Truth and AI in Minneapolis

On The Vergecast: believing your own eyes online, the future of TikTok, Netflix podcasts, and more.

by David Pierce

Jan 27, 2026, 1:42 PM UTC

David Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.

When federal agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday morning, video of the shooting — from lots of people, and lots of angles, with wildly varying levels of quality — immediately began to fly around the internet. This is what always happens in times like these, and there have unfortunately been a lot of times like these recently.

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There was something different about this one, though. Something about how visible the whole act was. Something about this one coming so soon after the last one. Whatever it was, the Alex Pretti killing seemed to spark a different reaction online. Meanwhile, the counternarrative seemed to move just as quickly, and AI imagery became so ubiquitous that it might have been hard to trust your view of such a heavily documented event. How is anyone supposed to make sense of any of it?

On this episode of The Vergecast, that’s where we start. The Verge’s Adi Robertson joins the show to discuss the information and misinformation surrounding Pretti’s killing, why this one felt different, and what it takes to be a thoughtful consumer of a fast-unfolding story. Then, Adi explains what’s new with TikTok now that the deal has closed to transfer the app to a new joint venture. Once they get the power back on, anyway. There’s still a lot we don’t know, and ultimately the future of TikTok will depend on the intentions of its owners, but we do have a recent situation that might indicate what TikTok is about to become. You remember Twitter, right?

After that, we take a hard left turn to talk about podcasts. Netflix has begun hosting some big-name podcasts, and Vulture’s Nicholas Quah joins the show to explain why. He also explains whether this spells the end of an era in podcasting, and whether it even matters that the word “podcast” appears to be losing all meaning.

Finally, in the lightning round, David answers an old question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) that has been burning on his mind recently. What is the best way to look like you’re making a phone call? We have five options, and a ranking, but maybe we’re missing something.