The Vergecast

Meta's business is doing just fine. But Meta as a company, and Meta as a series of products? That is, uh, messier. David and Nilay discuss the company's ongoing desire to be relevant and cool, the unceasing importance of Instagram, and why it makes perfect sense that Facebook would clone Polymarket. After that, the hosts talk about Apple's huge price increases, and the ways in which RAMageddon might change the gadget market forever. Then it's time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, the latest on the movie Artificial, and the looming fight over AI data.

Further reading:

⁠The Steam Machine is the most ambitious game console I’ve ever played ⁠

⁠Valve prices the Steam Machine at $1,049 ⁠

⁠How much would the Steam Machine cost to build? ⁠

⁠Valve describes just how brutal RAM negotiations are in 2026 ⁠

⁠The Steam Machine is the start of an even more expensive future for game consoles ⁠

⁠I drove the Slate Truck — there’s more to it than EV minimalism ⁠

⁠The Slate Auto pickup truck starts at $24,950 ⁠

⁠Meta pauses employee tracking tool after internal leak. ⁠

⁠Now Meta will track what employees do on their computers to train its AI agents ⁠

⁠Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth Admits the Company’s AI Reorg Was ‘Atrocious’ | WIRED⁠

⁠Zuckerberg reportedly wants a Polymarket clone — but without real money⁠

⁠Polymarket paid creators to post fake videos of themselves placing and winning bets. ⁠

⁠Meta plans to release AI-powered prediction market app⁠

⁠Facebook’s Creator Studio has been revived as an AI companion app⁠

⁠Kaleidescape’s Strato E player blows streaming, and your wallet, away ⁠

⁠Something’s off with Midjourney’s pivot to body scanners ⁠

⁠People Inc. CEO says it’s “probably” headed for a confrontation with Google over AI crawling.⁠

⁠ABC encourages viewers to back network amid FCC investigations⁠

⁠Bob Iger’s Disney wanted Apple, Twitter, and 007 ⁠

⁠The film about Sam Altman has been dropped by Amazon MGM ⁠

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We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.

(Timestamps are approximate.)

00:01:00 Cannes Cold Open

00:07:00 Coach x Spotify Absurdity

00:10:00 Vox Media PMX Shakeup

00:14:00 Meta Chaos vs Money

00:26:00 Gambling as Engagement

00:33:00 Ramageddon Hits Gadgets

00:44:00 Slate Truck Price

00:45:00 Range And Truck Feel

00:48:00 Tech Bloat Backlash

00:50:00 BYD Versus Tesla

00:56:00 FCC Targets The View

01:04:00 Amazon Drops Artificial

01:08:00 Kaleidescape Versus Blu Ray

01:13:00 Bob Iger Merger Rumors

01:17:00 Blocking AI Crawlers

01:22:00 Wrap Up And Next Week
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Training data is the raw material of the AI industry. Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and the rest are built on top of oceans of stuff. What is that stuff? Books. Blog posts. YouTube videos. Reddit comments. All of it and more, in virtually incomprehensible quantities. Alex Reisner, a staff writer at The Atlantic who has been investigating training data, explains how AI companies get all this data, why they'd really prefer you not know what's in it, and whether training data could ever be a fair trade.

Further reading:

Apple raises prices on Macs, iPads, and more by hundreds of dollars | The Verge⁠

⁠Disney agrees to pay $50 million to YouTube TV and DirecTV subscribers | The Verge⁠

Two handlebars are better than one, right? | The Verge⁠

At Least 15 Million YouTube Videos Have Been Snatched by AI Companies⁠⁠

⁠⁠The Hypocrisy at the Heart of the AI Industry ⁠⁠

⁠⁠The Millions of Songs Mashed Into AI-Generated Music⁠⁠

⁠⁠Common Crawl Is Doing the AI Industry’s Dirty Work⁠⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Google is shipping its first smart speaker in six years, and we're starting to test it. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins the show to explain why the Home Speaker matters, whether Google actually cares about the smart home, and more. Then, she helps answer a few questions from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email [email protected]!) about the power of Ikea and the future of your thermostat.

Further reading:

The Google Home Speaker sounds good and looks great — but it’s finicky

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A huge portion of the tech industry has decided that smart glasses are the next big thing. But why? Smart glasses are incredibly hard to make, hugely socially complicated, and require users to want to wear a gadget on their face. The Verge's Victoria Song helps us figure out which features, if any, will make smart glasses worth all the trouble.

Further reading:

All these smart glasses and nothing to do

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Valve has been trying to crack the living room for more than a decade, and the new Steam Machine is its best attempt yet. It's a little bit PC, a little bit console, and a lot pricy — starting at $1,049, it had a lot to live up to. The Verge’s Sean Hollister has been testing the device, and shares his findings on whether the Steam Machine can hang with PlayStation and Xbox. He also explains why, despite a never-ending list of challenges, Valve is still trying to make this device work.

Further reading:

⁠The Steam Machine is the most ambitious game console I’ve ever played⁠

Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.

We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices