The Vergecast

Latest Episodes:

Cloud gaming works — but it's not winning Nov 02, 2026

Show notes

Streaming all your video games seems like such a good, simple idea. All your games, everywhere, on any screen you like — it's the dream! The Verge's Sean Hollister explains how the tech works now (which might be better than you think), why it'll take a huge amount of work to make it even a little bit better, and why games like Grand Theft Auto VI probably can't just live in the cloud.

Further reading:

SpaceX could buy Boost Mobile as part of its big mobile carrier plans | The Verge

Anthropic’s updated S-1 has even more eye-popping numbers. | The Verge

More European supermarkets are getting their freezers hacked | The Verge

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The delightfully messy state of Apple gadgets Oct 30, 2026

Show notes

Nilay is going to buy the new touchscreen MacBook. But not for the touchscreen. He and David talk through Apple's new laptop, and what it means for Apple's other devices, including the tablet that used to be the future of everything. Then the hosts talk about Instagram's push into long-form video and its battle with AI content. Finally, it's time for Brendan Carr, Anthropic's S-1, robot vacuums, and the rest of the lightning round.

Further reading:

Apple finally combined a toaster and a refrigerator

Hands-on with the new OLED iPad Mini

Instagram doesn’t have a plan to pay long-form video creators

Adam Mosseri says negativity around AI is ‘going to get worse’

Invasion of the Sexy A.I. Joke Thieves

Brendan Carr plans to let prisons jam cellphone signals

Five weird details from Anthropic’s IPO filing

Microsoft is ending Copilot support on smart TVs

Google says its investments in AI are driving more searches

Palmer Luckey’s Anduril is getting into laptops — and claims they’ll be American-made

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We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

0:00 ProLED Cold Open

01:04 Touchscreen Mac Arrives

02:39 Why Apple Did Touch

05:27 App Store Pressure

07:54 Touch Is Just Enough

09:49 Influencer Event Demos

13:56 iPad Squeezed Middle

18:34 Luxury Hardware Bet

22:37 Duo Reality Check

28:18 Instagram Going Through It

29:07 AI Agents vs Ads

32:18 Zuck Escapes iPhone

32:41 Instagram Becomes TV

33:23 Slop Meme Deepfakes

36:09 Mosseri AI Crisis

42:58 Longform Video Push

44:34 Creators Demand Revshare

48:19 Loop Closing Arms Race

49:34 Reddit Versus Google Zero

53:22 AI Kills The Web

01:00:20 Brendan Carr is a Dummy

01:02:22 Spectrum Auction Plan

01:03:35 NOAA Weather Spectrum Fight

01:04:29 700 MHz Auction History

01:05:38 FCC Spectrum Power Grab

01:06:09 Privatizing Weather Data

01:09:27 Anthropic S1 Reality Check

01:12:34 AI Products Beat Models

01:16:55 Claude Goes Sentient

01:17:55 Copilot Leaves Smart TVs

01:21:16 Quiet Robot Vacuum Thoughts

01:25:03 Palmer Luckey Laptop Fight

01:30:10 X Replies and Racism

01:32:32 Wrap Up and Next Week

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The touchscreen MacBook Apple said it wouldn't make Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

Steve Jobs once said touchscreen laptops were a terrible idea. Now Apple is shipping one. The Verge's Antonio Di Benedetto tells us all about the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR, how MacOS is changing for touch, why a laptop user might want a touchscreen, and whether MacBook and iPad are destined to become one.

Further reading:

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Amazon built the Trojan Horse for your smart home Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

Amazon's product launch spree continues, this time with a bunch of new Alexa-powered Echo devices. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy explains what the new Echo Show 16 finally got right, why a digital photo frame could be Amazon's next big Alexa hit, and whether this new way of thinking about smart home gadgets might help Amazon defeat the HomeView and win a space in your kitchen.

Further reading:

Apple announces its first touchscreen MacBook Pro

Amazon’s new Echo line is here: the 6 biggest updates

Here’s Virgin Galactic’s new Apeiron spaceship

Amazon’s new Echo line is here: the 6 biggest updates

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Inside the early days of the AI revolution Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

Kevin Roose's new book, The AGI Chronicles, tells the story of the AI revolution. He joins the show to explain its earliest beginnings: the researchers who discovered what language models could do, the people who debated whether humans or computers should are more special, and the executives who started the companies that currently rule our economy. What do they want, and what are they building?

Further reading:

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Files are over. All you need are URLs Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

We talk a lot about where the computer is, and where your stuff is. Paul Ford, a co-founder of Aboard and longtime tech blogger, recently built a tool called TinyLittleOffice that puts all the stuff in an unexpected place: the URL. Paul joins the show to explain how the web and the cloud have become powerful development tools, what it means to store a document in its domain, and why tiny, disposable software could make a comeback in the age of AI.

Further reading:

A YouTuber dissected an iPhone Duo and thinks he found the cause of crackgate

Anthropic’s IPO filing lays out a plan to ‘revolutionize every area of human endeavor’ with AI

Apple updates the iPad Mini with a larger OLED display

Tiny Little Office

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The iPhone Duo should have been an iPad Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

We gave the iPhone Duo a 7 /10. But that wasn’t always the score we planned, and it might not be the right score forever. Such are the challenges of reviewing — and assessing — a big, new idea about the most popular smartphone in history.

On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay debate whether the Duo deserved the score it got, and try to work through how this device might change over time.

After that, the hosts talk about the huge PHP cybersecurity flaw that rocked the web this week, the ongoing increase in AI shopping, an impending reboot inside of Netflix, and some very confusing Gemini news. Also, Brendan Carr is a Dummy.

Further reading:

The iPhone Duo is a messy, expensive, good time

All the news about the iPhone Duo

Daring Fireball: The iPhone Duo

PHP: The three little letters wreaking havoc across the web

AI agents are ready to shop. Some retailers are wary

Walmart is inviting AI agents to shop for you

10 million people have already set up Muse agents.

Netflix is telling investors not to worry, even though you’re watching less and less

Google’s more personalized Gemini AI is heading to your car

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

0:00 No Sevens Pact

01:03 Show Agenda Setup

01:46 Duo Score Debate

03:08 App Optimization Phases

07:47 Two Thousand Dollar Problem

10:44 iPad Not iPhone

14:41 Outer Screen Compromises

18:04 Developer Badges Future

20:34 Early Adopter Reality

30:19 Handoff eSIM Limitations

34:49 PHP Shell Chaos

36:17 PHP Under the Hood

37:46 AI Finds the Exploit

40:46 Disclosure Panic Fallout

42:44 Patch Now or Go Dark

45:58 Autonomous Defense Arms Race

48:42 Agents Break the Web

53:04 Muse Adoption Shopping Stats

54:11 Bots Buying Movie Tickets

01:01:05 Instagram Deepfake Crisis

01:07:30 Brendan Carr is a Dummy

01:10:06 FCC Threatens Poll Coverage

01:17:44 FCC Free Speech Alarm

01:20:20 The Lightning Round

01:20:49 Arc Browser Shutdown

01:23:12 AI Browsers Future

01:27:14 Meta Terms Backlash

01:34:04 Netflix Identity Crisis

01:43:16 Gemini Confusion Car

01:49:12 Wrap Up And Awards

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Why Tesla needs its cars to fly Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Tesla recently showed off a new version of its Roadster. Well, a new version of its old version of the Roadster, anyway. But this one flies! The Verge's Andy Hawkins joins the show to explain the last decade of the Roadster saga, make sense of the flying and kickflipping new vehicle, and cast out into the future of Tesla's cars for humans. If there even is one.

Further reading:

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How we really feel about the iPhone Duo | Livestream Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

iPhone Duo reviews are out today and... it's complicated. David Pierce, Nilay Patel and senior smart phone reviewer Allison Johnson talk through The Verge's review and answer your questions LIVE.

Further reading:

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AI is dividing the math world in two Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Over the last several months, the AI industry has set its sights on some of the problems that have stymied mathematicians for years. In some cases, AI models have made huge progress — though exactly how much isn't always obvious. The Verge's Robert Hart explains what OpenAI and others have actually accomplished, the disastrously bad ways the companies have interacted with researchers, and whether there's a future left for human mathematics.

Further reading:

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We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.

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