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PODCAST

What"s Tech?

Enjoy the archives of this retired, award-winning series from Christopher Thomas Plante and The Verge that explained technology bit by bit. The series finale aired December 6th, 2016, shortly before Chris re-joined Polygon as its executive editor. For more on what’s happening now (and next) in technology and gadgets, listen and subscribe to The Vergecast.

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All Episodes

24:01

What is biohacking?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/08/11

We have a few cyborgs on staff. Ben Popper is arguably the reporter best known for peeling back his skin to insert a piece of technology, which he chronicled in his feature, Cyborg America. But others have gone under the knife. I wanted to know why. You know, because I have crippling FOMO. This week I invited my friend and co-worker Adi Robertson, a biohacker herself, to explain what biohacking is and how it works. With a little time and money, you can be ever so slightly more advanced than the

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26:35

What is space colonization?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/08/04

After a light night spent skimming the Interstellar Wikipedia page, I began to wonder about some of the bigger questions of humankind: Will we live on Mars? Will we inhabit the moon? Will we just build our own giant space home away from home? Will Matthew McConaughey ever have another year like 2014? Rather than phone Christopher Nolan, I invited The Verge's Loren Grush to tell us about space colonization. While the episode doesn't have any mind bending twists, I promise it has more scope than even

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29:50

What is internet television?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/07/28

I am nostalgic for internet videos in the time before YouTube. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I remember watching strange, absurd, hideous shorts — shot on home camcorders or animated with cheap software — on websites I’m no longer sure exist. What’s strange is to think series like Teen Girl Squad, Stella, and Homestar Runner charted the path for internet television programs like House of Cards and Burning Love. To reminisce about the early days of internet television, I invited The Verge’s

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26:44

What are video games?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/07/21

If you named a video game, I could probably tell you who made it, when, and how it was received. I've reported on the medium in some capacity for seven years, and in that time I've acquired an encyclopedic-like understanding of the industry. But knowing the details doesn't mean I fully comprehend video games. The medium is so new and has tended to defy expectations, limitations, and labels. To help explain video games and the power they have, I invited my good friend and former boss, Chris Grant,

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26:08

What is beauty vlogging?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/07/14

Sometimes I’m ashamed by the pockets of the internet I overlook until a friend holds them right in front of me. I knew beauty vlogging was a thing, for example, but I didn’t grasp that the video format attracts millions of viewers. Nor had I considered positive impact beauty logging has had both on its stars and its fans. To learn about beauty vlogging, I spoke with Racked Features Editor Julia Rubin. Her work is some of my favorite across Vox Media, including features on Hello Kitty, American Girl,

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32:01

What is Bitcoin?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/07/07

Will Bitcoin make me rich? That was my first question about Bitcoin when I heard the term years ago. I didn’t know a thing about cryptocurrency, or why or how a Bitcoin might be used, but it sounded like an internet gold rush. I never invested in Bitcoin, and that may have been the right decision. But sometimes I think of the life that could have been. This week, I invited my brilliant pal Russell Brandom to explain Bitcoin. He has a skill for making complex things like this digestible, and he

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17:13

What are selfies?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/06/30

The selfie gets a bad wrap. Labeled shallow and self-centered by its critics, self-portraiture has a rich history, dating back to humanity’s earliest works of art. What changed between artists painting themselves last century, and people snapping photos of themselves today? I invited The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern to explain the selfie. Stern and I bonded at CES over our mutual love of the selfie stick — something we discuss late in the episode. Sadly, right after recording the episode,

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17:29

What are emoji?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/06/24

Emoji have become such an everyday part of my life that I can't remember my iPhone keyboard without the adorable icons. The tiny cartoon characters have been my go-to solution for Poe's Law, a way for me to express that my text messages should be read with the sobriety of a smiley face farting a stack of flying money. As is a recurring theme on What's Tech, I know little about the emoji despite relying on them. Are emoji the descendants of the ASCII art of the 1990s, or do they stem from the

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58:25

Bonus: What is Verge ESP?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/06/17

We're taking this week off because Chris is deep in the throes of E3. We'll be back with a brand new episode next Tuesday/ But today, we have a special bonus! Verge ESP is a brand new podcast from the Verge where Emily Yoshida and Elizabeth Lopatto find the place where entertainment and science meet. Every two weeks, they discuss the news and interview important people from the worlds of science and entertainment. If you want to hear more of Verge ESP, be sure to subscribe. iTunes:

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29:43

What is Uber?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/06/09

Uber is an ideal topic for an episode of What's Tech. It's a ubiquitous piece of technology that millions of people use across the planet. But even intelligent veteran tech executives throw around the name without really knowing what it represents. We've heard about "the Uber for tailors," "the Uber for trucking," and "the Uber for alcohol," along with countless other wannabes. Sometimes it seems all Uber lacks is a white cat and secret lair. And despite all of this, I now and then use the service

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29:15

What is E3?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/06/02

In two weeks, I will fulfill one of my childhood dreams for the sixth time over by attending E3. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, held every June in Los Angeles, is no longer the biggest video game convention on the planet, but it’s the most important. I should say importance, in this case, is a measurement of money and sweat. At E3, the biggest video game publishers announce and promote their newest games, often produced with more developers at a greater expense than their predecessors. The

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28:37

What is space travel?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/05/26

I want to visit space before I die. I have no practical reason to do so, and surely I'm not alone. I just want to. There's something about the concept of exploration that I pine to achieve. Which is a little silly, considering I haven't seen most of the planet I live on. And yet, I look up at night, and there waits space. I invited The Verge's Science Editor and space expert Elizabeth Lopatto to provide odds on my tentative trip to space. Liz has as an astonishing grasp on the history and science of

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24:37

What is Twitter?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/05/19

While traveling from New York City to my new home in Austin, I downloaded Twitter onto my phone. I have a sordid history with the social media platform, particularly when its stream of opinions is accessible all day, every day. But I wanted something to distract me on the long road trips, and help pass the time in an unfurnished house. Twitter is nothing if not a competent distraction. At first, the app did its job, keeping me updated on current events and interesting stories. Eventually, though, it

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23:38

What is high-tech coffee?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/05/12

Every day I practice the same routine: I hop out of bed, take a shower, get dressed, and drink a cup of coffee. The process is so repetitive, it's become this uninspired dance I do with my eyes half closed. I never stop and consider how I could make these moments I repeat every day even a little better. That needs to change. So, I've invited The Verge's William Savona to tell me about how he improved his morning (and afternoon, and possibly evening) cup of coffee. Brewing coffee can be quite

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22:46

What is the Marvel Universe?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/05/05

If you watched Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend, you're in good company. The film had one of the strongest openings of all time. As the credits rolled, though, I wondered about the sustainability of this behemoth franchise. I invited The Verge's Kwame Opam to explain the rise of the Marvel film universe, and where its characters — which span a variety of multimedia — will go in the next decade, with or without the actors who play them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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24:45

What is a camera?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/04/28

I love my new camera, even though I have little understanding of how it works. I recently wrote about the Fuji X100T, which I swear is less complicated than its Terminator-esque name would have you believe. I love how it looks, how it feels, how its pictures look like the photographs I used to take on my mother's SLR. Plus, the X100T is so easy to use, that my not knowing much about its inner workings, or even some assumed photography basics, doesn't prevent me from enjoying the experience of

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20:44

What is the singularity?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/04/21

If only new episodes of What's Tech appeared on Mondays, we could have run this week's explanation of the Singularity on 4/20. That would have been appropriate. This is, after all, the strangest thing we've recorded — and our pilot involved a man almost crashing a drone into a woman and her child. This week, I invited The Verge's video, binaural audio, and singularity expert Ryan Manning to discuss a possible future in which a technological singularity occurs. Will we achieve a higher form of

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22:59

What is vaping?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/04/14

Don't smoke. At least, don't start smoking because of this episode. Vaping has become a niche of tech culture, to the point that I can't attend a press event without getting lost in a plume of root beer flavored vapors. I don't particularly enjoy the stench, but I am curious to know how electronic cigarettes became so popular, so fast. On this week's episode of What's Tech, The Verge's Executive Editor and resident smoker explains vaping. Is it healthier than smoking? Can it be used to fight

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23:54

What is live streaming?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/04/07

When Gary Schteyngart wrote about the äppärät, an iPhone-like device that could stream our thoughts and conversations while monitoring our popularity, the idea seemed like an extreme parody of real life. The gizmo plays a central role in his 2010 novel Super Sad True Love Story; at the time, I found it distracting, seemingly cynical and implausible. I never thought the iPhone would come so close to the äppärät, let alone so within half a decade, but with Meerkat and Periscope, it seems the truth is

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21:37

What are self-driving cars?

What"s Tech? ·

2015/03/31

Our future will involve driverless cars. At this year's CES, car companies and graphics card manufacturers alike featured the technology that they believe will power the vehicles of tomorrow. But how soon will we be driving hands-free? Is the country ready for driverless vehicles? This week, The Verge's car expert Chris Ziegler explains the history of the driverless car, and the incremental improvements that have led us to this moment. Strap in your seat belts! It's going to be a very smooth and

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