows the disappearance of a girl from an Oxford suburb after a house explosion. The series, which stars Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson promises to be an exciting conspiratorial story full of twists and turns, which is the sort of show I love.

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That’s up for now. If you’re not listening to MacStories Unwind, please give it a try. I’m sure you’ll hear more about some of these shows and movies from me and Federico in the coming weeks as they debut.