The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition

It was a week of learning and growth on the Vergecast. Specific lessons included who actually owns Nokia, who has used an Apple Watch, what qualifies as a varsity sport, the merits of Pitch Perfect, and just how little of the 90s Sam remembers. Programming note: The Vergecast will be taking next week off, in observance of Thanksgiving, but we'll be back the following week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's show involves a lot of policy: policy on the internet, policy in music, policy concerning not being stabbed when retrieving your stolen iPhone. And then there was something involving Taylor Swift and Scooby Doo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To some, it's a black-and-white answer. To others, it's a subtle gray. Some say hype can't be felt, only psychically perceived. It's a beacon of hope, a pillar of truth. We cannot see it, but we know it exists. It's everywhere and nowhere, all at once. We follow its call, but fear its power. We may never agree about what hype truly is, but that doesn't matter. We all know deep down inside that what really counts is that hype is in us all: teeming, stirring, ready to be checked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The hype meter is off the charts this week. The sweat is real. This Vergecast is beef, not bust. Our hosts Nilay Patel, Chris Plante, and The Verge's social beast Sam Sheffer begin the hour with a reflection on various motorized death machines and enormous phones. Then David Pierce steps in to discuss super heroes, Apple Pay vs. CurrentC, Microsoft's fitness band, and Chris's alarming misunderstanding of contraception. Join us, won't you? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following an immediate but brief foray into Nilay Patel’s dark memoir-in-progress, the Vergecast progresses nicely into a week chock full of news, led by Nilay, Dieter Bohn, and David Pierce. We have Google’s new Nexus lineup, Apple’s new iPads and iMac, a brave new email paradigm, and Twitter’s content problems. Then, for some reason, there was some mild debate about the nature of vaping, but you’ll have to listen to fully grasp that thread. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week is a Very Special Episode of the Vergecast. In fact, it's The Verge Live, straight from Apple's October event. Ross Miller and Chris Ziegler are joined by Dieter Bohn on the ground in California to discuss new iPads, new iMacs, new OSes, and Stephen Colbert. (If you'd like to watch this special live show in video form, check it out here: http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/16/6988049/the-verge-live-ipad-2014) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Plante joins Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn on this week's Vergecast to read his unstructured, free verse poetry about the HTC Re Camera. Or maybe it's Re Poetry. Either way, let's just be thankful that there's not a macron diacritical mark above the "e" in Re, that way lies madness. We also discuss Apple before taking a hard turn into talking about what's happening in Gamergate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Vergecast is back with Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, new Verge science editor Liz Lopatto, and notable humanoid trollbeast TC Sottek. There was Ebola, Windows 10, really good Twitter stuff, and then Dieter foolishly took a bet that will see him use a BlackBerry Passport for the next two weeks. It got real. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Vergecast is back with Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Tom Warren. No iPhones were bent in the creation of this episode, nor were any bricked by rogue iOS updates. Microsoft's product strategy turned out to be remarkably similar to Taco Bell's, we discovered, and then there was the robot. The robot is definitely trying to kill us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes, finally: The Vergecast is really back, and there's a whole lot to talk about. This week, Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and David Pierce get together to discuss their impressions of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Amazon's slew of new tablets, and Microsoft's purchase of Minecraft. Oh, and Dora the Explorer too. Download MP3 (31.5 MB) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices