BattleBots S5E2 Recap (Plus, Rising from the Ashes with Perfect Phoenix’s Tyler Nguyen and Juli Johnson)

<p>This week on the podcast, we catch up with the youngest BattleBots driver in the field, 11-year-old Tyler Nguyen! Tyler enters the competition this year with an impressive resume, with first-place finishes in insectweight competitions across the U.S., and a dominant showing in the UK at BuggleBots. We ask him about how he came to own Perfect Phoenix (originally built by Bite Force captain Paul Ventimiglia), how BattleBots compares to the other competitions he’s been to, and what it was like driving in his very short match against Extinguisher.</p> <p> </p> <p>This week’s combat robotics news stories:</p> <p> </p> <p>> New BattleBots merch: </p> <p>> Claw Viper’s big wedge: <a href='https://www.facebook.com/clawviperbb/posts/212838453640649'>https://www.facebook.com/clawviperbb/posts/212838453640649</a></p> <p>> Deadlift’s motor sensors: <a href='https://www.facebook.com/robogymrobotics/posts/3961921953860619'>https://www.facebook.com/robogymrobotics/posts/3961921953860619</a></p> <p>> End Game’s giveaway: <a href='https://www.instagram.com/p/CIrU-dpLstE/'>https://www.instagram.com/p/CIrU-dpLstE/</a></p> <p>> Extinguisher’s ornaments: <a href='https://www.facebook.com/ExtinguisherBattlebot/posts/785962281985622'>https://www.facebook.com/ExtinguisherBattlebot/posts/785962281985622</a></p> <p>> Extinguisher fight recap: <a href='https://www.facebook.com/ExtinguisherBattlebot/posts/784637598784757'>https://www.facebook.com/ExtinguisherBattlebot/posts/784637598784757</a></p> <p>> Hydra’s fight recap: <a href='https://www.facebook.com/Whyachi/posts/3892039920808794'>https://www.facebook.com/Whyachi/posts/3892039920808794</a></p> <p>> Ghost Raptor’s fight recap: <a href='https://www.facebook.com/realghostraptor/posts/2888147524750854'>https://www.facebook.com/realghostraptor/posts/2888147524750854</a></p> <p>> HiJinx AMA: <a href='https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/kbz7dq/hijinx_battlebots_ama_dec_12_4pm_pst/'>https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/kbz7dq/hijinx_battlebots_ama_dec_12_4pm_p