We’re doing something a little different today — I asked my friend John Gruber of Daring Fireball to come on the show and talk about the future of Apple, and, importantly, the App Store. I wanted to talk about the most recent ruling in the Epic v. Apple legal saga.
But I also wanted to talk about the big picture at Apple, and why the company seems to have found itself being hammered on all sides: by the developers that feel it’s become too greedy, by federal court judges that no longer trust it, and by regulators now threatening some of its major cash cows.
Links:
Judge rules, in excoriating decision, that Apple violated 2021 order | Daring Fireball
Steve Jobs’ response on Section 3.3.1 | Tao Effect Blog
Epic submitted Fortnite to Apple | Verge
Eddy Cue is fighting to save Apple’s $20 billion paycheck from Google | Verge
Epic is offering developers an alternative to Apple’s in-app purchases | Verge
Epic says Fortnite is coming back to iOS in the US | Verge
Apple files appeal to wrest back control of its App Store | Verge
‘Cook chose poorly’: how Apple blew up its control over the App Store | Verge
Apple changes App Store rules to allow external purchases | Verge
Existential thoughts about Apple’s reliance on Services revenue | Six Colors
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:23:05
Reuters is ready to stand up for the press — and embrace AI
Today, I’m talking with Paul Bascobert, who is the president of Reuters, as part of a special Thursday series we’re running this month to explore how leaders at some world’s biggest companies make decisions in such a rapidly changing environment. Reuters is a great company for us to kick off with, because it’s been around since 1851, when the hot technology enabling mass media was the telegraph.
Here, today, in 2025, the tech driving media has clearly changed more than a little bit. Distribution in a world full of iPhones and generative AI is a really different proposition than distributing media 50 years before the invention of the radio. So there’s a lot here, and you’ll hear Paul and I get deep into basically every Decoder theme there is.
Links:
The Trust Principles | Reuters
Brendan Carr’s FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine | Verge
AP wins reinstatement to White House events | AP
NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy | Channels
Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour on AI, press freedom, and the future of news | Decoder
Platforms need the news — but they’re killing it | Decoder
Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder
Platformer’s Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse | Decoder
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:04:38
NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy
Hey everyone, it’s Nilay. We’re off today, but we’ll be back Thursday, so stay tuned. In the meantime, we have an excellent episode from Business Insider Chief Correspondent Peter Kafka, who hosts the media podcast Channels.
In this episode, Peter sat down with one of the biggest names in journalism: New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger. It’s a fascinating conversation that covers some of the most pressing issues facing journalism and the news business today. We think you’ll like it.
Links:
NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy | Channels
New York Times Reports 350,000 Additional Digital Subscribers | NYT
IGN and CNET owner Ziff Davis sues OpenAI | Verge
The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement | Verge
Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour on AI, press freedom, and the future of news | Decoder
Platforms need the news — but they’re killing it | Decoder
Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder
Platformer’s Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse | Decoder
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:10:43
What Trump has broken in 100 days
A lot has happened in the first 100 days of Trump's second term. It’s nearly too much to keep up with, really, but we're going to try. Verge policy editor Adi Robertson joins Decoder this week to talk through six of the biggest stories and themes we're covering, from tariffs to TikTok to DOGE.
Links:
Donald Trump’s first 100 days: all the news affecting the tech industry | Verge
The DOGE days have just begun | Verge
America is living in tariff limbo | Verge
MAGA’s next wave of influencers saved TikTok | Verge
Whatever happened to the Kids’ Online Safety Act? | Verge
Brendan Carr’s FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine | Verge
Environmental warning systems are suffering from Trump’s data purge | Verge
Why Trump can’t be trusted with Congress’ new anti-deepfake bill | Decoder
How Trump’s tariffs actually work on the ground | Decoder
The FCC is a weapon in Trump’s war on free speech | Decoder
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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52:25
Decoder Live: Fired FTC commissioners fight back
A few days ago, I hosted a panel with FTC commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington, DC. We recorded the discussion, and we’re bringing it to you today.
Normal Decoder stuff, but these are anything but normal times. Becca and Alvaro were FTC commissioners until very recently, when President Donald Trump fired them — but he doesn't have that legal authority. They’re suing to get their jobs back, and they’re prepared to go all the way to SCOTUS if they have to.
Links:
Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners | The Verge
Fired FTC commissioners sue Trump | The Verge
The case for breaking up Google has never been stronger | The Verge
The government doesn’t understand Meta | The Verge
FTC v Meta live: updates from the battle for Instagram, WhatsApp | The Verge
DOGE has arrived at the FTC | The Verge
Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s failed negotiations with the FTC | Wall Street Journal
FTC chair says he’d drop Meta case if lawfully ordered to | The Verge
Bedoya warns of “corrupting influence of billionaires”| The Verge
The FTC has enough staff to sue Amazon, after all | The Verge
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/657115
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.
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