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In 2006, Microsoft came for the iPod's throne with an innovative MP3 player called the Zune. It had a bunch of features the iPod didn't: WiFi, music sharing, a bigger screen, a beautiful UI, even an FM radio. And to hear Microsoft describe it, it was even kind of a social network. Nilay Patel and Victoria Song join David Pierce to break down why, despite all that, the Zune never really took off. And why it came in brown. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions…

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…

More from Version History

  1. 23 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 21 min

    Vine: Six seconds of fame

    Vine was the original short-form video platform, and pioneered so many of the ideas we now take for granted in reels and TikToks. It was a cultural engine whose executives clashed with the creators who made it famous, before everybody decamped for other platforms. Marina Galperina, Sarah Jeong and Mia Sato join David Pierce to revisit their favorite Vines and discuss the platform's lasting impact on creator culture. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your questions and…

  2. 16 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 14 min

    LimeWire: Steal this podcast

    You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't steal a handbag. But plenty of people used LimeWire and other file sharing services to share music, movies and more. If Napster was the beginning of the piracy story, LimeWire may have been the final chapter. Nilay Patel and Sarah Jeong join David Pierce to chart the history of LimeWire and the legal cases that shaped U.S. copyright law and the lives of college students taxing the bandwidth of their dormitory internet. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love…

  3. 9 Nov 2025 · 1 hr 23 min

    Fire Phone: Amazon’s mobile mistake

    In 2014, the tech world was abuzz with the prospect of a phone made by Amazon. When the Fire Phone arrived, it was chock full of ideas — a "dynamic perspective" feature that created 3D illusions, an image-recognition feature called "Firefly," and many, many opportunities to buy Amazon products. Allison Johnson and Sean O’Kane join David Pierce to discuss why, unlike Amazon's successful e-readers, this device was a gigantic flop. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from you! Email your…

  4. 26 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 17 min

    Guitar Hero: Everybody’s a rock star

    Millions of basements have fake plastic guitars in them thanks to the 2005 smash hit Guitar Hero. Chris Grant and Ash Parrish join David Pierce to rock out with a game created over a matter of months by a niche developer and a peripheral manufacturer, fueled by word-of-mouth and viral videos on a nascent YouTube. You probably don’t play Guitar Hero anymore, but you might still find it in surprising places. Let us know what you think: 866-VERGE-11 or vergecast@theverge.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  5. 19 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 5 min

    Sony Watchman: Must-see TV

    1982's coolest gadget was the Sony Watchman portable TV. Decades before everyone was glued to YouTube on their smartphones, the Watchman popularized the concept of video on the go. In the early days of the personal-tech revolution, you’d find the Watchman antennas up everywhere from the church pew to the baseball bleacher. Victoria Song and Allison Johnson join David Pierce to dive into the engineering feat that made the first Watchman possible. Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed. We love hearing from…

  6. 14 Oct 2025 · 1 hr 1 min

    BlackBerry Messenger: Texting set free

    Back when text messages cost 10 cents each, BlackBerry came up with a better way: BlackBerry Messenger, commonly known as BBM. It was the first new idea about messaging in a long time, and it was a huge hit… for a while. Nilay Patel and Joanna Stern join David Pierce to talk about a messaging service that was years ahead of WhatsApp and iMessage, but ultimately fizzled. Let us know what you think: 866-VERGE-11 or vergecast@theverge.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  7. 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…

  8. 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…

  9. 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

  10. 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

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