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 ...
On today's episode, once again, it's OpenAI and DOGE. And some other things! Nilay and David start the show by talking about Elon Musk's surprise bid to buy the nonprofit arm of OpenAI, along with the company's plans for new models and new rules for those models. After that, The Verge's Lauren Feiner joins to catch us up on what's happening with DOGE, how Musk and co. are making boring government information into something deeply fascinating and deeply confusing, and what it's like to work for the government now. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about rumors of a new Apple Studio Display and iPhone SE, the new Powerbeats 2 Pro, Brendan Carr still being a dummy, and some surprising streaming moves from Apple and YouTube.
Further reading:
Elon Musk just offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion
OpenAI apparently hasn’t actually received Elon Musk’s acquisition offer.
Altman feels bad for Elon
OpenAI lays out plans for GPT-5
OpenAI is reportedly getting closer to launching its in-house chip
OpenAI is rethinking how AI models handle controversial topics
Scarlett Johansson calls for anti deepfake laws after AI video goes viral
Thomson Reuters wins an early court battle over AI, copyright, and fair use
AI chatbots are distorting news stories, BBC finds
Waste.gov locks down after people discover it’s a WordPress template
https://doge.gov/ exists
Federal workers say they increasingly distrust platforms like Facebook
The Trump administration restores federal webpages after court order
Trump administration illegally allowed DOGE to access workers’ data, lawsuit alleges
State Dept.’s plan to buy $400 million worth of armored Teslas hastily changed to ‘armored EVs’
Constitutional crisis intensifies.
Google Maps now shows the ‘Gulf of America’
Apple Maps now shows the Gulf of America
Bing jumps on the Gulf of America bandwagon.
Trump wants news outlets to get on board with “Gulf of America” — or else. Will they?
Apple’s next Studio Display could get a much-needed Mini LED upgrade
Tim Cook teases a new Apple launch next week, and it’s probably the iPhone SE
FCC to investigate Comcast for having DEI programs
The FCC is a weapon in Trump’s war on free speech
Trump’s MAGA Media Enforcer Is Having ‘the Time of His Life’
FCC chairman Brendan Carr has vowed to target all of Donald Trump's enemies.
Jeep’s Wrangler-like Recon EV is ready to launch this year
Jeep warranty ads in the infotainment
Apple TV Plus is finally coming to Android
YouTube is now even bigger on TVs than phones
Powerbeats Pro 2 review: the workout buds to beat
Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus review: incredibly iterative
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1:51:41
What $200 of ChatGPT is really worth
AI and politics, politics and AI. That's the story of 2025. On this episode, The Verge's Kylie Robison joins the show to talk about ChatGPT's big new features, Operator and deep research, both of which promise to make the chatbot more useful and more autonomous. To access either one costs $200 a month — is it worth it? After that, The Verge's Liz Lopatto catches us up on the latest from Elon Musk and Doge, including why Musk is doing this thing, this way. Liz also makes the case that this isn't going to slow down anytime soon. Finally, Nilay Patel helps us answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline, and tells us how he felt about the Super Bowl's 4K stream.
Further reading:
OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent can do things on the web for you
ChatGPT’s agent can now do deep research for you
I tested ChatGPT’s deep research with the most misunderstood law on the internet
Elon Musk’s rapid unscheduled disassembly of the US government
DOGE wreaked havoc on the government in just one week
Federal judge blocks DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury records
How Elon Musk’s Department of Energy access could pose a nuclear threat
What we know about President Elon’s government takeover
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1:24:42
Elon Musk's computer coup
Nilay, David, and Richard Lawler take on a big week in confusing news stories. First, they talk through the latest from Elon Musk's DOGE, which is running rampant through government computer systems with little pushback. Then they explain the latest on the US government's tariff strategy, and the mass confusion it's causing across tech. Then they pivot away from politics and talk about streaming: the Super Bowl coming to Tubi, the deeply confusing forthcoming Fox streaming service, whatever Comcast is doing this year, and more. Finally, in the lightning round, they talk about Sonos's streaming box, Brendan Carr's latest assaults on free speech, OpenAI's "new" logo, and more.
Further reading:
DC is just waking up to Elon Musk’s takeover
Elon Musk is staging a takeover of the federal budget
Workers are reeling from chaos at federal agencies
Can anyone stop President Musk?
“For all practical purposes, I’d call that a coup.”
Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China
Canada will retaliate against Trump with tariffs on US goods
Trump agrees to a one-month pause on Mexico, Canada tariffs
Qwertykeys halts keyboard shipments to US over tariff costs and confusion
Shein and Temu depend on a 100-year-old tariff loophole that Trump wants to close
Your packages are about to get slower and more expensive
USPS backtracks, will accept parcels from China after all
China tariffs may already be hiking up import fees
China opens Google antitrust probe in retaliation to tariffs
Fox plans to launch a streaming service by the end of 2025
Super Bowl LIX will stream for free on Tubi
Comcast is adding Dolby Atmos to its ‘4K’ Super Bowl broadcast this year
Warner Bros. is streaming full movies for free on YouTube
Disney teases ESPN’s expansive sports streaming future
Disney’s streaming business posts another profit.
CBS is preparing to give Harris interview materials to the FCC.
FCC launches probe into Soros-backed radio station that revealed live locations of undercover ICE agents
After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box
Sonos lays off 200 employees as its struggles continue
Google has ‘very good ideas’ for native ads in Gemini
ChatGPT’s agent can now do deep research for you
Here’s OpenAI’s new logo
Chairs Are Like Facebook
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1:36:51
Samsung’s S25 Ultra and the end of the flagship phone
Today on the show, it’s all about the future of phones… and your data. The Verge’s Allison Johnson joins the show to talk about the new Samsung Galaxy S25, what’s new in this high-end phone, and what it means for all the other smartphones coming this year. After that, Cooper Quintin, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, talks us through how to think about the privacy implications of RedNote, TikTok, DeepSeek, and all the other tech that puts us in contact with China. Finally, we enlist The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy to help us answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline all about the Meta Portal. Remember the Meta Portal?? If you’re missing yours, we have some ideas.
Further reading:
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t so ‘ultra’ anymore
Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus hands-on: more of the same
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. S25 Plus vs. S25 Ultra: specs comparison
Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days
TikTok’s service providers still risk billions in penalties for bringing it back online
TikTok is still on shaky ground in the US
Chinese social media app RedNote tops App Store chart ahead of TikTok ban
As Americans flock to RedNote, privacy advocates warn about surveillance
Will RedNote get banned in the US?
RedNote: what it’s like using the Chinese app TikTokers are flocking to
Why everyone is freaking out about DeepSeek
DeepSeek’s top-ranked AI app is restricting sign-ups due to ‘malicious attacks’
US Navy jumps the DeepSeek ship.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Facebook’s new Portal Go is great for video calls, but not much else
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1:27:24
How DeepSeek crashed the AI party
Nilay and David dig into the week's biggest story: the new Intel-powered Surface Pro. Kidding! They talk about DeepSeek, the out-of-nowhere AI company that sent both Silicon Valley and the stock market into uproar this week. Then, after the hosts debate what the real killer app for AI is — and whether we've even found one yet — we follow up on our question from last week about how people are actually using AI. We got so many good answers, and we talk through what to make of them all. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about Brendan Carr being a dummy, the return of the Pebble, the continued rise of Bluesky and Threads, and Meta's $25 million check to Trump.
Further reading:
Why everyone is freaking out about DeepSeek
DeepSeek says its newest AI model, Janus-Pro can outperform Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 3.
Microsoft makes DeepSeek’s R1 model available on Azure AI and GitHub
OpenAI has evidence that its models helped train China’s DeepSeek
China’s DeepSeek AI is hitting Nvidia where it hurts
DeepSeek’s AI app is restricting sign-ups due to ‘malicious attacks’
US Navy jumps the DeepSeek ship.
DeepSeek wakes up Trump.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on DeepSeek R1: “an impressive model.”
Mark Zuckerberg tells Meta investors to not worry about DeepSeek
The Pebble smartwatch is making a comeback, with some help from Google
Oracle and Microsoft are reportedly in talks to take over TikTok
FCC chair says landlords can force bulk internet service on residents
From NYT: F.C.C. Chair Orders Investigation Into NPR and PBS Sponsorships
Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle Trump account suspension suit
Zuckerberg wants to Make Facebook Great Again
Zuck wants to bring the “OG Facebook” back.
Email us at [email protected] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.
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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 hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And every Tuesday, David leads a selection of The Verge’s expert staffers in an exploration of how gadgets and software affect our lives – and which ones you should bring into yours.