Travis Larchuk

Data centers have been a staple of Loudoun County since the early dot-com boom, but recent expansions have left some residents wondering how much more the county can take. Guest host David Imel talks to Lauren Feiner about today’s article detailing the buildout of “Data Center Alley,” what it means for residents, and what other counties reeling with similar buildouts can learn from it.

Elizabeth Lopatto wrote about Mark Zuckerberg’s 6,500-word AI manifesto in her piece, “Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t understand how to live.” Today, she joins guest host David Imel and senior reviewer Victoria Song for a freewheeling discussion about what happens when we let AI make decisions for us.

Skyrocketing RAM prices put a spotlight on product longevity and repairability, which makes this an apt time for Fairphone to launch its first smartphone sold directly in the United States. Guest host David Imel talks to CEO Raymond van Eck about the Fairphone 6+, the company’s goals of user-repairability and ethically-sourced materials, and AI’s place in the future of Fairphone.

If, after months of increasingly dire RAMageddon warnings, you suddenly find yourself in the market for a new laptop… we’re here to help. In the latest installment of our Vergecast “RAMageddon Survival Guide,” laptop reviewer Antonio G. Di Benedetto joins David Imel to offer his recommendations.

Two-hour usage limits, age verification, and a $17.1 billion payout: We’re breaking down today’s big settlement in Meta’s kids online safety trial. Senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner and senior tech and policy editor Adi Robertson discuss how we got here, why Meta settled, and what this means for the ongoing conversation around teen mental health and social media.

It can be hard enough to set up smart home tech in a house or an apartment, but what about a dorm room? Jennifer Pattison Tuohy recently tested out some smart home tech when she dropped off her son for his freshman year at college. Jen reports back to David Imel on how the gadgets stood up to the challenges of dorm Wi-Fi and the rules against hanging things on the wall.

Do you remember your first BlackBerry? Do you remember when that first BlackBerry launched? On this episode taped before David Pierce went on leave, producer Travis Larchuk leads David, Nilay, and Sean Hollister through a game of memory and history and a surprising amount of feelings tied to gadget launches.

Senior reviewer Victoria Song leads a Vergecast roundtable with editors Dominic Preston and Cameron Faulkner to talk about the Pixel 11/Pro/Fold and the Pixel Watch 5. We discuss if HiLight is a LowLight, whether we miss the temperature sensor, and if the Watch 5’s GPS truly beats Garmin and Apple. And stay tuned for more camera discussion on Friday’s Vergecast.

It feels right now like prices are going up, gadgets are getting worse, and everything is getting harder to buy. Leo Mastrolia, the Digital Doctor and the owner of a repair shop in New Jersey, is seeing this all play out first hand. For the second part of our conversation (and the first part of our RAMageddon survival guide), he tells us what he’s telling his clients about fixing their gadgets, managing upgrades, and surviving a parts crisis. Check out part one of our conversation here.

A few years ago, Leo Mastrolia started a gadget repair shop. Little did he know he’d eventually become known across the internet as The Digital Doctor, and would learn to fix practically every gadget you can think of. On this episode, which is part one of our conversation with Leo, he tells us about his journey as a gadget fixer, the growth of his social channels, and how right-to-repair fights and upgrade cycles are affecting life in his store.