Episodes

  • Elon Musk: agent of chaos

    Elon Musk: agent of chaos
    Feb 14 2025
    On today's episode, once again, it's OpenAI and DOGE. And some other things! Nilay and David start the show by talking about Elon Musk's surprise bid to buy the nonprofit arm of OpenAI, along with the company's plans for new models and new rules for those models. After that, The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins to catch us up on what's happening with DOGE, how Musk and co. are making boring government information into something deeply fascinating and deeply confusing, and what it's like to work for the government now. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about rumors of a new Apple Studio Display and iPhone SE, the new Powerbeats 2 Pro, Brendan Carr still being a dummy, and some surprising streaming moves from Apple and YouTube. Further reading: Elon Musk just offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion OpenAI apparently hasn’t actually received Elon Musk’s acquisition offer. Altman feels bad for Elon OpenAI lays out plans for GPT-5 OpenAI is reportedly getting closer to launching its in-house chip OpenAI is rethinking how AI models handle controversial topics Scarlett Johansson calls for anti deepfake laws after AI video goes viral Thomson Reuters wins an early court battle over AI, copyright, and fair use AI chatbots are distorting news stories, BBC finds Waste.gov locks down after people discover it’s a WordPress template https://doge.gov/ exists Federal workers say they increasingly distrust platforms like Facebook The Trump administration restores federal webpages after court order Trump administration illegally allowed DOGE to access workers’ data, lawsuit alleges State Dept.’s plan to buy $400 million worth of armored Teslas hastily changed to ‘armored EVs’ Constitutional crisis intensifies. Google Maps now shows the ‘Gulf of America’ Apple Maps now shows the Gulf of America Bing jumps on the Gulf of America bandwagon. Trump wants news outlets to get on board with “Gulf of America” — or else. Will they? Apple’s next Studio Display could get a much-needed Mini LED upgrade Tim Cook teases a new Apple launch next week, and it’s probably the iPhone SE FCC to investigate Comcast for having DEI programs The FCC is a weapon in Trump’s war on free speech Trump’s MAGA Media Enforcer Is Having ‘the Time of His Life’ FCC chairman Brendan Carr has vowed to target all of Donald Trump's enemies. Jeep’s Wrangler-like Recon EV is ready to launch this year Jeep warranty ads in the infotainment Apple TV Plus is finally coming to Android YouTube is now even bigger on TVs than phones Powerbeats Pro 2 review: the workout buds to beat Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus review: incredibly iterative Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 52 mins
  • What $200 of ChatGPT is really worth

    What $200 of ChatGPT is really worth
    Feb 11 2025
    AI and politics, politics and AI. That's the story of 2025. On this episode, The Verge's Kylie Robison joins the show to talk about ChatGPT's big new features, Operator and deep research, both of which promise to make the chatbot more useful and more autonomous. To access either one costs $200 a month — is it worth it? After that, The Verge's Liz Lopatto catches us up on the latest from Elon Musk and Doge, including why Musk is doing this thing, this way. Liz also makes the case that this isn't going to slow down anytime soon. Finally, Nilay Patel helps us answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline, and tells us how he felt about the Super Bowl's 4K stream. Further reading: OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent can do things on the web for you ChatGPT’s agent can now do deep research for you I tested ChatGPT’s deep research with the most misunderstood law on the internet Elon Musk’s rapid unscheduled disassembly of the US government DOGE wreaked havoc on the government in just one week Federal judge blocks DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury records How Elon Musk’s Department of Energy access could pose a nuclear threat What we know about President Elon’s government takeover Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Elon Musk's computer coup

    Elon Musk's computer coup
    Feb 7 2025
    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 Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 37 mins
  • Samsung’s S25 Ultra and the end of the flagship phone

    Samsung’s S25 Ultra and the end of the flagship phone
    Feb 4 2025
    Today on the show, it’s all about the future of phones… and your data. The Verge’s Allison Johnson joins the show to talk about the new Samsung Galaxy S25, what’s new in this high-end phone, and what it means for all the other smartphones coming this year. After that, Cooper Quintin, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, talks us through how to think about the privacy implications of RedNote, TikTok, DeepSeek, and all the other tech that puts us in contact with China. Finally, we enlist The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy to help us answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline all about the Meta Portal. Remember the Meta Portal?? If you’re missing yours, we have some ideas. Further reading: The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t so ‘ultra’ anymore Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus hands-on: more of the same Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus vs. S25 Ultra: specs comparison Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days TikTok’s service providers still risk billions in penalties for bringing it back online TikTok is still on shaky ground in the US Chinese social media app RedNote tops App Store chart ahead of TikTok ban As Americans flock to RedNote, privacy advocates warn about surveillance Will RedNote get banned in the US? RedNote: what it’s like using the Chinese app TikTokers are flocking to Why everyone is freaking out about DeepSeek DeepSeek’s top-ranked AI app is restricting sign-ups due to ‘malicious attacks’ US Navy jumps the DeepSeek ship. The Electronic Frontier Foundation Facebook’s new Portal Go is great for video calls, but not much else Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 27 mins
  • How DeepSeek crashed the AI party

