Big Tech lost big in the 2026 election | The Vergecast
From The Verge.
Watch this video on YouTube ↗
The 2026 midterm elections in the US ended in a sweeping win for Democrats — and several dozen sweeping losses for the AI industry. Nilay and David dig into what the results will mean for data centers, Big Tech, and even the future of X. Then, they try to figure out whether anyone's making any money in AI — not so much, it turns out — and whether the touchscreen MacBook is worth the price.
0:00 Bezos Hair Transplant Hoax
01:15 Midterms Shockwave Begins
02:00 Corruption And Data Center Backlash
06:53 AI Products Not Worth It
09:26 What Democrats Can Do Now
11:15 Congress Investigations Lawyer Up
13:15 Hype Reels Take Over Politics
15:42 X Bubble Versus Real Life
22:47 Microblogging Decline And AI Regulation
23:56 Ossoff Speech And AI Doomerism
27:35 Google Then Versus OpenAI Now
33:35 Back From Break
33:42 OpenAI Search Claims
35:19 Google Moat Erodes
38:02 Monetizing AI Overviews
42:52 Ads Break Trust
45:49 Google Zero Spiral
47:43 Agents Reality Check
50:41 Token Spending Pullback
52:50 Muse Novelty Wears Off
01:00:16 Brendan Carr is a Dummy
01:02:00 FCC Heat On Carr
01:07:04 MacBook Pro Touchscreen
01:09:09 Touchscreen Love Hate
01:10:25 Dynamic Island Reality Check
01:11:17 Best Touch Use Cases
01:11:58 App Support And Optimization
01:14:10 MacBook Pro Verdict
01:14:27 Speakers And Trade Ins
01:15:42 Sales And Upgrade Timing
01:17:11 SpaceX Boost Mobile Drama
01:22:05 Ram Altman Cloud Take
01:29:31 AI Photo Editing Panic
01:37:13 Wrap Up And Plugs
Subscribe: http://goo.gl/G5RXGs
Like The Verge on Facebook: https://goo.gl/2P1aGc
Follow on X: 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
0:00 Bezos Hair Transplant Hoax
01:15 Midterms Shockwave Begins
02:00 Corruption And Data Center Backlash
06:53 AI Products Not Worth It
09:26 What Democrats Can Do Now
11:15 Congress Investigations Lawyer Up
13:15 Hype Reels Take Over Politics
15:42 X Bubble Versus Real Life
22:47 Microblogging Decline And AI Regulation
23:56 Ossoff Speech And AI Doomerism
27:35 Google Then Versus OpenAI Now
33:35 Back From Break
33:42 OpenAI Search Claims
35:19 Google Moat Erodes
38:02 Monetizing AI Overviews
42:52 Ads Break Trust
45:49 Google Zero Spiral
47:43 Agents Reality Check
50:41 Token Spending Pullback
52:50 Muse Novelty Wears Off
01:00:16 Brendan Carr is a Dummy
01:02:00 FCC Heat On Carr
01:07:04 MacBook Pro Touchscreen
01:09:09 Touchscreen Love Hate
01:10:25 Dynamic Island Reality Check
01:11:17 Best Touch Use Cases
01:11:58 App Support And Optimization
01:14:10 MacBook Pro Verdict
01:14:27 Speakers And Trade Ins
01:15:42 Sales And Upgrade Timing
01:17:11 SpaceX Boost Mobile Drama
01:22:05 Ram Altman Cloud Take
01:29:31 AI Photo Editing Panic
01:37:13 Wrap Up And Plugs
Subscribe: http://goo.gl/G5RXGs
Like The Verge on Facebook: https://goo.gl/2P1aGc
Follow on X: 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
