The Vergecast

The Vergecast

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.

Episodes

July 10, 2026 85 mins
Netflix makes shows. And movies. And podcasts. And games. And… YouTube videos, apparently. So what even is Netflix anymore? Nilay and David have ideas. After that, they talk about Meta’s ongoing smart glasses mess, and whether Meta or anyone can make these devices work. Finally, it's time for Brendan Carr, RAMageddon, the state of X, and a dumb TV mystery. Further reading: Bloomberg: ⁠Netflix Viewers Are Abandon...
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Quantum computing hype is everywhere. Trump says we'll have one by 2028, Microsoft by 2029. IBM is investing billions. Is it really happening? Science journalist Sophia Chen joins us to discuss her article, "What is a quantum computer good for? Absolutely nothing — yet," and break down what's real and what's hype in the quantum computing race. Further reading ⁠Meta is reportedly working on smart glasses that would be rec...
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How much smartphone is too much smartphone? Why is it so hard to switch from one phone to another, even in 2026? And is your smartwatch finally ready to replace your phone, even for a few things? These are the questions you have, and The Verge's Allison Johnson is here to answer them. If you have others, keep 'em coming! Call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, email ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠, tell us everything. Further readin...
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We have all become desensitized. Every place is like every other place, every experience is happening at a remove and on a screen. And Ian Bogost, a Washington University professor and a writer at The Atlantic, argues that this "dematerialization" is making our life worse. Ian joins David to explain how to once again commune with the world. He tells us of the magic of paper tickets, why he's kind of obsessed with the rubber on his ...
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We've been tracking the Trump Phone for more than a year. We weren't sure it was real, or that it would ever ship — and we were pretty darn sure it wasn't going to be made in America. Whatever the Trump Phone is, though? We finally got our hands on one. Dom Preston and some other Verge friends will join David to talk about the device, our first impressions, and whether this is could be the best phone of 2026. (Just kidding.) ...
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July 3, 2026 29 mins
For many of us in the US, it's the beginning of a holiday weekend. So we figured we'd try and help you out. We grabbed a bunch of Verge staffers, and asked them all a simple question: How do you disconnect? We have ideas about Wi-Fi, about phone hygiene, about smartwatches, and much more. We're certainly not here to tell you to ditch screens entirely, but... screen responsibly, you know? Send us your tips, and have a great summer v...
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July 2, 2026 101 mins
Things don't look great for console and game makers right now. With Xbox and PlayStation sales flagging, Microsoft preparing for big layoffs in its gaming division, and the price of everything on the rise, maybe it makes sense to save money where you can. You know, like making discs? David and Nilay discuss the end of the physical video game, before wondering whether Microsoft might be getting ready to get rid of Xbox altogether. A...
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For years, Rivian has looked like one of the most compelling electric vehicle companies in America — and maybe the car maker most equipped to take on Tesla. All that potential comes down to this: the R2, the long-awaited and more affordable car that Rivian hopes can make it truly mainstream. After a journey to the R2's factory earlier this year, The Verge's Andrew Hawkins explains what the R2 is, why it matters, and what happ...
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The Onion's takeover of conspiracy show InfoWars isn't officially complete — but comedian Tim Heidecker, who's serving as creative director, won't let that stop him from building out a slate of comedy programming. Before the new InfoWars launches July 2, The Verge's Mia Sato interviews Tim about what drew him to the project, how long he can (or wants to) maintain an Alex Jones parody, and whether it's worth doing an interview...
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It's time for a new series on The Vergecast! (It still needs a name. Please help.) We're going to give Verge staffers a challenge, and regroup a few weeks later to see who did it best. We're starting with some vibe coding. The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes and Hayden Field share what they've made with AI that has actually stuck in their lives, before David gives the challenge: build a website to solve a problem in your life. The more am...
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Meta's business is doing just fine. But Meta as a company, and Meta as a series of products? That is, uh, messier. David and Nilay discuss the company's ongoing desire to be relevant and cool, the unceasing importance of Instagram, and why it makes perfect sense that Facebook would clone Polymarket. After that, the hosts talk about Apple's huge price increases, and the ways in which RAMageddon might change the gadget market forever...
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June 25, 2026 26 mins
Training data is the raw material of the AI industry. Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and the rest are built on top of oceans of stuff. What is that stuff? Books. Blog posts. YouTube videos. Reddit comments. All of it and more, in virtually incomprehensible quantities. Alex Reisner, a staff writer at The Atlantic who has been investigating training data, explains how AI companies get all this data, why they'd really prefer you not know wh...
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Google is shipping its first smart speaker in six years, and we're starting to test it. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins the show to explain why the Home Speaker matters, whether Google actually cares about the smart home, and more. Then, she helps answer a few questions from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about the power of Ikea and the future of your thermostat. Further readi...
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June 23, 2026 43 mins
A huge portion of the tech industry has decided that smart glasses are the next big thing. But why? Smart glasses are incredibly hard to make, hugely socially complicated, and require users to want to wear a gadget on their face. The Verge's Victoria Song helps us figure out which features, if any, will make smart glasses worth all the trouble. Further reading: All these smart glasses and nothing to do Subscribe to The V...
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June 22, 2026 37 mins
Valve has been trying to crack the living room for more than a decade, and the new Steam Machine is its best attempt yet. It's a little bit PC, a little bit console, and a lot pricy — starting at $1,049, it had a lot to live up to. The Verge’s Sean Hollister has been testing the device, and shares his findings on whether the Steam Machine can hang with PlayStation and Xbox. He also explains why, despite a never-ending l...
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June 19, 2026 76 mins
The Harmony Universal Remote was supposed to be the only controller you needed for all the devices in your life. So what happened? David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Nilay Patel and John Higgins, as well as Nest co-founder (and current Harmony user) Matt Rogers, to follow the Harmony's timeline from its origins as the "Easy Zapper," through Logitech's acquisition, all the way to its slow death at the hands of smart TVs. An...
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June 18, 2026 87 mins
The new smart glasses from Snap look like an impressive bit of technology, and some of the most advanced glasses we've seen. But Nilay and David start the show by wondering, does that matter if nobody wants to put them on? What would it take to overcome the ear-smashing? After that, they discuss the reasons for (and problems awaiting) Fox's acquisition of Roku, the latest updates from Matter, Facebook's wild AI Mode, and more. Fur...
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Your headphones' microphone matters. A lot. And yet we never know how we sound to others, or whether we're clear to our AI assistants! So from time to time, we like to grab a bunch of headphones and put their microphones through some tough real-world tests. This time, with the help of The Verge's John Higgins, we discover the best-sounding mic we've ever tested. And no, it's not on a pair of AirPods. Not even close. Further read...
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Anthropic and the US government are once again at odds, this time over the Claude Fable 5 model that either is, or is not, or might be, far too dangerous to release to the world. The Verge's Hayden Field explains what's going on with Fable, Mythos, and the whole idea of American AI exceptionalism, before also answering your questions about how WhatsApp and Siri might one day work together, and whether Apple messed up by calling it ...
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June 15, 2026 34 mins
Markdown is a system for writing that makes it readable to both humans and computers. It's all about the symbols. You use - to make a list, * for emphasis, ** for even more emphasis. Brackets and parentheses turn into links. Once you know Markdown, you might begin to think in Markdown. Right now it is absolutely everywhere: people are maintaining their Claude.MD files for conversing with AI bots, and writing their notes in Markdown...
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