The Vergecast

David and Nilay start the show by exploring the increasing disconnect between the people who make AI products, and the people who keep saying they don't want them. (Or, at least, don't want to pay for them.) The AI industry is starting to retrench to a business-first approach, because there's simply no killer app for it yet. Speaking of no killer apps! Allison Johnson then joins the show to talk about the shockingly short life of the Samsung TriFold, and her bizarre journey to try and review the now-dead foldable. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the fate of the metaverse, and some important internet debunking. Further reading: ⁠OpenAI cuts back on “side quests.” ⁠ ⁠OpenAI’s adult mode will reportedly be smutty, not pornographic ⁠ NYMag: ⁠Should You Be Able to Have Sex With ChatGPT?⁠ ⁠I think VCs are starting to panic about the lack of *broad* consumer | TikTok⁠ ⁠For the second time this week we have VCs vocalizing their frustration | TikTok⁠ ⁠Poll: Majority of voters say risks of AI outweigh the benefits⁠ ⁠How Americans View AI and Its Impact on Human Abilities, Society | Pew Research Center⁠ ⁠Samsung discontinues its Galaxy Z TriFold after just three months ⁠ ⁠Oppo’s nearly creaseless foldable isn’t launching in Europe after all ⁠ From last year: ⁠Just look at Huawei’s trifold phone⁠ ⁠This is not a fly uploaded to a computer⁠ ⁠ChatGPT did not cure a dog’s cancer⁠ ⁠Meta is actually keeping its VR metaverse running, for now⁠ ⁠Nvidia just announced DLSS 5 and Digital Foundry already has a video. ⁠ ⁠Jensen Huang, on the critical reaction to DLSS 5: “Well, first of all, they’re completely wrong.”⁠ ⁠DLSS 5 looks like a real-time generative AI filter for video games ⁠ ⁠Nvidia has lost the plot with gamers ⁠ We're hiring a new podcast producer. Come work with us! 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new era of software development is upon us. Career coders are no longer writing code, but rather managing teams of agents that do the work on their behalf. You can Claude Code your way through seemingly just about any problem. So what does that mean for the software we use, and the people who make it? Paul Ford, a writer and technologist who both writes about code and manages a team of coders, joins the show to explain his somewhat conflicted excitement about the new crop of AI tools, and his worries about what they’ll do to the world. After that, The Verge’s Dominic Preston helps answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠!) about the differences between the US phone market and the global phone market, and whether US buyers are missing anything important. Further reading: ⁠The A.I. Disruption Has Arrived, and It Sure Is Fun⁠ ⁠Claude has been having a moment — can it keep it up?⁠ ⁠How the creator of Claude Code sees the future of AI⁠ ⁠Ftrain⁠ From Bloomberg: ⁠What Is Code?⁠ ⁠Xiaomi, unlike Google and Samsung, thinks camera hardware comes first⁠ ⁠Oppo’s new foldable isn’t quite creaseless, but it’s pretty damn close⁠ ⁠Honor’s Robot Phone is a bad robot, interesting camera, maybe a friend⁠ ⁠Vivo and Oppo’s telephoto extender comes to iPhone⁠ ⁠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 ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Nilay bought new computers this week, as the MacBook Neo turned out to be a surprisingly great cheap Apple laptop. The hosts discuss their experiences with the machines, from the processor to the keyboard to the mess that is MacOS Tahoe. After that, they talk about the future of Xbox, Project Helix, and what it might mean for every gaming PC to become an Xbox... and for the Xbox to become a gaming PC. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the latest on Paramount and Warner Bros, Grammarly's sloppelgangers, and more. Further reading: MacBook Neo review: the Mac for the masses   Asus chief says Macbook Neo's affordable pricing came as a shock to the entire PC market — compares $599 notebook to a tablet and content-consumption device The MacBook Neo is surprisingly easy to disassemble and repair. From 2007: Ballmer Laughs at iPhone Apple Studio Display XDR review: a great, but expensive, pro option The iPhone 17E is good, but you probably shouldn’t buy it  iPad Air review 2026: the M4 and other chip bumps make a difference  Apple is going high-end with new ‘Ultra’ products next  iPhone Fold rumor: iPad-like multitasking, but no iPad apps and no Face ID  Microsoft’s next Xbox, Project Helix, won’t reach alpha until 2027  Microsoft’s ‘Xbox mode’ is coming to every Windows 11 PC  Microsoft says you should build next-gen Xbox games by building them for PC.  FCC chair blasts Amazon after it criticizes SpaceX megaconstellation Brendan Carr on X FCC chief tells CNBC WBD-Paramount merger deal is ‘cleaner’ than Netflix’s, will be approved ‘quickly’ Grammarly is using our identities without permission  Grammarly is turning off the expert review AI feature that stole our identities  Grammarly will keep using authors’ identities without permission unless they opt out  The Live Nation settlement has industry insiders baffled Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus review: This again  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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week, it appeared the US Department of Justice was off to a strong start in its antitrust case against Live Nation Ticketmaster. Then, this week, the two sides surprised everyone by settling. The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins the show to explain the stakes of the case, the facts of the settlement, and why things aren’t entirely over just yet. Then, The Verge’s Hayden Field catches us up on what’s happening between Anthropic, OpenAI, and the Department of Defense. OpenAI got the contract, but it looks like Anthropic might be the real winner here. If the company’s business can survive, that is. Finally, David answers a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether you should get a foldable phone. And why foldable phones even exist. Further reading: Live Nation settles government antitrust suit — that probably doesn’t include a breakup How Live Nation allegedly terrorized the concert industry Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away?  Inside Anthropic’s existential negotiations with the Pentagon  We don’t have to have unsupervised killer robots  How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance  Trump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AI  Iran Strikes: Anthropic Claude AI Helped US Attack. But How Exactly? - Bloomberg My favorite folding phone is the one that doesn’t exist yet  Google Pixel Fold review: closing the gap Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) review: looking sharp 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1997, David Hampton and Caleb Chung took one look at a Tamagotchi and decided they could bring the virtual pet craze into the real world. Their robotic companion, Furby, packed a bunch of advanced technology into a small, adorable, often annoying package. But for all the irritation it caused (Furby famously had no on-off switch) there was a surprising amount of thoughtful philosophy in its design. The Verge’s Vee Song, Sean Hollister and host David Pierce are joined by Coco the Furby to discuss the lore behind the hottest toy of 1998. ⁠Geocities chat with Furby co-inventor David Hampton⁠ If you like the show, ⁠⁠follow the Version History audio podcast feed⁠⁠ to get every new episode.Version History is also on video! Check us out on YouTube.⁠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 ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While most phone makers work hard to ensure their products don’t start fires, Oukitel made a phone that starts fires on purpose. This week on The Vergecast, Dominic Preston joins Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel to wrap up all the weird and wonderful phones he and the team saw at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Then, Sean Hollister takes us through Google and Epic’s enemies-to-lovers saga: A secret $800 million deal, a non-disparagement agreement, and something about the metaverse for some reason. Plus: Nilay just had the best home movie experience of his life thanks to the Kaleidescape 8TB solid-state server, Dom’s charging his smart phone on a mini racecar, and Sean delivers some disappointing news about the Lego smart brick we were all rooting for. And Brendan Carr is still being a dummy. Further reading: ⁠Nothing is finally covering up with the slim, metal Phone 4A Pro⁠ ⁠Nothing couldn’t wait to show off the Phone 4A⁠ ⁠Nothing’s Headphone A are something worth considering⁠⁠ Honor’s Robot Phone is a bad robot, an interesting camera, and maybe your friend⁠ ⁠Honor claims its Robot Phone will launch later this year⁠ ⁠Honor’s Magic V6 is the first foldable with an IP69 rating⁠ ⁠Xiaomi’s Leica Leitzphone mostly earns the name⁠ ⁠Xiaomi, unlike Google and Samsung, thinks camera hardware comes first⁠ ⁠Xiaomi 17 is a small(ish) phone with a big(ish) battery⁠ ⁠Here’s the upgrade to my favorite phone camera of last year⁠ ⁠Tecno is doing a modular phone (again)⁠ ⁠Lenovo made a Framework-like laptop with modular ports — and a second screen⁠ ⁠ Google isn’t waiting for a settlement — the 30 percent Android app store fee is dead⁠ ⁠Here’s how Google describes its fee-reducing Apps Experience and Games Level Up programs⁠ ⁠Epic and Google have signed a special deal for a new class of ‘metaverse’ apps⁠ ⁠Tim Sweeney signed away his right to criticize Google until 2032⁠ ⁠Fortnite is returning to Google Play globally⁠ ⁠FCC Chair Brendan Carr is pushing for US-based call centers⁠ I’m not ashamed to admit the Kobo Remote is the best gadget I’ve bought this year⁠ Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away?⁠ I charge my phone on a racing car. Do you? ⁠ ⁠Investigating the 61-pound machine that eats plastic and spits out bricks 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple released a bunch of new iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Studio Displays this week. The Verge’s Nilay Patel and David Pierce tried them all this morning, and are back to share their thoughts live. Further reading: All the news about Apple’s MacBook Neo, iPhone 17E, and more 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most mainstream phone options are kind of the same, year in and year out — but that doesn’t mean there’s no innovation to be found. The Verge’s Allison Johnson is at Mobile World Congress, and joins the show to report on all the modular phones, robot phones, small phones, big phones, and (alas) 6G phones set to hit the market this year. After that, The Verge’s Jess Weatherbed explains the phenomenon of the gadget strap, and makes the case that they’re an increasingly useful accessory as our phones become even more important to our daily lives. (Yes, even if you have pockets.) Finally, The Verge’s Jay Peters helps David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether the metaverse, however you want to define it, is ever going to be realized. Further reading: Oh great, here comes 6G  Honor claims its Robot Phone will launch later this year  Lenovo made a Franken-laptop with modular ports and a second screen  Vivo’s next phone will launch with a professional camera rig  Tecno’s latest concept phone is lit by neon  Honor’s Magic V6 is the first foldable with an IP69 rating  The Motorola Razr Fold is shaping up to be pure flagship Xiaomi’s super-slim power bank costs extra in orange.  Honor’s thinnest tablet doesn’t come cheap.  Peak Design has wearable gadget straps for people who hate bags  Apple’s misunderstood crossbody iPhone strap might be the best I’ve seen  Meta confirms Reality Labs layoffs and shifts to invest more in wearables Meta’s VR metaverse is ditching VR 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samsung just launched its newest phones, the Galaxy S26 lineup, and wow is it full of Vergecast stories. There’s the very cool new Privacy Display, which seems genuinely useful; there’s the AI-powered camera, which seems like a disaster waiting to happen; and there’s the new agentic AI in Android, which Google and Samsung might be positioned to actually pull off. After talking through all the new stuff, Nilay and David discuss the recent executive shakeup at Xbox, and try to figure out why Microsoft just can’t win in games. Finally, in the lightning round, it’s time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, some truly remarkable charts, and much more. Further reading: ⁠Samsung Unpacked 2026: live updates from the Galaxy S26 ⁠⁠announcement event ⁠ ⁠Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus hands-on: More of the same ⁠ ⁠Samsung AI photos⁠ ⁠Google Gemini can book an Uber or order food for you with new agentic AI features ⁠⁠Google and Samsung just launched the AI features Apple couldn’t with Siri⁠ ⁠I’m super impressed with the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s new Privacy Display ⁠ ⁠Samsung announces Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro at Unpacked 2026⁠ ⁠Xbox shakeup: Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are leaving Microsoft ⁠ ⁠Xbox chief Phil Spencer is leaving Microsoft ⁠ ⁠Read Xbox chief Phil Spencer’s memo about leaving Microsoft ⁠ ⁠Sarah Bond is leaving Xbox ⁠ ⁠Read Xbox president Sarah Bond’s memo about leaving Microsoft. ⁠ ⁠Inside Microsoft’s big Xbox leadership shake-up ⁠ ⁠Read Microsoft gaming CEO Asha Sharma’s first memo on the future of Xbox ⁠ ⁠New Microsoft gaming CEO Asha Sharma says “hear you” to complaints about a lack of Xbox exclusives.⁠ ⁠New Xbox CEO: ‘The plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan.’ ⁠ ⁠Microsoft says today’s Xbox shake-up doesn’t mean game studio layoffs ⁠ ⁠Billions of dollars later and still nobody knows what an Xbox is ⁠ ⁠Chairman Carr Announces Pledge America Campaign⁠ ⁠Does Anthropic think Claude is alive? Define ‘alive’⁠ ⁠Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas AI Scenarios chart⁠ ⁠Youtube Chair Drama⁠ ⁠OpenAI’s Stargate struggles. ⁠ ⁠OpenAI’s first ChatGPT gadget could be a smart speaker with a camera ⁠ ⁠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 ⁠vergecast@theverge.com⁠ or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Few AI products have found the kind of product-market fit we’ve seen from Claude Code. On the eve of the product’s first anniversary, Anthropic’s Boris Cherny explains why Claude Code is so powerful, all the work left to do, and why he no longer writes any code himself. After that, The Verge’s Hayden Field joins the show to talk about how we should think about giving our data (and our computers) to AI, even when it seems useful. Finally, The Verge’s Allison Johnson helps David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (866-VERGE11) about whether you should go buy a phone, like, right now. Further reading: Claude Code is suddenly everywhere inside Microsoft Claude has been having a moment — can it keep it up? The AI security nightmare is here and it looks suspiciously like lobster  OpenClaw’s AI ‘skill’ extensions are a security nightmare  Humans are infiltrating the social network for AI bots  Anthropic connects Claude to Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive  MCP extension unites Claude with apps like Slack, Canva, and Figma  The RAM shortage is coming for everything you care about  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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once again, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and his bad ideas about free speech have rankled a late night host. And once again, Nilay and David talk through what the equal-time rule actually means, why organizations keep caving, and why it's apparently up to people like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel to fight back. After that, the hosts discuss the facial recognition feature Meta hopes to launch for its smart glasses, plus the gadgets we're likely to see Apple launch in the couple of weeks. In the lightning round, we get some bleak news on Tesla's self-driving skills, a robovac security disaster, and the future of Warner Bros. Further reading: Why CBS Didn't Broadcast Stephen Colbert's Interview With James Talarico Stephen Colbert says CBS banned him from airing this James Talarico interview  Why Everyone's Talking About Stephen Colbert, CBS, The FCC And James Talarico Meta reportedly wants to add face recognition to smart glasses while privacy advocates are distracted From the NYT: Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses Apple’s doing something on March 4th  Apple is reportedly planning to launch AI-powered glasses, a pendant, and AirPods  Apple starts testing end-to-end encrypted RCS messages on iPhone  Apple’s Podcasts app will let you ‘seamlessly’ switch between audio and video shows  Looks like we can expect more AI from the Galaxy S26 camera. | The Verge Google announces dates for I/O 2026  Western Digital says it’s “pretty much soldout” for 2026.  Valve’s Steam Deck OLED will be ‘intermittently’ out of stock because of the RAM crisis  Switch 2 pricing and next PlayStation release could be impacted by memory shortage  Tesla’s robotaxis have crashed 14 times in 9 months.  Tesla won’t use the term ‘Autopilot’ in California anymore Why are Epstein’s emails full of equals signs? 4chan’s creator says ‘Epstein had nothing to do’ with creating infamous far-right board /pol/ DJI’s first robovac is an autonomous cleaning drone you can’t trust The DJI Romo robovac had security so poor, this man remotely accessed thousands of them DJI says yes, it will fix its other Romo robovac security hole within weeks Samsung ad confirms rumors of a useful S26 ‘privacy display’  Warner Bros. Discovery gives Paramount one week to present its ‘best and final’ offer  WordPress’ new AI assistant will let users edit their sites with prompts  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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Allison Johnson has recently been doing the unthinkable: she's been leaving her laptop at home. Allison joins the show to explain how she turned her Samsung foldable into a useful computer, and why it feels so good to do so. Then, Sportico's Jacob Feldman joins the show to talk about the Winter Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the overall state of sports streaming in 2026. (Unfortunately, it's all still very complicated.) Finally, David answers a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether flip phones might have a future in an AI world. Further reading: YouTube TV reveals pricing for its sports, news, and entertainment packages From Sportico: 2026 Sports Tech: Amazon vs. Youtube vs. ESPN vs. Netflix vs. Tiktok Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 review: stunning, bendy, and spendy Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) review: looking sharp Logitech’s Keys-To-Go 2 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you see Ring's Super Bowl ad and see happy puppies reunited with their owners? Or did you see the seeds of a complete, always-on surveillance nightmare coming for us all? David and Nilay discuss which is the right answer, why so many people don't want to trust tech companies, and why Ring might not care much about the difference. After that, the hosts discuss the ads coming to ChatGPT, the surprising number of AI executives quitting their jobs and issuing dire warnings on the way out, and the fake ad for OpenAI gadgets. In the lightning round, it's time for an extra long Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the latest Ferrari EV, the future of Siri, and more. Further reading: Jeffrey Epstein’s digital cleanup crew  Jeffrey Epstein might not have created /pol/, but he helped carry out its mission Amazon Ring’s lost dog ad sparks backlash amid fears of mass surveillance  Wyze is sticking it to Ring Sen. Markey calls on Amazon to “discontinue” Ring monitoring features Ring’s new Search Party feature is on by default; should you opt out? Ring launches upgraded cameras with Retinal Vision 4K recording What the Guthrie case reveals about your ‘deleted’ doorbell footage  FBI releases recovered footage from Nancy Guthrie’s Nest cam  OpenAI’s first hardware slips to 2027 OpenAI’s supposedly ‘leaked’ Super Bowl ad with ear buds and a shiny orb was a hoax  Two more xAI co-founders are among those leaving after the SpaceX merger  OpenAI reportedly disbanded its Mission Alignment team OpenAI fired exec who opposed ‘adult mode’  Read an Anthropic AI safety lead's exit letter: 'The world is in peril' Opinion | I Left My Job at OpenAI. Putting Ads on ChatGPT Was the Last Straw.  What Is Claude? Anthropic Doesn’t Know, Either ChatGPT’s cheapest options now show you ads  Here are the brands bringing ads to ChatGPT  Claude gets more free features to capitalize on ChatGPT ads Ex-OpenAI researcher has “deep reservations” about its approach to ads Brendan Carr is a Dummy theme submitted by Michiel Vanhoudt on BlueSky FTC says it’s ‘not the speech police’ in letter warning Apple News about its alleged promotion of left-leaning outlets Ferrari’s first EV will have an interior designed by Jony Ive  Here’s what the Ferrari Luce’s buttons, switches, and knobs sound like. The early reviews of the Rivian R2 are starting to roll in Live Nation’s monopoly trial is reportedly fracturing Trump’s Justice Department  YouTube is coming to the Apple Vision Pro Apple keeps hitting bumps with its overhauled Siri  The iPhone 17e could launch soon with MagSafe and an A19 chip  Apple might let you use ChatGPT from CarPlay  Paramount ups its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, again 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trump Phone is real! Ish! The Verge’s Dom Preston has seen a T1 on a video call, that we can say for sure. Dom joins the show to explain what’s new about the phone, whether it has a chance to be a decent device, and why it’s taken so long for Trump Mobile to ship the thing. After that, The Verge’s Hayden Field explains the excitement around OpenClaw and Moltbook, and whether either one is a big moment for the AI industry. Finally, The Verge’s Andy Hawkins helps us answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (866-VERGE11) about whether, and when, Tesla might get out of the car business altogether. Further reading: This is the Trump Phone⁠ ⁠The Trump Phone no longer promises it’s made in America⁠ ⁠600,000 Trump Mobile phones sold? There’s no proof.⁠ ⁠OpenClaw: all the news about the trending AI agent ⁠ ⁠OpenClaw’s AI ‘skill’ extensions are a security nightmare ⁠There’s a social network for AI agents, and it’s getting weird ⁠Humans are infiltrating the social network for AI bots ⁠Tesla discontinuing Model S and Model X to make room for robots⁠ 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new tranche of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails makes one thing painfully clear: Epstein was a central figure in the lives of a lot of big names in tech, and had influence on a surprising number of companies and executives. David and Nilay talk through what we’ve learned from the new emails so far. Then they turn to Anthropic’s spicy new Super Bowl ads about... ads, which caused a big reaction from OpenAI (which is betting big on ads). They also discuss this week’s antitrust hearing about Netflix’s purchase of Warner Bros., the latest in Brendan Carr is a Dummy, Google Home’s big buttons upgrade, and much more. Further reading: Here's how Epstein broke the internet Former Windows 8 boss recruited Epstein to help negotiate his messy Microsoft exit Jeffrey Epstein arranged a meeting with Tim Cook for the former head of Windows The Epstein files  Google co-founder Sergey Brin visited Epstein’s private island and traded emails with Ghislaine Maxwell. It turns out Elon Musk didn’t exactly ‘refuse’ the invite to Jeffrey Epstein’s island.  Will Elon Musk’s emails with Jeffrey Epstein derail his very important year?  Bill Gates says accusations contained in Epstein files are ‘absolutely absurd' Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live  ‘We’ve basically funded an elite global pedophile ring since 2015.’  Anthropic says ‘Claude will remain ad-free,’ unlike an unnamed rival Anthropic’s blog post: Claude is a space to think Sam Altman responds to Anthropic’s ‘funny’ Super Bowl ads  OpenAI’s CMO on X Nvidia CEO denies he’s ‘unhappy’ with OpenAI Netflix lands in the middle of a culture war during Senate hearing Everyone is stealing TV  Disney says Josh D’Amaro will replace Bob Iger as CEO  FCC aims to ensure “only living and lawful Americans” get Lifeline benefits Elon Musk is merging SpaceX and xAI to build data centers in space — or so he says  Peloton’s gamble on expensive new hardware has yet to pay off Google Home finally adds support for buttons  Raspberry Pi is raising prices again as memory shortages continue  Valve’s Steam Machine has been delayed, and the RAM crisis will impact pricing  Aluminium: Why Google’s Android for PC launch may be messy and controversial 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI companies want all the data, everywhere, to make their models bigger and better. That means a lot of questions about piracy and copyright, and at least in one case it means Anthropic systematically destroying countless books just to feed them to the model. The Washington Post's Will Oremus joins the show to explain how that worked, why Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI and others are doing it, and what the law has to say. Then, Puck's Julia Alexander helps David figure out whether Netflix is serious about showing movies in theaters, and what theaters need to do to survive in the entertainment business going forward. Further reading: From The Washington Post: Anthropic ‘destructively’ scanned millions of books to build Claude Anthropic wins a major fair use victory for AI — but it’s still in trouble for stealing books Meta’s AI copyright win comes with a warning about fair use Did AI companies win a fight with authors? Technically From Puck: Why Netflix Needs Warner Bros. Welcome to the big leagues, Netflix 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've been covering what's happening in Minnesota, and the killing of Alex Pretti, all week on The Verge. To begin this episode, Nilay explains why — and why so many others seem to feel the same way right now. After that, the hosts talk about the CEO-studded screening of Melania Trump's documentary last weekend, the disastrous public appearance from Tim Cook, and whether Cook and other CEOs have any other option but to capitulate to the Trump administration. Then it's time for some gadgets: we talk about the super-foldy, super-expensive Samsung Galaxy  Z Trifold, the Clawdbot / Moltbot phenomenon, and whether Google can finally put Chrome OS and Android together the right way. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, Tesla's anti-car pivot, Apple's design hires, and more. Further reading: On the ground in Minneapolis after the killing of Alex Pretti  I grew up with Alex Pretti  Creators and communities everywhere take a stand against ICE  It doesn’t matter if Alex Pretti had a gun  Why won’t anyone stop ICE from masking?  Tim Cook, Andy Jassy, and AMD CEO Lisa Su are at the White House for a VIP screening of the Melania doc. Tim Cook had ‘a good conversation’ with Trump about deescalation  Cook in 2020: Speaking up on racism From The New York Times: Amazon’s $35 Million ‘Melania’ Promotion Has Critics Questioning Its Motives From The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Melania’ Set for a $3 Million Opening Despite Amazon’s $35 Million Marketing Push Here’s Tim Cook hanging out with accused rapist Brett Ratner at the Melania screening What TikTok’s new owners mean for your feed  TikTok USA is broken  TikTok is still down, here are all the latest updates  TikTok is still struggling in the US due to a “cascading systems failure.”  TikTok US is mostly back up and running  TikTok blames its US problems on a power outage  Oracle admits it broke TikTok. Congress doesn’t seem to know if the TikTok deal complies with its law  Is New TikTok banning the word “Epstein” in DMs? Not really.  TikTokers are heading to UpScrolled following US takeover  Mark Zuckerberg is all in on AI as the new social media  Meta is stopping teens from chatting with its AI characters  Bluesky is testing ‘live’ features to take on X  Best gas masks The Samsung Trifold will cost nearly three grand  Google just leaked a first look at Android for PC in action  Chromebooks train schoolkids to be loyal customers, internal Google document suggests  Moltbot, the AI agent that ‘actually does things,’ is tech’s new obsession Clawdbot’s bad day  I used Claude to vibe-code my wildly overcomplicated smart home The FCC’s Late Night Comedy Show Tesla discontinuing Model S and Model X to make room for robots  Tesla says production-ready Optimus robot is coming soon  Tesla hits a grim milestone: its second straight year of decline Elon Musk invests $2 billion in Elon Musk Hang on, there’s a Trump Phone Ultra coming too?  Halide co-founder Sebastiaan de With is joining Apple’s design team  The Stream Deck-packed gaming keyboard is a monster of good ideas 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Like so many others, we’re still reeling from the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. To open the show, we talk with Adi Robertson about how videos of the incident moved around social platforms, how even well-intentioned people got confused by AI imagery, and what we’ve learned about the state of misinformation. Then Adi explains the new TikTok, which is both the same and very different from the old TikTok. The newly US-centric version of the app has had some switching pains so far, and the changes may only be just beginning. After that, it’s time for a hard pivot, as Vulture’s Nick Quah joins the show to talk about Netflix’s entry into podcasts — and whether what Netflix is doing can even be called “podcasts” anymore. Finally, David answers an old Vergecast Hotline question that got him thinking about all the ways we hold our phones to make calls, and which one is the best.  Further reading: It doesn’t matter if Alex Pretti had a gun The day of the second killing TikTok USA is broken Everything (Including Netflix) Will Become YouTube This Year It’s finally time to retire the word ‘podcast’ 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nilay owns a Sony TV. He loves his Sony TV, and he's a little sad that it appears this era of Sony TVs is ending. He and David talk through the news of a new joint venture between Sony and TCL, before digging into OpenAI's new-fangled plan to make money (spoiler alert: it's ads!), and some new news about an AI gadget Apple may or may not be working on. Then it's time for the lightning round: Brendan Carr, Netflix, the Trump Phone, and much more. Further reading: The TikTok deal could finally close this week. Epic and Google have a secret $800 million Unreal Engine and services deal Sony’s TV business is being taken over by TCL  What a Sony and TCL partnership means for the future of TVs OpenAI’s 2026 ‘focus’ is ‘practical adoption’  OpenAI releases a cheaper ChatGPT subscription  Ads are coming soon to ChatGPT, starting with shopping links  Opinion | A.I. Is Real. But OpenAI Might Still Fail.Apple is reportedly working on an AirTag-sized AI wearable  Apple is turning Siri into an AI bot that’s more like ChatGPT  FCC Targets Colbert and Kimmel in New Crackdown on Late-Night TV - The New York Times Bureau Provides Guidance on Political Equal Opportunities Requirement | Federal Communications Commission Free TV startup Telly only had 35,000 units in people’s homes last fall Microsoft wants to build 15 data centers in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin  OpenAI says its data centers will pay for their own energy and limit water usage Netflix will revamp its mobile UI this year  600,000 Trump Mobile phones sold? There’s no proof. YouTubers will be able to make Shorts with their own AI likenesses  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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s a new biggest name in EVs, and if you live in the US, you pretty much can’t buy one. But before we get to that, we have some stuff to catch up on: The Verge's Hayden Field joins us for a round of “Big Deal Medium Deal Small Deal” with some AI news, from the launch of ChatGPT Health to the recent viral moment for Claude Code. After that, The Verge’s Andy Hawkins joins the show to explain how BYD recently eclipsed Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles, what makes its cars so desirable, and when you, too, might be able to buy a Dolphin Surf. Finally, David tackles a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about giving your kids iPads instead of iPhones, and whether all screen time is created equal. Further reading: Car influencers love Chinese EVs — and China loves them back Tesla’s fourth quarter sales fell a lot more than expected From Inside EVs: A Guide To BYD, The Chinese Automaker That Just Surpassed Tesla Anthropic wants you to use Claude to ‘Cowork’ in latest AI agent push Anthropic shakes up C-suite to expand its internal incubator OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, encouraging users to connect their medical records Google brings buy buttons to Gemini and AI search Grok is undressing children — can the law stop it? Google is taking over your Gmail inbox with AI 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 vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices