The Vergecast

By The VergeNews Technology Tech News

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The Vergecast episodes

March 28, 2025OpenAI has a Studio Ghibli problem
In this episode, we do a Studio Ghibli-like rendition of The Vergecast. First, Nilay and David discuss some big news in the gadget world, from the mysteriously viral midrange Canon camera to the upgrades we're expecting out of Apple in the next few months. Plus, is it over for Amazon's Echo brand? After all that, The Verge's Kylie Robison joins the show to discuss everything happening at OpenAI: the company launched a new image generator inside of ChatGPT, and it immediately became both a huge hit and a big mess. (Par for the course with OpenAI, really.) Kylie also explains why Perplexity is probably not buying TikTok, no matter how much it might want to. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for everyone's favorite segment, Brendan Carr Is a Dummy, followed by the latest on the Signal attack-planning chaos in the government, some news about Elon Musk pressuring Reddit CEO Steve Huffmann, and what's next for the car industry with huge tariffs looming. Oh, and a little bit of exciting e-bike news

Further reading:
From Meta: Bringing the Magic of Friends Back to Facebook
Apple’s AirPods Max with USB-C will soon support lossless audio
The Apple Watch may get cameras and Apple Intelligence
Apple’s WWDC 2025 event starts June 9th
Don’t expect an overhauled Messages app in iOS 19.
Amazon tests renaming Echo smart speakers and smart displays to just ‘Alexa’
OpenAI reshuffles leadership as Sam Altman pivots to technical focus
OpenAI upgrades image generation and rolls it out in ChatGPT and Sora
ChatGPT’s new image generator is delayed for free users
ChatGPT is turning everything into Studio Ghibli art
OpenAI says ‘our GPUs are melting’ as it limits ChatGPT image generation requests
OpenAI expects to earn $12.7 billion in revenue this year.
Nvidia Infinite Creative
Microsoft adds ‘deep reasoning’ Copilot AI for research and data analysis
Google says its new ‘reasoning’ Gemini AI models are the best ones yet
Google is rolling out Gemini’s real-time AI video features
Perplexity’s bid for TikTok continues
Trump's FCC says it will start investigating Disney, too
From Status: Sounding the Carr Alarm
Trump officials leaked a military strike in a Signal group chat
The Atlantic releases strike group chat messages
And the Most Tortured Signal-Gate Backronym Award goes to… | The Verge
Elon Musk pressured Reddit’s CEO on content moderation | The Verge
Trump’s plans to save TikTok may fail to keep it online, Democrats warn
Rivian spins out secret e-bike lab into a new company called Also
BYD beats Tesla.
Trump says he will impose a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles

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2 hr 1 min
March 25, 2025How Roomba got stuck
Some products are so successful they become snynonymous with their whole category — nobody asks for a facial tissue, they ask for a Kleenex, you know? Today's episode is, at least in part, about two of those products. First, The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins the show to chart the rise and fall of the Roomba, the robot vacuum that practically invented the category and yet seems to have been left behind. Can iRobot get its robot back on its feet? After that, Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn discusses the state of e-readers, what it's like to always be "the best non-Amazon option," and what we all want from devices that aren't our smartphone. Finally, The Verge's Chris Welch helps us answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11, or email [email protected]!) about which TV you should buy in 2025. It's a complicated question, but there are answers.

Further reading:
From CNN: The secret military technology inside the household vacuum robot
iRobot announces eight new robot vacuums
iRobot tells investors its future is in doubt
Will iRobot’s reinvention of the Roomba be at the expense of its history of innovation?
Amazon wants to map your home, so it bought iRobot
The death of the Amazon deal could mean goodbye iRobot
iRobot’s founder is working on a new kind of home robot
Michael Tamblyn's website
Kobo announces its first color e-readers
The best ereader to buy right now

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1 hr 35 min
March 21, 2025Trump's confusing crusade against Big Tech
Starlink is in the White House, Siri is still bad, Pebble is back, up is down, everything is chaos. In this episode, Nilay and David start the show by running through some big gadget news, from a Siri-related shakeup at Apple to the new Google Pixel 9A. After that, The Verge's Lauren Feiner talks us through some of the latest in tech regulation: Trump's illegal firings at the FTC, the confusing state of the TikTok ban, OpenAI and Google arguing their case for free-for-all AI, and more. Finally, in the lightning round, Nilay and David talk about the latest Tesla recall, the hugely popular book about Meta, some exciting ActivityPub news, and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos gently zinging Apple TV Plus.

Further reading:
From Bloomberg: Apple Shuffles AI Executive Ranks in Bid to Turn Around Siri
The first new Pebble smartwatches are coming later this year
Europe is trying to get non-Apple smartwatches to work better with iPhones
Google’s Pixel 9A gets a bigger screen and beefier water resistance
Google briefly delays Pixel 9A release to investigate ‘component quality issue’
Huawei’s new flip phone is weirdly wide
Nvidia says ‘the age of generalist robotics is here’
Nvidia’s cute ‘Digits’ AI desktop is coming this summer with a new name and a big brother
Nvidia announces Blackwell Ultra GB300 and Vera Rubin, its next AI ‘superchips’
Musk’s Starlink gets deployed at the White House
Federal rural broadband program loses head
Oracle is reportedly in the lead to save TikTok from US ban
A”high-level” deal to save TikTok can probably happen by the April 5th deadline, Vance says.
Democratic FTC commissioners say they were ‘illegally fired’ by Trump
Fired FTC commissioner warns of the ‘corrupting influence of billionaires’
Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will resign this spring
WBEZ, 12 other public media stations under investigation
CTIA Announces Ajit Pai as New CEO and President
OpenAI and Google ask the government to let them train AI on content they don’t own
Hundreds of celebrities warn against letting OpenAI and Google ‘freely exploit’ Hollywood
Google Search charged with breaking EU antitrust rules
DHS’s airport panopticon is getting people deported and detained
Space science is under threat from the anti-DEI purge
DOGE stranded USAID workers with laptops full of sensitive data
They’re removing webpages about Black soldiers by adding ‘DEI’ to the URL.
‘Tesla Takedown’ protesters planning ‘biggest day of action’
Tesla recalls more than 46,000 Cybertrucks after trim starts falling off
From NYMag: Elon Musk Has Become Too Toxic for YouTube
‘Careless People’ debuts at the top of the NYT best sellers list.
Threads finally lets you set the following feed as default
Ghost connects its newsletters to the open web
Netflix’s CEO talks Apple TV, Amazon, and the NFL

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1 hr 51 min
March 18, 2025Switch 2, Steam Deck, and the next-gen console wars
Handheld gaming looks like the future — so why isn't it more popular? The Verge's Sean Hollister joins the show to talk about some new data about the handheld console market, what it says about the Steam Deck's dominance, whether the Switch 2 might change everything all over again, and why Sony and Microsoft don't appear to be in the game at all. After that, David reports on his trip to Florida to see TGL, the golf league aiming to bring the sport to new places and new fans, with the help of a truly enormous amount of technology. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about iPads — and more specifically, one particularly good reason to upgrade to the Air or the Pro.
Further reading:
Three years later, the Steam Deck has dominated handheld PC gaming shipments
Steam Deck OLED review: better, not faster
Lenovo Legion Go S review: feels good, plays bad
Asus ROG Ally X review: the best Windows gaming handheld by a mile
MSI Claw review: an embarrassment
A night at TGL, the would-be future of golf
From ESPN: Inside the making of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL
From Wired: Robotic Putting Greens. Mixed Reality. Loud Spectators. This Is Golf?!
Apple iPad Air 2025 review: what the M3 upgrade really gets you

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1 hr 25 min
March 14, 2025The fake promise of better Siri
Big tech companies are forever making promises about the future. And you might (or might not) be surprised how often they don't come true. On this episode, Nilay and David start by discussing the good and bad of Apple's new iPads and Macs, before diving into the supposedly AI-powered, all-powerful Siri that is delayed indefinitely. Maybe this whole "AI will fix everything" plan wasn't such a good one. After that, The Verge's Andy Hawkins joins to discuss what's going on with Tesla: why sales are down, how the perception of the company has shifted as Elon Musk's job description has changed, and how it happened that President Trump did a Tesla sales pitch on the White House lawn. Everything's computer, you know? Finally, in the lighting round, the hosts discuss Brendan Carr's ongoing shenanigans, Jay Graber's sartorial burns, the future of Pokemon Go, and much more.
Further reading:
Apple is reportedly planning a design overhaul for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS
Apple’s plans for a smart display suffer a Siri-related setback
Apple adds Siri disclaimer to iPhone 16 pages.
Apple pulled its iPhone 16 ad showing off the good Siri.
‘HomePad’ delayed to post-WWDC to ensure iOS 19 design consistency
All this bad AI is wrecking a whole generation of gadgets
Apple MacBook Air M4 review: a little more for a little less
Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) first look: a weekend with an $8,000 powerhouse
Apple iPad Air 2025 review: what the M3 upgrade really gets you
Is Tesla cooked?
Trump says he’ll label attacks on Tesla locations as domestic terrorism
The Tesla protests are getting bigger — and rowdier
Trump hosts a Tesla ad at the White House.
Everything's computer
Tesla protests continue to escalate.
Sonos has canceled its streaming video player
Home Assistant makes it official.
FCC chair asks if YouTube TV ‘discriminates against faith-based programming’
Brendan Carr on X:
FCC chairman asks the public to list every regulation he should remove
A Trump official has been moonlighting as a fashion influencer
Pokémon Go developer Niantic to sell gaming business to Saudi group
TikTok’s mood music will tell teens to ‘wind down’ after 10PM
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber has a message for Zuck.

