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.
Subscribe
Navigation
Links
Latest Episodes
#419: Oh...Canada.
July 6th, 2023 · 71 minutes
Canada is the latest country to decide that somebody should be on the hook for the news industry’s financial issues, and it might as well be Google. And, just like the offside rule in professional hockey, this is a Canadian thing that Andy doesn’t really understand. Meanwhile, Google urges its AI models to both learn more and forget more. Isn’t th…
#418: Google Is A Soft Cheese Company
June 29th, 2023 · 74 minutes
Andy mourns the loss of Google’s Iris smart glasses, because he knows so way much more than Google or Apple about VR and XR. Reviews of the Pixel Fold are in! It’s a jim-dandy phone except for what happens when you unfold it. And reading coverage of last week’s Vidcon helps Andy be less judgmental about The Avengers.
#417: It Prefers To Stay Inside The House
June 22nd, 2023 · 69 minutes
Reviews of the new Pixel Tablet are in, and it looks like maybe the world is about to fall slap-happy in love! (From a certain perspective, and placed in the correct context). Chromebooks are about to receive the X-gene, and Gannett Newspapers celebrates the first day of Summer with a beach clambake-slash-massive antitrust suit against Google.
#416: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner In Bed
June 15th, 2023 · 68 minutes
Why on Earth did Google release so many new features and updates on Flag Day? Well, Google bothered to create ‘em so Material is going to talk about ‘em...with the help of The Feature Roundup Dice. Oh, and also the EU is honking down Google’s snorkel about why it thinks it’s evil, and they want Google to knock that kind of stuff off.
#415: Super-Soakers Filled With Dysentery
June 8th, 2023 · 46 minutes
All of this week’s stories come from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference! But Andy swears it’s all relevant to Google. Apple’s Vision Pro headset offers discussion about VR versus AI. Apple announced that they’re addressing iPhone users’ complaints about green bubbles in group messages and they’re doing it in the most Apple way possible. And A…
#414: Belief in a Higher Weirdo
June 1st, 2023 · 67 minutes
Andy has access to the new AI-enhanced Google Search and is delighted to discover that he can now waste time on Reddit far more effectively. He also has access to a new web browser that’s so innovative and helpful that he’s compelled to give Chrome a lecture about Ambition that he may or may not have heard from his father when he was 14, 17, 22, 3…
#413: Nickel-And-Diming My Attention Span
May 26th, 2023 · 41 minutes
Andy comes right out and admits that his brain is like wet sand. All to make a larger point which may or may not land, because, as established, his brain is like wet sand. Then it’s time to talk about how Google is using AI as the spent uranium tip on new ads that will penetrate your cognitive shields. Also, there are cars and a sketchy analogy ab…
#412: The Other Shoe
May 18th, 2023 · 61 minutes
Andy has a peculiar theory about system administration. Then the episode goes back to Google I/O to pick up some news that Google didn’t have the common courtesy to reveal in time for last week’s show. A beloved children’s cereal mascot is made to suffer. And Google has a wonderful plan to make top-level-domains both goofy and radically dangerous.
#411: The AI Message
May 13th, 2023 · 115 minutes
It's all about Google I/O 2023! Andy and Flo talk about everything, from AI to Android to Pixel hardware. Flo also reviews the Pixel 7a.
#410: Speaking Out
May 5th, 2023 · 64 minutes
Andy's solo this week, starting with some prep on what to expect next week from Google I/O. Google's AI researcher quits the company just as everything is heating up. And what will an alliance between Google and Apple look like to cut down on stalking with Bluetooth trackers?