Version History

The vocoder was never meant to change the music business – it wasn’t meant for music at all. But the research that started a century ago as a way to cheaply move voices over telephone wires took on a life of its own: It turned into a crucial bit of secret military technology, and then inspired generations of musicians to play their own voices like an instrument. On this episode, with the help of Switched on Pop’s Charlie Harding and the electro-funk duo Chromeo, we tell the full story of the vocoder and all that it made possible. Check out this episode's companion playlist on Spotify! We’re 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

If you were launching a new app in 2020, it was either the worst timing (see: Quibi) or the best timing (see: Clubhouse). Clubhouse was an initially invite-only, audio-based social network that worked like an old-timey party line or radio call-in show… and it was exactly what people needed who suddenly found themselves stuck at home. Casey Newton (Hard Fork, Platformer) and Ashley Carman (Bloomberg) join host David Pierce to talk about the app where celebrities, venture capitalists and normies hobnobbed during lockdown. 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 We’re 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

Best remote ever? Best remote ever. When TiVo first debuted, it felt like magic: You could pause live TV! You could rewind it! The concept immediately became a phenomenon — even though TiVo itself was never as big a hit as you might think. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and author and journalist Emily Nussbaum tell the story of TiVo’s technological and cultural revolution, why the company never managed to be as successful as its brand, and how it changed TV for good. 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

Flappy Bird was a mean game. It was extremely simple and yet punishingly difficult; if you could get 10 points, that meant you were pretty good! For a few weeks, the game became an absolute global phenomenon — and in the process, both made its creator a ton of money and kind of ruined his life. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Jake Kastrenakes, and Game File’s Stephen Totilo explain the wild rise of Flappy Bird, the enormous backlash to this very simple game, and how it changed our relationship to games, and game makers, forever. 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 the mid-1980s, Nintendo pretty much ruled the video game industry. And somehow, a few toymakers and inventors convinced Nintendo that the controller of the future was… this big, clunky thing you wore on your right arm. (Sorry, lefties.) It wasn’t very good, but people loved it anyway. And while the Power Glove wasn’t exactly the future of anything, you could argue it helped start a revolution in virtual reality and motion controls. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Chris Grant, and Game File’s Stephen Totilo do just that. 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

AOL Instant Messenger was, for years, one of the very best things on the internet. Before iMessage and WhatsApp, before Twitter and Facebook, AIM was simply how people talked to each other online. Maybe it was how you casually chatted up your crush; maybe it was how you and your banking coworkers got deals done. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Victoria Song, and author and journalist Kyle Chayka tell the story of the best messaging app ever — how it was created despite the wishes of AOL executives, how it took over the web, and why it didn’t last. 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 iPhone 4 was one of the best iPhones ever — and definitely the most dramatic iPhone ever. It was lost in a bar in California, sold to Gizmodo, and published for the world to see months before its launch. The phone itself had a bunch of important new features, and one that spawned Antennagate. In this episode, David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and longtime tech columnist Walt Mossberg tell the whole story of the phone, its legacy, and its place in tech blog history. 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

Google didn't invent the concept of smart glasses, but it was one of the first companies to actually put them on people's faces. It was a revolution, and also a problem: Google made face computers extremely uncool, and its early user base was so off-putting they became collectively known as “Glassholes.” The Verge’s Victoria Song and Waveform’s David Imel break down why Glass failed — despite being shockingly right about the future of technology. 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

Vine was the original short-form video platform, and pioneered so many of the ideas we now take for granted in reels and TikToks. It was a cultural engine whose executives clashed with the creators who made it famous, before everybody decamped for other platforms. Marina Galperina, Sarah Jeong and Mia Sato join David Pierce to revisit their favorite Vines and discuss the platform's lasting impact on creator culture. 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

You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't steal a handbag. But plenty of people used LimeWire and other file sharing services to share music, movies and more. If Napster was the beginning of the piracy story, LimeWire may have been the final chapter. Nilay Patel and Sarah Jeong join David Pierce to chart the history of LimeWire and the legal cases that shaped U.S. copyright law and the lives of college students taxing the bandwidth of their dormitory internet. 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 2014, the tech world was abuzz with the prospect of a phone made by Amazon. When the Fire Phone arrived, it was chock full of ideas — a "dynamic perspective" feature that created 3D illusions, an image-recognition feature called "Firefly," and many, many opportunities to buy Amazon products. Allison Johnson and Sean O’Kane join David Pierce to discuss why, unlike Amazon's successful e-readers, this device was a gigantic flop. 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 2006, Microsoft came for the iPod's throne with an innovative MP3 player called the Zune. It had a bunch of features the iPod didn't: WiFi, music sharing, a bigger screen, a beautiful UI, even an FM radio. And to hear Microsoft describe it, it was even kind of a social network. Nilay Patel and Victoria Song join David Pierce to break down why, despite all that, the Zune never really took off. And why it came in brown. 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

Millions of basements have fake plastic guitars in them thanks to the 2005 smash hit Guitar Hero. Chris Grant and Ash Parrish join David Pierce to rock out with a game created over a matter of months by a niche developer and a peripheral manufacturer, fueled by word-of-mouth and viral videos on a nascent YouTube. You probably don’t play Guitar Hero anymore, but you might still find it in surprising places. Let us know what you think: 866-VERGE-11 or vergecast@theverge.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1982's coolest gadget was the Sony Watchman portable TV. Decades before everyone was glued to YouTube on their smartphones, the Watchman popularized the concept of video on the go. In the early days of the personal-tech revolution, you’d find the Watchman antennas up everywhere from the church pew to the baseball bleacher. Victoria Song and Allison Johnson join David Pierce to dive into the engineering feat that made the first Watchman possible. 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

If you're a paid subscriber to The Verge, there's great news: You can now listen to Decoder, Version History, and The Vergecast completely ad-free. Just head to your Account Settings page to opt-in and start listening without ads. Not a member of The Verge yet? No worries! You can sign up at ⁠theverge.com/subscribe⁠ to get ad-free podcasts, plus other perks like exclusive newsletters and unlimited access to everything we publish. ⁠Verge subscribers, here’s how to set up ad-free podcasts⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Back when text messages cost 10 cents each, BlackBerry came up with a better way: BlackBerry Messenger, commonly known as BBM. It was the first new idea about messaging in a long time, and it was a huge hit… for a while. Nilay Patel and Joanna Stern join David Pierce to talk about a messaging service that was years ahead of WhatsApp and iMessage, but ultimately fizzled. Let us know what you think: 866-VERGE-11 or vergecast@theverge.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2015, self-balancing scooters (which quickly became known as hoverboards) exploded in popularity, and then began literally exploding. Andrew Hawkins and Sean O’Kane join David Pierce to explore the multiple conflicting origin stories behind the hugely popular rideable, the many knockoffs, and why a device that doesn't actually hover ended up being called "hoverboard." Let us know what you think: 866-VERGE-11 or vergecast@theverge.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your favorite people from The Verge and beyond are here to explain and debate the legacy of tech's biggest, weirdest and worst ideas. We'll talk about everything from BlackBerry to Vine, from Fire Phones to hoverboard fires. And we'll induct the very best into the Version History Hall of Fame. Come hang out with us on Sundays, starting October 5. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices