Episode notes
Best remote ever? Best remote ever. When TiVo first debuted, it felt like magic: You could pause live TV! You could rewind it! The concept immediately became a phenomenon — even though TiVo itself was never as big a hit as you might think. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and author and journalist Emily Nussbaum tell the story of TiVo’s technological and cultural revolution, why the company never managed to be as successful as its brand, and how it changed TV for good. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters,…
Version History
by The Verge · English · Tech & Science
Version History is a show about the best gadgets ever. And the worst ones. And the ones that might have changed the world, if they ever actually shipped. Every week, your favorite people from The Verge and beyond hang out to tell and debate the story of a gadget, app, website, or any other tech…
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22 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 21 min
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! We’re…
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15 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 2 min
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
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8 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 15 min
Furby: Talk Furbish to me
In 1997, David Hampton and Caleb Chung took one look at a Tamagotchi and decided they could bring the virtual pet craze into the real world. Their robotic companion, Furby, packed a bunch of advanced technology into a small, adorable, often annoying package. But for all the irritation it caused (Furby famously had no on-off switch) there was a surprising amount of thoughtful philosophy in its design. The Verge’s Vee Song, Sean Hollister and host David Pierce are joined by Coco the Furby to discuss the lore behind the hottest toy of 1998. Geocities chat with Furby co-inventor David Hampton…
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4 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 18 min
Flappy Bird: Game over
Flappy Bird was a mean game. It was extremely simple and yet punishingly difficult; if you could get 10 points, that meant you were pretty good! For a few weeks, the game became an absolute global phenomenon — and in the process, both made its creator a ton of money and kind of ruined his life. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Jake Kastrenakes, and Game File’s Stephen Totilo explain the wild rise of Flappy Bird, the enormous backlash to this very simple game, and how it changed our relationship to games, and game makers, forever. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access…
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28 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 16 min
Nintendo Power Glove: I love it. It's so bad.
In the mid-1980s, Nintendo pretty much ruled the video game industry. And somehow, a few toymakers and inventors convinced Nintendo that the controller of the future was… this big, clunky thing you wore on your right arm. (Sorry, lefties.) It wasn’t very good, but people loved it anyway. And while the Power Glove wasn’t exactly the future of anything, you could argue it helped start a revolution in virtual reality and motion controls. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Chris Grant, and Game File’s Stephen Totilo do just that. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to…
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21 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
AIM: Away message
AOL Instant Messenger was, for years, one of the very best things on the internet. Before iMessage and WhatsApp, before Twitter and Facebook, AIM was simply how people talked to each other online. Maybe it was how you casually chatted up your crush; maybe it was how you and your banking coworkers got deals done. On this episode of Version History, David Pierce, Victoria Song, and author and journalist Kyle Chayka tell the story of the best messaging app ever — how it was created despite the wishes of AOL executives, how it took over the web, and why it didn’t last. Subscribe to The Verge for…
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4 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 24 min
Google Chromebook CR-48: Black box
Google didn’t even call the first Chromebook a “Chromebook.” The CR-48 had no interesting design and no bright logos – it wasn’t even designed to be a product you could buy. Instead, it was a portal to a big new idea about computers. David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Nilay Patel and MKBHD’s Marques Brownlee to explain the history of ChromeOS and Chromebooks, and figure out whether Google’s approach to computer hardware was the right one. Vote for us in the Signal Awards! Vote Vergecast: Best Technology Podcast Vote Version History: Best History Podcast Vote Decoder: Best Business Podcast…
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27 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 18 min
OLPC XO-1: The price of free
The idea was big, exciting, and inspiring: What if we could get every kid in the world access to a computer? For a bunch of thinkers and executives in Silicon Valley, it felt like the way to fix everything. But the One Laptop Per Child initiative, and the XO-1 laptop designed to be given away, were both more complicated than anyone expected. David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Adi Robertson and tech journalist David Imel to figure out why OLPC didn’t work, whether there’s anything to learn from the XO-1’s innovative design, and whether this kind of computer giveaway could ever actually…
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20 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 17 min
TI-84: Monopoly math
The same calculator has been on most kids’ back to school shopping list since the early 2000s. And the dominance of Texas Instruments’ calculator division goes back even farther. David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Nilay Patel and Victoria Song to tell the story of the calculator, and how one company managed to take over the market and never let it go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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13 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 12 min
Oregon Trail: Saddle up
Whether you played it in the back of your classroom or on your computer at home, if you were a kid in the last 30 years you almost certainly grew up playing Oregon Trail. David Pierce is joined by gaming journalist Chris Grant and Philip Bouchard, the designer and team leader of the game’s most iconic version, to talk about the academic origins of Oregon Trail, the game’s complicated legacy, and whether anyone ever really died of dysentery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Take it with you
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
