Hosted by Andy Ihnatko and Florence Ion.
Material is a weekly discussion about the Google and Android universe. Your intrepid hosts try to answer the question, “What holds up the digital world?” The answer, so far, is that it’s Google all the way down.
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#248: Smartphones in Quarantine
March 31st, 2020 · 53 minutes
We're doing a special segment of the Material podcast this week to help lift your spirits. Flo talks to Juan Carlos Bagnell (also known as SomeGadgetGuy around the web) about the LG V60 ThinQ. We discuss specifications, performance, and how this ginormous Android device fits into the broader smartphone landscape.
#247: The Ihnatko Isolation Special
March 28th, 2020 · 90 minutes
Andy is back for a special weekend episode! And he's getting COVID-19 news off his chest. Andy will discuss Google's new responsibilities to the public and its employees and whether Google's promise to limit the spread of disinformation will extend to the White House. He'll also dive into how Google is defusing racist speech at the keyboard level,…
#246: Stuck at Home
March 26th, 2020 · 49 minutes
We're stuck at home. You're stuck at home. There's nothing else to do right now, so tune in and listen up. Flo is flying solo again this week, but she's here with tips on how you can help contribute from the confines of your dwelling. Flo will guide you through using the Google Assistant to inform yourself about COVID-19 and how to use the Gmail b…
#245: Google in the Time of Coronavirus
March 23rd, 2020 · 47 minutes
Flo is back, albeit solo, because the Material podcast and its hosts are practicing social distancing. Flo muses about life as a new parent, then launches into a rant about how it isn't fun hanging out in Hangouts anymore. Then, we talk about Verily's Project Baseline, and why it's a bit unnerving that the US government is relying on private compa…
#244: Leap Day Andy
February 28th, 2020 · 108 minutes
Andy sysadmins his brain; parts of the Android 11 developer preview released last week aren’t previews at all, and how on Earth is Sweyn Forkbeard going to influence my life when 11 ships? Reviewers say the “S” in Galaxy S20 Ultra stands for “schadenfreude,” and just as moral watchdogs warned us, a Google Doodle leads to Poetry.
#243: And Baby Makes 11
February 27th, 2020 · 57 minutes
Andy does this one solo for reasons that have nothing to do with the fact that Flo's baby was due this week! The first developer preview of Android 11 drops! Google Play Store starts enforcing tougher limits on ad-blighted apps! The T-Rex game goes 3D and Andy thinks this mean the dino has taken the red pill! And! Andy lied earlier because Flo TOT…
#242: There is no Wrong Way to Cook Pigweed!
February 13th, 2020 · 94 minutes
Flo and Andy fiddle with Android TV boxes while the Essential Phone burns. Then they talk about Samsung Unpacked, and marvel in hopeful disbelief that new Galaxy Z Flip could be the first folding phone that can't be reviewed with an economical “LOL NO.” A Googler is fired for her activism, and speaks freely of the environment for trans people at t…
#241: It's a Rich Man's World
February 6th, 2020 · 77 minutes
Andy's waiting for his Walkman to arrive and Flo's hoping she has at least another week before the baby is here. We talk all the juicy details of Google's Q4 2019 earnings call, along with what happened during the Great Google Photos Data Swap of 2019. We'll also reminisce about the days of one-hour photo processing thanks to Google Photos' new pr…
#240: Backtracking and Forward-thinking
January 30th, 2020 · 79 minutes
Flo and Andy report on why Google backtracked on its search engine redesign before diving into the viability of the company's "Going Green" initiative. We'll then squee for a bit about Google I/O this spring, and encourage you to try out the latest digital wellbeing experiments. Put your phone down! (After you listen to our podcast, of course.)
#239: Trillion-Dollar Company
January 24th, 2020 · 97 minutes
Andy learns about Android's TalkBack Accessibility mode at the worst possible time, while Flo appreciates that her co-host knows how to dress like a Trillion-Dollar Company. The two dive into the controversial design changes of Google's search results, Sundar Pichai's call for regulation of artificial intelligence, and why Google "gets away with…