Of course Meta thinks gambling is the future

The Vergecast

Vox Media Podcast Network

News, Tech News, Technology

4.3 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2026

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Meta's business is doing just fine. But Meta as a company, and Meta as a series of products? That is, uh, messier. David and Nilay discuss the company's ongoing desire to be relevant and cool, the unceasing importance of Instagram, and why it makes perfect sense that Facebook would clone Polymarket. After that, the hosts talk about Apple's huge price increases, and the ways in which RAMageddon might change the gadget market forever. Then it's time for Brendan Carr is a dummy, the latest on the movie Artificial, and the looming fight over AI data. Further reading: ⁠The Steam Machine is the most ambitious game console I’ve ever played ⁠ ⁠Valve prices the Steam Machine at $1,049 ⁠ ⁠How much would the Steam Machine cost to build? ⁠ ⁠Valve describes just how brutal RAM negotiations are in 2026 ⁠ ⁠The Steam Machine is the start of an even more expensive future for game consoles ⁠ ⁠I drove the Slate Truck — there’s more to it than EV minimalism ⁠ ⁠The Slate Auto pickup truck starts at $24,950 ⁠ ⁠Meta pauses employee tracking tool after internal leak. ⁠ ⁠Now Meta will track what employees do on their computers to train its AI agents ⁠ ⁠Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth Admits the Company’s AI Reorg Was ‘Atrocious’ | WIRED⁠ ⁠Zuckerberg reportedly wants a Polymarket clone — but without real money⁠ ⁠Polymarket paid creators to post fake videos of themselves placing and winning bets. ⁠ ⁠Meta plans to release AI-powered prediction market app⁠ ⁠Facebook’s Creator Studio has been revived as an AI companion app⁠ ⁠Kaleidescape’s Strato E player blows streaming, and your wallet, away ⁠ ⁠Something’s off with Midjourney’s pivot to body scanners ⁠ ⁠People Inc. CEO says it’s “probably” headed for a confrontation with Google over AI crawling.⁠ ⁠ABC encourages viewers to back network amid FCC investigations⁠ ⁠Bob Iger’s Disney wanted Apple, Twitter, and 007 ⁠ ⁠The film about Sam Altman has been dropped by Amazon MGM ⁠ 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 thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. (Timestamps are approximate.) 00:01:00 Cannes Cold Open 00:07:00 Coach x Spotify Absurdity 00:10:00 Vox Media PMX Shakeup 00:14:00 Meta Chaos vs Money 00:26:00 Gambling as Engagement 00:33:00 Ramageddon Hits Gadgets 00:44:00 Slate Truck Price 00:45:00 Range And Truck Feel 00:48:00 Tech Bloat Backlash 00:50:00 BYD Versus Tesla 00:56:00 FCC Targets The View 01:04:00 Amazon Drops Artificial 01:08:00 Kaleidescape Versus Blu Ray 01:13:00 Bob Iger Merger Rumors 01:17:00 Blocking AI Crawlers 01:22:00 Wrap Up And Next Week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for today's show comes from Atio, the AI CRM for modern teams.
0:06.1	Some companies pick a CRM because they have to.
0:09.5	Others pick one because it helps them win.
0:12.1	That's Atio.
0:13.4	Every signal from emails and meetings to product usage sinks into a live picture of every
0:19.8	account from day one.
0:21.9	Atio's revenue agents instantly prospect and route leads and draft outreach and follow-ups
0:27.6	in your voice.
0:29.2	Others call it an unfair advantage.
0:31.3	You just call it your next move.
0:33.4	You can go to atio.com slash vergecast, and you'll get 15% off your first year.
0:39.4	That's A-T-I-O.com slash vergecast.
0:46.6	Support for the show comes from Service Now.
0:49.5	AI is moving fast across the enterprise, but without visibility, it's just chaos.
0:55.1	Different tools, different models, different teams using AI in completely different ways.
1:01.0	ServiceNow turns that chaos into control.
1:03.6	With the AI control tower, you see all your AI across the business in one place.
1:08.9	What it's doing, what it's done, and what it's about to do, so you
1:12.9	stay in control. To put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com. Support for today's show
1:23.2	comes from Dell. Dell PCs with Intel Inside are built for the moments you plan and the ones
1:30.2	you don't. They're there for those all-night study sessions. The moment you're working from a cafe
1:35.2	and realize every outlet is taken, the times you're deep in your flow, and can't be interrupted by an
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 25 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.