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The Vergecast

The Vergewww.theverge.com
The Vergecast is the flagship daily podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, Nilay Patel and David Pierce hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And Monday through Thursday, 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.
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Episodes

Election cybersecurity: How ready are we for November 3rd?

Cybersecurity journalist Kim Zetter talks with The Verge 's Nilay Patel and Russell Brandom about the state of election security in the US — what methods are being proposed to stop potential interference in the voting process, the problems with mail-in voting during a pandemic, and how voting machines are not always the best solution for a presidential election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...

Jul 21, 202049 min

Twitter gets hacked / NBC's streaming service Peacock debuts / TikTok in the US is threatened

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, Russell Brandom, and Julia Alexander discuss an unprecedented Twitter hack this week, the release of NBCUniversal's new streaming service Peacock, and the potential restrictions on TikTok in the US. Stories discussed this week: White House reportedly orders hospitals to bypass CDC during COVID-19 data collection CDC employees say the agency has a culture of ‘racial aggression’ Etsy sellers are offering sheer mesh face masks that provide ‘very little protecti...

Jul 17, 20201 hr 14 min

Will virtual dates stick around after the pandemic?

The Verge's Why’d You Push That Button? is back for a special episode all about virtual dating in 2020. The pandemic has forced us all to stay at home when we can, which means if you want to go on a date, it may have to be done online. Ashley Carman and Kaitlyn Tiffany return to talk to online daters and app makers about how they are adapting to virtual-only dating, and what features and behaviors will stick around after social distancing and the pandemic end. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Jul 15, 202038 min

How Color of Change helped lead the Facebook boycott

Nilay Patel talks to Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change. Color of Change, an online racial justice organization, is one of the groups leading the ad boycott against Facebook and other social media companies in response to hate speech appearing on the platforms. In the interview, Robinson talks about how the boycott campaign came together; his history pushing Facebook on issues of hate speech and civil rights; and meeting with Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and fellow leaders of the...

Jul 14, 202058 min

iOS14 public beta is released, Google’s Pixel 3A is discontinued, and Samsung's event is coming soon

Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Dan Seifert discuss Apple's iOS14 public beta, the future of Google's phones, and what to expect at Samsung's next hardware event. Stories discussed this week: This isn’t a COVID-19 wave — it’s a tsunami Tracing the link between your phone and the next pandemic Doctors are better at treating COVID-19 patients now than they were in March After the pandemic, doctors want their new robot helpers to stay Facebook and Instagram will remind people to wear face masks White...

Jul 10, 20201 hr 20 min

Bug bounties: the good and the bad of computer security

Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to founder and CEO of Luta Security Katie Moussouris. Moussouris has a long history in computer security, working at Microsoft and the Department of Defense creating their first bug bounty programs to incentivize catching and reporting security bugs and vulnerabilities in software systems. Nilay and Katie discuss the good and bad of bug bounties, encryption dilemmas with consumer devices, voting security in elections, and overall how we keep our software a...

Jul 07, 20201 hr 4 min

Introducing Land of the Giants: The Netflix Effect

This week we’re sharing an episode of Land of the Giants , a podcast from our friends at Recode and the Vox Media Podcast Network that examines the most powerful tech companies of our time. The second season is called The Netflix Effec t, and it’s hosted by Recode editors Rani Molla and Peter Kafka. The Netflix Effect explores how a company that began as a small DVD-by-mail service ultimately upended Hollywood and completely changed the way we watch TV. It’s a fascinating look at what really goe...

Jun 30, 202039 min

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 travel...

Jun 26, 20201 hr 34 min

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

Jun 23, 202058 min

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 ...

Jun 19, 20201 hr 2 min

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 3...

Jun 18, 202048 min

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

Jun 16, 202058 min

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, a...

Jun 12, 20201 hr 35 min

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 ...

Jun 09, 20201 hr 2 min

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 overw...

Jun 05, 20201 hr 50 minEp. 408

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...

Jun 02, 202055 min

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 ...

May 29, 20201 hr 31 minEp. 407

Microsoft Build 2020, Elon Musk's factory play, and Joe Rogan moves to Spotify

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...

May 22, 20201 hr 23 minEp. 406

Sundar Pichai on managing Google through the pandemic

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 home Of course they talk about their products and services: the future of the Pi...

May 19, 202053 min

Questions about Facebook's oversight board, Quibi's popularity, and the rumored Pixel 4a

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 Mus...

May 15, 20201 hr 25 minEp. 405

How pandemic disinformation is affecting social networks

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

May 12, 20201 hr 8 min

New releases: Surface Go 2, Macbook Pro 13-inch, and the first Xbox Series X gameplay footage (Goodbye Paul)

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...

May 08, 20201 hr 21 minEp. 404

Sonos CEO discusses the Arc and customer backlash over leaving old products behind

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 ...

May 06, 202055 min

The 3 new CEOs of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, Big Tech's quarterly earnings, and Zoom's misleading user numbers

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...

May 01, 20201 hr 25 minEp. 403

How Amazon's dominance is more visible during a pandemic

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/ad...

Apr 28, 202059 min

Reviews of Apple's Magic Keyboard, iPhone SE, and Logitech Combo Touch

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 ...

Apr 24, 20201 hr 20 minEp. 402

Interface Live: Casey Newton and Sarah Frier talk Instagram’s hidden history

Part of The Verge 's Interface Live series, silicon valley editor Casey Newton talks with Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier about her new book No Filter, which delves into the history of Instagram and how the app became what it is today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 22, 202050 min

Apple's new iPhone SE, OnePlus 8 Pro review, and Verizon buys BlueJeans

Stories discussed this week: The Interface Live on Zoom: the hidden history of Instagram, with Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier In a self-isolated world, developers are learning to make games from home How GM and Ford switched out pickup trucks for breathing machines The search for COVID-19 treatments shows how messy science can be How Medium became the best and worst place for coronavirus news Unemployment checks are being held up by a coding language almost nobody knows How you’ll use Apple and ...

Apr 17, 20201 hr 20 min

Apple and Google are building a coronavirus tracking system into iOS and Android

Nilay Patel talks with The Verge 's Adi Robertson, Casey Newton, and Nicole Wetsman about Apple and Google announcing a system for tracking the spread of the new coronavirus, allowing users to share data through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmissions and approved apps from health organizations. Links: Apple and Google are building a coronavirus tracking system into iOS and Android What is contact tracing? Why Bluetooth apps are bad at discovering new cases of COVID-19 Learn more about your ad ...

Apr 10, 202033 min
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