The Vergecast

Richard Lawler joins the show to chat about the Tyson / Paul fight, and more importantly the fact that Netflix didn't seem to be able to keep up. As live sports — and TV in general — move toward streaming, are even the biggest names in tech ready for what's coming? After that, Roland Allen, the author of The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, tells us about the history of the notebook, and why we've been writing things down about our lives for centuries. Even in a digital world, Allen argues, you just can't beat the notebook. Finally, a question from the Vergecast Hotline sends producer Will Poor down a TikTok Shop rabbit hole. Further reading: * Netflix served the Tyson vs. Paul fight to 60 million households [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/16/24298338/netflix-mike-ttyson-vs-jake-paul-fight-netflix-60-million-households-streaming-quality-buffering] * NFL fans worry Netflix’s bad Tyson vs. Paul stream means it can’t handle football [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/16/24298026/mike-tyson-jake-paul-netflix-livestream-quality-issues-buffering-dropped-stream] * Netflix adds Beyoncé to live entertainment juggernaut [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/18/24299402/netflix-beyonce-nfl-halftime-performance-streaming-live-sports] * Netflix snagged global streaming rights for NFL Christmas Day games [https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/15/24157289/netflix-nfl-game-streaming-global-christmas-day] * Roland Allen’s website [https://roland-allen.com/] * The Notebook: a History of Thinking on Paper [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-notebook-a-history-of-thinking-on-paper/21106064?ean=9781771966283] Email us at vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

For the third episode in our series about the future of music, we talk with Ge Wang. Ge is a professor at Stanford, a co-founder of Smule, the conductor of Stanford’s laptop orchestra, and has been at the center of technology and artistry for most of his life. We talk about how humans can use AI without giving in to it, what it means to truly play with technology, and the value of art and creativity and friction when it feels like all those things are being taken away. Further reading: * Ge Wang’s website [https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~ge/] * The future of computer music | Stanford University School of Engineering [https://engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-computer-music] * Ge’s viral TED talk: The DIY orchestra of the future [https://www.ted.com/talks/ge_wang_the_diy_orchestra_of_the_future?subtitle=en] * From Wired: Behind the Scenes With the Stanford Laptop Orchestra [https://www.wired.com/story/stanford-laptop-orchestra-tenth-anniversary-concert/] * Ge Wang: Human Well-Being Should Be AI Creators’ Goal [https://hai.stanford.edu/news/ge-wang-human-well-being-should-be-ai-creators-goal] Email us at vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Nilay and David talk about the future of social, in light of Bluesky's recent surge in growth. Threads is huge, Bluesky is ascendent, Mastodon is... around, but can any of them become the next Twitter? Is that even the goal? After that, Kylie Robison joins the show and the gang discusses Apple's smart home device (which is just an iPad), the AI scaling slowdown, and a new twist in the delivery wars. In the lightning round, it's all about disclosures, wireless carriers, and the sad end of Freevee. Further reading: * Twitter’s succession: all the news about alternative social media platforms  [https://www.theverge.com/23686584/twitter-alternative-social-media-platforms-mastodon-bluesky-activitypub-protocol] * One million people have joined Bluesky in the past week. [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24294915/one-million-people-have-joined-bluesky-in-the-past-week] * Bluesky adds 700,000 new users in a week [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/11/24293920/bluesky-700000-new-users-week-x-threads] * The Guardian is quitting X. [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/13/24295452/the-guardian-is-quitting-x] * Remember the TikTok ban? [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24294882/remember-the-tiktok-ban] * Apple’s rumored six-inch ‘AI wall tablet’ could control your smart home by March 2025 [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24294975/apple-smart-home-display-march-2025-rumors] * Apple is reportedly working on an Apple Home security camera  [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24294508/apple-home-camera-smart-security-camera-2026] * Anthropic co-founder Darius Amodei said we’ll have artificial general intelligence “in 2026 or 2027.” [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24294528/line-go-up] * Just Eat is selling Grubhub to Marc Lore’s Wonder for $650M [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/13/24295454/grubhub-wonder-acquisition-just-eat-food-delivery-app] * Boost Mobile says it’s a real wireless carrier now [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/11/24291655/boost-mobile-5g-dish-wireless] * Amazon is shutting down Freevee [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24295129/amazon-shutting-down-freevee-prime-video] * Trump says Elon Musk will lead ‘DOGE’ office to cut ‘wasteful’ government spending [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/24295165/trump-elon-musk-doge-cut-government-spending] Email us at vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

On today's show: sleep gadgets, AI DJs, and sneaky TVs. Victoria Song joins the show to talk about her experiences with the Eight Sleep mattress pad, the Oura Ring 4, and other sleep gadgets. Can you really measure your way to a better night of sleep? After that, Allison Johnson gives us her take on Spotify's AI DJ, and we wonder exactly how an AI tool is supposed to help us find and listen to music. Finally, Nilay Patel comes on to answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline about the Samsung Frame TVs — and how to figure out whether you need a TV at all. Further reading: * Eight Sleep Pod 4 Ultra review: for sale, good night’s sleep, just $4,700 [https://www.theverge.com/24279552/eight-sleep-pod-4-ultra-review-tracking] * Ozlo Sleepbuds hands-on: resurrected and I’ve slept so good [https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/22/24275875/ozlo-sleepbuds-hands-on-bose-wearables-sleep-tracking] * Oura Ring 4 review: still on top — for now [https://www.theverge.com/24268024/oura-ring-4-review-smart-rings-wearables] * Spotify’s AI is no match for a real DJ [https://www.theverge.com/24290914/spotify-ai-dj-radio-kexp] * Samsung’s Frame TV is finally getting the knockoffs it deserves [https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/7/24215184/tcl-nxtframe-samsung-frame-tv-knockoff-price-announcement] Email us at vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

For the second episode in our three-part miniseries about the future of music, Charlie Harding, a music journalist and co-host of the Switched on Pop podcast, joins the show to tell the story of Auto-Tune. He walks us through how a simple plugin became such a recognizable sound in music, why both artists and fans gravitated to the Auto-Tune sound, and why Auto-Tune has continued to grow even through backlash in the music business. Then we look ahead to AI, and try to figure out what — if any — lessons we might be able to learn about the sound and culture of the AI era to come. Further reading: * Charlie Harding on X [https://x.com/charlieharding] * Switched on Pop [https://switchedonpop.com/] * From Pitchfork: How Auto-Tune Revolutionized the Sound of Popular Music [https://pitchfork.com/features/article/how-auto-tune-revolutionized-the-sound-of-popular-music/] * From Rick Beato: How Auto-Tune DESTROYED Popular Music [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IV29YNTH3M] * From Gabi Belle: The Problem with Autotune on TikTok [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZWcbQys6sw] Email us at vergecast@theverge.com [vergecast@theverge.com] or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]