The Vergecast

Editor-in-chief of The Verge Nilay Patel and Verge reporter Julia Alexander sit down with CEO/Co-Owner of FaZe Clan Lee Trink. Lee talks how he runs a multifaceted company from working with talent to the dependence on platforms to selling apparel.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2:00- Tesla Cybertruck first ride: inside Elon Musk’s electric pickup truck23:55 - Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is an electric SUV with up to 300 miles of range30:30 - No, e-bikes aren’t cheating37:03 - Elon Musk tries to explain Twitter in ‘pedo guy’ defamation case1:00:55 - Paul’s weekly segment “In the apocalypse, we don’t need space bars” 1:03:23 - Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin relinquish control of Alphabet to CEO Sundar Pichai1:19:05 - Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 865 flagship is here — without integrated 5GOther links:Tesla Cybertruck will get up to 500 miles of range and start at $39,900Elon Musk explains why Tesla’s Cybertruck windows smashed during presentationElon Musk promises Cybertruck vs. Ford F-150 rematch after controversyGoogle’s third eraLarry Page is the tech world’s Dr. ManhattanThe rise, disappearance, and retirement of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey BrinQualcomm’s new Snapdragon 865 promises 5G, camera, and gaming improvementsIn 2020, Qualcomm’s slower chips may be more important than its best onesQualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 chip could usher in the first affordable 5G phonesEmotonal Baggage: Inside the toxic work environment at AwayThe dark side of electronic waste recycling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Verge reporter Adi Robertson talks to Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel about how to spot lies, false information, and trolling online and how to handle it as a user on the internet. Adi just published a guide on The Verge that details a system for slowing down and thinking about information — whether that information is true, false, or something in between.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is in the process of passing a non-partisan bill to increase support for enforcement against illegal pirate radio operations: Fines can now go as high as $2 million, and the FCC will fund “enforcement sweeps” in major radio markets. Does this target well-intentioned community radio, designed to speak to immigrant communities?Episode three of The Verge's Pirate Radio mini-series featuring Bijan Stephen.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the Hmong diaspora uses the world's most boring technology to make something weird and wonderful.Episode two of The Verge's Pirate Radio mini-series featuring Mia Sato.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the US entered Afghanistan, local DJs were hired to help with the war effort. And when the American military pulled out, they abandoned those voices, leaving many of them for dead.Episode 1 of The Verge's Pirate Radio mini-series featuring Chris Harland-Dunaway.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Vergecast, Nilay, Dieter, and Paul go through the products announced this week including Apple's 16-inch Macbook Pro and Motorola's new Razr foldable phone. Julia Alexander then joins the show to cover the initial launch of Disney+ and the ongoing streaming wars.Stories this week:The everything town in the middle of nowhereApple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro is here, and it has a good keyboardA fully loaded 16-inch MacBook Pro costs $6,099Apple’s new Mac Pro is shipping next monthGoogle’s rollout of RCS chat for all Android users in the US begins todayMotorola resurrects the Razr as a foldable Android smartphoneJohn Carmack stepping down as CTO of Oculus to work on AIDisney+ experiencing ‘unable to connect’ errors on launch dayThe Mandalorian’s first episode shows that Star Wars can work on the small screenDisney+ doesn’t have to sell anyone on streamingHow to get a year of free Disney+ from VerizonThe Simpsons’ aspect ratio is messed up on Disney+Verizon’s new set-top box is possibly the worst option out there for streamingApple could bundle news, TV, and music into one subscription as soon as 2020Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s Vergecast interview, Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to finance professor and an economist at the NYU stern school of business Thomas Philippon. Thomas just wrote a book called The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets all about competition and consolidation in different markets.When Thomas moved to the United States from France in the 90s, he noticed everything from laptops to internet access was cheaper in America, but over time has gotten more and more expensive. In the interview Nilay and Thomas discuss why that is — unsurprisingly the answer is consolidation in a lot of our markets.Thomas makes a point that in some places, concentrations are actually good and creates value for the consumers, but in some markets like healthcare, technology, and airtravel, that consolidation has resulted in way higher prices for Americans. Since the prices go up slowly, we don’t actually notice.If you have been listening to The Vergecast and been paying attention to our big conversations about whether or not we should be breaking up big tech companies, whether we should regulate them, or whether tech companies with network effects like Google and Facebook are different than companies like AT&T and GE, this conversation is up your alley. Below is lightly edited except of the conversation.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a bonus episode of The Vergecast this week, Dieter Bohn hosts a Microsoft Surface roundup with deputy editor Dan Seifert and senior editor Tom Warren. The trio go through reviews of this years new product lineup and how they compare with their counterparts.Links:Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 15-inch review: it’s a bigger Surface LaptopMicrosoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5-inch review: have a normal oneMicrosoft Surface Pro 7 review: I wish this looked like a Surface Pro XMicrosoft Surface Pro X review: heartbreakerSurface Pro X vs. Pro 7: ARM needs some legsMicrosoft bet against Intel with its new Surfaces — and lostMicrosoft leak reveals Windows 10X will be coming to laptopsMicrosoft unveils new Edge browser logo that no longer looks like Internet ExplorerMicrosoft’s Edge Chromium browser will launch on January 15th with a new logoMicrosoft previews the future of Office documents with Fluid Framework for the webHands-on with Microsoft’s xCloud game streaming serviceXbox Game Streaming hands-on: turn your Xbox into a game streaming serverXbox Elite 2 controller review: Microsoft’s best Xbox controller just got betterLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Vergecast, everything that happened at Adobe Max 2019, reviews for the Microsoft Surface Pro X and AirPods Pro, and missed text messages from Valentines Day.Stories this week:Adobe Max 2019: all the top announcementsAdobe’s Photoshop for the iPad is finally here, with more features to come Adobe is developing Illustrator for the iPad, to be released 2020Adobe Aero turns Photoshop layers into interactive AR experiencesAdobe’s Fresco drawing app arrives on WindowsPhotoshop adds an extremely helpful AI subject selection tool Adobe previews an AI feature that can tell when an image has been manipulated- Adobe’s AI-powered video framing tool is available now in Premiere ProAdobe is launching a free AI-powered Photoshop Camera appAdobe is building live-streaming into Creative Cloud appsAdobe’s Premiere Rush can now publish directly to TikTokMicrosoft Surface Pro X review: heartbreakerMicrosoft's Edge Chromium browser will launch on January …Microsoft unveils new Edge browser logo that no longer looks ...Microsoft’s new Office app for iOS and Android combines Word, Excel, and PowerPointMicrosoft previews the future of Office documents with Fluid Framework for the weA ton of people received text messages overnight that were originally sent on Valentine’s DaySomehow, Android's messaging mess is about to get even …AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile have finally agreed to ...Apple AirPods Pro review: perfect fitGoogle buys Fitbit for $2.1 billionGoogle is buying Fitbit: now what?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Vergecast, Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks with Jeremy Singer-Vine, the data editor for the BuzzFeed News investigative unit, about his story that was published recently regarding the fake comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s online net neutrality debate.If you haven’t read the piece, you should. The investigation details where all of the fake comments in the FCC’s net neutrality process came from, including dead people leaving comments and shady political operatives involved in the scam.It’s not really a story about net neutrality; rather, it’s about how systems designed for public participation in the government are so easily scammed, and what the challenges are for preventing such scams from happening.Nilay and Jeremy discuss why it happened, how it happened, and what happens next if we want to use the internet to encourage open access participation in government without corruption.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live at The Glass Room in San Francisco, Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Ashley Carman are joined by Google Pixel camera product manager Isaac Reynolds and Instagram head of product Robby Stein to talk about how the photos we share influence the photos we take — and vice versa.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel interviews cryptocurrency expert Amber Baldet, co-founder of Clovyr and on the board of the Zcash foundation. Nilay and Amber discuss where cryptocurrencies on the blockchain are going, the potential of Facebook's Libra project, and how the blockchain can revive our trust in putting our data online.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stories discussed this week:Foxconn finally admits its empty Wisconsin ‘innovation centers’ aren’t being developedFoxconn’s giant glass dome in Wisconsin is back, babyGoogle Pixel 4 and 4 XL review: more than the sum of its sensorsGoogle to update Pixel 4 face unlock with eye detection ‘in the coming months`The Pixel 4 is more like an iPhone than any other Android phoneGoogle promises another Pixel 4 software update, this time for the screen’s refresh rateGoogle’s older Pixels won’t get the Pixel 4’s dual exposure and Live HDR+ featuresGoogle’s Pixel 4 was $100 off on Amazon for a second timeMicrosoft Surface Pro 7 review: I wish this looked like a Surface Pro XMicrosoft Surface Laptop 3 15-inch review: it’s a bigger Surface LaptopApple TV app launches on Amazon Fire TV devicesComcast’s ‘free’ streaming box actually requires an additional $13 / month feeDisney CEO says Scorsese and Coppola can ‘bitch about movies’ if they want Verizon is offering a free year of Disney+ to unlimited data and Fios customersThere’s a new Banana Phone, and it can play ‘Bananaphone’Twitch megastar Shroud is joining Ninja on Mixer as an exclusive streamerCaffeine hopes celebrities and entertainment can help it beat TwitchLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week for our interview series on The Vergecast, host and Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to Gigi Sohn, a distinguished fellow at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy. We’ve had Gigi on the show before to talk about the ramifications following the repeal of net neutrality.This time, we brought her back to talk about some recent developments in the tech policy world, including lawmakers in states like California introducing net neutrality bills.We also talk to Gigi about the Sprint and T-Mobile merger and the issues surrounding how that merger will seemingly go through unless it’s stopped by a lawsuit from several states. Can Dish become a fourth mobile carrier?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest announcements from Google’s 2019 Pixel eventThe Pixel 4 has a radar chip that lets you control music and wave at pokémonGoogle Pixel 4 and 4 XL hands-on: this time, it’s not about the cameraThe Pixel 4 lacks one of the best perks that came with Google’s previous flagship phonesGoogle improves the Pixel 4 camera with Live HDR and moreWith no buds or adapter, Pixel 4 opens the door to rival headphone makersPixel Buds 2 hands-on: Google takes on the AirPodsPixelbook Go: Google finally made a reasonably priced ChromebookGoogle’s new Nest Mini has better controls, similar sound, and the same priceNest Wifi first look: Google finally combined a smart speaker and a routerGoogle’s Stadia wireless controller won’t be very wireless at launchFacebook’s decision to allow lies in political ads is coming back to haunt itDemocrats are striking back against Facebook’s ads policiesMark Zuckerberg on lies in political ads: ‘I don’t think it’s right for a private company to censor politicians’Mark Zuckerberg took on China in a speech defending free expressionFacebook privacy abuse targeted by ‘Mind your own business’ billTake our Vergecast survey! theverge.com/surveyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vergecast hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn attended Google's hardware event on Tuesday and sat down with SVP of Devices & Services Rick Osterloh to discuss Google's new products: the Pixel 4, the Pixelbook Go, the Nest Mini, and the Pixel Buds 2.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twitter’s head of product Kayvon Beykpour sits down with Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and Silicon Valley editor Casey Newton to talk about how Twitter juggles its policy with trust and safety, the state of verification, the future of video in your feed, and how tweets can become more ephemeral. Please take our survey here: theverge.com/surveyLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Vergecast, Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Paul Miller go deep on Apple's updated operating systems: macOS Catalina and iPadOS. Also, Sony confirms their next console will be the PS5 in 2020. Stories this week: Apple’s macOS Catalina update is coming todayCatalina ReviewPhotoshop and Lightroom users should wait before updating to macOS CatalinaNetflix confirms it won’t port its iPad app to macOSYou need a MacBook with a butterfly keyboard or a modern Mac desktop to use macOS Catalina’s SidecarWhy I’m turning off auto-updatesApple starts selling Microsoft’s Xbox controller after adding support in iOS, macOS, and tvOSiPadOS review: it’s complicated, finallyLinksys' mesh routers can now detect motion using Wi-FiApple’s Siri can now play music through SpotifyiOS 13 has gotten better, but there’s still a long way to go Apple iPad (2019) review: no competitionSony confirms next console is called PlayStation 5 and coming holiday 2020The next console war is going to be way more fun than the last oneSamsung made the smartwatch Google couldn’tLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Vergecast interview series, Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel speaks to current CEO of Logitech Bracken Darrell.Logitech has acquired a couple of companies over the past few years, notably Blue Microphones and Ultimate Ears. Recently, Logitech acquired their first software company Streamlabs, a streaming software company used by almost half of all streamers on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.Nilay and Bracken talk about how acquiring this software company makes sense for Logitech, its own hardware that works with Streamlabs, and what it’s like making hardware for big companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices