Brendan Carr Overreaches Against ABC

Elon Musk spent a lot of his week trying to explain how OpenAI wronged him — but mostly just seemed to annoy everyone else in the courtroom. Nilay and David discuss Musk's testimony in the OpenAI trial, and what it might mean for the trial going forward. After that, the Hype Desk gang recommends a couple of new things to watch, before the hosts chat about the week's new gadgets, including the Steam Controller and the dual-screen Zephyrus Duo laptop. Finally, in the lightning round, Brendan Carr picks a fight over Jimmy Kimmel again, Netflix buys into the clip economy, and Taylor Swift fights the AI.

Further reading:

• Elon Musk confirms xAI used OpenAI’s models to train Grok

• All the evidence unveiled so far in Musk v. Altman 

• Elon Musk appeared more petty than prepared 

• Elon Musk tells the jury that all he wants to do is save humanity 

• Elon Musk’s worst enemy in court is Elon Musk 

• Jury selection in Musk v. Altman: ‘People don’t like him’ 

• Microsoft and OpenAI’s famed AGI agreement is dead 

• Now that OpenAI’s Microsoft exclusivity is over, it has a new deal with Amazon and AWS.

• ChatGPT downloads are slowing — and may cause problems for OpenAI’s IPO

• Meta lost 20 million users last quarter

• The more young people use AI, the more they hate it

• Google Search queries hit an ‘all time high’ last quarter

• Valve’s new Steam Controller isn’t perfect, but I’m buying one anyway 

• Valve launches the Steam Controller without the Steam Machine 

• Why the Steam Controller is (and isn’t) a big deal 

• Samsung’s first smart glasses have leaked 

• Is this Samsung’s upcoming wide foldable? 

• The long rumored foldable iPad may never see the light of day. 

• The new Razr Ultra is still the best-looking phone out there 

• Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo (2026) review: 2 screens 2 furious

• Trump demands ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel

• The FCC is going after the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations 

• Former FCC staffers agree: Brendan Carr needs to be stopped 

• The FCC is saving Amazon’s Eero and Leo routers from its ban, too. 

• Taylor Swift deepfakes are pushing scams on TikTok 

• Here’s what Netflix’s new vertical video feed is like

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:00 Elon vs OpenAI Overview

00:07:00 Jury Selection Drama

00:12:00 Elon's Testimony Begins

00:23:00 Trial Implications

00:26:00 Microsoft and OpenAI Split

00:30:00 The AWS Deal

00:32:00 Consumer AI Backlash

00:41:00 AI Powered Ad Targeting

00:44:00 Enterprise AI Success Story

00:45:00 Widow's Bay Recommendation

00:46:00 Apple TV Quality Content

00:48:00 Coyote vs Acme

00:55:00 Steam Controller Review

00:57:00 Universal Remote Theory

01:01:00 Smart Glasses Problem

01:05:00 Wide Foldable Phones

01:09:00 Motorola Razr Ultra

01:12:00 ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo

01:17:00 Brendan Carr is a Dummy

01:18:00 Jimmy Kimmel Controversy

01:25:00 FCC Open Meeting Response

01:26:00 News Distortion Rule Lawsuit

01:29:00 Router Ban Update

01:33:00 Taylor Swift Trademark Strategy

01:37:00 YouTube Likeness Protection

01:41:00 Netflix Clips Feature

01:44:00 The Clip Economy Shift

01:46:00 Streaming Services vs TikTok

01:49:00 Show Wrap Up

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices