The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel and David Pierce ...
Nilay and David talk a bit about this week’s launch of the Verge subscription, plus what’s coming next. (There’s still time to send questions for next week! 866-VERGE11 or email [email protected].) Then they talk about the streaming news of the week, and the ways streaming services are continuing to act like cable companies. Then Kylie Robison joins to talk about the lowering stakes for AGI, shipmas at OpenAI, and more. Finally, in the lighting round, it’s crypto and browsers and Intel. And more crypto.
Further reading:
Here we go: The Verge now has a subscription
ESPN is coming to the Disney Plus app starting today
Max is testing always-on HBO channels
Max is finally about to start cracking down on password sharing.
Walmart bought Vizio
OpenAI’s 12 days of ‘shipmas’ include Sora and new reasoning model
Sam Altman says AGI will “matter much less” than people expect
Sam Altman on Elon Musk and OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft.
ChatGPT’s search results for news are ‘unpredictable’ and frequently inaccurate
Stop using generative AI as a search engine
Misinformation expert admits ChatGPT added fake details to his anti-deepfake court filing
Bitcoin just hit $100,000
Dia is the The Browser Company’s AI-powered follow-up to Arc
Threads takes an important baby step toward true fediverse integration
Threads’ next update is a search feature that finds the post you’re looking for
Meta says it’s mistakenly removing too many posts
Intel’s CEO is out after only three years
What happened to Intel?
Trump picks two nominees who could decide the fate of Big Tech and crypto
Spotify Wrapped 2024 adds an AI podcast to recap your listening habits
Apple Music’s yearly recap is finally available in the app
Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.
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1:45:16
A gadget lover's guide to the great outdoors
The Verge's Thomas Ricker joins the show with an update on his question to live the #vanlife. He shares stories about Starlink Mini, the new Peak Design backpack everyone loves, converting a Sprinter van to a mobile apartment, and more. Then, The Verge's Andru Marino takes us through his tests on a bunch of new creator- and social-friendly microphones, which plug into your phone and promise to make everything sound better. Finally, we answer a question about web browsers on the Vergecast Hotline.
(Don't forget to send us your questions about The Verge and The Vergecast for next week's episode! Call 866-VERGE11 or email [email protected] with all your most meta questions.)
Further reading:
Starlink Mini review: space internet goes ultraportable
Peak Design’s Outdoor Backpack is a more versatile everyday bag
Stoke Voltaics’ portable electric cookware review
This backpack solar generator can help you ignore nature
This little box provides on-demand power when off the grid
Living and working from an all-electric VW ID Buzz
DJI’s new wireless mics skip a few features to get smaller and lighter
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1:15:27
Our biggest stories and favorite things of 2024
2024 is almost over, somehow. So we gathered a bunch of our Verge colleagues and told them each to tell us three things from the year: the biggest story, their favorite new tech thing, and their favorite new non-tech thing. We got a collection of big stories, cool gadgets, great movies, and more good stuff from the year that was.
We're also planning a special episode for Tuesday, December 10th, all about The Verge and The Vergecast. So if you have questions about how we work, what we cover, why we talk about copyright law so much, or what Nilay is actually like to work with every day, tell us! Call 866-VERGE11, or email [email protected], and we'll answer as many as we can on the 10th. Thanks in advance!
Further reading:
Jay Peters:
Story of the year: Google is a monopoly
New thing of the year: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Non-tech thing of the year: XOXO Field Notes notebooks
Jake Kastrenakes:
Story of the year: All things AI
New thing of the year: The Wiim Ultra amp
Non-tech thing of the year: Chronoloy
Justine Calma
Story of the year: The US election, and the rise of nuclear power
New thing of the year: Nurse Unseen
Non-tech thing of the year: Sugarcane
Vjeran Pavic:
Story of the year: The Apple Vision Pro
New thing of the year: The Fujifilm X100VI and the Kino app
Non-tech thing of the year: Mountain Gazette
Kylie Robison:
Story of the year: Billionaire crybabies
New thing of the year: Stardew Valley
Non-tech thing of the year: Curated playlists
Barbara Krasnoff:
Story of the year: The US election
New thing of the year: The Elgato Stream Deck
Non-tech thing of the year: Googly eyes
Alex Heath:
Story of the year: The AI rat race
New thing of the year: Granola
Non-tech thing of the year: Shochu
Ash Parrish:
Story of the year: Grand Theft Auto VI and the Nintendo Switch 2, and more industry layoffs
New thing of the year: The Playstation Portal
Non-tech thing of the year: Bucephalus the puppy
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1:39:34
The government's plan to break up Google
The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins Nilay and David to talk about the US government's proposal in its search antitrust case against Google. They discuss the future of Chrome, what a white-label search engine might look like, and how a Trump administration might change the course of this case altogether. Then Nilay and David talk about the week in AI and gadget news, from the latest on Amazon's new Alexa to Google bailing on tablets all over again. Finally, in the lightning round, they discuss Comcast spinning off its cable channels and the latest in the Threads / Bluesky competition.
Further reading:
DOJ says Google must sell Chrome to crack open its search monopoly
Google responds to DOJ’s ‘extreme proposal.’
Google workers to DOJ: we need protections to make your breakup effective
Apple fights to keep DOJ antitrust suit from reaching trial
Amazon announces new Echo Show 21 and Echo Show 15 smart displays
Google may be about to reboot its laptop and tablet hardware again
Google reportedly cancels Pixel Tablet 2 and might quit the category — again
Sonos’ smart TV plans might have found an OS
Windows 365 Link is a $349 mini PC that streams Windows from the cloud
Comcast is spinning off its cable TV business
Trump names Brendan Carr as his FCC leader
Strava closes the gates to sharing fitness data with other apps
Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
Threads’ custom feeds are already rolling out
Threads’ algorithm will focus more on the people you follow
Bose acquires premium audio brand McIntosh
Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.
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1:56:53
If Netflix can't make live work, can anyone?
Richard Lawler joins the show to chat about the Tyson / Paul fight, and more importantly the fact that Netflix didn't seem to be able to keep up. As live sports — and TV in general — move toward streaming, are even the biggest names in tech ready for what's coming? After that, Roland Allen, the author of The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, tells us about the history of the notebook, and why we've been writing things down about our lives for centuries. Even in a digital world, Allen argues, you just can't beat the notebook. Finally, a question from the Vergecast Hotline sends producer Will Poor down a TikTok Shop rabbit hole.
Further reading:
Netflix served the Tyson vs. Paul fight to 60 million households
NFL fans worry Netflix’s bad Tyson vs. Paul stream means it can’t handle football
Netflix adds Beyoncé to live entertainment juggernaut
Netflix snagged global streaming rights for NFL Christmas Day games
Roland Allen’s website
The Notebook: a History of Thinking on Paper
Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel and David Pierce hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And every Tuesday, 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.