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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

Jun 26, 2020 • 1h 31min
Apple announces macOS Big Sur, new silicon chips, and iOS 14
Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn welcome back Verge alum and Wall Street Journal columnist Joanna Stern to discuss the big announcements from Apple's developer conference this week. Verge news editor Chaim Gartenberg joins in the second half to discuss the Apple updates you may have missed.Stories discussed this week:
Fire and plague prepared these teens for the world
New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will quarantine travelers from states with surging COVID-19 cases
The EU plans to ban US travelers indefinitely after haphazard COVID-19 response
The healing power of Black art
Big Sur is officially macOS 11.0 as Apple finally leaves OS X behind
Macs with new Apple-built chips will natively run iPhone and iPad apps
Apple’s new ARM-based Macs won’t support Windows through Boot Camp
Apple details iOS 14, its next major software update
iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 will let you set default email and browser apps
watchOS 7 announced with sleep tracking and rebranded Fitness app
Apple TV 4K will at last play YouTube in 4K with tvOS 14 update
AirPods updated with automatic switching and a new ‘Spatial Audio’ feature
Apple teases new tracking protections and an approximate location feature in iOS 14
Apple approves Hey email app, but the fight’s not over
After outcry, Apple will let developers challenge App Store guidelines
Hey opens its email service to everyone as Apple approves its app for good
Microsoft is shutting down Mixer and partnering with Facebook Gaming
Mixer failed — here's why
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Jun 23, 2020 • 55min
Why activists need to think about cybersecurity
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and policy editor Russell Brandom talk to founder of CryptoHarlem and cybersecurity expert Matt Mitchell, who works with activists to develop strategies to leave less data behind and help mitigate threats to their cause. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jun 19, 2020 • 58min
WWDC predictions / Limiting Section 230 Immunity to Good Samaritans Act
Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn run through the most interesting rumors and predictions of announcements at Apple's WWDC next week. Adi Robertson joins to discuss the latest threat to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.Stories discussed in this episode:
Cheap steroid reportedly improves survival for severe COVID-19 cases
FDA ends emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine
Why there’s so much confusion around asymptomatic COVID-19 cases
The gadgets Late Night with Seth Meyers uses to keep the show running from home
Google commits $175 million to racial equity with focus on black-owned businesses
Instagram’s CEO says the platform is examining how its policies affect black users
Apple faces another EU antitrust complaint as App Store pressure grows
Apple says the App Store created $519 billion in commerce last year
Justice Department asks Congress for a sharp cut to websites’ legal protections
Senate Republicans want to make it easier to sue tech companies for bias
Facebook removes Trump ads for using Nazi imagery
Google Ads bans Zero Hedge for racist content, but reverses
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Jun 18, 2020 • 46min
Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson and Rep. David Cicilline on Apple's monopolistic app store fees
Apple is acting like a monopolist and a bully, according to the chairman of the House Antitrust Committee.Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) joined The Vergecast along with Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson to discuss the plight of Hey, Basecamp’s new $99-a-year premium email service. Earlier this week, Heinemeier Hansson revealed that Apple had rejected the Hey iPhone app from the App Store because it didn’t offer any way to sign up and pay in the app itself — which would require giving Apple a 30 percent cut of the fee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jun 16, 2020 • 55min
Sen. Ed Markey on the politics of technology
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and Verge reporter Makena Kelly talk to Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts about bringing broadband access into rural areas, the technology plights caused by the pandemic, privacy concerns over contract tracing, and the race to 5G. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jun 12, 2020 • 1h 31min
Android 11 beta / PS5 reveal / Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft ban facial recognition tech for police
Stories discussed this week:
Tinder CEO Elie Seidman on finding love during the pandemic
It’s hard to figure out how often people without symptoms spread COVID-19
Inside Nextdoor’s ‘Karen problem’
Nextdoor tells community leads to allow Black Lives Matter discussions after exposé
Contact tracing programs have to work with local communities to be successful
Apple launches $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative
Android 11 beta: all the announcements
Android 11: conversations, bubbles, and making sense of complexity
Five new features Android 11 borrows from the iPhone
Android 11 may be the best texting platform if you use multiple chat apps
Apple’s virtual WWDC keynote will take place on June 22nd at 1PM ET
Apple will announce move to ARM-based Macs later this month, says report
Apple pulls podcast apps in China after government pressure
The new Sonos app and S2 update are available now
IBM will no longer offer, develop, or research facial recognition technology
Amazon bans police from using its facial recognition technology for the next year
Microsoft won’t sell facial recognition to police until Congress passes new privacy law
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Jun 9, 2020 • 59min
Tinder CEO Elie Seidman on finding love during the pandemic
Tinder and its parent company Match Group have weathered the COVID-19 pandemic relatively well, all things considered. User engagement is up, as is interest around new product features, like video calls. More than six years after its launch, Tinder is finally introducing a one-on-one video calling feature that it says will be heavily moderated for content and safety. At the same time, Tinder CEO Elie Seidman says he and his team are focusing on how to keep young people coming to the app and how they can build digital relationships inside of it, especially as in-person dates slow down.Seidman joins Vergecast host Nilay Patel and Verge senior reporter Ashley Carman for a chat about the future of the platform, how it’ll keep people safe over video calls, and what happens to its Tinder U initiative that it’s focused on for years. Plus, he explains how Joe Exotic might be more important to a relationship than living near each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Jun 5, 2020 • 1h 46min
SpaceX launches humans to space / Facebook's ongoing moderation controversy / Sonos Arc's convincing surround sound
Stories from this episode:
Blaming protesters for COVID-19 spread ignores the bigger threats to health
5G coronavirus conspiracy theorists are endangering the workers who keep networks running
Telehealth wasn’t designed for non-English speakers
The pandemic has made it harder to buy a new laptop
Byte flight
The United States will cut ties with the World Health Organization, says President Trump
FCC extends deadline for ISPs to quit charging customers who use their own equipment
K-pop stans overwhelm app after Dallas police ask for videos of protesters
SpaceX successfully launches first crew to orbit, ushering in new era of spaceflight
A rocket launch can’t unite us until the space world acknowledges our divisions
Watch NASA astronauts fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon using touchscreens
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon successfully docks with the space station
What the future of the space station looks like after SpaceX’s historic launch
Meet the cute stuffed dinosaur that hitched a ride on SpaceX’s historic launch
SpaceX is launching its latest batch of internet satellites, including one with a visor
Trump’s Twitter order violates the First Amendment, new lawsuit claims
Facebook won’t take any action on Trump’s post about shootings in Minnesota
Facebook employees walk out in protest of Donald Trump’s posts
Twitter takes action against Rep. Matt Gaetz for glorifying violence
In leaked audio, Mark Zuckerberg expressed ‘disgust’ with Trump’s posts
Mark Zuckerberg defends hands-off Trump policy to employees after walkout
Nine things we learned from leaked audio of Mark Zuckerberg facing his employees
Ban them all
What other social networks can learn from Snapchat’s rebuke of Trump
Huawei P40 Pro review: there’s a catch
HBO Max won’t hit AT&T data caps, but Netflix and Disney Plus will
The Sonos Arc puts convincing surround sound in a single soundbar
Here’s our best look yet at Google’s new Android TV streaming device
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Jun 2, 2020 • 52min
The head of HBO Max on launching without Roku, adding 4K HDR, and the Snyder Cut
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and Verge reporter Julia Alexander talk to Otter Media CEO Tony Goncalves on his new project overseeing HBO Max.Goncalves discusses AT&T's strategy for the WarnerMedia streaming service, the dispute with getting the app on Roku and Amazon, HBO Max's place in the streaming wars, and how their data usage works on mobile. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 29, 2020 • 1h 27min
Trump signs executive order targeting social media companies / HBO Max launches in the US
Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn welcome back Adi Robertson and Casey Newton to the show to discuss Trump's executive order targeting social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google. Julia Alexander also stops by to discuss the launch of WarnerMedia's new streaming service HBO Max.Stories discussed this week:
Google search results will take ‘page experience’ into account next year
T-Mobile now supports cross-carrier RCS messaging
Google Messages may finally be adding end-to-end encryption for RCS
Why Twitter labeling Trump’s tweets as “potentially misleading” is a big step forward
FCC commissioner says Trump’s Section 230 plan ‘does not work’
Donald Trump is starting a messy fight with the entire internet
White House organizes harassment of Twitter employee as Trump threatens company
Donald Trump signs executive order targeting social media companies
YouTube is deleting comments with two phrases that insult ...
YouTube fixes error that deleted comments critical of the ...
YouTube says China-linked comment deletions weren't ...
HBO Max is full of potential, but its biggest hurdle remains AT&T’s messy execution
HBO Max is taking on Netflix with human curation instead of solely relying on algorithms
HBO Max will use anime from Crunchyroll to compete with Netflix’s growing empire
All eight Harry Potter movies are streaming on HBO Max much earlier than expected
Snyder Cut fans demanded AT&T’s attention, and now AT&T is demanding their cash
Here are the hundreds of classic movies people can stream on HBO Max
You can no longer subscribe to HBO via Apple TV Channels
HBO Max’s catalog is full of weird holes
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