Of course Meta thinks gambling is the future

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