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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Sen. Ed Markey on the politics of technology
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and Verge reporter Makena Kelly talk to Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts about bringing broadband access into rural areas, the technology plights caused by the pandemic, privacy concerns over contract tracing, and the race to 5G. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Android 11 beta / PS5 reveal / Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft ban facial recognition tech for police
Stories discussed this week: Tinder CEO Elie Seidman on finding love during the pandemic It’s hard to figure out how often people without symptoms spread COVID-19 Inside Nextdoor’s ‘Karen problem’ Nextdoor tells community leads to allow Black Lives Matter discussions after exposé Contact tracing programs have to work with local communities to be successful Apple launches $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative Android 11 beta: all the announcements Android 11: conversations, bubbles, and making sense of complexity Five new features Android 11 borrows from the iPhone Android 11 may be the best texting platform if you use multiple chat apps Apple’s virtual WWDC keynote will take place on June 22nd at 1PM ET Apple will announce move to ARM-based Macs later this month, says report Apple pulls podcast apps in China after government pressure The new Sonos app and S2 update are available now IBM will no longer offer, develop, or research facial recognition technology Amazon bans police from using its facial recognition technology for the next year Microsoft won’t sell facial recognition to police until Congress passes new privacy law Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tinder CEO Elie Seidman on finding love during the pandemic
Tinder and its parent company Match Group have weathered the COVID-19 pandemic relatively well, all things considered. User engagement is up, as is interest around new product features, like video calls. More than six years after its launch, Tinder is finally introducing a one-on-one video calling feature that it says will be heavily moderated for content and safety. At the same time, Tinder CEO Elie Seidman says he and his team are focusing on how to keep young people coming to the app and how they can build digital relationships inside of it, especially as in-person dates slow down.Seidman joins Vergecast host Nilay Patel and Verge senior reporter Ashley Carman for a chat about the future of the platform, how it’ll keep people safe over video calls, and what happens to its Tinder U initiative that it’s focused on for years. Plus, he explains how Joe Exotic might be more important to a relationship than living near each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SpaceX launches humans to space / Facebook's ongoing moderation controversy / Sonos Arc's convincing surround sound
Stories from this episode: Blaming protesters for COVID-19 spread ignores the bigger threats to health 5G coronavirus conspiracy theorists are endangering the workers who keep networks running Telehealth wasn’t designed for non-English speakers The pandemic has made it harder to buy a new laptop Byte flight The United States will cut ties with the World Health Organization, says President Trump FCC extends deadline for ISPs to quit charging customers who use their own equipment K-pop stans overwhelm app after Dallas police ask for videos of protesters SpaceX successfully launches first crew to orbit, ushering in new era of spaceflight A rocket launch can’t unite us until the space world acknowledges our divisions Watch NASA astronauts fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon using touchscreens SpaceX’s Crew Dragon successfully docks with the space station What the future of the space station looks like after SpaceX’s historic launch Meet the cute stuffed dinosaur that hitched a ride on SpaceX’s historic launch SpaceX is launching its latest batch of internet satellites, including one with a visor Trump’s Twitter order violates the First Amendment, new lawsuit claims Facebook won’t take any action on Trump’s post about shootings in Minnesota Facebook employees walk out in protest of Donald Trump’s posts Twitter takes action against Rep. Matt Gaetz for glorifying violence In leaked audio, Mark Zuckerberg expressed ‘disgust’ with Trump’s posts Mark Zuckerberg defends hands-off Trump policy to employees after walkout Nine things we learned from leaked audio of Mark Zuckerberg facing his employees Ban them all What other social networks can learn from Snapchat’s rebuke of Trump Huawei P40 Pro review: there’s a catch HBO Max won’t hit AT&T data caps, but Netflix and Disney Plus will The Sonos Arc puts convincing surround sound in a single soundbar Here’s our best look yet at Google’s new Android TV streaming device Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The head of HBO Max on launching without Roku, adding 4K HDR, and the Snyder Cut
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and Verge reporter Julia Alexander talk to Otter Media CEO Tony Goncalves on his new project overseeing HBO Max. Goncalves discusses AT&T's strategy for the WarnerMedia streaming service, the dispute with getting the app on Roku and Amazon, HBO Max's place in the streaming wars, and how their data usage works on mobile. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Trump signs executive order targeting social media companies / HBO Max launches in the US
Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn welcome back Adi Robertson and Casey Newton to the show to discuss Trump's executive order targeting social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google. Julia Alexander also stops by to discuss the launch of WarnerMedia's new streaming service HBO Max. Stories discussed this week: Google search results will take ‘page experience’ into account next year T-Mobile now supports cross-carrier RCS messaging Google Messages may finally be adding end-to-end encryption for RCS Why Twitter labeling Trump’s tweets as “potentially misleading” is a big step forward FCC commissioner says Trump’s Section 230 plan ‘does not work’ Donald Trump is starting a messy fight with the entire internet White House organizes harassment of Twitter employee as Trump threatens company Donald Trump signs executive order targeting social media companies YouTube is deleting comments with two phrases that insult ... YouTube fixes error that deleted comments critical of the ... YouTube says China-linked comment deletions weren't ... HBO Max is full of potential, but its biggest hurdle remains AT&T’s messy execution HBO Max is taking on Netflix with human curation instead of solely relying on algorithms HBO Max will use anime from Crunchyroll to compete with Netflix’s growing empire All eight Harry Potter movies are streaming on HBO Max much earlier than expected Snyder Cut fans demanded AT&T’s attention, and now AT&T is demanding their cash Here are the hundreds of classic movies people can stream on HBO Max You can no longer subscribe to HBO via Apple TV Channels HBO Max’s catalog is full of weird holes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield on competing with Microsoft, the future of work, and managing all those notifications
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield about remote working, competition with Microsoft, and the way technology changes how we communicate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Microsoft Build 2020, Elon Musk's factory play, and Joe Rogan moves to Spotify
It’s Friday, which means there’s a new episode of The Vergecast to fill you in on all of the news from this week. Join Nilay, Dieter, and a rotation of other editors for everything that you need to know. The three topics covered this week are: Microsoft’s Build developer conference Elon Musk’s... active month Spotify getting exclusive streaming rights to The Joe Rogan Experience podcast During the first part of the show, Verge senior editor Tom Warren joins Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn to discuss what was announced at Microsoft Build 2020 and what’s next for Windows software. Microsoft Lists is a new app designed for Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook Microsoft’s new Fluid Office document is Google Docs on steroids Microsoft to unify Windows desktop and UWP apps with new Project Reunion Microsoft’s new PowerToys Run launcher for Windows 10 is now available to download Microsoft Edge is getting a new sidebar search feature and Pinterest integration Microsoft is bringing Linux GUI apps to Windows 10 Microsoft’s new Windows Package Manager is already better than the Windows Store Microsoft Surface Earbuds review: comfort at a cost Microsoft Surface Go 2 review: don’t push it First look: Microsoft’s 13.5-inch Surface Book 3 A little over 35 minutes into the show, Verge deputy editor Elizabeth Lopatto updates us on Elon Musk’s latest endeavors, including his battle with Alameda County over opening his factory, his protests against lockdown orders, and SpaceX’s upcoming Crew Dragon spacecraft launch. Elon Musk’s battle to reopen Tesla’s Fremont plant may shape his legacy Tesla drops its lawsuit against Alameda County over lockdown order Elon Musk is playing Twitter footsie with the fringe right Here’s why Elon Musk keeps raising the price of Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ option Elon Musk’s Boring Company finishes digging Las Vegas tunnels Meet the first NASA astronauts SpaceX will launch into orbit Last but not least, senior reporter Ashley Carman stops by to explain the importance of Spotify landing The Joe Rogan Experience podcast as an exclusive. Joe Rogan’s podcast is becoming a Spotify exclusive It just took $700 million or so to put Spotify on top of the podcasting world Google suspended a popular Android podcast app because it catalogs COVID-19 content There’s a whole lot more discussed in this episode, so listen here or in your preferred podcast player to hear it all. Other stories discussed in this episode: Mark Zuckerberg on taking his massive workforce remote Students are failing AP tests because the College Board can’t handle iPhone photos Amazon reportedly delays Prime Day until September as it works to restore normal shipping Here’s how NYC is using powerful UV light to kill the coronavirus on subways and buses The FCC has received hundreds of complaints about carriers’ coronavirus pledge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sundar Pichai on managing Google through the pandemic
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and executive editor Dieter Bohn interview Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Pichai disusses Google’s COVID-19 response: the way the company is handling the pandemic and how he’s working with Tim Cook from Apple on exposure tracking. They also talked about how he is running one of the biggest companies in the world remotely and how the company is handling employees working from home Of course they talk about their products and services: the future of the Pixel, competing with companies like Apple and Samsung, and RCS messaging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Questions about Facebook's oversight board, Quibi's popularity, and the rumored Pixel 4a
Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn welcome Dan Seifert, Casey Newton, and Julia Alexander to talk about gadget news, Facebook's oversight board, and updates in the streaming world. Stories discussed this week: The doomsday bunker market is thriving amid the coronavirus pandemic Amazon asks Congress to pass a law against price gouging during national crisis Uber’s response to COVID-19: face masks, selfies, and fewer people in the car The lockdown live-streaming numbers are out, and they’re huge Elon Musk defies coronavirus order and asks to be arrested Tesla has already started making cars again at its California factory Twitter introducing new labels for tweets with misleading COVID-19 information Google says that the majority of its employees will work from home until 2021 The mastermind of Google’s Pixel camera quietly left the company in March Google Pixel 4a Performance Review tests the phone's ... Android 11's public beta to launch with June 3rd live stream … TCL wants to be the next big name in budget phones Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) review: return to baseline Dell launches new XPS 17 and redesigned XPS 15 with 16:10 edge-to-edge displays Alienware’s Area-51m, m15, and m17 laptops are getting new 10th Gen Intel chips and upgraded GPUs Facebook will pay $52 million in settlement with moderators who developed PTSD on the job Half of all Facebook moderators may develop mental health issues How Facebook is using AI to combat COVID-19 misinformation and detect ‘hateful memes’ Facebook’s independent oversight board could be overwhelmed by the challenge Tenet is now Hollywood’s litmus test for what happens next The Mandalorian’s second season won’t be delayed, says Disney CEO AMC Theaters will no longer play Universal movies after Trolls ... Alamo Drafthouse launches Alamo on Demand VOD service HBO Max will use anime from Crunchyroll to compete with Netflix’s growing empire HBO is teaming up with Scener to give subscribers the ability to watch TV together WarnerMedia expands free HBO Max deal to HBO subscribers ... Quibi will add sharing features as the app struggles to find subscribers Jeffrey Katzenberg Blames Pandemic for Quibi’s Rough Start Major CBS All Access changes coming this summer as company speeds up relaunch Wannabe influencers are being trained to film a believable YouTube apology video Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How pandemic disinformation is affecting social networks
Alex Stamos, former chief security officer of Facebook and director of the Stanford Internet Observatory talks to Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and editor Casey Newton about his role consulting on security for Zoom, disinformation around the pandemic on social media, and the threat of foreign interference in the 2020 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
New releases: Surface Go 2, Macbook Pro 13-inch, and the first Xbox Series X gameplay footage (Goodbye Paul)
Stories discussed this week: The disappointing truth about antibody testing Apple is giving $10 million to COVID-19 testing kit company FDA authorizes CRISPR-based test for COVID-19 Sen. Ed Markey wants the FCC to rethink its broadband deployment plans An Amazon warehouse worker in New York has died of COVID-19 An Amazon VP’s resignation has cast a spotlight on the company’s working conditions Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders demand Amazon explain whistleblower firings Pittsburgh’s airport is the first in the US to use UV-cleaning robots NYC will use powerful ultraviolet lamps to kill the coronavirus on subways and buses ESPN to air live NBA 2K League games We’ve known how to make healthier buildings for decades The spring of iterative hardware updates MacBook Pro 13-inch: come for the keyboard, stay for the performance The saga of Apple’s bad butterfly MacBook keyboards is finally over Microsoft’s new Surface Go 2 has a bigger display and better Intel processor Microsoft Surface Book 3: new Nvidia GPUs, up to ... - The Verge Watch the first Xbox Series X gameplay footage, showing off ray-tracing and graphics of the next-gen console These 11 new games will get free upgrades for the Xbox Series X Here are the first 13 games optimized for the Xbox Series X Xbox Series X Optimized games promise 4K up to 120fps, ray tracing, and fast load times Madden 21 shows that cross-gen gaming on Xbox Series X and PS5 could be messy Sonos announces the Arc, its first Dolby Atmos soundbar Sonos will launch its new app and big S2 software update on June 8th Google unifies all of its messaging and communication apps into a single team Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sonos CEO discusses the Arc and customer backlash over leaving old products behind
This week we saw Sonos announce several new products, most significantly the Arc, which is the company’s first soundbar to support Dolby Atmos. Other new devices include the Sonos Five speaker and a refreshed Sub, and all three will only work with Sonos’ new S2 app that launches next month. Sonos CEO Patrick Spence sat down virtually with Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel for The Vergecast to discuss the new products, the S2 update, the backlash that Sonos took from customers over its “Recycle Mode”, and the perception that the company is leaving customers with older Sonos hardware behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The 3 new CEOs of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, Big Tech's quarterly earnings, and Zoom's misleading user numbers
Nilay, Dieter, and Paul discuss quarterly earnings from tech companies, the new CEOs of the three biggest mobile carriers, and how Trolls World Tour may be changing the movie theater business. Stories discussed this week: More than 1 million people in the US have tested positive for COVID-19 No one knows when the COVID-19 pandemic will end It’s impossible to count everyone with COVID-19 Elon Musk is dangerously wrong about the novel coronavirus Elon Musk says shelter-in-place orders during COVID-19 are ‘fascist’ Americans are surprisingly open to letting their phones be used for coronavirus tracking Apple and Google have begun testing their COVID-19 exposure notification API How a team of NASA engineers developed a ventilator for COVID-19 patients in just a month Apple’s latest iOS beta makes it easier to unlock an iPhone while wearing a face mask Zoom admits it doesn’t have 300 million users, corrects misleading claims Google Meet video conferencing is now free for anybody Messenger Rooms are Facebook’s answer to Zoom and Houseparty for the pandemic Microsoft Teams jumps 70 percent to 75 million daily active users Google Duo video calls are about to look a whole lot better Facebook usage is surging, but the company warns it may be temporary New DisplayPort spec enables 16K video over USB-C AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is stepping down, John Stankey to serve as new CEO John Legere abruptly resigns from T-Mobile board of directors ‘to pursue other options’ Trolls World Tour made nearly $100 million without theaters, but theaters aren’t obsolete AMC Theaters will no longer play Universal movies after Trolls World Tour’s on-demand Next year’s Oscars will allow streaming-only movies to qualify, but with heavy restrictionssuccess Regal Cinemas warns Universal over Trolls World Tour skipping theaters WarnerMedia expands free HBO Max deal to HBO subscribers who pay through Apple’s services Oppo Find X2 Pro review: supercar smartphone Intel NUC 9 Extreme review: small size, big potential Google Pixel Buds review: second time’s the charm DJI’s new Mavic Air 2 has an upgraded camera and much longer flying time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How Amazon's dominance is more visible during a pandemic
Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel interviews co-director of the Institute for Local Self Reliance Stacy Mitchell about her critique of Amazon's power in America's marketplace. As Amazon becomes more essential infrastructure during the coronavirus pandemic, Nilay and Stacy discuss the increased visibility of Amazon's monopoly power and the way it treats its workers. Is it possible to regulate a company that people use and love so much? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices