Version History

Western Electric 500: Monopoly phone

For years, even decades, virtually everyone in the United States had the same telephone. You didn't even think about it — it was just The Phone. Well, The Phone was called the Western Electric 500, and it was the result of nearly a century of AT&T's monopoly over the US phone system. It was also a really great phone. In this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and author and professor Tim Wu explain how AT&T's monopoly grew, how the phone system worked, and how it happened that there was really only one phone in the country. Until the whole system started to fall apart. We’re also on video! Check us out on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@VersionHistoryPodcast/featured] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] for unlimited access to theverge.com [http://theverge.com/], subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed [https://www.theverge.com/bulletin/795051/verge-podcast-ad-free-set-up-how-to]. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Amazon Echo: Always listening

For years, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos knew the computer he wanted to build. He wanted it to be cheap, accessible everywhere, and controlled entirely by voice. It took Amazon a number of years, a lot of false starts, and some deeply strange focus groups, but the company eventually turned the Amazon Echo into something like the voice computer Bezos wanted, powered by an assistant called Alexa. (Even though Bezos kind of hated the thing along the way.) In this episode, we tell the story of the development of Alexa and the Echo, and try to figure out what Amazon got right and wrong about the voice-based future — and whether AI could make it come true for real. Further reading: The Secret Origins of Amazon's Alexa [https://www.wired.com/story/how-amazon-made-alexa-smarter/] We’re also on video! Check us out on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@VersionHistoryPodcast/featured] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] for unlimited access to theverge.com [http://theverge.com/], subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed [https://www.theverge.com/bulletin/795051/verge-podcast-ad-free-set-up-how-to]. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Macintosh: All in one

The Macintosh wasn't a hit, at least not in its first incarnation. But it was still unquestionably one of the most iconic computers ever made — and it came with one of the most iconic ads ever made, too. In this episode, David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Daring Fireball's John Gruber tell the story of the Macintosh, from its beginnings as a lark inside Apple to its dramatic unveiling to its somewhat middling reception. Not long after the Macintosh came out, Steve Jobs was run out of Apple, but the ideas in this computer eventually took over the company. And the world. Help us decide where Macintosh ranks among Apple's 50 best products ever. [https://www.theverge.com/cs/tech/900477/apple-50-anniversary-rank-products/] Version History is also on video! Check us out on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@VersionHistoryPodcast/featured] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] for unlimited access to theverge.com [http://theverge.com/], subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed [https://www.theverge.com/bulletin/795051/verge-podcast-ad-free-set-up-how-to]. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Vocoder: Magic mic

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! [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Szf5a2v5sudfwk2zVWyQR?si=3Q1lo8FlSxCiL0ofMJFsZg] We’re also on video! Check us out on YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/@VersionHistoryPodcast/featured] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] for unlimited access to theverge.com [http://theverge.com/], subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed [https://www.theverge.com/bulletin/795051/verge-podcast-ad-free-set-up-how-to]. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Clubhouse: Pivot to audio

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 [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]