The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition

Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield about remote working, competition with Microsoft, and the way technology changes how we communicate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Friday, which means there’s a new episode of The Vergecast to fill you in on all of the news from this week. Join Nilay, Dieter, and a rotation of other editors for everything that you need to know. The three topics covered this week are: Microsoft’s Build developer conference Elon Musk’s... active month Spotify getting exclusive streaming rights to The Joe Rogan Experience podcast During the first part of the show, Verge senior editor Tom Warren joins Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn to discuss what was announced at Microsoft Build 2020 and what’s next for Windows software. Microsoft Lists is a new app designed for Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook Microsoft’s new Fluid Office document is Google Docs on steroids Microsoft to unify Windows desktop and UWP apps with new Project Reunion Microsoft’s new PowerToys Run launcher for Windows 10 is now available to download Microsoft Edge is getting a new sidebar search feature and Pinterest integration Microsoft is bringing Linux GUI apps to Windows 10 Microsoft’s new Windows Package Manager is already better than the Windows Store Microsoft Surface Earbuds review: comfort at a cost Microsoft Surface Go 2 review: don’t push it First look: Microsoft’s 13.5-inch Surface Book 3 A little over 35 minutes into the show, Verge deputy editor Elizabeth Lopatto updates us on Elon Musk’s latest endeavors, including his battle with Alameda County over opening his factory, his protests against lockdown orders, and SpaceX’s upcoming Crew Dragon spacecraft launch. Elon Musk’s battle to reopen Tesla’s Fremont plant may shape his legacy Tesla drops its lawsuit against Alameda County over lockdown order Elon Musk is playing Twitter footsie with the fringe right Here’s why Elon Musk keeps raising the price of Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ option Elon Musk’s Boring Company finishes digging Las Vegas tunnels Meet the first NASA astronauts SpaceX will launch into orbit Last but not least, senior reporter Ashley Carman stops by to explain the importance of Spotify landing The Joe Rogan Experience podcast as an exclusive. Joe Rogan’s podcast is becoming a Spotify exclusive It just took $700 million or so to put Spotify on top of the podcasting world Google suspended a popular Android podcast app because it catalogs COVID-19 content There’s a whole lot more discussed in this episode, so listen here or in your preferred podcast player to hear it all.Other stories discussed in this episode: Mark Zuckerberg on taking his massive workforce remote Students are failing AP tests because the College Board can’t handle iPhone photos Amazon reportedly delays Prime Day until September as it works to restore normal shipping Here’s how NYC is using powerful UV light to kill the coronavirus on subways and buses The FCC has received hundreds of complaints about carriers’ coronavirus pledge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and executive editor Dieter Bohn interview Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.Pichai disusses Google’s COVID-19 response: the way the company is handling the pandemic and how he’s working with Tim Cook from Apple on exposure tracking.They also talked about how he is running one of the biggest companies in the world remotely and how the company is handling employees working from homeOf course they talk about their products and services: the future of the Pixel, competing with companies like Apple and Samsung, and RCS messaging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn welcome Dan Seifert, Casey Newton, and Julia Alexander to talk about gadget news, Facebook's oversight board, and updates in the streaming world.Stories discussed this week: The doomsday bunker market is thriving amid the coronavirus pandemic Amazon asks Congress to pass a law against price gouging during national crisis Uber’s response to COVID-19: face masks, selfies, and fewer people in the car The lockdown live-streaming numbers are out, and they’re huge Elon Musk defies coronavirus order and asks to be arrested  Tesla has already started making cars again at its California factory Twitter introducing new labels for tweets with misleading COVID-19 information Google says that the majority of its employees will work from home until 2021 The mastermind of Google’s Pixel camera quietly left the company in March Google Pixel 4a Performance Review tests the phone's ... Android 11's public beta to launch with June 3rd live stream … TCL wants to be the next big name in budget phones Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) review: return to baseline Dell launches new XPS 17 and redesigned XPS 15 with 16:10 edge-to-edge displays Alienware’s Area-51m, m15, and m17 laptops are getting new 10th Gen Intel chips and upgraded GPUs Facebook will pay $52 million in settlement with moderators who developed PTSD on the job Half of all Facebook moderators may develop mental health issues How Facebook is using AI to combat COVID-19 misinformation and detect ‘hateful memes’ Facebook’s independent oversight board could be overwhelmed by the challenge Tenet is now Hollywood’s litmus test for what happens next  The Mandalorian’s second season won’t be delayed, says Disney CEO AMC Theaters will no longer play Universal movies after Trolls ... Alamo Drafthouse launches Alamo on Demand VOD service HBO Max will use anime from Crunchyroll to compete with Netflix’s growing empire HBO is teaming up with Scener to give subscribers the ability to watch TV together WarnerMedia expands free HBO Max deal to HBO subscribers ... Quibi will add sharing features as the app struggles to find subscribers Jeffrey Katzenberg Blames Pandemic for Quibi’s Rough Start Major CBS All Access changes coming this summer as company speeds up relaunch Wannabe influencers are being trained to film a believable YouTube apology video Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Stamos, former chief security officer of Facebook and director of the Stanford Internet Observatory talks to Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and editor Casey Newton about his role consulting on security for Zoom, disinformation around the pandemic on social media, and the threat of foreign interference in the 2020 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stories discussed this week: The disappointing truth about antibody testing Apple is giving $10 million to COVID-19 testing kit company FDA authorizes CRISPR-based test for COVID-19 Sen. Ed Markey wants the FCC to rethink its broadband deployment plans An Amazon warehouse worker in New York has died of COVID-19 An Amazon VP’s resignation has cast a spotlight on the company’s working conditions Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders demand Amazon explain whistleblower firings Pittsburgh’s airport is the first in the US to use UV-cleaning robots NYC will use powerful ultraviolet lamps to kill the coronavirus on subways and buses ESPN to air live NBA 2K League games We’ve known how to make healthier buildings for decades The spring of iterative hardware updates MacBook Pro 13-inch: come for the keyboard, stay for the performance The saga of Apple’s bad butterfly MacBook keyboards is finally over Microsoft’s new Surface Go 2 has a bigger display and better Intel processor Microsoft Surface Book 3: new Nvidia GPUs, up to ... - The Verge Watch the first Xbox Series X gameplay footage, showing off ray-tracing and graphics of the next-gen console These 11 new games will get free upgrades for the Xbox Series X Here are the first 13 games optimized for the Xbox Series X Xbox Series X Optimized games promise 4K up to 120fps, ray tracing, and fast load times Madden 21 shows that cross-gen gaming on Xbox Series X and PS5 could be messy Sonos announces the Arc, its first Dolby Atmos soundbar Sonos will launch its new app and big S2 software update on June 8th Google unifies all of its messaging and communication apps into a single team Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we saw Sonos announce several new products, most significantly the Arc, which is the company’s first soundbar to support Dolby Atmos. Other new devices include the Sonos Five speaker and a refreshed Sub, and all three will only work with Sonos’ new S2 app that launches next month.Sonos CEO Patrick Spence sat down virtually with Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel for The Vergecast to discuss the new products, the S2 update, the backlash that Sonos took from customers over its “Recycle Mode”, and the perception that the company is leaving customers with older Sonos hardware behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay, Dieter, and Paul discuss quarterly earnings from tech companies, the new CEOs of the three biggest mobile carriers, and how Trolls World Tour may be changing the movie theater business.Stories discussed this week: More than 1 million people in the US have tested positive for COVID-19 No one knows when the COVID-19 pandemic will end  It’s impossible to count everyone with COVID-19 Elon Musk is dangerously wrong about the novel coronavirus Elon Musk says shelter-in-place orders during COVID-19 are ‘fascist’  Americans are surprisingly open to letting their phones be used for coronavirus tracking Apple and Google have begun testing their COVID-19 exposure notification API  How a team of NASA engineers developed a ventilator for COVID-19 patients in just a month Apple’s latest iOS beta makes it easier to unlock an iPhone while wearing a face mask Zoom admits it doesn’t have 300 million users, corrects misleading claims Google Meet video conferencing is now free for anybody Messenger Rooms are Facebook’s answer to Zoom and Houseparty for the pandemic Microsoft Teams jumps 70 percent to 75 million daily active users Google Duo video calls are about to look a whole lot better Facebook usage is surging, but the company warns it may be temporary New DisplayPort spec enables 16K video over USB-C AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is stepping down, John Stankey to serve as new CEO John Legere abruptly resigns from T-Mobile board of directors ‘to pursue other options’ Trolls World Tour made nearly $100 million without theaters, but theaters aren’t obsolete AMC Theaters will no longer play Universal movies after Trolls World Tour’s on-demand Next year’s Oscars will allow streaming-only movies to qualify, but with heavy restrictionssuccess Regal Cinemas warns Universal over Trolls World Tour skipping theaters  WarnerMedia expands free HBO Max deal to HBO subscribers who pay through Apple’s services Oppo Find X2 Pro review: supercar smartphone Intel NUC 9 Extreme review: small size, big potential Google Pixel Buds review: second time’s the charm DJI’s new Mavic Air 2 has an upgraded camera and much longer flying time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel interviews co-director of the Institute for Local Self Reliance Stacy Mitchell about her critique of Amazon's power in America's marketplace.As Amazon becomes more essential infrastructure during the coronavirus pandemic, Nilay and Stacy discuss the increased visibility of Amazon's monopoly power and the way it treats its workers.Is it possible to regulate a company that people use and love so much? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stories discussed this week: Google is now listing COVID-19 testing centers in search results CEOs sticking with Trump’s ‘open the economy’ group after he tweets call to ‘liberate’ states Bill Gates says countries will probably use interviews and databases to track the coronavirus Bill Gates is now the leading target for coronavirus conspiracies, says report Connecticut suburb deploys ‘pandemic drones’ to try to enforce social distancing Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot is helping hospitals remotely treat coronavirus patients The jury is still out on Zoom trials Marco Polo has been around for years, but it’s blowing up amid the pandemic Lo-fi beats to quarantine to are booming on YouTube Apps aren’t a reliable way to measure blood oxygen levels First at-home COVID-19 testing kit authorized by the FDA iPhone SE review  Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro review: the best way to turn an iPad into a laptop Logitech Combo Touch review Microsoft prepares to launch Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2 Apple will reportedly use 12-core 5nm ARM processor in a 2021 Mac LG V60 Dual Screen review: V for versatility Motorola returns to flagship phones with the Edge Plus - The ... Wi-Fi is getting its biggest upgrade in 20 years Snapchat use is, predictably, way up with everyone home and staring at screens Netflix adds 15 million subscribers as people stream more than ever, but warns about tough road ahead  Netflix says Tiger King is as popular as Stranger Things  HBO Max will launch on May 27th  Fandango just purchased Vudu from Walmart to better compete against Amazon, iTunes Sonos launches its own streaming radio service Samsung smart TVs are getting an Apple Music app Google Duo video calls are about to look a whole lot better Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices