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 product, and try to determine the item’s true legacy. Because not every product is a hit, but every product has a story. And the ones that really matter aren’t always the ones you think. From the Verge and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Latest episodes
-
1 h 12
Overhead projectors: Turn around
For decades, practically every classroom in the United States had one thing in common: a big, bright overhead projector at the front of the class. How it got there is a story that…
-
1 h 05
LeapPad: Book smarts
For multiple years, the hottest toy in the United States was a book. But not just any book: a smart book, which could play sounds and respond to taps and help kids learn to read. D…
-
1 h 23
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. Instea…
-
1 h 18
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…
-
1 h 16
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. D…
-
1 h 12
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 Pie…
-
40 min
Vergecast: ELIZA, the world's first chatbot
From The Vergecast, this episode takes a look back at one of the earliest chapters in the history of AI. Before Alexa and Siri, there was ELIZA. The first chatbot ever was the crea…
-
1 h 14
The Clapper: Light work
Clap on. Clap off. The Clapper may not have been a very good product, but it came with one of the all-time great marketing campaigns. And it might have even been a great, ahead of…
-
1 h 11
Philips Hue: The smart home’s light bulb moment
The humble light bulb might be the ultimate success story in the smart home. Our connected, adaptable homes are supposed to be customizable, connected to everything, and incredibly…
-
1 h 18
Keurig: The K-Cup invasion
The Keurig is a simple idea – what if it was really easy to make pretty good coffee, one cup at a time? — with a wildly complicated history. David Pierce is joined by Eater editor…
-
1 h 01
Nest: The iPod of thermostats
Thermostats were ugly. Best case scenario, you never had to think about it. Then a couple of Apple legends decided they could make something better, and set out to turn changing th…
-
1 h 13
Roomba: Rise of the robovac
The team of engineers and researchers that created iRobot didn’t set out to build a vacuum cleaner. They built robots — a lot of robots, with a lot of jobs — before realizing that…
-
1 h 15
Harmony remote: Control freak
The Harmony Universal Remote was supposed to be the only controller you needed for all the devices in your life. So what happened? David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Nilay Patel…
-
1 h 16
Western Electric 500: Monopoly phone
For years, even decades, virtually everyone in the United States had the same telephone. You didn't even think about it — it was just The Phone. Well, The Phone was called the West…
-
1 h 12
Amazon Echo: Always listening
For years, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos knew the computer he wanted to build. He wanted it to be cheap, accessible everywhere, and controlled entirely by voice. It took Amazon a number of…
-
1 h 19
Macintosh: All in one
The Macintosh wasn't a hit, at least not in its first incarnation. But it was still unquestionably one of the most iconic computers ever made — and it came with one of the most ico…
-
1 h 20
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 teleph…
-
1 h 02
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…
-
1 h 14
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…
-
2 min
Version History season 3 is coming soon
We're working on season 3 of Version History, and we want to hear from you! Our planned episodes are: 1984 Macintosh Amazon Echo Furby The vocoder The Western Electric 500 desk pho…