Waveform Episode 300: Livestreamed!

Podcast: Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast
Episode: 300
Date: July 15, 2025
Hosts: Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), Andrew Manganelli, David Imel, Adam, and Ellis

Episode Overview

For Waveform's milestone 300th episode, Marques, Andrew, David, Adam, and Ellis recorded the show live on YouTube, inviting real-time audience interaction. The celebratory episode is part retrospective, part Q&A free-for-all, and part classic Waveform banter—delightfully unfiltered and full of spontaneous debates, nostalgia, and inside jokes. The conversation spans the evolution of the show, tech industry memories, headphone and browser preferences, hot takes on 2025’s trends, and a whirlwind of listener-submitted questions about everything from cheese to EVs to favorite apps.

Main Themes & Structure

• Handling the chaos and technical hiccups of a live taping
• Reflecting on six years and 300 episodes of Waveform
• Stories from behind the scenes
• Rapid-fire Q&A with audience-sourced questions on tech, life, and (of course) cheese
• Debates over tech hot takes, favorite gadgets, personal routines, and team trivia

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Going Live and Technical Hiccups

• The team started the livestream late due to OBS mishaps and going live on a test channel instead of the main one.
  • “Going live is always an adventure…” – Marques (02:35)
• They laughed through the confusion and welcomed over 4,000 live viewers as they got rolling.

2. Six Years of Waveform: Podcast Retrospective

Timestamps: 06:30 – 10:40

• Marques and Andrew recall starting the show in August 2019 as an audio-only project.
  • “The idea of the podcast … was we have a lot of these conversations about tech that don’t make it to videos…we just want to capture those…” – Marques (06:30)
• Adam became the official producer at episode 50, with David joining first as a trivia guest and later as a full-time host.
• Ellis joined as a producer in May 2022 (episode 116) and vividly recalls his on-air debut when Marques put him on the spot.
  • “I was just like, ‘what am I supposed to do?’” – Ellis (09:32)
• David credits a trivia episode and the Boosted Board deep dive for building the show’s long-form style.
• “We’re halfway through 2025. We’re closing in on six years of this being a podcast. 300 episodes. Lots of thoughts, lots of dishes washed.” – Marques (10:08)

3. Audience Q&A and Real-Time Banter

Timestamps: 10:45 – Ongoing

• The episode becomes a rapid-fire Q&A, with the crew reading and reacting to live chat questions:

Tech & Gadgets

• Fairphone 6 Review?: “Maybe. Let me know if you think we should.” – Marques (11:48)
  • David is rallying for a long-discussed “dumb phone” switch.
• Headphones: Marques daily-drives Powerbeats Pro 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, and Sennheiser HD650s for editing. Andrew, David, and Ellis debate the merits of AirPods Pro 2, Bose, Sonos, and proper ear tip fitting.
  • Spirited argument: “The AirPods Pro 2 are the best sounding headphones I have—but the noise cancellation is not even close to the [Bose].” – David (19:04)
• Browsers: ARK, Chrome, Zen, Comet/Perplexity—each is split between work (Chrome) and personal (Zen); Marques is still all-in on Arc, while David tries every new AI browser but remains skeptical.
  • “The best feature of Arc is just being able to hide the sidebar…” – David (27:11)
• Microphones: Marques uses an Electro-Voice RE27ND for its brightness, while the rest use Shure SM7Bs.
  • “It just sounds better with my voice.” – Marques (16:41)
• Favorite Smartwatches: Samsung Watch 8 Classic is a standout for style but has software missteps.
• Favorite Keyboards: Andrew recommends the Hippojune R1 as the best budget build (21:05).

Life & Behind the Scenes

• How old were you 300 episodes ago? – Everyone does the math and jokes about who is the oldest/youngest.
• Who’s the tallest? – Marques, but the entire crew is above average height.
• Dishes washed while listening: “That should be a Spotify Wrapped stat!” – David (10:26)
• What’s the story with Adam’s tattoos? – A Harry Potter-themed sleeve, with Ellis revealing his first impressions of Adam as a “real dude” turned “big softie.” (47:17)

Nostalgic Stories

• Dreams and Boosted Board Debates: David narrates a vivid dream involving a rollerbladed commute, technical limitations, ice cream sundaes, and a debate with Marques about making chocolate harden on ice cream with melted butter (04:05).
• Mic sharing: The show’s evolving audio setup has led to many inside jokes about why Adam and Ellis share a mic.
  • “It’s just the way it is for now. Enjoy it.” – Marques (86:38)

Food, Cheese, & Snack Debates

• Favorite Cheese: Mozzarella and pepper jack for Marques, provolone for Andrew, American for meltiness—but no love for crumbly cheeses or blue cheese (“Blue cheese is trash” – Marques, 40:00).
• Favorite Taco Bell Item: Marques swears by Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes; Ellis is team Doritos Locos Taco Supreme; David goes old-school vegetarian with the 7 Layer Burrito.
• Pringle Flavor: Sour cream & onion wins, though Ellis vouches for coffee + cheddar Pringle combos (52:55).
• Wawa Order: Andrew loves Italian subs soaked in oil and vinegar, David goes for the honey smoked turkey shorty. Ellis prefers ham & cheese panini with tomato bisque.

4. Tech Hot Takes and Opinions

Timestamps: 65:48+

• Hot Tech Takes for 2025:

  • Marques: The Nothing Phone 3 isn’t a punchline if it’s $499—design bias is price-driven (66:07).
  • David: “Apple is in its not good era right now—it feels like they’re in a dip.” (66:25)
  • Ellis: “The quickest way a tech company can ruin their brand is by publicly pivoting to AI... everyone will hate you.” (68:07)
  • Adam: “Android is gonna be the cool one again. I think the pendulum swing is coming back.” (70:49)

• AI in daily life: David and Marques use Gemini “once or twice a day”; Andrew avoids it, preferring traditional links over AI summaries (30:50).

• Google Product Graveyard Predictions: Google Chat or Tasks are on the chopping block; chat jokes Google will kill Keep, Drive, or even the Pixel Tablet (51:20).

• Favorite EVs and Cameras:

  • Marques: Lucid Air Sapphire is “the 10 out of 10 acceleration EV”; Rivian R1T for a truck.
  • David: Fuji X100VI is the “best digital camera ever made”—leading to some friendly pushback from Marques and Andrew on the meaning of “best.” (43:32+)

5. Memorable Quotes & Banter

• “We washed 800 plates listening to Waveform.” – David (10:28)
• “I get 120 FPS [playing DOTA 2] on my MacBook Pro.” – David (57:57)
• “My favorite cheese is pepper jack and mozzarella – 1a and 1b for me.” – Marques (39:11)
• “The only thing I miss about [Model S] is…true drive itself in traffic.” – Marques (57:22)
• “Favorite podcast episode? The sacred history or NO I CAN ones because Ellis, Adam and I went to Virginia and stayed in a small hotel…” – David (40:31)
• “I don’t like crumbly cheeses at all…feta is bad, blue cheese is trash.” – Marques (39:50)
• “The bar for a city app is really low, but [the Brooklyn Public Library app] never crashes, pretty responsive.” – Ellis (76:20)
• “It’s like a living room on wheels—200 kWh battery, 9000 lbs, 450 miles range.” – Marques on the Escalade IQ (59:45)
• On Apple’s design: “It feels like there’s not cohesive leadership at the design level...they’re in their dip era.” – David (66:34)
• “If you’re thinking about pivoting your company to AI…everyone will hate you.” – Ellis (68:10)

6. Community & Podcast Legacy

• Repeated thanks to listeners for supporting Waveform through 6 years and 300 episodes.
• Running jokes about the “Cheerios box” as a set artifact, and the tradition of Adam and Ellis sharing a mic.
  • “That’s the truth about a lot of things…on YouTube and on this podcast…It just feels right.” — Marques (86:38)

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• [02:35] – The team stumbles through livestream technical issues and starts the show.
• [04:05] – David narrates his wild pre-show dream (and recurring theme of food debates).
• [06:30] – Pod history: why Waveform started and how it’s evolved.
• [16:41] – Podcast mic choices explained (and gently mocked).
• [40:00] – Heated cheese debates: mozzarella vs. blue cheese and crumbled vs. melted.
• [49:04] – Adam and Ellis rapid-fire audio Q&A: best starter setup, why they upgraded mixers.
• [51:20] – Speculating on which Google product gets killed next.
• [65:48] – HOT TECH TAKES rapid-fire: Apple’s rough patch, AI brand-killer theory, Android’s “cool” comeback.
• [73:05] – The Wawa order segment: regional sandwich loyalties.
• [76:11] – Library app praise: Ellis defends the Brooklyn Public Library app.
• [81:01] – Comedic confusion about what the "S" stands for in "S Pen" and Galaxy naming.
• [84:58] – The real story behind Adam and Ellis sharing a mic.
• [86:38] – The “Cheerios box” and running with peculiar set pieces just because.

In the Original Spirit

The live format accentuated the show’s spontaneous, playful, and slightly chaotic style—an “open kitchen” look at what makes Waveform so engaging and grounded. The team’s humility in facing technical snafus, their willingness to indulge audience curiosity (on and off-tech topics), and their honest takes and self-deprecation show why listeners keep coming back.

Closing Sentiment

"That’s the truth about a lot of things on YouTube and on this podcast… it just feels right. And that’s just the way it is for now. Enjoy it. Thanks for watching, thanks for listening, and for dropping a bunch of comments. This was really fun. We’ll probably do this again." – Marques Brownlee (86:38)

Final Shoutout

Congratulations to the Waveform team on 300 episodes—a tech podcast for the nerdy, the hungry, the headphone-obsessed, and everyone in between!