Spotify bought Parcast — now its founder is launching a new entertainment studio Image: Getty ImagesParcast founder Max Cutler left Spotify last February as part of a wave of high-profile departures from its podcast vertical, and he’s now launching Pave Studios to create content across multiple formats. “Storytellers who successfully engage audiences and create fandoms through written, audio, and video content have led the c…

Telehealth firm Cerebral fined $7 million over ‘careless’ privacy violations Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is proposing a $7 million fine against Cerebral, a mental telehealth firm that it says not only was careless with patients’ data but actively shared it with third parties for advertising purposes. The company and its CEO, Kyle Robertson, are also accused of lying to cu…

Truth Social says it’s building a live TV service Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Brandon Bell, Getty ImagesTruth Social, the media firm owned by Donald Trump, has announced plans to create a live TV streaming service focused on “news networks” and “religious channels,” along with “content that has been canceled, is at risk of cancellation, or is being suppressed.” The T…

The best sleep gadgets to help you catch those Zzzs Sleep trackers, earbuds, and smart beds. | Image: Kristen Radtke / The VergeSleep tech is more than tracking. Here are the best gadgets I’ve tested that help you fall asleep, stay asleep, or wake up earlier. Continue reading…

Amazon Music’s Maestro lets listeners make AI playlists Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeAmazon Music may soon let you create playlists with a text prompt using Maestro, its new AI playlist maker. Maestro, which is currently available in beta to a small number of Amazon Music subscribers in the US, will let users put together playlists using any prompt, including emojis, Amazon said in a blog…

Kickstarter is adding the ability to collect money indefinitely Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty ImagesCreators fundraising for projects on Kickstarter will soon be able to collect money even after their campaign ends. Currently, Kickstarter projects can last anywhere from one to 60 days, and creators hoping to continue fundraising after meeting their goal have h…

Humane AI Pin launch: the reviews are in, and they’re not good Photo by Amelia Holoway Krales / The VergeAt the least the only way to go from here is up… right? Continue reading…

Take it slow in this stop-motion sci-fi adventure Image: Slow Bros.Harold Halibut moves at its own pace. A point-and-click adventure built with real-world materials and then animated with stop-motion, Harold Halibut tells a story that’s at times slow and ponderous and, at others, cozy and heartwarming. It’s sort of like what would happen if Wes Anderson teamed up with Aardman Animations to make…

Broadcast TV still exists, and now it’s sort of getting a built-in DVR Please note the pause button. Yes, that will really appear on your TV, no DVR or app required. | Image: RoxiBroadcast TV is in trouble, and for a long time now, a lot of people have pointed to a new broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0, as the way it can be saved and finally compete against streaming, YouTube, and TikTok. And finally, after years of hyp…

GMC Sierra EV Denali gets range boost while showing off its crab walk Image: GMCThe 2024 GMC Sierra EV is almost here, and to celebrate, the automaker is giving it the gift of more range. When it was first announced two years ago, GMC said the Sierra EV Denali would get an EPA estimated range of 400 miles, thanks to a massive battery that was expected to top 200kWh. Now, GMC says the electric truck’s maximum rang…

The 1970 Let It Be Beatles documentary is coming to Disney Plus The Beatles in the United Kingdom, circa 1960. | Photo by Keystone-France / Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesIt has been hard to find physical copies of director Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 Beatles documentary Let It Be in the years since its theatrical release, but Disney Plus is getting ready to debut a remastered version of the film. Disney Plus a…

How to improve the quality of the audio in your streaming apps Illustration by Samar Haddad / The VergeWhen you load your music streaming app of choice onto your mobile device, your audio quality settings are worth taking a minute or two to configure. If you don’t have these set to as high a quality as possible, you’re missing out on the best audio experience your streaming apps can offer. Because they are …

Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift ticketing fiasco might have just led to a lawsuit from the DOJ Photo by Ashok Kumar / TAS24 / Getty Images for TAS Rights ManagementThe Department of Justice is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit could reportedly come as early as next month and will target the company’s alleged monopoly in th…

The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat Photo by Go Takayama for The VergeOn the afternoon of March 11th, 2011, Mitsuyoshi Hirai, the chief engineer of the cable maintenance ship Ocean Link, was sitting in his cabin 20 miles off Japan’s eastern coast, completing the paperwork that comes at the end of every repair. Two weeks earlier, something — you rarely knew what — damaged the 13,00…

The Echo Pop is down to one of its best prices to date with a free smart bulb You can buy Amazon’s entry-level smart speaker in a wide array of fun colors for just $5 shy of its all-time low. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeFrom helping me as a caregiver to cracking me up with fart jokes, Amazon’s budget-friendly smart speakers have added a lot of value to my life. That’s why I own one for almost every area …

The internet really is a series of tubes Image: Alex Parkin / The VergeHundreds of cables. Hundreds of thousands of miles. The internet runs, in vastly more ways than we realize or think about, through a series of garden-hose size tubes on the ocean floor. Without those tubes, the modern world sort of collapses. And the folks responsible for keeping them functioning have bigger, harder…

NASA confirms origin of space junk that crashed through Florida home The four-inch-tall metal object tore through a roof in Naples, Florida, last month. | Image: Alejandro OteroNASA has confirmed suspicions that the strange object that crashed into a Florida home last month did indeed come from the International Space Station (ISS). The agency analyzed the cylindrical object after it tore through the roof and two…

Motorola is bringing the wooden phone back with its new Edge series Weird phones are back, baby. | Image: MotorolaMotorola is introducing three new Edge series phones, reviving a classic design feature it first introduced a decade ago: a wooden back panel. The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is the highest spec’d device of the trio, and it’s the only one with the “real wood” back panel option (though the peach fuzz vegan…

Anker’s latest Soundcore Sleep earbuds actually improve slumber for less than $90 The Soundcore Sleep A20 are decent passive earbuds that are great for side sleepers, even if Anker overpromises. Continue reading…

Insta360’s first 8K camera comes with a removable lens guard The Insta360 X4 is the latest action camera from Insta360.Insta360 has launched its latest 360-degree action camera, the X4. The most obvious upgrade that the $500 camera offers over its predecessor, the X3, is the ability to shoot video in 8K at 30 frames per second. That extra boost in resolution and detail may come in handy for watching actio…