This week on the flagship podcast of mounting TVs way too high in the hospital room:The Verge's David Pierce chats with Russell Brandom about the state of US broadband, and what we learned from 22,000 people’s internet bills.David also talks with Verge managing editor Alex Cranz about the Amazon Kindle's 15th anniversary, why the Kindle has been so successful, and maybe also why it hasn’t done more. Keep listening for Alex's review of the Kindle Scribe.Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks with games reporter Ash Parrish and senior reporter Alex Heath about Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion and Google building a new AR headset.Policy editor Russell Brandom joins the show to discuss the battle between the FAA, AT&T, Verizon, and airlines over 5G and the antitrust bills in Congress this week.Further reading: The US’s free COVID test website has more visitors than all other .gov sites combined Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion Read Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick’s email to employees about the Microsoft acquisition Read Microsoft Gaming CEO’s email to staff about the Activision Blizzard acquisition Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service grows to 25 million subscribers Microsoft’s Activision acquisition would instantly make it a force in mobile gaming A guide to Microsoft’s Xbox game studios empire Is Microsoft building a gaming monopoly? Sony expects Microsoft to ‘continue to ensure’ Activision games stay multiplatform Google is building an AR headset AT&T and Verizon are limiting C-band 5G expansion around airports even more AT&T begins 5G C-band rollout in limited number of metro areas Verizon’s faster C-band 5G is live and off to a promising start Apple and Google split with startups over antitrust bill Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are personally lobbying senators against antitrust legislation: report Lawmakers approve Big Tech antitrust overhaul, but with strings attached US competition enforcers launch overhaul of merger approval process Democrats unveil bill to ban online ‘surveillance advertising’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Pierce hosts a special "work from anywhere" episode of The Vergecast while he is on vacation.02:33 - CEO of Rove Jonah Hanig chats about his approach work-friendly travel. Reflect's Alex MacCaw shares his experience working from a sailboat in the middle of the ocean.17:12 - Verge deputy editor Thomas Ricker talks about his review of the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Pro, as well as his experience of working remotely in Europe.36:28 - Verge policy editor Russell Brandom and senior reporter Loren Grush discuss the state of using satellites like Starlink to access the internet in rural areas.Further reading: Starlink’s Dishy McFlatface internet now available for Boaty McBoatfaces — just $5,000 per month Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Pro review: letting flex-workers flex Starlink RV review: the dawn of space internet to go Ventje VW Campervan review: 'work from home' from anywhere How Starlink and other satellite services are changing the shape of the internet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, Alex Cranz, and Russell Brandom discuss Facebook's bad week: from a 60 Minutes interview, to a 6-hour outage, to a Facebook whistleblower hearing.The crew also get into Android 12, Pixel 6 rumors, iOS 15.1, and more.Further reading: Verge Tech Survey 2021 Facebook encourages hate speech for profit, says whistleblower Locked out and totally down: Facebook’s scramble to fix a massive outage Facebook is coming back after a six-hour outage Facebook is back online after a massive outage that also took down Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Oculus Facebook explains the backbone shutdown behind its global outage on Monday What is BGP, and what role did it play in Facebook’s massive outage Everything you need to know from the Facebook whistleblower hearing The whistleblower hearing hits Facebook where the company is weakest The Facebook whistleblower hearing unearthed the danger of engagement algorithms Facebook’s whistleblower report confirms what researchers have known for years Facebook runs the coward’s playbook to smear the whistleblower ​What’s good, bad, and missing in the Facebook whistleblower’s testimony Mark Zuckerberg breaks silence to say the Facebook whistleblower’s claims ‘don’t make any sense Facebook reportedly slows feature development for ‘reputational reviews’ Google just announced its Pixel 6 event on October 19th Android 12 review: it’s mostly about the looks Android 12 will be coming to Pixel phones in the ‘next few weeks’ Pixel 6’s rumored 23W wireless charging stand and more details leak early iPhone 13 Mini and 13 Pro Max battery life: better, and a beast The latest iOS 15.1 beta includes iPhone 13 Pro camera features Halide’s latest update brings the iPhone 13 Pro’s Macro Mode to older iPhones After Epic v. Apple, a small developer is challenging Apple’s in-app payment system Apple is making it easier to delete accounts attached to third-party apps Apple’s healthcare division leaned on misleading data, report alleges Nintendo Switch OLED review: screentime Google’s latest Next doorbell and camera are not obvious upgrades Amazon is reportedly working on a smart fridge Twitch confirms major data breach after its source code and secrets leak out Taylor Swift fans are getting caught up in the Virginia gubernatorial race The Verge is now on your smart TV Announcing Springboard: The Verge’s documentary on the forgotten history of the Treo Vergecast - A Tech Podcast by Derek Rhoads bit.ly/cutthroughthenight Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Verge's Nilay Patel, Dieter Bohn, and Alex Cranz discuss Google's preview of the Pixel 6 and its Tensor chip.Verge policy editor Russell Brandom explains how Apple will reportedly scan photos on iPhones and iCloud for child abuse imagery. Vaccine carrots only got us so far — now, it’s time for sticks New York Auto Show canceled as delta variant spreads NYC’s Key vaccination requirement for indoor dining can be met with an app Yelp will let businesses list their vaccination policies  Moderna says a third shot of its COVID-19 vaccine may be needed to protect against variants This is the Pixel 6, Google’s take on an ‘ultra high end’ phone Google’s Tensor chip is only the first step toward truly great Pixel phones Apple will reportedly scan photos stored on iPhones and iCloud for child abuse imagery Apple reveals new efforts to fight child abuse imagery Google’s new Nest cameras and doorbell have lower prices and more smarts Oppo announces ‘next-generation’ under-display selfie camera Here’s a closer look at Apple’s canceled AirPower wireless charger Apple updates Mac Pro GPUs with new AMD Radeon options You can get a Touch ID-equipped Magic Keyboard without buying a whole iMac now Elon Musk and Apple deny wild story that he tried to replace Tim Cook  Facebook can project your eyes onto a VR headset, and it’s exactly as uncanny as it sounds NYT crossword puzzle no longer works in third-party apps, crosses puzzle solvers HBO Max is getting its own exclusive podcasts, starting with Batman AT&T has officially spun off DirecTV, which is now its own business T-Mobile confirms it will shut down Sprint’s LTE network next year Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices