The TikTok ban, and what comes next

The TikTok ban, and what comes next

Up next

It's still way too hard to switch phones

How much smartphone is too much smartphone? Why is it so hard to switch from one phone to another, even in 2026? And is your smartwatch finally ready to replace your phone, even for a few things? These are the questions you have, and The Verge's Allison Johnson is here to answer ...  Show more

The life-changing magic of touching stuff

We have all become desensitized. Every place is like every other place, every experience is happening at a remove and on a screen. And Ian Bogost, a Washington University professor and a writer at The Atlantic, argues that this "dematerialization" is making our life worse. Ian jo ...  Show more

Recommended Episodes

Goodbye TikTok, Ni Hao RedNote? + A.I.'s Environmental Impact + Meta's Masculine Energy
Hard Fork

The deadline for TikTok to sell or to face a ban is fast approaching. We discuss how Supreme Court justices — who opted on Friday to uphold the law — reacted to arguments in the case, whether the Chinese government might allow Elon Musk to buy the app, and why self-proclaimed ...

  Show more

Are We Banning TikTok?
Infamous

Technology and culture writer Taylor Lorenz joins Vanessa and Natalie to discuss TikTok, its addictive algorithm, and what’s behind the U.S. ban of the app. Is TikTok really an instrument of insidious espionage and control, or are lawmakers just scared of Gen Z activism? What wil ...  Show more

The End of TikTok?
The World Unpacked

While TikTok might be one of the world’s most popular social media apps, it has raised national security concerns among U.S. lawmakers and the Biden administration. With the app now facing a nationwide ban, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify before Congress amid heightened U ...

  Show more

TikTok and its possible US ban - here’s what happens next…
This Is Why

Only two months ago Joe Biden joined the social media platform TikTok with a video captioned "lol hey guys". Now, the US president is poised to sign a bill that could ban the popular app - unless its parent company sells it.  
  
The country is concerned that TikTok's o ...
  Show more