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The Verge
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The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel and David Pierce hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And every Tuesday, David leads a selection of The Verge’s expert staffers in an exploration of how gadgets and software affect our lives — and which ones you should bring into yours.
The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel and David Pierce hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And every Tuesday, David leads a selection of The Verge’s expert staffers in an exploration of how gadgets and software affect our lives — and which ones you should bring into yours.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 26, 2023 • 1h 23min
Microsoft’s big AI Build and Max’s messy streaming launch
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Tom Warren discuss the biggest announcements from Microsoft Build 2023.Later, the crew discuss the launch of Warner Bros. Discovery’s combined streaming service Max.Further reading:
Elon Musk fails to launch Ron DeSantis in disastrous Twitter Space
Microsoft Build 2023: The 5 biggest announcements
Microsoft’s Copilot and Bing AI plug-ins will be interoperable with ChatGPT
Bing is now the default search for ChatGPT
Microsoft 365 Copilot is getting plug-ins
Microsoft’s Edge browser is getting the 365 Copilot AI assistant
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott thinks Sydney might make a comeback
Microsoft announces Windows Copilot, an AI ‘personal assistant’ for Windows 11
Max has arrived, and it’ll feel very familiar to HBO Max customers
Max will stream over 1,000 movies and TV episodes in 4K at launch
Warner Bros. Discovery apologizes for crediting writers and directors as ‘creators’ on Max
HBO Max remote button killed in Max rebrand — 9to5Mac
HBO Max now Max: lacks native video player features; 'Up Next' support bugs - 9to5Mac
Sony’s new Q handheld is official: 8-inch screen, streams PS5 games
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May 24, 2023 • 1h 16min
Why AM radio and Ethernet still matter, and why Zelda keeps winning
Today on the flagship podcast of the Purah Pad:02:19 - Senator Ed Markey chats with Nilay Patel about the importance of keeping AM radio in cars after many EV manufacturers have started to remove it from new models.
Cars would be required to keep AM radio under new bipartisan bill
The shift to EVs is slowly killing off AM radio — and that’s bad for emergency broadcasts
22:09 - Alex Cranz and Sean Hollister talk with SVP of networking at Nvidia Kevin Deierling live at the Computer History Museum for the 50th anniversary of ethernet about the future of connectivity.
Wired: 50 years of ethernet
CHM Live | Ethernet@50
52:51 - David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Ash Parrish discuss why The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom works so well and what the rest of the gaming world should do about it.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review: new powers, new places, but less wonder
A conversation with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s creative leads
Tears of the Kingdom’s dungeons were designed with seamlessness in mind
Tips and tricks to get you through Tears of the Kingdom
Zelda players turned Tears of the Kingdom into a Korok torture chamber
The wildest Tears of the Kingdom builds we’ve seen
Tears of the Kingdom’s puzzle designers are fantastic trolls
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom walkthrough and guides - Polygon
Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 19, 2023 • 1h 18min
Montana bans TikTok. Also, FREE TV
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Adi Robertson discuss Montana being the first state to ban TikTok, the Supreme Court ruling against reexamining Section 230, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifying before the Senate.Then, David interviews vlogger Hank Green about the TikTok ban in Montana.Later, Verge senior news editor Richard Lawler joins the show to discuss this week in gadgets, from the free Telly TV to the Beats Studio Buds Plus.
TikTok is now banned in Montana: here’s what you need to know
Montana bans Telegram, WeChat, and Temu from government devices
Full Hank Green interview here
TikTok ban: all the news on attempts to ban the video platform
Supreme Court puts off showdown over Texas and Florida social media laws
Supreme Court rules against reexamining Section 230
Congress hates Big Tech — but it still seems optimistic about AI
This free TV comes with two screens
The free TV company briefly wasn’t sure what it should do with data from kids
Amazon’s latest Echo Buds have an all-new design and much cheaper price
Amazon’s new Echo Pop is a $40 smart speaker
Beats Studio Buds Plus review: it’s cool to be clear
CueCat
YouTube is bringing unskippable 30-second ads to TV
Max promises shorter ad breaks than other streamers when it launches May 23rd
Netflix’s ad tier has attracted almost 5 million users
Apparently, they were all losers in the race to 5G.
Tesla’s humanoid robot can pick things up and put them down
Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 17, 2023 • 37min
Into It: The Conversation We’re NOT Having About AI
Today we're sharing an episode of Into It: A Vulture Podcast with Sam SandersAI is making fake Drake/The Weeknd songs, weird images, and there’s a worry that TV and movie scripts could be written by ChatGPT. But it’s also about to dramatically change the way we consume, share, and obsess over pop culture. Nilay Patel, Editor-in-Chief of The Verge, explains to Sam how pretty much everything we search on the internet is mediated by Google… and how AI is about to disrupt it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 12, 2023 • 1h 19min
Google I/O recap: AI is taking over Search
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and Alex Cranz discuss the big announcements and takeaways from Google I/O 2023.Further reading:
The nine biggest announcements from Google I/O 2023
The AI takeover of Google Search starts now
Google Perspectives: the new search feature helps you find human information online
Google rebrands AI tools for Docs and Gmail as Duet AI — its answer to Microsoft’s Copilot
Google’s new Magic Editor uses AI to totally transform your photos
Google drops waitlist for AI chatbot Bard and announces oodles of new features
Google announces PaLM 2 AI language model, already powering 25 Google services
Google teases Project Tailwind — a prototype AI notebook that learns from your documents
Android’s new generative AI can reply to your texts and design its own wallpaper
Google’s Find My Device will soon use billions of Android devices to locate your stuff
Google is bringing YouTube, Waze, and Zoom to cars with native Android software
The Pixel Fold is Google’s $1,800 entry into folding phones
Google’s new Pixel Tablet is a $500 slate for the home
Google Pixel 7A review: a better deal
Google’s new Project Starline prototype isn’t a giant booth
Disney is finally combining Hulu and Disney Plus into the same app
Apple launches Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on iPad with new subscription pricing
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May 10, 2023 • 1h 14min
Google AI and foldable phones
Today on the flagship podcast of unfolded aspect ratios:01:03 -The Verge's David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Alex Cranz discuss the present and future state of Google — it’s this big, complicated, massively successful company that suddenly feels like it’s under threat in a huge number of ways. The crew lay out the stakes and try to figure out where Google is headed. Hot takes included.38:55 - David, Allison Johnson, and Dan Seifert talk about the hardware revealed at Google I/O: the Pixel 7A, the Pixel Tablet, and the Pixel Fold.Further reading:
Google I/O 2023: news, rumors, and announcements
What happens when Google Search doesn't have the answers?
The Pixel Fold is Google’s $1,800 entry into folding phones
Google’s new Pixel Tablet is a $500 slate for the home
Google Pixel 7A review: a better deal
Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 5, 2023 • 1h 11min
Bluesky's rise and AI's fall
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Sarah Jeong discuss Bluesky gaining popularity and why it may be Twitter's most chaotic successor.Also: is AI going too far too soon?Further reading:
shop.theverge.com
Google announces the Pixel Fold
Everything happening on Bluesky, Twitter’s most chaotic successor
Bluesky is starting to feel like Twitter
Mozilla’s new Mozilla.Social Mastodon instance is an attempt to reinvent content moderation
‘Godfather of AI’ quits Google with regrets and fears about his life’s work
White House rolls out plan to promote ethical AI
Snapchat is already testing sponsored links in its My AI chatbot
New ChatGPT Zillow plug-in rolls out to select users today
AI is being used to generate whole spam sites
AI offers new tools for making games, but developers worry about their jobs
Writers are striking and AI rights are on the table.
Microsoft is forcing Outlook and Teams to open links in Edge, and IT admins are angry
Microsoft’s Bing chatbot gets smarter with restaurant bookings, image results, and more
Andreessen Horowitz saw the future — but did the future leave it behind?
Now Gmail has blue verified checkmark icons too
Google accounts now support passkeys for password-free sign-in
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May 3, 2023 • 1h 15min
The director’s episode: how tech makes movies
Today on the flagship podcast of questionable .mkv files: 02:46 - The Verge's David Pierce chats with Matt Johnson, director of the upcoming movie BlackBerry about what tech movies get wrong, why the BlackBerry really died, and how to portray the rise and fall of a top-of-the-world gadget.BlackBerry director Matt Johnson on why the iPhone won and why most tech movies suck30:38 - David and Vergecast producer Andru Marino try to find out why it's so hard to find director's commentary on streaming services and the obstacles movie fans go through to listen to them.Where’s the director’s commentary on streaming?57:25 - David talks with the directors and producer of the movie Missing about a new genre of movies that take place entirely on a computer screen, and how they get made. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 28, 2023 • 1h 35min
Apple’s headset, Humane’s weird demo, and the pretty Prius
The Verge's Nilay Patel, David Pierce, Alex Cranz, and Andrew Hawkins discuss what's happening in the world of EVs and where that industry is headed.Also: more Apple headset rumors and whatever the heck that Humane demo was last week.Further reading:
Apple’s AR/VR Headset Plans: iPad Apps, Fitness+, Sports Viewing, Gaming, Music - Bloomberg
Apple’s mixed reality headset could connect to a battery pack that looks like the iPhone’s
Humane’s wearable screenless AI assistant leaks in first demo clips
Apple is reportedly building a paid AI health coach
Should we trust Apple with mental health data?
2023 Toyota Prius review: EV reality check
GM is ending Chevy Bolt EV and EUV production at the end of the year
GM killed the Chevy Bolt — and the dream of a small, affordable EV
GM, Hyundai announce EV battery plants for the US
Honda’s making a bigger electric SUV to follow the Prologue — due 2025
Tesla’s carbon footprint is finally coming into focus, and it’s bigger than the company let on in the past
Cruise continues to burn GM’s cash as robotaxis expand to daylight hours
Amazon shuts down Halo division and discontinues all devices
Disney sues Florida for ‘government retaliation’ in escalating feud y
Apple is reportedly developing its own journaling app for the iPhone
Dyson Zone review: an absurd pair of air purifying ANC headphones
Come see a screening of Blackberry with us!Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 26, 2023 • 1h 15min
ActivityPub is the next big thing in social
Today on the flagship podcast of overthinking thermometers: The Verge's David Pierce and Dan Seifert discuss what’s happening in the weather app world, and hear from the developers of Carrot Weather and Hello Weather.
Apple’s Weather chaos is restarting the weather app market
A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece
forecastadvisor.com
Carrot Weather
Hello Weather
Flipboard CEO Mike McCue joins David and Nilay Patel to discuss the potential of ActivityPub, a new standard for social networking that is more open, more user-centric, and potentially more powerful than Twitter and Facebook.Can ActivityPub save the internet? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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