Version History

Weekly debates on the history and legacy of tech products AI summary

The Verge Visit website › Technology · EN · 34 episodes · latest 2026-10-18

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What it is about

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.

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.

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Latest episodes

Overhead projectors: Turn around

2026-10-18 · 1 hr 12 min

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 takes hundreds of years, and a war or…
LeapPad: Book smarts

2026-10-11 · 1 hr 6 min

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. David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s…
Google Chromebook CR-48: Black box

2026-10-04 · 1 hr 24 min

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. Instead, it was a portal to a big new idea…
OLPC XO-1: The price of free

2026-09-27 · 1 hr 18 min

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 the way to fix everything. But the One…
TI-84: Monopoly math

2026-09-20 · 1 hr 17 min

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. David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s…
Oregon Trail: Saddle up

2026-09-13 · 1 hr 12 min

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 Pierce is joined by gaming journalist…
Vergecast: ELIZA, the world's first chatbot

2026-08-12 · 40 min

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 creation of a man named Joseph Weizenbaum,…
The Clapper: Light work

2026-07-19 · 1 hr 14 min

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 its time idea. The Verge's David Pierce…
Philips Hue: The smart home’s light bulb moment

2026-07-12 · 1 hr 12 min

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 easy to use, and nothing has made that…
Keurig: The K-Cup invasion

2026-07-05 · 1 hr 19 min

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 Melissa McCart and champion barista and…

Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.

Publisher details

Oldest episode in feed: 09/2025 · over a year
Typical length: 1 hr 10 min
Format: Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone

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