It's a holiday week for many of us, which means a lot of Turkey Trots and a lot of TV. We have something for both in this episode! First, Nick Thompson, the CEO of The Atlantic and author of the new book, The Running Ground, joins the show to talk about his lifelong journey as a runner, and all the tech — from smartwatch to shoes to custom GPTs — he uses in training. After that, The Verge's John Higgins makes his first Vergecast appearance to help us understand how motion smoothing works, why you should turn it off, and all the other ways you can improve your TV watching experience this holiday season. Finally, David follows up on a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email <a href="mailto:vergecast@theverge.com">vergecast@theverge.com</a>!) with some recommendations on inexpensive earbuds worth cranking up the volume on.

Further reading:
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.nickthompson.com/">Nick Thompson's book, The Running Ground</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li>From The Atlantic: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/12/the-running-ground-memoir/684633/">Why I Run</a>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/28/20836496/uhd-alliance-filmmaker-mode-lg-panasonic-vizio-motion-smoothing-interpolation-post-processing">TV manufacturers unite to tackle the scourge of motion smoothing</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.theverge.com/24188282/roku-tv-update-motion-smoothing-turn-off">Dear Roku, you ruined my TV</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/5/18127329/how-to-turn-off-motion-smoothing-tv-lg-samsung-vizio-sony-roku">How to turn off motion smoothing on your high-definition TV</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/7/24215184/tcl-nxtframe-samsung-frame-tv-knockoff-price-announcement">Samsung’s Frame TV is finally getting the knockoffs it deserves</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/5/24336154/samsung-the-frame-pro-features-specs">Samsung announces The Frame Pro: could this be the perfect TV?</a></li>
</ul>

<a href="https://www.theverge.com/subscribe">Subscribe to The Verge</a> for unlimited access to <a href="http://theverge.com/">theverge.com</a>, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our <a href="https://www.theverge.com/bulletin/795051/verge-podcast-ad-free-set-up-how-to">ad-free podcast feed</a>.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to <a href="mailto:vergecast@theverge.com">vergecast@theverge.com</a> or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

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