The Vergecast Vergecast, 2026 edition | The Vergecast

We get a lot of questions about how we make The Vergecast. And why we make The Vergecast. And how we make money, and journalism, and everything. So every once in a while, we try to answer those questions! In this episode, David and Nilay are joined by The Verge's publisher, Helen Havlak, to talk about video podcasts, ads, subscriptions, Nilay's jackets, and much more. 0:00 A Late Night Walk with David 00:43 Meta Vergecast Setup 02:13 New Homepage Overhaul 05:44 Ads and Subscriptions Angle 07:42 Following Feature Insights 12:00 Open Social Web Vision 19:57 Subscriptions vs Distribution 23:24 Who Reads The Verge 30:02 Money Questions Begin 30:15 Ads vs Subscriptions Debate 34:30 Subscription Fatigue Reality 38:27 Monetization Worries 44:05 How The Verge Makes Money 45:29 Premium Ads Shift 46:37 Google Lawsuit Disclosure 47:11 Podcasts Audio vs Video 52:56 Support The Verge 58:11 Old Verge Video Era 01:05:21 Verge Alumni Updates 01:10:45 Brendan Carr Dummy 01:13:22 Social Media Boundaries 01:19:20 Gadgets Then Now 01:24:12 Wrap Up Credits Subscribe: http://goo.gl/G5RXGs Like The Verge on Facebook: https://goo.gl/2P1aGc Follow on Twitter: https://goo.gl/XTWX61 Follow on Instagram: https://goo.gl/7ZeLv Watch The Vergecast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/40RFRkg The Vergecast Podcast: https://bit.ly/3WQDexZ Decoder with Nilay Patel: http://apple.co/3v29nDc More about our podcasts: https://www.theverge.com/podcasts Read More: http://www.theverge.com Community guidelines: http://bit.ly/2D0hlAv Wallpapers from The Verge: https://bit.ly/2xQXYJr Shop our Verge merch store here: https://bit.ly/4kPCmEc Subscribe to The Verge: https://bit.ly/3FT6n5S Subscribe to The Vergecast on YouTube, new episodes on Tuesday and Friday: https://bit.ly/3I6nJtz If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may receive a commission without exerting any influence on editorial content. For more information about our ethics policy, visit: https://bit.ly/3ZWTlLs