Nilay, David, and Richard Lawler take on a big week in confusing news stories. First, they talk through the latest from Elon Musk's DOGE, which is running rampant through government computer systems with little pushback. Then they explain the latest on the US government's tariff strategy, and the mass confusion it's causing across tech. Then they pivot away from politics and talk about streaming: the Super Bowl coming to Tubi, the deeply confusing forthcoming Fox streaming service, whatever Comcast is doing this year, and more. Finally, in the lightning round, they talk about Sonos's streaming box, Brendan Carr's latest assaults on free speech, OpenAI's "new" logo, and more.
Further reading:
DC is just waking up to Elon Musk’s takeover
Elon Musk is staging a takeover of the federal budget
Workers are reeling from chaos at federal agencies
Can anyone stop President Musk?
“For all practical purposes, I’d call that a coup.”
Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China
Canada will retaliate against Trump with tariffs on US goods
Trump agrees to a one-month pause on Mexico, Canada tariffs
Qwertykeys halts keyboard shipments to US over tariff costs and confusion
Shein and Temu depend on a 100-year-old tariff loophole that Trump wants to close
Your packages are about to get slower and more expensive
USPS backtracks, will accept parcels from China after all
China tariffs may already be hiking up import fees
China opens Google antitrust probe in retaliation to tariffs
Fox plans to launch a streaming service by the end of 2025
Super Bowl LIX will stream for free on Tubi
Comcast is adding Dolby Atmos to its ‘4K’ Super Bowl broadcast this year
Warner Bros. is streaming full movies for free on YouTube
Disney teases ESPN’s expansive sports streaming future
Disney’s streaming business posts another profit.
CBS is preparing to give Harris interview materials to the FCC.
FCC launches probe into Soros-backed radio station that revealed live locations of undercover ICE agents
After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box
Sonos lays off 200 employees as its struggles continue
Google has ‘very good ideas’ for native ads in Gemini
ChatGPT’s agent can now do deep research for you
Here’s OpenAI’s new logo
Chairs Are Like Facebook
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Elon Musk's computer coup | The Vergecast podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
