Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson
Episodes
(Preview) Microsoft Wins Its Activision Case, What's Next for the Merger and the FTC, Follow-Up Questions on Threads and Twitter
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The push to enjoin the Microsoft-Activision merger and why it failed, the broader challenges inherent to applying existing antitrust laws to tech, and...
The Threads Episode: How We Got Here, Meta Obstacles and Advantages, Everyone Hates Twitter (And Uses It Every Day)
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tracing the recent social media history that led to Threads, 70 million users in three days (and whether Meta can keep them coming back), an early con...
(Preview) The Case for Supersonic Travel, End of June Mail on TSMC/Google/Reddit, Touching Grass in Madison
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Boom Supersonic and the (possibly) imminent future of supersonic commercial air travel, listener emails on Apple and Sony, TSMC, Google’s graveyard,...
Spotify’s Royal Mess, Ford and GM Partner with Tesla, HBO Weighs Selling Content to Netflix
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Prince Harry "grifter" controversy as an object lesson in the internet content economy, what Spotify has (and maybe hasn't) learned from its adven...
(Preview) Reddit as a Business, APIs and Interest Rates and Angry Moderators, The Athletic Rethinks Its Coverage Approach
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Understanding the challenges facing Reddit in the modern internet environment, the various tensions underlying this week’s controversy with moderato...
An All Things Apple Mailbag: AI and the Vision Pro, Gaming Ambivalence, Immersive Memories, VR Sports Rights
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Responding to listener questions and comments in the wake of Apple’s WWDC and the announcement of the Vision Pro, including thoughts on the absence ...
(Preview) Vision Pro at First Sight: How It Works, Why It Costs $3,500, and What It Might Mean for the Future of Computing
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ben’s experience with the Apple Vision Pro, the components and capabilities that make it so expensive, implications for the future of personal compu...
A Few Questions Before Apple Embraces Virtual Reality, Meta Tries to Crash Headset Week, Nvidia and the Omniverse
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Big picture questions before Apple debuts its new headset at WWDC this week, the latest twist in Meta’s ongoing foray into hardware, and two follow-...
(Preview) An Impromptu Nvidia Symposium, A Brief History of Solaris and Sun Microsystems, The Future of AI Energy Consumption
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Talking all things Nvidia as Wall Street catches GPU fever, parallels to Sun Microsystems and the dot com bubble, and questions about AI energy effici...
(Preview) Windows and the AI Platform Shift, OpenAI Enters the App Store, Follow-Up on Sports Streaming and Cable Hindsight
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Microsoft’s evolution and what AI can and can’t accomplish, the ChatGPT app on iOS, and more on the logic of cable companies during the 2010s. Plu...
ESPN as Cable’s Grim Reaper, How the Cable Bundle Crumbled, What Taylor Swift Can Teach Content Companies
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
ESPN's ominous direct-to-consumer ambitions, the incentives that drove the collapse of a cable business model that was beneficial to nearly everyone, ...
(Preview) What Google Wants to Do with AI, The Tensions Inherent to AI Regulation, Can an Apple Headset Revive VR?
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Google’s AI ambitions, whether large language models will be a winner-take-all space, the coming wave of AI regulation and the implications for smal...
(Preview) Google’s Lesson for Hardware Dreamers, How Facebook and Apple Can Help Each Other, A Case for Touching Parchment
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Reality Labs spending has echoes of a past Google mistake, past animosity vs. future opportunities for Apple and Facebook, and a few responses to ...
The Chip Ban Seven Months Later, China's Response, More on Intel and Tower Semiconductor
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
China's ongoing response to last fall's sweeping export controls on advanced semiconductors, the importance of Japan and the Netherlands imposing thei...
(Preview) Venture-Backed Businesses of the Past Decade, Why Streamers Want Sports Rights, The Suns Choose Reach over RSN Fees
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A question about profitable and public venture-backed businesses over the past 15 years, why Amazon, Google and Apple might be interested in sports ri...
What’s the Deal with Micropayments?, Costs and Benefits and Twitter Blue, More Thoughts on Microsoft-Activision
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twitter's latest idea spurs a discussion of the micropayment model, an email about Twitter Blue and Twitter subscription's for independent creators, a...
(Preview) The UK Blocks Microsoft-Activision, Globalized Companies and Local Regulations, Antitrust and Innovation
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
UK regulators may have scuttled the biggest merger in gaming history, the implications for globalized businesses going forward, and debates about anti...
Netflix as a Sleeping Ad-Supported Giant, 'Max' and the Other Streamers, Whether Nvidia Shall Inherit the Earth
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Potential implications of Netflix advertising success, checking in with the rest of the streaming landscape, and the long-term questions surrounding N...
(Preview) Fair Use Follow-Up, LLMs in Litigation, Positives and Negatives for Zoom, The Ultimate Apple Mystery
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More on the copyright questions facing innovators and regulators as generative AI matures, Microsoft Copilot and the future of LLMs in litigation, plu...
Generative AI and Copyright, When AI Hits the Music Business, The Social Media that Comes After Twitter
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Copyright debates underlying text-to-image generation, the stakes for incumbents and upstarts, and what AI could mean for the music business (but not ...
Clown Car History Lessons, Both Sides of the Twitter-Substack Fight, Parenthood Tech Strategies
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Parsing the latest Twitter controversy with a look back at pre-Musk decisions, the motivations driving Substack and Twitter last week, and big picture...
(Preview) A Twitter Temperature Check, Reactions to that AI Open Letter, The Technical Logistics of a TikTok Ban
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk's two-part announcement about Twitter Blue and the "For You" tab, why subscription and advertising business models are generally incompatibl...
Evaluating AI Risk and Entering an Era of Incredible Unknowns
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A programming note regarding the next few weeks of the podcast, a long email from a Stratechery reader about the risks of AI, and extended thoughts on...
Appropriate Fear of Microsoft, A Workplace Efficiency Counterpoint, Artifact and Substack in the Modern Era
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What Microsoft Copilot could mean for SaaS businesses and CIOs and Google, the midrange jumper and questions about long-term office culture optimizati...
(Preview) A Big Week for AI, Closed Source vs. Open Source Development, Meta in the "Year of Efficiency"
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Several notable AI announcements this week, lessons from the LLaMa leak and the response it inspired around the world, trade-offs inherent to both sid...
The SVB Collapse, How the Government Responded, and the Era in Tech that Ended This Weekend
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Revisiting the decisions that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and talking through the implications of the government's solution, the behavi...
(Preview) Xbox History and VR’s Future, The TikTok Ban, Much to Consider Before a Pivot from Big Tech
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Microsoft history and the VR future for Nintendo and Meta, the various considerations underlying the "Ban TikTok" debate, and advice for a listener wh...
What the NBA Can Learn from Formula 1, Why ESPN May Need to Pivot Too, The EPL Outlier and Apple's MLS Experiment
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Additional thoughts on what the NBA can (and can't) learn from Formula 1, areas for ESPN to improve in an era of abundance, the success of the English...
The Google Culture Question, A Law of Large Companies, Twitter's Algorithm Plans, Apple's Attempt at Glucose Monitoring
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Parsing the criticisms of ex-Google employees who've put the company's culture in the spotlight, mid-2000s Microsoft as a Google analog and a window i...
(Preview) What Spotify Learned About Podcasting, The RSN Train Wheezing Along, Does ESPN Need the NBA?
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The challenges inherent to the Spotify business model, why an emphasis on podcast growth was a great solution that was executed poorly, and various pa...
A Viking Funeral for Sydney the Chatbot, Meta’s Verified Experiment, Algorithms and Liability as Section 230 Takes Center Stage
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Parting thoughts and a few emails as Sydney passes into the afterlife, quick reactions to Mark Zuckerberg’s subscription announcement on Sunday, and...
(Preview) The Bing to Sydney Epiphany, Search as an AI Red Herring, Moving to a Cabin in an Undisclosed Location
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ben offers his takeaways from a full day of chatting with Sydney, Bing's new chatbot, why the focus on search utility might be missing the point, the ...
(Preview) Google vs. Bing Begins, Bear Cases for AI, Apple's Lost Hardware Opportunity, The Implications of the Bally Sports Bankruptcy
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Reactions to the demos from Google and Bing this week, answers to an emailer looking for an AI bear case, and why Apple never went into the TV busines...
Meta Comes Roaring Back, What the Market Missed Last Fall, The Compromises that Define the Modern Internet
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meta’s earnings and the market’s resounding endorsement, revisiting the misconceptions that colored the Meta story toward the end of 2022, an essa...
(Preview) Cloudflare in 2023, Macro Conditions and Microsoft, Questions and Answers on the Tech Layoffs, Diving Deeper (literally) on MVNOs
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A look at Cloudflare's strengths and weaknesses in the 2023 marketplace, why Microsoft and Amazon are well-positioned to further solidify their B2B em...
Solving Online Groceries, Explaining Those Cheap New Cell Phone Plans, Autonomous Deliveries, Tech vs. Humans in Content Development
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Grocery delivery apps and why Wal-Mart might have the better idea, why Visible uses the Verizon network while charging half the price, and a question ...
(Preview) How Google Conquered Ads, What the DOJ Wants to Do About It, Follow-Ups on Free Netflix, Checking in with Peloton
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A history of Google’s path to dominance in digital advertising, 149 pages of DOJ efforts to alter that same landscape, and a few more thoughts on ad...
Encouraging Netflix Earnings, Continuing Questions, and How the Model Might Evolve
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Parsing the good and bad from Q4 earnings announced by Netflix late last week, dreaming of a free, ad-supported Netflix in the future, what Reed Hasti...
A Beginner's Guide to ARM, Amazon and Buy with Prime, Apple in the 90s, Who Wants to Own WWE?
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A question about the "Svengali of tech" spawns an overview of ARM and the roots of its business model, follow-up to this week's Amazon conversation, a...
What's Going on at Amazon? and AI Language Barriers
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon after a rocky 12 months and on the verge of 18,000 layoffs, whether it's time for the business to mature beyond the Bezos' "Day 1" creed, plus ...
GPT in 2023: A Marriage with Microsoft, The Bull and Bear Case for Google, Compute Questions and More
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Reactions to the structure of the rumored Microsoft-OpenAI investment, challenges and opportunities for Google as AI matures, what happens to the inte...
Sharp Tech Holiday Hoopla: Gift Recs and YouTube TV, Microchips and Remote Work, Could ChatGPT Run a Basketball Team?
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last-minute tech gifts as a prelude to a gift-guide zag, YouTube TV and the implications of this week's Sunday Ticket news, the differences between re...
Another Weekend with Musk: More Chaos, Fewer Options, and an Object Lesson in the Importance of Principles
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Unpacking another weekend of drama and incoherence at Twitter, various lessons to be drawn from these public controversies, whether a Twitter collapse...
The Past/Present/Future of Tech Antitrust Arguments and More on TSMC in Arizona
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The FTC's approach to Microsoft-Activision as a microcosm of broader questions and challenges, what Bell Labs history can tell us about future solutio...
Making Advanced Microchips in Arizona and Imagining a Remote Work Future
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Various questions after a new round of TSMC investments in the U.S., reactions to TSMC founder Morris Chang saying that “globalization is almost dea...
When AI Moves Faster than Products, Microsoft's Evil Genius, Australian Rules for America's Ad Market, Questions on YouTube/Twitter/Spotify
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More questions on ChatGPT and what the future of start-ups may look like, Microsoft's success and the added scrutiny that comes with acquisitions in t...
A Beginner’s Guide to ChatGPT: How It Works, Why Tech Twitter is Euphoric, and What the Next Challenges Look Like
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Internet-wide reaction to ChatGPT 3.5, how OpenAI has evolved and how its chat technology works, the UX challenge of contextualizing answers that ...
Apple's Exposure in a Musk War, Alexa: Find 10 Billion Dollars, YouTube’s Rev Share Model, The Next Great Tech Movie
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Surveying the landscape after a week of Musk tweets and rumors of a Musk-Cook summit, Amazon has a $10 billion Alexa problem, and Ben and Andrew are a...
The Cult of Iger and the Future at Disney and ESPN
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The legend of Bob Iger and the recent history of Bob Chapek, why Disney stock went up last week (but not by much), ESPN and Disney+ in the shadow of t...
Mailbag: A Premature Twitter Eulogy, Netflix in Theaters, Buy or Sell: Strategy Consultants, The Six People You Meet in a Group Chat
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The night Twitter was laid to rest, TV in movie theaters and the debate over David Zaslav, whether strategy consultants are useful, and celebrating Th...
A Closer Look at Opendoor and Cloudflare and Responses to Your FTX Emails
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A closer look at Opendoor in the midst of its biggest challenge yet, the state of Twilio and Cloudflare, excellent pushback on claims that crypto does...
Making Sense of the FTX Catastrophe and a Reality Check on Twitter Under Musk
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The implications of a straight-forward case of fraud, what Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX teach us about the dangers of conflation, why and how Twitter is ...
A Beginner's Guide to Spotify and Emails on Antitrust and Algorithms
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An email about Netflix spawns an extended overview of Spotify's present and future, a closer look at Apple Music's royalties messaging, reactions to t...
Mailbag: Down the 230 Rabbit Hole, A Third Door Moderation Approach, Twitter Follow-Up, Andrew Responds to the Nicest Angry Emails Ever
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A question about Section 230 spawns expansive thoughts from Ben, a proposal for an alternate solution to moderation, new questions on Twitter as the M...
The First Week of New Twitter and Apple/Netflix/Taiwan Follow-Up
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reactions to $8/month for Twitter Blue, the fevered conversation around Musk’s ownership, whether Twitter should take even more risks as a private c...
Mailbag: How to Read an Earnings Report, TikTok's ATT Challenges, The Net Impact of Social Media, Lessons of a Young Tech Employee
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How Ben reads an earnings report, the various challenges that might unsettle TikTok investors, an extended debate on whether Twitter and Facebook have...
Google/Facebook/Snap Earnings and Another Dimension of Automation
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Google's core business is sound but YouTube's numbers are murkier, the bull case for Meta as the market runs the other way, and a fair and balanced lo...
Good News for Netflix Believers and the Latest TikTok Reporting
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Netflix's Q3 response to all its Q1 critics, sorting through the threats elsewhere in the streaming landscape, what to look for as Netflix makes its f...
Mailbag: Chip Ban Follow Up, What About Tik Tok?, Validating AI Work Product, Coaches and GMs as CEOs
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Taiwan's military readiness and the modal outcome for Tik Tok in the U.S., a question about immersive audio spawns Clubhouse lament, two questions abo...
Questions, Concerns and Unknowns after the China Chip Ban
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The narrow purpose of the latest US export controls, the broad attack the Chinese government will likely perceive, why heightened American attention t...
Mailbag: Metaverse Week Concludes, A Hater's Take on Virtual Reality, The Apple Question, Touring the Stratechery Travel Kit
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ben remembers why he believes in the future of VR, Andrew remembers why he's not a fan the metaverse movement, listeners wonder about possibilities at...
New Metaverse Dreams and Old Metaverse Questions
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reactions to Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote at Meta Connect 2022, why it makes sense for Meta to partner with Microsoft in the virtual reality space, the...
Mailbag: Two Musk Questions, Streaming Follow Up, Ad-Supported Businesses, Interrogating Andrew on Tech
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk is a land of contradictions, reframing re-bundling and TNT's NBA incentives, a variety of questions about ad-supported business models, and ...
Cable Temperature Check and a Bundle Experiment
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why it may make sense to sell Netflix, Apple TV, Paramount Plus and other streamers as one product, why cable may (or may not) be the intermediary bro...
Mailbag: Apple Privacy Counterpoint, Covid and Content Moderation, Phoenix Suns Sale, Justice for Gamers
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
User agency within Apple's ATT landscape, what Covid can teach us about the risks of regulating content moderation, whether AI fears spawned by The Te...
Nvidia Backlash and the China Conundrum
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why the internet is upset after Nvidia's Ada Lovelace announcement, the perfect storm of the past 12 months, a bet on AI inside and outside of gaming....
Mailbag: Adobe and Antitrust, Engagement Quality vs. Quantity, The Cult of Musk, Porcupine Lore
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Adobe-Figma antitrust questions, the pluses and minuses of ignoring user complaints, how Twitter hype led to real infrastructure at Tesla, a word abou...
Introducing Sharp Tech
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ben and Andrew discuss the origins of the podcast, their own backgrounds, and why they’re excited about making this show.
What AI Is Today and What It Might Be Tomorrow
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New AI image generators hint at a decentralized future, newspapers vs. the internet as an analogy for what’s next, potential implications for white ...
Google-as-Government and Netflix vs. HBO Max
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A Google enforcement strategy gone awry, the pluses and minuses of horizontal integration, and the common thread among most big tech complaints. Then,...
Apple's Privacy Power Play and TikTok Concerns
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Apple’s emphasis on privacy and the competitive advantages that come with it. Then, the varied concerns surrounding TikTok’s emerging dominance in...
Meta’s Murky Future and the Transformed New York Times
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The future of Facebook and Instagram in the TikTok era, Instagram's shifting priorities, and stated preference vs. revealed preference. Then, the new ...
CHIPS History and Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A brief history of semiconductors in the US and Taiwan, what the CHIPS act can and can’t fix, and why the legislation is probably a good idea regard...