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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

The Galaxy S26 is a photography nightmare

Samsung just launched its newest phones, the Galaxy S26 lineup, and wow is it full of Vergecast stories. There’s the very cool new Privacy Display, which seems genuinely useful; there’s the AI-powered camera, which seems like a disaster waiting to happen; and there’s the new agentic AI in Android, which Google and Samsung might be positioned to actually pull off. After talking through all the new stuff, Nilay and David discuss the recent executive shakeup at Xbox, and try to figure out why Micro...

Feb 27, 20261 hr 36 min

How Claude Code Claude Codes

Few AI products have found the kind of product-market fit we’ve seen from Claude Code. On the eve of the product’s first anniversary, Anthropic’s Boris Cherny explains why Claude Code is so powerful, all the work left to do, and why he no longer writes any code himself. After that, The Verge’s Hayden Field joins the show to talk about how we should think about giving our data (and our computers) to AI, even when it seems useful. Finally, The Verge’s Allison Johnson helps David answer a question ...

Feb 24, 20261 hr 21 min

The speech police came for Colbert

Once again, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and his bad ideas about free speech have rankled a late night host. And once again, Nilay and David talk through what the equal-time rule actually means, why organizations keep caving, and why it's apparently up to people like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel to fight back. After that, the hosts discuss the facial recognition feature Meta hopes to launch for its smart glasses, plus the gadgets we're likely to see Apple launch in the couple of weeks. In t...

Feb 19, 20261 hr 31 min

Your next laptop could be a foldable phone

The Verge's Allison Johnson has recently been doing the unthinkable: she's been leaving her laptop at home. Allison joins the show to explain how she turned her Samsung foldable into a useful computer, and why it feels so good to do so. Then, Sportico's Jacob Feldman joins the show to talk about the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the overall state of sports streaming in 2026. (Unfortunately, it's all still very complicated.) Finally, David answers a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call ...

Feb 17, 20261 hr 18 min

Ring's adorable surveillance hellscape

Did you see Ring's Super Bowl ad and see happy puppies reunited with their owners? Or did you see the seeds of a complete, always-on surveillance nightmare coming for us all? David and Nilay discuss which is the right answer, why so many people don't want to trust tech companies, and why Ring might not care much about the difference. After that, the hosts discuss the ads coming to ChatGPT, the surprising number of AI executives quitting their jobs and issuing dire warnings on the way out, and th...

Feb 13, 20261 hr 41 min

Could the Trump Phone be a good phone?

The Trump Phone is real! Ish! The Verge’s Dom Preston has seen a T1 on a video call, that we can say for sure. Dom joins the show to explain what’s new about the phone, whether it has a chance to be a decent device, and why it’s taken so long for Trump Mobile to ship the thing. After that, The Verge’s Hayden Field explains the excitement around OpenClaw and Moltbook, and whether either one is a big moment for the AI industry. Finally, The Verge’s Andy Hawkins helps us answer a question on the Ve...

Feb 10, 20261 hr 15 min

How Epstein became a tech influencer

A new tranche of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails makes one thing painfully clear: Epstein was a central figure in the lives of a lot of big names in tech, and had influence on a surprising number of companies and executives. David and Nilay talk through what we’ve learned from the new emails so far. Then they turn to Anthropic’s spicy new Super Bowl ads about... ads, which caused a big reaction from OpenAI (which is betting big on ads). They also discuss this week’s antitrust hearing about Netflix’s pu...

Feb 06, 20261 hr 34 min

Millions of books died so Claude could live

AI companies want all the data, everywhere, to make their models bigger and better. That means a lot of questions about piracy and copyright, and at least in one case it means Anthropic systematically destroying countless books just to feed them to the model. The Washington Post's Will Oremus joins the show to explain how that worked, why Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI and others are doing it, and what the law has to say. Then, Puck's Julia Alexander helps David figure out whether Netflix is serious ab...

Feb 03, 20261 hr 29 min

Tim Cook is destroying his own legacy

We've been covering what's happening in Minnesota, and the killing of Alex Pretti, all week on The Verge. To begin this episode, Nilay explains why — and why so many others seem to feel the same way right now. After that, the hosts talk about the CEO-studded screening of Melania Trump's documentary last weekend, the disastrous public appearance from Tim Cook, and whether Cook and other CEOs have any other option but to capitulate to the Trump administration. Then it's time for some gadgets: we t...

Jan 30, 20261 hr 35 min

Truth and AI in Minneapolis

Like so many others, we’re still reeling from the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. To open the show, we talk with Adi Robertson about how videos of the incident moved around social platforms, how even well-intentioned people got confused by AI imagery, and what we’ve learned about the state of misinformation. Then Adi explains the new TikTok, which is both the same and very different from the old TikTok. The newly US-centric version of the app has had some switching pains so far, and the c...

Jan 27, 20261 hr 15 min

The end of the Sony era in TVs

Nilay owns a Sony TV. He loves his Sony TV, and he's a little sad that it appears this era of Sony TVs is ending. He and David talk through the news of a new joint venture between Sony and TCL, before digging into OpenAI's new-fangled plan to make money (spoiler alert: it's ads!), and some new news about an AI gadget Apple may or may not be working on. Then it's time for the lightning round: Brendan Carr, Netflix, the Trump Phone, and much more. Further reading: The TikTok deal could finally clo...

Jan 23, 20261 hr 42 min

How BYD beat Tesla

There’s a new biggest name in EVs, and if you live in the US, you pretty much can’t buy one. But before we get to that, we have some stuff to catch up on: The Verge's Hayden Field joins us for a round of “Big Deal Medium Deal Small Deal” with some AI news, from the launch of ChatGPT Health to the recent viral moment for Claude Code. After that, The Verge’s Andy Hawkins joins the show to explain how BYD recently eclipsed Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles, what makes its car...

Jan 20, 20261 hr 19 min

Siri is a Gemini

Nearly two years ago, Apple showed off what an AI-powered Siri might do. That Siri never materialized, but thanks to a deal with Google for its Gemini tech, it might finally have a chance to work. David and Nilay discuss the ins and outs of the deal, and what it might mean for both Apple's and Google's ambitions in AI. (They also talk about the onslaught of new lawsuits from publishers related to Google's adtech antitrust case, including from our parent company Vox Media. Disclosure is our brand...

Jan 16, 20261 hr 40 min

How Lego’s Smart Brick works

January brings two things in Vergecast-land: CES, and New Years' Resolutions. We start this episode with a dive into the story of this year's biggest tech show, the Lego Smart Brick, which is either a clever way of thinking about creativity or the end of creativity as we know it. Sean Hollister explains how the Smart Brick works, and how Lego can make sure it ends the right way. Then, Platformer's Casey Newton discusses his productivity system, his adventures in Claude Code, and how you too can ...

Jan 13, 20261 hr 12 min

Live from CES: What is the point of a robot that falls over?

The theme of CES 2026 is gadgets. It's always gadgets. This year more than most, though, the world's biggest tech show is about how fast the hardware world is moving — and how much work the software, and the AI, have to do to catch up. On stage live at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, David and Nilay talk through some of the biggest news of the week, from robots to laptops to AI cuddle buddies, to see what's really going to matter in tech this year. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to ...

Jan 09, 20261 hr 4 min

The robots, phones and Lego of CES 2026

2026 is just beginning, and it's already time for the biggest gadget event of the year. As the Verge team heads to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, David and Nilay run through as many of the newly announced products as they can. There are robots, art TVs, phones, more robots, smart Legos, smart home gizmos, and still more robots. Some of this stuff will ship, and might even be a big hit. Some of it, well, won't. But it's all an interesting look into what's happening in tech right now...

Jan 06, 20261 hr 33 min

Version History: iPhone 4

This episode delves into the dramatic history of the iPhone 4, from its infamous leak to the Antennagate controversy. Hosts David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Walt Mossberg explore the phone's revolutionary design, its impact on smartphone aesthetics, and Steve Jobs's fervent response to the leak and subsequent antenna issues. They discuss how Apple navigated these challenges and cemented the iPhone 4's place as a truly seminal device, ultimately expanding its reach to new carriers like Verizon and Sprint.

Dec 28, 20251 hr 12 min

The Vergecast RAM Holiday Spec-Tacular

This Vergecast Holiday Spectacular unravels the mysteries of Random Access Memory (RAM), detailing its fundamental function, historical evolution, and modern ubiquity. The hosts and special guest Dylan Patel from SemiAnalysis explain why RAM has become a precious commodity due to insatiable demand from AI data centers, the concentrated nature of its manufacturing, and the industry's conservative capacity expansion. The episode also includes fun RAM-themed games and speculates on future market dynamics and potential technological breakthroughs.

Dec 23, 20251 hr 27 min

Version History: Google Glass

Google didn't invent the concept of smart glasses, but it was one of the first companies to actually put them on people's faces. It was a revolution, and also a problem: Google made face computers extremely uncool, and its early user base was so off-putting they became collectively known as “Glassholes.” The Verge’s Victoria Song and Waveform’s David Imel break down why Glass failed — despite being shockingly right about the future of technology. If you like the show, ⁠ ⁠follow the Version Histo...

Dec 21, 20251 hr 24 min

Brendan Carr is a dummy

Åhead of our last Friday episode of 2025, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr did The Vergecast an enormous favor: he went in front of Congress and said a bunch of wild things about regulation. So, of course, Nilay and David have to talk about them. For a really long time. After that, the hosts look at all the ways YouTube and Netflix are becoming more like one another, and then update the Go90 Scale of Doomed Streaming Services to round out the year. Finally, in the lightning round, there's talk of web a...

Dec 19, 20252 hr 5 min

Everything is gambling now

Who's going to win the Super Bowl? What about the latest season of Survivor? Or the race to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve? Who will be Portugal's next president? How many times will Elon Musk tweet in the next week? On Polymarket, and other prediction markets, you can bet on all these things and more. Are we entering a world in which everything is gambling and gambling is everything? Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal joins the show to explain the rise of prediction markets, what's betting an...

Dec 16, 20251 hr 18 min

The end of OpenAI, and other 2026 predictions

Hosts David Pierce, Joanna Stern, and Nilay Patel engage in their annual prediction episode, reflecting on their mostly missed 2025 forecasts. They then make "mild, medium, and spicy" predictions for 2026, discussing the prospects of a foldable iPhone, the resurgence of the EV market, and the monumental success of GTA 6. The conversation also delves into the battle against AI-generated content on social media, the potential for a significant Waymo incident, and provocative takes on the future of OpenAI, a radically improved Siri, and Apple's most challenging year in decades.

Dec 14, 202559 min

How to vibe-write a country hit

Technically, the Netflix / Warner Bros. news is almost a week old, but what a week it has been! And so, after some follow-up on smart shades and CES, Nilay and David talk through all that’s at stake in the fight between Paramount and Netflix — and whether it’s even possible for someone to win this deal. After that, Charlie Harding, co-host of Switched on Pop and honorary Vergecast intern, explains how AI is taking over the country music scene in Nashville. He also makes us a song, and it’s a jam...

Dec 12, 20251 hr 43 min

2025 year in review

Well, friends, it's been a year. And before we turn the page to 2026 and all the stories of 2025 begin to blur together, we decided to take stock of things. Nilay and David are joined by Wall Street Journal senior tech columnist Joanna Stern to debate the best products of the year, the biggest policy moves, the people who broke bad, the good AI things, the bad AI things, and much more. It's been a vibe-everything kind of year, and there's a lot to discuss. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited ac...

Dec 09, 20251 hr 18 min

A very human vision for going all-in on AI

AI models are very good at summarizing things, finding other things like those things, and helping you find those things again. But does that mean we should leave all the work of finding and understanding to those models? Sari Azout, the founder of an app called Sublime, doesn't think so. For this episode, the second in our two-part series about how developers are using AI and building models into their products, Azout explains how Sublime tries to balance being a thoroughly human-focused app wi...

Dec 07, 202553 min

It's code red for ChatGPT

First things first: David and Nilay are both having some TV problems, and they need to talk it out. But then they get to the news of the week, including Samsung's new extra-foldy foldable phone, and a big change in the design departments at both Apple and Meta. What does it all say about the future of smart glasses? After that, the hosts talk through why Sam Altman declared a code red inside of OpenAI in order to redirect focus to ChatGPT — and whether the technology that has made all these prod...

Dec 05, 20251 hr 36 min

Apple gadgets, ranked

Apple makes a lot of gadgets. You've probably heard of some of them. Most of them are very good! Few companies in tech, or anywhere, can claim a track record as impressive and consistent as the folks in Cupertino. But only one Apple product can be the best Apple product. The Verge's Victoria Song and Allison Johnson join David to rank Apple's nine product categories — iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro, AirPods, AirTags, HomePod, and Apple TV — in order of their best-ness. The gang agree...

Dec 02, 20251 hr 15 min

I just want AI to rename my photos

Raycast is an unusual app with an unusual amount of access: it's a launcher and application platform that can directly interact with all the files and apps on your computer. Raycast didn't start as an AI-centric product, but Thomas Paul Mann, the company's co-founder and CEO, thinks AI is the key to making Raycast even better. For this episode, the first in our two-part miniseries about how developers are using and building AI, Mann explains how he plans to turn models loose on your files and ap...

Nov 30, 20251 hr 4 min

The geek's guide to running faster

It's a holiday week for many of us, which means a lot of Turkey Trots and a lot of TV. We have something for both in this episode! First, Nick Thompson, the CEO of The Atlantic and author of the new book, The Running Ground, joins the show to talk about his lifelong journey as a runner, and all the tech — from smartwatch to shoes to custom GPTs — he uses in training. After that, The Verge's John Higgins makes his first Vergecast appearance to help us understand how motion smoothing works, why yo...

Nov 25, 20251 hr 11 min

Version History: Vine

Vine was the original short-form video platform, and pioneered so many of the ideas we now take for granted in reels and TikToks. It was a cultural engine whose executives clashed with the creators who made it famous, before everybody decamped for other platforms. Marina Galperina, Sarah Jeong and Mia Sato join David Pierce to revisit their favorite Vines and discuss the platform's lasting impact on creator culture. If you like the show, ⁠ ⁠subscribe to the Version History feed⁠ ⁠ to make sure y...

Nov 23, 20251 hr 21 min
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