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The Vergecast Vergecast, 2026 edition

2026-04-21T09:41:38-04:00

We get a lot of questions about how The Verge works. And how The Vergecast works. And how we make money. And whether some of that money helps Nilay buy more jackets, several yachts, or something else entirely. So, every once in a while, we spend an episode of the podcast answering as many questions as we can.

On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and David are joined by The Verge's publisher, Helen Havlak, to talk about ads, subscriptions, our website, our audience, and more. Then, Nilay and David answer some more questions about how we think about journalism, our relationship with Verge alumni, video podcasts, and (of course) Brendan Car …

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The ‘AI is inevitable’ trap

2026-04-17T09:24:34-04:00

In the latest sign of AI silly season, Allbirds, the shoe company, told the world it was now an AI company and briefly managed to septuple its stock price. The Newbird AI story is really just one of a bunch of things this week that made us wonder: have we reached the peak of AI, or at least a peak of AI?

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On this episode of The Vergecast, we look at both the data and the vibes. David and Nilay explore a new study from Stanford that says AI is getting better at lots of things, a …

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Ben McKenzie vs. crypto

2026-04-17T09:08:23-04:00

A few years ago, during the absolute peak of the cryptocurrency craze, a somewhat surprising skeptic emerged. Most people know Ben McKenzie from his acting work on Southland or Gotham, or would recognize him instantly as Ryan Atwood from The O.C. While seemingly everyone else was buying Bitcoin, McKenzie decided to figure out what Bitcoin was actually all about. And, of course, he decided to film it.

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On this episode of The Vergecast, McKenzie takes us into his many adventures i …

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Fear and loathing at OpenAI

2026-04-10T08:23:18-04:00

Sam Altman's tenure at OpenAI has been… messy. Messy to the point where Altman was briefly fired from his role as CEO, only to be reinstated days later, at which point he began reshaping the organization permanently. This week, The New Yorker published a deep look at Altman, his time at OpenAI, and the questions about whether he's the right person to be in charge of a technology as important and transformative as artificial intelligence.

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On this episode of The Vergecast, David …

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The case for banning cookie banners

2026-04-07T09:02:43-04:00

You almost certainly encounter cookie banners all the time. They're the kind of low-level annoyance that just seems to come with being a person on the internet: a pop-up asking you to agree to share some kind of information, with someone, for some purpose. You could find out more, but you don't. No one does. You just click "Accept" and move on.

Verge subscribers, don't forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here. Not a subscriber? You can sign up here.

Are these banners sort of annoying, or are they something more? On this episode of The Vergecast, Kate Klonick, a professor at St. John …

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Apple’s best product ever

2026-04-03T08:55:56-04:00

All week, we've been asking you to help us rank the 50 best products Apple ever made, as we mark the company's 50th anniversary. Thanks to everyone who pitched in - we ended up with more than 1.6 million votes! We also have lots of other coverage of Apple's first half century, and you should check it all out. All those votes later, we have some answers. And some thoughts.

Verge subscribers, don't forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here. Not a subscriber? You can sign up here.

On this episode of The Vergecast, after some housekeeping (vote for us in the Webby Awards, and come see Sn …

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Verge subscribers: Join us for a movie night in New York City, hosted by The Vergecast

2026-04-06T13:07:56-04:00

The Vergecast is hosting a special in-person screening of Sneakers in partnership with IFC Center in New York City, and we're opening presale tickets exclusively to Verge subscribers.

Who: You!
What: A special screening of Sneakers, followed by a 25-minute discussion with Vergecast hosts David Pierce and Nilay Patel
When: Monday, April 27th, 7-9:30PM ET
Where: IFC Center at 323 6th Ave, New York, NY 10014
Price: $18 ($12 for IFC Center members)

Sneakers is a movie about what happens when technology becomes more powerful than our ability to control it. It's about privacy and hacking and who the "good guys" really are. It also …

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Apple at 50: the good and the bad

2026-03-31T10:06:32-04:00

We're spending the week documenting and analyzing the first half-century of Apple's existence, from the oft-overlooked creation of QuickTime to the iconic MacBook Air to Apple's veering into antitrust territory. We're also ranking the best Apple products of all time, and it's causing us all to feel many feelings.

Verge subscribers, don't forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here. Not a subscriber? You can sign up here.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we begin by stepping back a bit to ask a big question: How is Apple doing right now? Obviously, by many measures, Apple's doing great …

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Meta’s court losses could be just the beginning

2026-03-27T09:38:16-04:00

Social media companies have long seemed impervious to legal threats. Meta, YouTube, Snap, and the rest have long waved off criticism of their platforms on free speech and Section 230 grounds. But twice this week, juries rendered verdicts against the platforms, not because of some bad videos but because of the design and structure of the platforms themselves. That might change some things.

Verge subscribers, don't forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here. Not a subscriber? You can sign up here.

On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay dig into this week's rulings, the novel …

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Here’s how to rank the 50 best Apple products ever

2026-03-30T11:20:47-04:00

This is part of our package about Apple's 50th anniversary, read more here.

Apple turns 50 next week, and we're going to spend the week covering the company, its products, its legacy, and its future. But mostly, we're going to spend the week debating which Apple products are the best. And we need your help.

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Our ranking system is live now, filled with what we believe to be the 50 best things Apple has ever created. Your job is to put them in order. When you start ranking, you'll be presented with two products; pick the best one to contribute to our overall live rankings, which you can always check by clicking "See Results."

(By th …

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