Hello! This is The Vergecast, the flagship podcast of The Verge... and your life. Every Friday, Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn make sense of the week's tech news with help from our wide-ranging staff. Join us every week for a fun, deeply nerdy, often off-the-rails conversation about what's happening now (and next) in technology and gadgets.
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The lives of YouTube moderators, a new smart home standard, and the Xbox Series X announced
Stories discussed this week: Google and YouTube moderators speak out on the work that’s … Big tech is finally working together to fix the smart home Z-Wave is making a huge change so it doesn’t get left behind in the smart home wars Ikea 2.0: inside the furniture giant’s big bet on the smart home ... This Apple Watch charger plugs directly into a USB-C port so you can carry fewer cords Xbox Series X: all the news about Microsoft’s next-gen game console Microsoft’s next Xbox is Xbox Series X, coming holiday 2020 The Xbox Series X is basically a PC The Xbox One Series X: bad name, good design Google Stadia should have stayed in beta Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The toxic work environment at Away
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks Verge news reporter Zoe Schiffer about the concerning work conditions at luggage startup Away and the details from the Verge investigation. Further reading: Former Away employees describe a toxic work environment Away replaces CEO Steph Korey after Verge investigation The Away scandal is a moment of reckoning for Slack Here’s the leaked memo in which Away tells employees not to fave The Verge’s investigation Away’s new CEO was going to be second in command — until a toxic workplace story blew up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple's expensive Mac Pro, gadgets of the decade, and Twitter's project Bluesky
Stories this week: Apple’s most expensive Mac Pro costs $52,599 Apple’s most expensive Pro Display XDR requires a special, Apple-made cloth to clean it You can now buy Apple's new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR … The Mac Pro's optional wheels cost $400 Logitech made a bespoke $200 magnetic 4K webcam for … Apple will reportedly release an iPhone without any ports in 2021 Lightroom finally adds direct photo import on iOS The Apple TV remote is so bad that a Swiss TV company developed a normal replacement Rewound is a new app that turns your iPhone into an iPod The Verge’s gadgets of the decade Twitter is funding research into a decentralized version of its ... A decentralized Twitter would bring the company back to its past Twitter will now let you post iOS Live Photos as GIFs Twitter is bringing back labels for US election candidates Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
FaZe Clan CEO talks growing pains, global expansion, and lawsuits
Editor-in-chief of The Verge Nilay Patel and Verge reporter Julia Alexander sit down with CEO/Co-Owner of FaZe Clan Lee Trink. Lee talks how he runs a multifaceted company from working with talent to the dependence on platforms to selling apparel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tesla Cybertruck first ride, Elon Musk's bad tweets trial, and Google's founders leaving
2:00- Tesla Cybertruck first ride: inside Elon Musk’s electric pickup truck 23:55 - Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is an electric SUV with up to 300 miles of range 30:30 - No, e-bikes aren’t cheating 37:03 - Elon Musk tries to explain Twitter in ‘pedo guy’ defamation case 1:00:55 - Paul’s weekly segment “In the apocalypse, we don’t need space bars” 1:03:23 - Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin relinquish control of Alphabet to CEO Sundar Pichai 1:19:05 - Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 865 flagship is here — without integrated 5G Other links: Tesla Cybertruck will get up to 500 miles of range and start at $39,900 Elon Musk explains why Tesla’s Cybertruck windows smashed during presentation Elon Musk promises Cybertruck vs. Ford F-150 rematch after controversy Google’s third era Larry Page is the tech world’s Dr. Manhattan The rise, disappearance, and retirement of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 865 promises 5G, camera, and gaming improvements In 2020, Qualcomm’s slower chips may be more important than its best ones Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 chip could usher in the first affordable 5G phones Emotonal Baggage: Inside the toxic work environment at Away The dark side of electronic waste recycling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How to fight lies, tricks, and chaos online
Verge reporter Adi Robertson talks to Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel about how to spot lies, false information, and trolling online and how to handle it as a user on the internet. Adi just published a guide on The Verge that details a system for slowing down and thinking about information — whether that information is true, false, or something in between. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Pirate Radio » The PIRATE Act
Congress is in the process of passing a non-partisan bill to increase support for enforcement against illegal pirate radio operations: Fines can now go as high as $2 million, and the FCC will fund “enforcement sweeps” in major radio markets. Does this target well-intentioned community radio, designed to speak to immigrant communities? Episode three of The Verge's Pirate Radio mini-series featuring Bijan Stephen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Pirate Radio » Dial up!
How the Hmong diaspora uses the world's most boring technology to make something weird and wonderful. Episode two of The Verge's Pirate Radio mini-series featuring Mia Sato. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Pirate Radio » Outside the wire
When the US entered Afghanistan, local DJs were hired to help with the war effort. And when the American military pulled out, they abandoned those voices, leaving many of them for dead. Episode 1 of The Verge's Pirate Radio mini-series featuring Chris Harland-Dunaway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple releases 16-inch Macbook Pro, Motorola announces a new Razr, and Disney+ launches
This week on The Vergecast, Nilay, Dieter, and Paul go through the products announced this week including Apple's 16-inch Macbook Pro and Motorola's new Razr foldable phone. Julia Alexander then joins the show to cover the initial launch of Disney+ and the ongoing streaming wars. Stories this week: The everything town in the middle of nowhere Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro is here, and it has a good keyboard A fully loaded 16-inch MacBook Pro costs $6,099 Apple’s new Mac Pro is shipping next month Google’s rollout of RCS chat for all Android users in the US begins today Motorola resurrects the Razr as a foldable Android smartphone John Carmack stepping down as CTO of Oculus to work on AI Disney+ experiencing ‘unable to connect’ errors on launch day The Mandalorian’s first episode shows that Star Wars can work on the small screen Disney+ doesn’t have to sell anyone on streaming How to get a year of free Disney+ from Verizon The Simpsons’ aspect ratio is messed up on Disney+ Verizon’s new set-top box is possibly the worst option out there for streaming Apple could bundle news, TV, and music into one subscription as soon as 2020 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How America gave up on free markets with Thomas Philippon
On this week’s Vergecast interview, Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to finance professor and an economist at the NYU stern school of business Thomas Philippon. Thomas just wrote a book called The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets all about competition and consolidation in different markets. When Thomas moved to the United States from France in the 90s, he noticed everything from laptops to internet access was cheaper in America, but over time has gotten more and more expensive. In the interview Nilay and Thomas discuss why that is — unsurprisingly the answer is consolidation in a lot of our markets. Thomas makes a point that in some places, concentrations are actually good and creates value for the consumers, but in some markets like healthcare, technology, and airtravel, that consolidation has resulted in way higher prices for Americans. Since the prices go up slowly, we don’t actually notice. If you have been listening to The Vergecast and been paying attention to our big conversations about whether or not we should be breaking up big tech companies, whether we should regulate them, or whether tech companies with network effects like Google and Facebook are different than companies like AT&T and GE, this conversation is up your alley. Below is lightly edited except of the conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Microsoft Surface roundup: Surface Pro X, Surface Laptop 3, and their processors
In a bonus episode of The Vergecast this week, Dieter Bohn hosts a Microsoft Surface roundup with deputy editor Dan Seifert and senior editor Tom Warren. The trio go through reviews of this years new product lineup and how they compare with their counterparts. Links: Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15-inch review: it’s a bigger Surface Laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5-inch review: have a normal one Microsoft Surface Pro 7 review: I wish this looked like a Surface Pro X Microsoft Surface Pro X review: heartbreaker Surface Pro X vs. Pro 7: ARM needs some legs Microsoft bet against Intel with its new Surfaces — and lost Microsoft leak reveals Windows 10X will be coming to laptops Microsoft unveils new Edge browser logo that no longer looks like Internet Explorer Microsoft’s Edge Chromium browser will launch on January 15th with a new logo Microsoft previews the future of Office documents with Fluid Framework for the web Hands-on with Microsoft’s xCloud game streaming service Xbox Game Streaming hands-on: turn your Xbox into a game streaming server Xbox Elite 2 controller review: Microsoft’s best Xbox controller just got better Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Adobe Max 2019 announcements, AirPods Pro, and missed texts from Valentines Day
This week on The Vergecast, everything that happened at Adobe Max 2019, reviews for the Microsoft Surface Pro X and AirPods Pro, and missed text messages from Valentines Day. Stories this week: Adobe Max 2019: all the top announcements Adobe’s Photoshop for the iPad is finally here, with more features to come Adobe is developing Illustrator for the iPad, to be released 2020 Adobe Aero turns Photoshop layers into interactive AR experiences Adobe’s Fresco drawing app arrives on Windows Photoshop adds an extremely helpful AI subject selection tool Adobe previews an AI feature that can tell when an image has been manipulated- Adobe’s AI-powered video framing tool is available now in Premiere Pro Adobe is launching a free AI-powered Photoshop Camera app Adobe is building live-streaming into Creative Cloud apps Adobe’s Premiere Rush can now publish directly to TikTok Microsoft Surface Pro X review: heartbreaker Microsoft's Edge Chromium browser will launch on January … Microsoft unveils new Edge browser logo that no longer looks ... Microsoft’s new Office app for iOS and Android combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Microsoft previews the future of Office documents with Fluid Framework for the we A ton of people received text messages overnight that were originally sent on Valentine’s Day Somehow, Android's messaging mess is about to get even … AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile have finally agreed to ... Apple AirPods Pro review: perfect fit Google buys Fitbit for $2.1 billion Google is buying Fitbit: now what? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What happened in the comments section of the FCC's net neutrality hearing?
This week on The Vergecast, Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks with Jeremy Singer-Vine, the data editor for the BuzzFeed News investigative unit, about his story that was published recently regarding the fake comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s online net neutrality debate. If you haven’t read the piece, you should. The investigation details where all of the fake comments in the FCC’s net neutrality process came from, including dead people leaving comments and shady political operatives involved in the scam. It’s not really a story about net neutrality; rather, it’s about how systems designed for public participation in the government are so easily scammed, and what the challenges are for preventing such scams from happening. Nilay and Jeremy discuss why it happened, how it happened, and what happens next if we want to use the internet to encourage open access participation in government without corruption. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The future of photos with Google Pixel camera's product manager and Instagram's director of product
Live at The Glass Room in San Francisco, Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Ashley Carman are joined by Google Pixel camera product manager Isaac Reynolds and Instagram head of product Robby Stein to talk about how the photos we share influence the photos we take — and vice versa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices