The Vergecast Vergecast, 2026 edition | The Vergecast

David Pierce hosts a special episode of the Vergecast, joined by Neil Patel, Editor-in-Chief, and Helen Hav, Publisher, to address listener questions about The Verge, its future, and the media landscape. The episode begins with the announcement of a redesigned Verge homepage, described as a "restructuring" and "new architecture" rather than a complete overhaul. Neil explains that the previous 2020-2021 redesign, which made the homepage a story stream resembling a social media feed, was based on the idea of being able to "tweet to our homepage." User surveys revealed that people used the site like social media to escape traditional platforms, seeking content from trusted sources without algorithms. However, this conflicted with another audience segment that preferred a curated view of top stories, like those from an Apple event. The new design separates these experiences. The right side of the homepage now features a "RevCron feed," a straightforward, real-time social feed with quick posts and commenting, without pinned stories. The left side adopts a more "magazine situation" with "story sets," allowing for curated, premium journalism, grouping related stories for major news moments, and featuring more impactful headlines. This separation aims to cater to both real-time engagement and curated content experiences. Helen emphasizes the business implications of the redesign. Beyond improving user experience for both types of audiences, the new homepage introduces "quick post ads" within the feed. These promoted posts are designed to be clearly identifiable as advertising, integrated into the content stream, and are expected to perform significantly better than traditional banner ads, with initial tests showing 17 times more engagement. The curated side of the homepage will also help surface content that appeals to subscribers, supporting The Verge's subscription business by highlighting exclusive or in-depth journalism. The primary goal, however, remains to enhance user satisfaction and frequency of website use. Regarding the "following" feature, which allows users to follow specific reporters or topics, Helen clarifies that writers do not see their follower counts, preventing internal competition. AI is currently the most followed topic, reflecting current industry interest. Other highly followed topics include news, gadgets, and business, indicating that users engage with The Verge for diverse reasons: as a news utility for breaking tech news, for entertainment and interest in gadgets, and for professional insights. Helen also notes the success of automated email digests based on follow preferences, serving as a new entry point for content discovery. Neil discusses the future of connecting The Verge to open social protocols, such as Blue Sky and ActivityPub. He argues that great media brands grow with their distribution, and in an era where major platforms like X, YouTube, and TikTok control distribution and can arbitrarily impact reach, open protocols offer a decentralized alternative. The vision is for every post on The Verge to also be a social object that lives both inside and outside its ecosystem, allowing for direct engagement and community building across platforms. This would enable The Verge to curate content from its journalists on external platforms and integrate replies back into its site, fostering a more additive community experience rather than dividing attention. Helen provides a "ruthless business answer" for this interest in open social web projects. With platforms like MetaX becoming "openly hostile to news content" in their algorithms and no longer serving as effective discovery sources, The Verge needs alternative acquisition channels that don't require paying for reach. The open social web, being more news-friendly, presents an opportunity for free audience acquisition. Furthermore, if The Verge's content feeds (including quick post ads) could be followed on external social platforms, it would allow for direct monetization there, rather than platforms selling ads against The Verge's content and keeping all the revenue. The overarching goal is to create a platform that offers the "vibes and excitement of a community platform" without the negative aspects of algorithmic social media. The discussion transitions to The Verge's evolving economic model. Helen explains that the old advertising-based model of the open web, reliant on massive traffic from Google and Facebook, is "dead." Advertising is cyclical and volatile, and while The Verge still has a strong advertising business, it needs to build a "direct audience relationship" through subscriptions. The aim is for subscriptions to "subsidize most of our day-to-day operations," with advertising helping to grow scale and attract new users through free content experiences. Neil likens this to Spotify's model, where a large free, ad-supported tier serves as a funnel for premium subscribers. On the topic of "subscription fatigue," Helen believes The Verge is somewhat insulated because it functions as a "core utility" with few direct competitors, and many subscribers are motivated by supporting its journalism. She acknowledges the need for good value and introductory offers but doesn't see subscription fatigue as an immediate problem for The Verge, unlike fragmented streaming services. The goal is to build a community where subscribers feel "part of something, not that we're just selling you links." A listener asks if The Verge's increased monetization efforts are solely for financial reasons. Neil clarifies that as a journalism organization, there are certain types of advertising they "won't make," such as reading ads themselves, to maintain editorial integrity. This necessitates exploring new, innovative ad products like "Hype Desk" segments, where former journalists in a commercial space create engaging ad content that performs well, without compromising the newsroom's ethics. Helen adds that the digital media business is tough, and The Verge must constantly adapt its monetization strategies to fund its operations and journalism. Helen outlines how The Verge makes money: primarily through advertising, with a growing and increasingly significant subscription business. The advertising model is shifting from programmatic display ads to "big direct buys" and integrated deals, such as branded content, events, and new ad formats like quick post ads. The conversation moves to podcasts and video. Helen states her personal preference for audio podcasts due to their intimacy and high-performing ad potential. However, she acknowledges that audio podcast discovery is challenging. The "recent push to video" is primarily about "accessing new audience" and growing scale, as YouTube has become the biggest podcast player. While video podcast monetization isn't fully developed yet, it represents a significant future opportunity. The aesthetic of successful video podcasts on YouTube is often "casual and authentic," feeling less overproduced. Finally, Neil addresses a question about the return of highly produced video shows like "On the Verge" from the past. He explains that such productions were expensive, required talented staff, and were often subsidized by venture capital and deals with platforms like YouTube, which no longer exist. The current monetization landscape on video platforms heavily favors "direct brand integrations," which often involve a level of brand control that conflicts with The Verge's journalistic ethics. Neil asserts that it's "criminal that YouTube cannot pay high enough rates to support actual journalism that does not have integrated brand deals," placing the blame on platforms for not supporting quality content. In closing, Neil and David discuss their relationship with former Verge staff, highlighting the supportive culture of the organization. They celebrate alumni who move on to other ventures, seeing it as making space for new talent and allowing individuals to pursue their ambitions. They also touch on their approach to social media as journalists, emphasizing engagement with their audience, responding to feedback, and the importance of blocking bad-faith actors. Neil reveals that a controlled experiment will involve federating David's posts, citing his well-behaved audience. The last question asks Neil about the evolution of gadgets and how writing about them has changed. He theorizes that before the iPhone, the industry chased "convergence," trying to make everything a computer, leading to an "explosion of gadgets." The iPhone then shifted focus to apps and software, making hardware accessories to the smartphone. Now, with tech companies' immense power, discussing gadgets inevitably involves "money and power and politics," a shift from the lighter, enthusiast-focused discussions of the past. Neil expresses a longing for the "small and interesting and fun" gadgets of yesteryear, acknowledging that finding the next version of that excitement is a continuous endeavor.