The Vergecast
The Vergecast
The Verge
The 'AI is inevitable' trap
1 hour 32 minutes Posted Apr 17, 2026 at 9:00 am.
Allbirds Goes AI
From Shoes to Tech Hype
Altman Attacks and Backlash
Why AI Feels Threatening
Gen Z Polls and Trust Gap
Reese Witherspoon AI Pushback
Hype Desk Returns
RAM Apocalypse and Wikifeet
Coachella Livestream Era
Ticketmaster Monopoly Verdict
MacBook Neo Spurs Microsoft
OpenAI Clouds and Copilot Backlash
Windows vs Mac Value Shift
The Pricing Apocalypse Hits
Why YouTube Premium Costs More
Lightning Round
Brendan Carr is a Dummy
NFL Antitrust Exemption Fight
Amazon Buys Globalstar
FCC Router Ban Chaos
Trump Phone Gets Realer
Neuralink Bet
Wrap Up
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Show notes
The AI vibes continue to find all-time lows. David and Nilay open the show by talking through the absurd Allbirds pivot to AI, the attacks on Sam Altman, and the increasing divide between what AI companies say is inevitable and what people actually want. Then, the Hype Desk crew talks Coachella and RAMageddon, before David and Nilay catch up on the Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly suit and the increasing price of everything. In the lightning round, it's time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, satellite internet, brain-computer interfaces, and the Trump Phone.
Further reading:
Allbirds announced a switch from shoes to AI and its stock jumped 600 percent 
The Allbirds pivot to… meme stock? 
The attacks on Sam Altman are a warning for the AI world 
Sam Altman reportedly targeted in second attack 
Altman attack suspect proposed “Luigi’ing some tech CEOs.” 
Stanford’s AI study
NYT: Half of Gen Z Uses AI, but Their Feelings Are Souring, Study Shows
Reese Witherspoon on Threads on AI
Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury finds 
A jury is about to decide the fate of Ticketmaster 
Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students
YouTube Premium is getting pricier 
RAMageddon has come for Microsoft’s Surface Pro and Surface Laptop 
Meta blames RAM shortage for $100 Quest 3 price hike
FCC’s Brendan Carr again blasts deals between NFL and streaming services
The FCC just saved Netgear from its router ban for no obvious reason 
Netgear and the FCC have not responded to our emails. 
Did Neuralink make the wrong bet?
Apple and Amazon are teaming up to challenge Starlink’s smartphone ambitions 
Point, Musk. 
Amazon’s Starlink competitor now has an airplane antenna. 
Amazon’s Starlink competitor Leo gets a new date 
The new Trump Phone design is here 
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