When I joined The Verge, many of my peers from the video games press congratulated me on a lifetime of writing about internet routers. I laughed at their silly joke. How much, I thought, is there to really say about an internet router?

If only my naive self of 2014 had known the truth, that routers evoke a passion among the citizens of the internet like few pieces of technology. I thought people cared about console wars, then I witnessed a debate about the benefits of Netgear's Nighthawk line.

Frankly, I get it now. As my internet connection speed has increased in the past half-decade, having an internet router that allows my Wi-Fi to make the most of said speed seems obvious. What isn't always obvious is knowing which router to buy.

I've invited my pal Dan Seifert to explain internet routers and provide some guidance. I recommend you listen to this episode before visiting the in-laws this holiday, so you can give them the gift that keeps giving: a router that doesn't suck.