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The Vergecast

The Vergecast

The Verge 998 Episodes Aug 21, 2026

The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel and David Pierce make sense of the week's most important technology news. Every Tuesday, David leads a selection of The Verge's expert staffers in an exploration of how gadgets and software affect our lives.

Episodes

Pixel 11 gets in on the digicam trend
Pixel 11 gets in on the digicam trend Aug 21, 2026 4642 Smart phone cameras have been getting better and better at capturing flawless, true-to-life images. But is that what the people really want?David Imel joins Nilay Patel and Jake Kastrenakes to talk through the Pixel 11's Camera Looks. They're Google's nod to the trend of retro digital and analogue cameras, and alter how a photo is processed on the sensor level. At the same time, its super zoom is
We ask Gemini and Alexa to track cats and give advice
We ask Gemini and Alexa to track cats and give advice Aug 20, 2026 2362 For better or worse, Amazon Alexa and Google Home's smart voice assistants have been imbued with the powers of generative AI. The promise is that you can use natural language with your smart speaker to adjust your thermostat, lock the doors, and find out what your pets have been up to. The reality is smart home voice assistants seem to be going through an identity crisis. Senior reviewer Jennifer
Pixel reviewer roundtable
Pixel reviewer roundtable Aug 19, 2026 2317 Pixel reviewers assemble: Senior reviewer Victoria Song leads a Vergecast roundtable with editors Dominic Preston and Cameron Faulkner to discuss the Pixel 11/Pro/Fold and the Pixel Watch 5. We discuss if HiLight is a LowLight, whether we miss the temperature sensor, and if the Watch 5’s GPS truly beats Garmin and Apple. And stay tuned for more camera discussion on Friday’s Vergecast. Further r
A repair shop’s guide to surviving RAMageddon
A repair shop’s guide to surviving RAMageddon Aug 18, 2026 1430 It feels right now like prices are going up, gadgets are getting worse, and everything is getting harder to buy. Leo Mastrolia, the Digital Doctor and the owner of a repair shop in New Jersey, is seeing this all play out first hand. For the second part of our conversation (and the first part of our RAMageddon survival guide), he tells us what he’s telling his clients about fixing their gadgets, ma
The Digital Doctor will see you now
The Digital Doctor will see you now Aug 17, 2026 2232 A few years ago, Leo Mastrolia started a gadget repair shop. Little did he know he’d eventually become known across the internet as The Digital Doctor, and would learn to fix practically every gadget you can think of. On this episode, which is part one of our conversation with Leo, he tells us about his journey as a gadget fixer, the growth of his social channels, and how right-to-repair fights an
Mark Zuckerberg has an Instagzam
Mark Zuckerberg has an Instagzam Aug 14, 2026 5595 Have you seen Instagram's new logo? Meta debuted it right before we started recording, so of course David and Nilay needed to talk about it. Then, the hosts turn to Mark Zuckerberg's 6,500-word missive on the future of AI, and the problem with his idea that giving AI to everyone will fix everything. After that, it's time for Claude watermarks, Spotify AI personas, Brendan Carr, Flock, and much mor
Should you let a robot mow your lawn?
Should you let a robot mow your lawn? Aug 13, 2026 2012 Is it time to fire the neighbor kid and hire a robot lawnmower instead? Last year I wrote that “in all but a few scenarios, robot lawnmowers still aren’t worth your money,” but there’s a new class of Roombas with razor blades ready to tackle bumpy terrain and dodge crazy chickens. Realtor and smart home reviewer Brandon Doyle joins me to talk about our experiences with 2026’s newest robotic mowers
Pixel 11 and Pixel Watch 5: Our first impressions | The Vergecast Livestream
Pixel 11 and Pixel Watch 5: Our first impressions | The Vergecast Livestream Aug 12, 2026 3431 Google just showed off its next generation of hardware, including the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel11 Pro Fold. (Whew, those names.) There's also the new Pixel Watch 5, the Pixel Tag, and a bunch of really interesting new ideas about smartphone cameras, GPS, and wellness. David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Victoria Song went live to talk about the state of Google's hardware, and w
Lessons from the very first chatbot
Lessons from the very first chatbot Aug 11, 2026 2438 Before Alexa and Siri, there was ELIZA. The first chatbot ever was the creation of a man named Joseph Weizenbaum, who built the bot almost as a magic trick — and then couldn't believe how many people fell for it. David Berry and Mark Marino, two members of a team dedicated to restoring and understanding ELIZA, explain how Weizenbaum created the virtual conversant, why he came to regret it, and wha
Pencils down: We share our vibe-coded websites
Pencils down: We share our vibe-coded websites Aug 10, 2026 2745 We've spent the last month vibe coding our own corners of the internet. The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes and Hayden Field join David to talk about their use of Gemini, Codex, and Claude Code to build 90s-themed personal websites, vegetable-sharing systems, and photo boards. It wasn't always easy, and we didn't get everything done, but with a little AI and a lot of prompting, we made it work. Further
What's behind the Google AI shakeup
What's behind the Google AI shakeup Aug 7, 2026 5798 Google underwent a big AI shakeup this week, leaving a lot of people wondering whether there are big problems on team Gemini. David and Nilay start the show by discussing what's next for Jeff Dean and Demis Hassabis, before diving into the ways in which Google and Reddit have become existentially, problematically dependent on one another. After that, we talk through Disney's plan to turn Disney Pl
The next big thing in movies is 60-year-old IMAX tech
The next big thing in movies is 60-year-old IMAX tech Aug 6, 2026 1694 Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is the first feature film ever shot entirely with IMAX 70mm film cameras, which is apparently a very big deal, and why it's been harder than usual to get a ticket to see Matt Damon. And now that Spider-Man is moving onto IMAX screens, it may be even harder to get a ticket. Why is this 60-year-old technology suddenly the hottest thing in movies? The Verge's film and

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