Kara Verlaney | The Verge

Verge subscribers, here’s how to set up ad-free podcasts

2025-10-15T08:59:41-04:00

Ad-free podcasts are now officially available for Verge subscribers! There are a few steps to follow to set up ad-free feeds, so read on for instructions.

If you’re not yet a Verge subscriber but would like access to ad-free listening, you can go here. Like with all other subscription perks, subscribers can manage and update their settings in their account preferences page at any time.

Where can I listen to ad-free Verge podcasts?

Ad-free listening will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Castbox, Downcast, Player FM, and Breaker.

How do I opt into ad-free listening?

On desktop or mobile:

Make sure your subscription is active and you’re logged in on theverge.com
Head to your account settings page: theverge.com/account/podcasts
Click “set up” next to the podcast you’d like to listen to without ads
Scan the QR code or click the podcast player logo for Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube Music. (You can also copy the link to manually add it to your podcast player.)
Follow the prompts to subscribe and connect to your feed
Enjoy! Your feed will appear under a new icon for you in your app library. Be sure to delete the regular version if you were previously subscribed, as all of your episodes will now come into the premium ad-free feed.
Bonus step: hit that follow / subscribe / notifications button to hear about new Verge episodes first!

Note: You’ll need to complete these steps for each Verge show you’d like to listen to ad-free.

I’m having trouble setting up my ad-free show feeds. Who can I contact to help me?

If you experience any issues with your account or connecting to ad-free feeds, visit our FAQ page or reach out to subscriptions@theverge.com.

Will other Verge shows have the option to listen to ad-free?

For now, only Decoder, Version History, and The Vergecast are available ad-free. But any new shows in the future will also be available.

Thanks for listening and subscribing!

Introducing Regulator and The Stepback, our new subscriber-exclusive newsletters

2025-08-07T15:10:36-04:00

The Verge’s subscriber-only newsletters have had a blockbuster year: we broke the release date for GPT-5, leaked private staff discussions from Mark Zuckerberg, and got the inside scoop on Microsoft’s revenue deal with OpenAI. And we’ve got even more on the way.

Today, I’m excited to announce three newsletter offerings, exclusive to Verge subscribers, that will continue to deliver must-read stories about tech and beyond.

First, we’re introducing Regulator by Tina Nguyen. Regulator is focused on the battles between Big Tech and Big Government — from the juicy palace intrigue to the devastating consequences of their political games, written by the author behind The MAGA Diaries: Life Among the Fanatics, Extremists and True Believers that Created the Modern Right. Each Tuesday, Tina will expand on how tech and politics have crashed into one another, giving us a fuller picture of how the two forces are fundamentally changing our world. The first issue of Regulator will be sent on Tuesday, August 12th.

Second, we’re announcing The Stepback, a weekly breakdown of one essential story from across the tech world. Each Sunday, we’ll bring you vital analysis from a rotating cast of writers from every corner of the Verge extended universe. Edited by Marina Galperina, The Stepback is built to dig in deeper on the biggest stories and topics of the moment — whether it’s the chaos at Tesla or a confounding TikTok trend. The first issue of The Stepback will arrive on Sunday, August 10th.

Lastly, The Verge is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Lowpass by Janko Roettgers. Janko is a seasoned reporter who covers the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, including streaming, AR / VR, and more. Verge subscribers will be able to read one story each week from Lowpass right here on the site, starting tomorrow, August 7th. Verge subscribers will also receive an exclusive 25 percent discount on a Lowpass subscription using the signup box inside the articles.

We are so excited to finally share these additions to our slate of exclusive newsletters. If you’re an existing subscriber, you can opt in to receive them and manage all your newsletter settings by going to your Account Preferences page. If you’re not a subscriber, there’s never been a better time to sign up! We have a monthly option for $7 and a discounted annual subscription for $50.

We are always working on ways to bring our subscribers more exclusive stories and premium features — and we have even more coming soon. I can’t wait to show you what else we’ve been working on.

2024 in review: AI

2024-12-04T11:20:10-05:00

In 2024, you couldn’t escape hearing about AI. From smartphones to wearables to the smart home, it seemed every tech company wanted to pitch their next great AI innovation.

The year was filled with impressive technological leaps and useful new tools, endless hype and frequent misfires, and implications for the future that range from truly exciting to unpredictable. This is the year we got a sense of what AI might actually do — and just how unprepared we still are to grapple with it.

Here at The Verge, we thought a lot about AI’s impacts on the industries and people we cover. From strikes across industries like gaming to its impact on our climate to the desire for policy protections for Hollywood and the AI Act, AI is already reshaping nearly every area of our lives.

So let’s take a look back at some of the biggest, boldest, weirdest AI stories from the last year — and look ahead to what could be in store for 2025.

AI lookback

AI in the news

AI, reviewed

The Verge’s guide to moving

2024-07-08T08:24:01-04:00

Moving is one of the most stressful events that can happen in your life. It takes a lot of time and effort, it’s expensive, it’s complicated, and there’s just a ton to do.

It’s not just a matter of finding a place you can afford, signing the lease or arranging for a mortgage, and figuring out how to get your stuff from one place to another. You probably have to downsize and declutter before you move. You have to figure out which furniture to move, and which to keep, and get rid of all those old and outdated laptops and phones that have been moldering in the closet.

And then, once you’re in your new home, you have to set everything up again — including the tech. You have to reassemble your home office. You have to find a solid (and hopefully not too expensive) ISP and set up your wireless network and smart home devices. It’s enough to make anyone cry.

Take a long breath. In The Verge’s moving guide, we do our best to make the process as painless as possible. And hopefully, some of these articles can act as the aspirin that will keep that pain to a minimum.

Today’s smart homes: the hopes and the realities

2024-03-04T09:18:40-05:00

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At The Verge, we work hard to bring you the most recent news and expert hands-on reviews. But another way, and sometimes the best way, to judge smart home technology is to learn about it from those who have used the tech on a day-to-day basis in real-life situations.

In these articles, we’ve concentrated on how our own experiences, and the experiences of others, have affected how we regard smart home tech. We’ve got personal accounts by one reporter who decided to put together a brand-new smart home and another whose brother moved into a home haunted by the ghosts of someone else’s smart tech. Several of our staffers wax enthusiastically about their favorite devices and automations. A writer describes how smart tech makes his home more accessible. Our smart home reviewer tells how she uses technology to keep her varied pets (and she has a lot of them) happy and healthy. We talk to people who use smart devices to help them care for their parents — and more.

We’ve got a lot of interesting experiences — and information — to offer you. We hope it’s helpful, and if you can add your own personal anecdotes and advice to share in the comments, please do!

Building for tomorrow

2023-12-04T08:50:49-05:00

How do you build a better future? What systems need to be in place to ensure we have the best, most sustainable outcome for the planet? Why is so much stuff broken?

These were the questions we asked ourselves as we outlined this special issue on infrastructure. We know that things like roads and bridges and wastewater treatment facilities are what make modern life possible. But there’s a lot more to our infrastructure that mostly goes unnoticed. So let’s change that.

We explore why the next few years are pivotal for self-driving trucks, look into the broadband industry’s long history with racial discrimination, ask what it will take to get rural Americans to adopt electric vehicles, and investigate the reasons Wi-Fi is so slow in most people’s homes. We also look at some very cool stuff, like space lasers, EV battery recycling, and the enormous triumphs of a simple bike lane.

We’re building for tomorrow. And we’re starting right now.

We only get one planet

2023-11-13T12:39:10-05:00

Sustainability is one of those words that has lost most of its meaning thanks to a steady drumbeat of corporate marketing and greenwashing. “Going green” often means buying some useless carbon credits or slapping a few choice buzzwords on a label. Rarely does it seem to hold any value anymore.

But as the planet careens toward a future made uncertain by climate change, true environmental stewardship requires we take a closer look at the meaning of sustainability — and how we can achieve better results in a world ruled by digital devices.

In this series, The Verge looks at how key aspects of our lives — from the devices we use, to the food we eat, to the cars we drive, to the houses we live in — are changing in ways previously thought impossible. Along the way, we sought to answer some key questions like: Can we build houses to withstand climate change? Is there such a thing as a truly repairable smart phone? How can you charge an EV in the middle of nowhere? Can AI help farmers meet the demands of the future? And will robot cars make pollution worse?

Because if the future is going to be sustainable — truly sustainable — the work needs to start now.

Smart homes for smart people

2023-06-12T09:18:07-04:00

Everybody is talking about smart homes these days — but what exactly does that mean? If you have one or two Amazon Echo smart speakers in your apartment or a Google Nest router along with a speaker, do you have a smart home? Or is your home only smart if you’ve got a smart camera monitoring your smart doorbell, your smart lights automatically waking you while your smart blinds roll up, and your smart AC going on just in time to cool your office for the day’s work?

In our special Smart Home Week articles, we give you the down and dirty (or, if you have a robovac, the down and clean) on smart homes. We answer questions such as what exactly is a smart home, do you need one, and if so, which of the several ecosystems should you use? We also feature articles on each of those ecosystems — Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, and Home Assistant — written by people who actually use them and can tell you how well (or badly) each system worked for them.

We examine some of the privacy issues surrounding smart homes (and tell you which are myth and which are real). And finally, we take you to a community of ecologically smart homes, show you how these brand-new smart houses worked, and introduce you to one of the families who actually lives there.

Enjoy!

Smart Home 101

Advertiser content from Home Depot

8 Father’s Day gifts for the dad looking for tech upgrades

World wired

2023-05-17T09:10:07-04:00

Even though so much of our world is now wireless, most of those beautiful signals are still made possible by a worldwide network of hardwired cables — from the huge backbones of internet service providers to the ethernet lines in people’s homes. The cables that connect continents under the ocean alone span a length of more than 700,000 miles. Just 50 years after the invention of ethernet, our planet Earth is now literally wrapped in the embrace of the internet. It’s the cord that can’t be cut.

This special issue from The Verge takes a look at the impact ethernet has had on our world on its 50th birthday. In partnership with the Computer History Museum, we’re reflecting on the origins and consequences of this incredible technology. From LAN parties to Facebook and every other modern platform that now pervades our society, none of it would have been possible without the invention of the one port that rules them all.

You, me, and UI

2023-04-04T09:45:36-04:00

There’s a funny conflict to the idea of user interfaces: a good one tends to go unnoticed, the thoughtful design decisions too subtle to notice; a bad UX or UI is one that makes you want to scream. It’s a tension that designers have to think about every time they conceive a new website, app, or device.

In this special series from The Verge, we explore the small design decisions that have had an outsize impact on our lives. From simple card game browser UIs to deliberately complicated video game setups, all-too-forgotten accessibility options for colorblindness to the curious incentive-driven histories of the shuffle and log out buttons, these stories delve into the ways that user interfaces have driven us forward, or failed, or found an entirely new way of living.