Elon Musk’s computer coup

Elon Musk and the squad astatine the Department of Government Efficiency figured retired 1 point really fast: if you power the computers, you power everything. And truthful Musk and his merry set of engineers person spent the past week aliases truthful parading into various US authorities agencies and taking power of their systems. There’s truthful overmuch astir what’s really happening present — who has what access, erstwhile anyone will try and extremity them, whether this mini group really will successfully unopen down agencies and person thousands of national labor to time off their jobs — that we don’t know. But nevertheless it shakes out, the X-ification of the US authorities is not a bully thing.

On this section of The Vergecast, we commencement by trying to, if not make consciousness of things, astatine slightest effort and explicate them. Nilay, David, and The Verge’s Richard Lawler talk astir why DOGE is operating the measurement it is, really it has been capable to truthful quickly presume truthful overmuch power complete the government, and what mightiness travel next.

After that, the hosts pivot to talking astir tariffs, which are astatine slightest somewhat little analyzable and confusing. But only slightly! We talk astir really the in-place tariffs will impact everything from gadgets to Shein hauls, what the now-delayed Mexico and Canada tariffs would mean, and why some the costs and the disorder surrounding your gadgets are astir to spell up. The building “de minimis” comes up much than you mightiness think.

After each that, we dispense pinch the authorities (mostly) and talk astir streaming. Fox is planning a caller streaming service, not to beryllium confused pinch its existing streaming service… you know, the 1 that’s about to watercourse the Super Bowl? Meanwhile, Disney is firmly backmost to betting connected a cablegram strategy and hoping that ESPN will raise its prices everywhere, and Comcast is doing immoderate much half-measures connected Super Bowl streaming. (Disclosure: Comcast is besides an investor successful Vox Media, The Verge’s genitor company.)

If you want to cognize much astir everything we talk successful this episode, present are immoderate links to get you started, opening pinch DOGE and tariffs:

And successful streaming:

And successful the lightning round: