The Vergecast

The end of OpenAI, and other 2026 predictions

A year ago, David and Nilay sat down with Wall Street Journal senior tech columnist Joanna Stern to make a bunch of confident predictions about 2025. We got them... you know what, never mind. Let's look ahead to 2026! This year, we gather again to make increasingly bold bets about the year to come, including the future of a few of the world's biggest companies and whether we're finally going to get a foldable iPhone. Last year's predictions may not have been our best, but we're feeling good about these. 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]

How to vibe-write a country hit

Technically, the Netflix / Warner Bros. news is almost a week old, but what a week it has been! And so, after some follow-up on smart shades and CES, Nilay and David talk through all that’s at stake in the fight between Paramount and Netflix — and whether it’s even possible for someone to win this deal. After that, Charlie Harding, co-host of Switched on Pop and honorary Vergecast intern, explains how AI is taking over the country music scene in Nashville. He also makes us a song, and it’s a jam. Lastly, the hosts talk about font news (with a special guest), Brendan Carr, smart rings, garage wars, and more. Further reading: * The Verge subscription turns one  [https://www.theverge.com/bulletin/839889/the-verge-subscription-turns-one] * Netflix is buying Warner Bros. for $83 billion  [https://www.theverge.com/news/838781/netflix-warner-bros-discover-bids-buyout] * Paramount launches a hostile $108 billion bid to snatch Warner from Netflix  [https://www.theverge.com/news/839813/paramount-skydance-warner-bros-discovery-hostile-takeover-bid] * David Ellison pitches Paramount’s $108 billion hostile bid for WBD as “pro consumer.”  [https://www.theverge.com/news/839910/david-ellison-pitches-paramounts-hostile-bid-for-wbd-as-pro-consumer] * Behind Paramount’s Relentless Campaign to Woo Warner Discovery and President Trump [https://www.wsj.com/business/media/paramount-netflix-warner-bros-battle-ellisons-a86fe15c] * New Paramount Speaks: Theatrical Films, Streaming Investment and Tech Upgrades Are Top Priorities [https://www.thewrap.com/new-paramount-film-tv-streaming-plans/#:~:text=On%20AI,of%20financial%20discipline%20to%20bear] * Netflix CEO made a visit to the White House before buying Warner Bros.  [https://www.theverge.com/news/839749/netflix-ceo-visit-white-house-warner-bros] * Trump isn’t sold on the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal [https://www.theverge.com/news/839767/trump-isnt-sold-on-the-netflix-warner-bros-deal] * Netflix’s leadership thinks the Warner Bros. deal won’t be like other big media mergers. [https://www.theverge.com/news/839380/netflixs-leadership-thinks-the-warner-bros-deal-wont-be-like-other-big-media-mergers] * Welcome to the big leagues, Netflix  [https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/839480/netflix-warner-bros-acquisition-hbo-theatrical-releases-layoffs] * There are no good outcomes for the Warner Bros. sale [https://www.theverge.com/streaming/841581/warner-bros-netflix-paramount-skydance-ellison-hostile-bid] * OpenAI’s billion-dollar Disney deal puts Mickey Mouse and Marvel in Sora [https://www.theverge.com/news/842348/disney-openai-sora-chatgpt-images] * Get ready for an AI country music explosion [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/829964/country-music-ai] * Brendan Carr is a Dummy [https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1996945925822939407] * Chamberlain’s new technology blocks aftermarket controllers from working with its garage door openers [https://www.theverge.com/tech/839294/chamberlain-myq-garage-door-opener-update-blocks-aftermarket-controllers] * The Pebble Index 01 is a smart ring with a built-in microphone [https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/840352/pebble-index-smart-ring-launch-price] * Calibri is too woke for the State Department | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/news/841664/calibri-is-too-woke-for-the-state-department] * Gruber got a copy of the thing [https://daringfireball.net/misc/2025/12/state-department-return-to-tradition.text] 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]

2025 year in review

Well, friends, it's been a year. And before we turn the page to 2026 and all the stories of 2025 begin to blur together, we decided to take stock of things. Nilay and David are joined by Wall Street Journal senior tech columnist Joanna Stern to debate the best products of the year, the biggest policy moves, the people who broke bad, the good AI things, the bad AI things, and much more. It's been a vibe-everything kind of year, and there's a lot to discuss. 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]

A very human vision for going all-in on AI

AI models are very good at summarizing things, finding other things like those things, and helping you find those things again. But does that mean we should leave all the work of finding and understanding to those models? Sari Azout, the founder of an app called Sublime, doesn't think so. For this episode, the second in our two-part series about how developers are using AI and building models into their products, Azout explains how Sublime tries to balance being a thoroughly human-focused app with the efficiencies that come with new technologies. She has thoughts on curation, taste, and the differences between AI as a creative partner and AI as a creative replacement. Further reading: * Sublime [https://sublime.app/] * From Sari's newsletter: What matters in the age of AI is taste [https://sublimeinternet.substack.com/p/what-matters-in-the-age-of-ai-is] * From The Atlantic: Good Taste Is More Important Than Ever [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/06/good-taste-ai/683101/] * AI Is a Lot of Work [https://www.theverge.com/features/23764584/ai-artificial-intelligence-data-notation-labor-scale-surge-remotasks-openai-chatbots] * Making human music in an AI world [https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/17/24297892/ai-music-ge-wang-vergecast] 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]

It's code red for ChatGPT

First things first: David and Nilay are both having some TV problems, and they need to talk it out. But then they get to the news of the week, including Samsung's new extra-foldy foldable phone, and a big change in the design departments at both Apple and Meta. What does it all say about the future of smart glasses? After that, the hosts talk through why Sam Altman declared a code red inside of OpenAI in order to redirect focus to ChatGPT — and whether the technology that has made all these products possible is actually the right technology moving forward. Finally, in the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a Dummy, recap season, "dear algo," and thermostats. Further reading: * Samsung’s Z TriFold is official and it looks like a tablet with a phone attached  [https://www.theverge.com/news/835525/samsung-z-trifold-announcement-us-availability] * Huawei tris again.  [https://www.theverge.com/news/766541/huawei-tris-again] * Huawei’s first trifold is a great phone that you shouldn’t buy  [https://www.theverge.com/huawei/667574/huawei-mate-xt-review-trifold-phone] * Apple’s head of UI design is leaving for Meta  [https://www.theverge.com/news/837654/apple-meta-alan-dye-designer] * Apple AI chief steps down following Siri setbacks  [https://www.theverge.com/news/835466/apple-ai-chief-john-giannandrea-steps-down-siri] * Louie Mantia’s blog post about Dye [https://lmnt.me/blog/a-responsibility-to-the-industry.html] * Zuck’s post about the new team [https://www.threads.com/@zuck/post/DR0Wsy0EhCP?xmt=AQF0miWCCanYhoihOhYnATYS6G0i-CtIGCFwZhF43yclxQ] * Linux usage on Steam hits a record high for the second month in a row  [https://www.theverge.com/news/837364/linux-usage-steam-hardware-survey-november-2025] * OpenAI declares ‘code red’ as Google catches up in AI race  [https://www.theverge.com/news/836212/openai-code-red-chatgpt] * OpenAI just made another circular deal  [https://www.theverge.com/news/835453/openai-ownership-thrive-holdings] * Anthropic’s AI bubble ‘YOLO’ warning  [https://www.theverge.com/column/837779/anthropic-ai-bubble-warning] * Anthropic’s racing OpenAI to go public [https://www.theverge.com/news/837142/anthropics-racing-openai-to-go-public]  [https://www.theverge.com/news/837142/anthropics-racing-openai-to-go-public] * Normalizing extraterrestrial data centers [https://www.theverge.com/news/837128/normalizing-extraterrestrial-data-centers] * I tested five AI browsers and lost my mind in the process [https://www.theverge.com/tech/837287/ai-browsers-comet-chatgpt-atlas-edge-copilot-chrome-gemini] * The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/827820/large-language-models-ai-intelligence-neuroscience-problems] * Ilya Sutskever – We're moving from the age of scaling to the age of research [https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/ilya-sutskever-2] * FCC boss Brendan Carr claims another victory over DEI as AT&T drops programs [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/fcc-boss-brendan-carr-claims-another-victory-over-dei-as-att-drops-programs/] * First there was nothing, then there was Hoto and Fanttik [https://www.theverge.com/report/829265/hoto-fanttik-profile-origins-xiaomi-aukey-tiktok] * This new Honeywell Home smart thermostat can answer your Ring doorbell [https://www.theverge.com/news/837246/honeywell-home-x8s-smart-thermostat-launches-matter-ring-compatibility] * Spotify Wrapped 2025 turns listening into a competition  [https://www.theverge.com/news/837127/spotify-wrapped-party-2025-music-competition] * YouTube introduces its own version of Spotify Wrapped for videos  [https://www.theverge.com/news/836173/youtube-recap-videos-eoy-review-wrapped] * Amazon Music Delivered puts your top tunes on a festival poster.  [https://www.theverge.com/news/836273/amazon-music-delivered-puts-your-top-tunes-on-a-festival-poster] * Google Photos Recap will tell you how many selfies you took this year [https://www.theverge.com/news/837177/google-photos-2025-recap-selfie-count] * “Dear algo.”  [https://www.theverge.com/news/837813/dear-algo] 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]