The most interesting story at this year’s CES was just a little tiny bundle of technology. One way to look at Lego’s new Smart Brick is as something like a Raspberry Pi, an endlessly remixable gizmo with infinite hacking potential — it can be anything, in the best possible way. Another way to look at it is as a crushing blow to creativity, a new way for things to break or be paywalled, and an affront to everything we love about Lego. Maybe it’s both. Or somewhere in between.

On this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge’s Sean Hollister explains how the Smart Brick works and why this tiny square feels so complicated. He explains why Lego might want to make the Smart Brick an open platform and all the reasons it might not to do so. He also tells us about some of the demos he’s seen of the new device and whether Lego has actually made something creative or not.

After that, Platformer’s Casey Newton joins the show to talk productivity. We’re still in New Year’s resolution time, when everyone is trying to get a little more done, and Casey has thought more about his systems than most. He explains how he curates information he cares about, why Capacities is his app of choice, and how he makes sure that all the stuff he’s saving doesn’t just disappear forever. Casey’s also a recent Claude Code convert and has some thoughts about how that might help everyone get stuff done.

Finally, David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email [email protected]!) about e-readers and what you actually get when you swap your decade-old device for a newer one. The answer is both a lot… and not that much.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started: