First in this episode, a quick update on the TikTok ban (which didn't turn out to be much of a ban at all.) Then, Sportico's Jacob Feldman joins the show to talk about Venu, the much-hyped streaming service that planned to bring all sports into a single platform — and never even managed to launch. After that, The Verge's Kevin Nguyen tells us how to read more books this year, and how to turn all your aimless scrolling time into more productive reading time. Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline about audio sources on your phone, and why you can't listen to a thousand things at once.

Further reading:

• TikTok ban: all the news on the app’s shutdown and return in the US
• TikTok is back, but where are Marvel Snap, CapCut, and Lemon8?
• Trump touts his plan to save TikTok during his victory rally
• TikTok isn’t back in the App Store yet
• Bluesky and X launch new video feeds amid TikTok uncertainties
• The new ‘Hulu for Sports’ streaming service has a name: Venu Sports
• Venu Sports shuts down before it ever launches
• From Sportico: YouTube TV vs. Fubo Sports Bundle Could Be Next Streaming Fight
• The Boox Palma is an amazing gadget I didn’t even know I wanted
• From GQ: How to Read a Whole Damn Book Every Week

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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David Pierce and Richard Lawler are joined by The Verge's Ash Parrish and Andrew Webster to talk about the Nintendo Switch 2 launch — all the things we know, and all the things we don't. (There's a lot of both.) Then The Verge's Adi Robertson joins to talk about the latest machinations in the potential TikTok ban, plus a Supreme Court hearing about adult content that might just be about the future of the internet. Finally, in the lightning round, David and Richard talk about Patrick Spence leaving Sonos, the Blue Origin launch, Drake's latest beef with Kendrick Lamar, and more.

Further reading:

• Nintendo Switch 2 announcement: all the news on the next console
• The Nintendo Switch 2 has officially been announced
• Everything we know about the Switch 2’s Joy-Con controllers
• You’ll be able to try out the Switch 2 starting in April
• Nintendo announces Switch 2 Direct for April
• The Nintendo Switch 2 supports original Switch cartridges
• Nintendo teases a new Mario Kart for the Switch 2
• The Switch 2 is boring — and that’s exactly what Nintendo needs
• The Switch 2’s bigger screen is just what I wanted
• TikTok reportedly plans ‘immediate’ Sunday shutdown in the US if it’s banned
• TikTok ban: Sen. Markey tries to give a 270 day extension
• TikTok says it’s planning for ‘various scenarios’ ahead of possible US ban
• Elon Musk is reportedly trying to save TikTok 
• Donald Trump is reportedly considering an executive order to delay the TikTok ban.
• Duolingo is the real winner in the TikTok ban.
• RedNote: what it’s like using the Chinese app TikTokers are flocking to
• What is RedNote? The Chinese app gaining popularity as TikTok ban approaches 
• The Supreme Court could decide the fate of Pornhub — and the rest of the internet 
• Sonos CEO Patrick Spence steps down after disastrous app launch
• Sonos’ interim CEO hits all the right notes in first letter to employees 
• Sonos’ chief product officer is leaving the company
• The iPhone Air could be coming later this year
• Bezos’ Blue Origin successfully launches SpaceX rival
• Super Bowl LIX will stream for free on Tubi
• Drake sues his label, UMG, saying ‘Not Like Us’ is defamatory
• Drake axes ‘Not Like Us’ diss track petition against UMG and Spotify
• FTC sues John Deere for ‘unfairly’ raising repair costs on farm equipment

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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In five days, TikTok as we know it could be finished in the US. The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins the show to discuss last week's Supreme Court arguments over the ban, why things don't look good for TikTok, and what's likely to happen in the next five days. After that, Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor talks about the state of the gadget inventor, and what it means to be part of the creator economy in 2025. Finally, we answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline about magic-link logins, and why passwords remain such a disaster.

Further reading:

• TikTok’s last stand: Supreme Court weighs ban as deadline looms
• TikTok still seems headed for a ban after its Supreme Court arguments
• What it will take for TikTok to survive in the US
• Kickstarter is adding the ability to collect money indefinitely
• Kickstarter’s CEO on why he doesn’t think the company will only do crowdfunding forever
• Passkeys might really kill passwords

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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In this special live episode of The Vergecast, from the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, it's time to talk CES. Nilay and David run through some of the show's biggest stories, plus the Meta news that dominated the conversations all week in Vegas. Then Allison Johnson, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and Victoria Song join the show to talk about all the newest, best, weirdest, and worst gadgets they've seen this year. AI is everywhere, everyone's making smart glasses, the smart home might be turning a corner, and we've seen it all this week.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the live show! And if you couldn't make it, stay tuned — this won't be the last time we all get to hang out.

Further reading:

• Zuckerberg, inspired by Musk, ditches fact checking for Community Notes
• Zuckerberg says he’s moving Meta moderators to Texas because California seems too ‘biased’
• Meta’s fact-checking changes are just what Trump’s FCC head asked for
• Meta is leaving its users to wade through hate and disinformation
• Here are some of the horrible things that you can now say on Instagram and Facebook
• Samsung announces The Frame Pro: could this be the perfect TV? 
• LG’s 2025 OLED TVs are its best yet — but they risk going overboard with AI
• LG’s StanbyME sequel adds a carrying strap to the portable TV 
• Dell kills the XPS brand: Dell, Pro, Max / Premium, Plus, Base
• Afeela has a price: 89,000, 102,000
• TCL NxtPaper max ink mode 
• Roborock debuts a robot vacuum with a robotic arm at CES
• This toaster-looking gadget boosts your phone’s battery in seconds
• A SodaStream for your Hydro Flask!
• Aqara launches three touchscreen smart home control panels at CES 2025
• The Schlage Sense Pro smart lock is one of the first with hands-free unlocking using UWB
• Bird Buddy’s new camera tracks plants and insects in your garden
• Mirumi is a furry little companion bot that imitates a shy infant

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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Happy Holidays! The Vergecast is off this week, but we also know you might be doing a lot of traveling and / or avoiding of your family this time of year, so we figured we'd do something a little different. We compiled a bunch of our favorite Vergecast segments and moments from this year — a full six hours of them! — in case you need something to listen to. You may have heard them all before! They might all be new! Maybe it'll be a mix! This one's an easy skip if you're looking for one, but if you need some Verge in your ears this holiday season, we've got you covered. We'll be back for real in January, starting at CES. If you'll be in Vegas, come see us live on Wednesday, January 8th! https://voxmediaevents.com/vergecast And in the meantime, have a great holiday, and rock and roll.

Here are the segments we picked, in order, with timestamps (because we can't do chapters, we know, we hate it too):

• The wild world of undersea cables — 00:04:32
• Meet Tony Delivers — 00:42:19
• The story of the Delta emulator — 00:56:29
• Phones are the ultimate AI gadget — 01:37:12
• The history and future of notebooks – 02:04:34
• What is a photo? — 02:41:07
• An existential gaming console crisis — 03:17:46
• Inside the AI music lawsuits — 03:52:12
• The history of podcasts — 04:40:59
• Our Vision Pro score debate — 05:03:15
• A road trip on the hydrogen highway — 05:35:13

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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Happy holidays! Before we disappear into family time and catching up on our favorite shows, we have one more episode for you. And it's 90 minutes of deep nerdery about the smart home. Every year, we try to dig into one standard or spec that has impacted our lives this year, and we couldn't think of anything more potentially great and occasionally infuriating than Matter. Matter is supposed to be the protocol that makes the smart home work — so, uh, how's that going? The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins to discuss the state of the smart home, before we play a game to see how well we understand things. Then, Home Assistant creator Paulus Schoutsen tells us what it's like to try and make Matter work, and where we might be headed next year.

Further reading:

• Matter: everything you need to know about the new smart home protocol
• Matter’s plan to save the smart home
• The Thread 1.4 spec is here, but it will be a while until we see any benefit
• What is Thread and how will it help your smart home?
• Every device that works with Matter (December 2024)
• Home Assistant’s next era begins now
• The Home Assistant Green is here to make the most powerful smart home platform more accessible

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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The Verge's Victoria Song and Kylie Robison join the show to talk about all of Google's recent AI and XR announcements, and the company's big and Gemini-powered vision for the future of computing. Then Chris Grant, the group publisher for Polygon and The Verge, explains why GTA VI and the Nintendo Switch 2 are so important to the future of gaming — plus a few predictions about how they'll turn out. Finally, The Verge's Helen Havlak answers a hotline question about how she plans her garden in Figma. Which is a real thing she really does.

Further reading:

• The Vergecast at CES – come see us on January 8th!
• Google launched Gemini 2.0, its new AI model for practically everything
• Google’s AI enters its ‘agentic era’
• I saw Google’s plan to put Android on your face
• GTA VI: all the news on Rockstar’s next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series
• Switch 2: all the news and rumors on Nintendo’s next console

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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For the second episode in our two-part 2025 preview, Nilay and David are once again joined by Wall Street Journal columnist (and friend of The Verge) Joanna Stern to talk about what will, and won't, happen in tech next year. This time, David joins us after a quick jaunt to the end of next year, and relays a bunch of things that happened in tech in 2025. But some of them are lies. Joanna and Nilay have to decide which things really will happen next year, and which won't. As always, the hosts get points for good guesses and negative points for bad ones. And once we're all in late 2025, we'll declare a winner.

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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Nilay, David, and The Verge's Richard Lawler talk about a big week in AI news. First, they go over all the latest on Google's Gemini 2.0 launch, and try to figure out whether Project Astra and Project Mariner will ever turn into products people use. They also discuss OpenAI's release (and un-release) of Sora, the new Reddit Answers tool, and what's new in iOS 18.2. Finally, in the lightning round, there's talk of YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Sonos, and Cruise. There also is and isn't talk of quantum computing. Because that's possible now.

Further reading:

• Google’s AI enters its ‘agentic era’ 
• Gemini 2.0: what’s new in Google’s new flagship AI model
• Google’s AI-powered smart glasses are a little closer to being real 
• Google’s new Jules AI agent will help developers fix buggy code
• Google is testing Gemini AI agents that help you in video games
• Google built an AI tool that can do research for you
• Android XR_Keyword
• OpenAI has finally released Sora
• iOS 18.2 is out now, adding ChatGPT integration and more Apple Intelligence tools
• ChatGPT’s side-by-side ‘Canvas’ view is now available to everyone. 
• Reddit’s new AI search tool helps you find Reddit answers without Google
• YouTube is still growing fast on TVs in the living room
• Instagram will let creators test experimental reels on random people
• It sure sounds like Trump would be okay with a TikTok sale
• TikTok failed to save itself with the First Amendment
• Sonos Arc Ultra review: don’t call it a comeback (yet)
• Google reveals quantum computing chip with ‘breakthrough’ achievements
• Amazon’s online car ‘dealership’ with Hyundai is now live
• YouTube’s AI-powered dubbing is now available to many more creators
• Searching for color at Pantone’s all-brown party 
• Adam Mosseri on introducing Trial Reels
• From WSJ: iOS 18.2 Review: The AI Apple Promised Us

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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A week ago, The Verge launched a subscription. And you had questions! So we have answers. The Verge’s Helen Havlak and Nilay Patel join the show to talk about how we priced the subscription, why ad-free podcasts are hard to do, Apple News, what we do during ad breaks, and much more. And if we didn’t answer your question, let us know! Call the Vergecast Hotline at 866-VERGE11, or email [email protected], with all your questions. Thanks to everyone who sent them in!

Further reading:

• Nilay's post about The Verge subscription
• Subscribe to The Verge

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Welcome to our two-part preview of the year to come! For the first installment, Nilay, David, and Wall Street Journal columnist Joanna Stern bring all the predictions for 2025 — their mildest, medium-est, and spiciest ideas about the year to come. Each host presents their take on TikTok bans, social platforms, smart homes, streaming services, and more, and the others get to decide whether they agree. Whoever gets the most right at the end of the year will win a big prize. (There's a points system for determining all that, but we'll figure that out later.)

Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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