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1 hr 44 min
March 11, 2025China has some big ideas about smartphones
In this episode, what's old is new again, and what's new is... AI again. The Verge's Allison Johnson and Dominic Preston join David to discuss their experience at Mobile World Congress 2025, where they saw the latest devices from Xiaomi, Samsung, Realme, and others — and found themselves confronted with some big, surprising new ideas about how our smartphones should look and work. After that, Kevin Rose and Justin Mezzell talk about the process of bringing Digg back, and how AI can improve the way social networks operate. Digg got a lot of things right two decades ago, and plans to do it all over again now. Finally, we answer a question about printers from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email [email protected]!), with some help from Framework CEO Nirav Patel.
Further reading:
MWC 2025 was all about the odds and ends
What if your phone’s camera was much, much bigger?
You spin me right round, baby, right round.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: ugly phone, beautiful camera
Digg Reboot
How Digg helped invent the social internet
Digg is coming back, with founder Kevin Rose and Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian

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1 hr 15 min
March 07, 2025Apple's chip bumps, big and small
Apple's new gadgets this week were pretty minor updates, so of course we talk about them for a long time. Nilay and David are joined by The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes, and the three hosts discuss the latest iPad, iPad Air, MacBook Air, and Mac Studio. All three have... a lot of thoughts. After that, they run through some more tech news, including the Digg reboot, the end of Skype, VW's cheap new EV, and more. Finally, in the lightning round, they talk about the latest from DOGE and the Trump administration, Brendan Carr's latest assaults on free speech, and a smartphone that is mostly (but not entirely) a camera.
Further reading:
Apple iPad Air 2025: launch, price, and specs
Apple refreshes the iPad but doesn’t add Apple Intelligence
Apple announces MacBook Air with M4 chip and a price cut
Our first look at Apple’s sky blue MacBook Air
Apple launches new Mac Studios with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips
Behold the maxed out Mac Studio.
Digg is coming back, with founder Kevin Rose and Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian
Discord is reportedly exploring an IPO.
Nothing’s Phone 3A and 3A Pro use AI to organize all your stuff
The Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 is an affordable EV for the masses
Volkswagen’s cheapest EV ever is the first to use Rivian software
Microsoft is shutting down Skype in favor of Teams
The Verge remembers Skype
Big Tech is now slightly less silent on Trump’s tariffs
Trump imposes tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China
Car prices expected to increase by as much as $12,000 thanks to Trump’s tariffs
Best Buy and Target CEOs say prices are about to go up because of tariffs
What’s an import?
Trump to Cabinet: Musk has no authority to fire workers
FAA staff reportedly ordered to find funding for deal with Musk’s Starlink
Trump’s USCIS wants to review all prospective citizens’ social media accounts
Senate votes to strip the CFPB of its power to regulate X
MWC: FCC chair says U.S. will defend interests of its tech giants
FCC’s Carr defends broadcast probes, slams social media ‘threat’
A camera for your cameraphone: Sony Cyber-shot QX10 and QX100 review
Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a small update with a big periscope lens

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1 hr 50 min
March 04, 2025The James Bond Cinematic Universe
On this episode, we're diving deep into new ideas about old things. First, Framework CEO Nirav Patel joins David and The Verge's Sean Hollister to talk about Framework's new Laptop 12 and Desktop, plus the company's plan to bring its upgradeable, repairable ethos to other gadgets. After that, Daring Fireball's John Gruber joins the show to talk about the future of James Bond, now that Amazon has complete creative control over the 007 franchise. Do we want to live in the James Bond Cinematic Universe? Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about using smart glasses to replace your computer monitor.
Further reading:
Framework wants to fix the budget laptop with its first touchscreen machine
Mint and pink: a closer look at the backflipping Framework Laptop 12
Framework’s first tiny Desktop beautifully straddles the line between cute and badass
Framework Desktop hands-on: a possible new direction for gaming desktops
‘We’re nowhere near done with Framework Laptop 16’ says Framework CEO
Amazon now has creative control over the James Bond franchise
Amazon buys MGM for $8.45 billion
From David Smith: The Talk Show Bond Anthology
From Daring Fireball: Amazon MGM Studios Takes Creative Control Over James Bond Franchise
Xreal’s new glasses are a surprisingly good TV for your face
The smart glasses era is here — I got a first look

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1 hr 30 min
February 28, 2025The high stakes for AI Alexa
AI will fix everything, right? In this episode, friend of The Verge (and Waveform co-host) David Imel joins Nilay and David to talk all about Alexa Plus, and the AI-powered voice assistant Amazon thinks can do everything from turn on your lights to order your friend an Uber. The hosts also talk about the other gadgets of the week, from the wild new Sigma BF camera to the boring iPhone 16E. Finally, in the lightning round, they talk about TikTok becoming YouTube and YouTube becoming TikTok and Instagram becoming YouTube and TikTok, plus the latest in Brendan Carr being a dummy and what's coming next from Automattic, DOGE, and everything.
Further reading:
Amazon Alexa Plus Event 2025: live updates and product announcements
Amazon announces AI upgrade for Alexa
Amazon’s Alexa Plus’ AI upgrades cost $19.99, but it’s free with Prime
Amazon is launching Alexa.com and new app for Alexa Plus
Alexa engagement continues to grow.
Alexa Plus leaves behind Amazon’s earliest Echo devices
Sigma’s BF is a minimalist full-frame camera with no memory card slot
iPhone 16E review: Eh, it’s alright
Framework’s first tiny Desktop beautifully straddles the line between cute and badass
More than 1 billion people are now watching podcasts on YouTube every month
Instagram’s Reels may get its own app
From TechCrunch: In challenge to YouTube, TikTok revamps its desktop platform
Someone flooded HUD HQ TVs with an AI-generated video of Trump and Musk.
Bluesky banned this video
Elon Musk claims federal employees have 48 hours to explain recent work or resign
DOGE asks federal workers to justify their recent work or resign.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk threaten to ‘semi-fire’ workers who don’t answer email
Amy Gleason officially named as DOGE administrator
Apple responds to tariff threat with a $500 billion US investment plan
Trump shed some light on his meeting with Tim Cook.
Starlink poised to take over $2.4 billion contract to overhaul air traffic control communication
FCC to brief lawmakers on George Soros investigation in closed-door meeting
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr Probes iHeartMedia Over How it Pays Musicians
FCC Chair Brendan Carr taking first steps in eroding key legal protection enjoyed by Big Tech
Automattic combines its Beeper and Texts.com messaging services

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1 hr 57 min
February 25, 2025We can’t quit electric cars — or robotaxis
Robotaxis: in. EVs: Out? The Verge's Andy Hawkins joins the show to talk about the goings-on in the transportation industry, including the reasons car makers are slowing down on EV production (but not giving up entirely) and why suddenly everyone's back in on robotaxis. Then, The Social Web Foundation's Evan Prodromou tells us what's new with the fediverse. We talk about Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, and the increasingly ambitious plans for the ActivityPub protocol. Finally, we talk through some feedback on last week's episode about the pricing of the iPhone 16E, and how the way you buy your phone changes the way you feel about its price.
Further reading:
EV truck maker Nikola goes bust
Senate Republicans introduce bills to make EVs more expensive
Volkswagen claims it’s actually making that $20,000 EV and will show it next month
Ford lost $5 billion on EVs in 2024, teases new models
Lyft eyes robotaxi launch in 2026
Uber to Austin: get ready for Waymo
The fediverse, explained: Mastodon, Threads, and the open future of social networking
Flipboard’s Surf app is a feed reader for the fediverse
Tumblr’s fediverse integration might finally happen soon.
The Social Web Foundation
Apple launches the iPhone 16E

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1 hr 13 min

About The Vergecast

From the publisher's feed

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…