    How DeepSeek crashed the AI party
    Jan 31 2025
    Nilay and David dig into the week's biggest story: the new Intel-powered Surface Pro. Kidding! They talk about DeepSeek, the out-of-nowhere AI company that sent both Silicon Valley and the stock market into uproar this week. Then, after the hosts debate what the real killer app for AI is — and whether we've even found one yet — we follow up on our question from last week about how people are actually using AI. We got so many good answers, and we talk through what to make of them all. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about Brendan Carr being a dummy, the return of the Pebble, the continued rise of Bluesky and Threads, and Meta's $25 million check to Trump. Further reading: Why everyone is freaking out about DeepSeek DeepSeek says its newest AI model, Janus-Pro can outperform Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 3. Microsoft makes DeepSeek’s R1 model available on Azure AI and GitHub OpenAI has evidence that its models helped train China’s DeepSeek China’s DeepSeek AI is hitting Nvidia where it hurts DeepSeek’s AI app is restricting sign-ups due to ‘malicious attacks’ US Navy jumps the DeepSeek ship. DeepSeek wakes up Trump. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on DeepSeek R1: “an impressive model.” Mark Zuckerberg tells Meta investors to not worry about DeepSeek The Pebble smartwatch is making a comeback, with some help from Google Oracle and Microsoft are reportedly in talks to take over TikTok FCC chair says landlords can force bulk internet service on residents From NYT: F.C.C. Chair Orders Investigation Into NPR and PBS Sponsorships Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle Trump account suspension suit Zuckerberg wants to Make Facebook Great Again Zuck wants to bring the “OG Facebook” back. Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 47 mins
  • A lazy person’s guide to getting in shape

    A lazy person’s guide to getting in shape
    Jan 28 2025
    The Verge’s Victoria Song joins the show to talk about the most popular and most-bailed-on New Year’s Resolution of all: getting in shape. She tells us about the apps that help you work out more without being rude about it, the data you really need to care about in your fitness tracker, and much more. After that, we talk to Anna Valtonen, one of the curators and researchers behind the new Nokia Design Archive. She tells us about the concepts, presentations, and overall culture that made Nokia such an important company in the history of phones. Finally, we answer another question on the Vergecast Hotline about how audio works on your phone. It’s all still too complicated. Further reading: Ladder Fantasy Hike Stompers Runkeeper 5K Runner Our interview with Adrian Hon about Zombies, Run The Nokia Design Archive Nokia’s “Morph” concept The Nokia Communicator The Nokia Moonraker smartwatch From Apple: Share audio with AirPods and Beats headphones from iPhone or iPad Also from Apple: Play audio through multiple devices at once in Audio MIDI Setup on Mac From Samsung: Play music on two Bluetooth devices from your Galaxy phone Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 32 mins
  • Samsung's thin, big, boring AI phones

    Samsung's thin, big, boring AI phones
    Jan 24 2025
    Nilay, David, and The Verge's Allison Johnson run down all the biggest news from the latest Samsung Unpacked. The S25 Edge had everyone excited, but the other new Galaxy S25 models feel a little familiar. Then, The Verge's Lauren Feiner updates us on the many goings-on in the first days of the new Trump administration, from the TikTok ban delay to the executive orders on citizenship and AI. Finally, in the lightning round, David and Nilay talk about Netflix's price increase, smart-home standards, and more. Further reading: This is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus hands-on: more of the same Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus vs. S25 Ultra: specs comparison Here’s what Samsung’s first Android XR headset looks like in person Samsung and Google are developing AR glasses together Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra stylus: back to boring basics Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra hands-on: smoothing out sharp edges Samsung claims its new Galaxy S25 Ultra glass can survive head-high drops on concrete Google Gemini now works across multiple apps in a single prompt The Stargate Project is a $500 million AI data center plan for OpenAI The United States Digital Service is now DOGE — here’s what it was responsible for. Vivek Ramaswamy steps down from DOGE Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days Trump says he’s open to Musk or Ellison buying TikTok TikTok’s service providers still risk billions in penalties for bringing it back online Bluesky and X launch new video feeds amid TikTok uncertainties Instagram announces a blatant CapCut clone Apple says it’s following the law by removing TikTok from the App Store Sen. Tom Cotton warns TikTok’s service providers of “ruinous liability” for hosting the app. Two lawmakers introduce a bill to repeal the TikTok ban. Trump is absolutely going to make ByteDance sell TikTok or shut down again. Netflix is raising prices again YouTube Premium gets more experimental features that can now be tested all at once Here’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update Samsung is bringing ambient sensing to SmartThings Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 40 mins
  • How the future of sports streaming died

    How the future of sports streaming died
    Jan 21 2025
    First in this episode, a quick update on the TikTok ban (which didn't turn out to be much of a ban at all.) Then, Sportico's Jacob Feldman joins the show to talk about Venu, the much-hyped streaming service that planned to bring all sports into a single platform — and never even managed to launch. After that, The Verge's Kevin Nguyen tells us how to read more books this year, and how to turn all your aimless scrolling time into more productive reading time. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about audio sources on your phone, and why you can't listen to a thousand things at once. Further reading: TikTok ban: all the news on the app’s shutdown and return in the US TikTok is back, but where are Marvel Snap, CapCut, and Lemon8? Trump touts his plan to save TikTok during his victory rally TikTok isn’t back in the App Store yet Bluesky and X launch new video feeds amid TikTok uncertainties The new ‘Hulu for Sports’ streaming service has a name: Venu Sports Venu Sports shuts down before it ever launches From Sportico: YouTube TV vs. Fubo Sports Bundle Could Be Next Streaming Fight The Boox Palma is an amazing gadget I didn’t even know I wanted From GQ: How to Read a Whole Damn Book Every Week Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 34 mins