Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

By Ben Thompson

A podcast about understanding how tech works and the way it is changing the world. Hosted by Andrew Sharp with Ben Thompson.... more

· Technology

4.7

9090 ratings

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FAQs about Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson:

How many episodes does Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson have?

The podcast currently has 216 episodes available.

Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson episodes:

March 31, 2025 (Preview) xAI Buys X, The Bitter Lesson for Everyone, Everywhere, Google’s Only Hope in AI
Thoughts on both X and xAI in the wake of Friday’s announcement from Elon Musk, Chat GPT’s image capabilities and whether AI-adjacent SaaS companies will ever have a moat, and emailers offer counterpoints on Sam Altman’s ads answer and the notion that Google can’t make great products anymore. At the end: Should Substack serve ads?, answers on Israeli cybersecurity, and more on Steve Jobs and Studio Ghibli.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Musk Merges His AI Company With X, Claiming Combined Value of $113 Billion — Wall Street Journal
Thread from @realEstateTrent — X
Stevey's Google Platforms Rant — Github Gist
ChatGPT 4o Adds Image Generation and It’s Fun as Hell — Daring Fireball
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
13min
March 27, 2025 (Preview) The Delights of Images in GPT, The Future of Graphic Design, Signal and Multiple Dimensions of Security
Reactions to OpenAI's "Images in GPT," and thoughts on the Trump administration's Signal debacle, including a few points Ben neglected to emphasize earlier this week.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
OpenAI’s New Image Model, Graphic Design and Google, More on Security — Stratechery Update
The Trump Administration Group Chat, Signal: The Coke of Secure Messaging, Transparency Versus Security — Stratechery Update
Mailbag: A Premature Twitter Eulogy, Netflix in Theaters, Buy or Sell: Strategy Consultants, The Six People You Meet in a Group Chat — Sharp Tech
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
10min
March 24, 2025 (Preview) Why Google Wants Wiz for $32 Billion, Xbox One and Bygone Streaming Hardware Dreams, Immortality and Daylight Saving Time
A look at the logic of Google's plans to purchase an Israeli cybersecurity firm for $32 billion, more tension between Apple, Google and the EU, and an email about Xbox One and Microsoft's checkered history of consumer tech ambitions. At the end: Moana 2 and what led to the decision to abandon windowing, Bryan Johnson's pursuit of immortality, and a few follow-ups on Daylight Saving Time.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Google acquires cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion — The Verge
Brussels takes action against Google and Apple despite Trump threat — Financial Times
Black Box Strategy — Stratechery
It’s Time to Kill Surface — Stratechery
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
14min
March 21, 2025 (Preview) Deep Research and OpenAI's Business Model, A Counterpoint on White Collar Concerns, The Future of Cognition and Companionship
After Ben's interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Andrew and Ben hold an impromptu symposium on AI and its implications, featuring questions from listeners. Topics include: The long-term UX for Deep Research, OpenAI's allergy to an ads-based business model, a confession from Ben after an Exponent take years ago, how AI might--or might not--change the White Collar economy, an era of startups capitalizing on AI-enabled cost structures, AI for companionship and adult content, and whether generative AI will slowly erode human cognition. At the end: A few follow-ups on Vision Pro, including proof of concept at a bluegrass concert.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
An Interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman About Building a Consumer Tech Company — Stratechery Interview
Y Combinator startups are fastest growing, most profitable in fund history because of AI — CNBC
She Is in Love With ChatGPT — New York Times
Have humans passed peak brain power? — Financial Times
The Idea Adoption Curve — Stratechery
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
15min
March 17, 2025 (Preview) Should Apple Buy Perplexity?, What Apple Could Learn from IBM, Vision Pro and Its Vaporware
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Metallica on Vision Pro, Non-Immersive Immersive Video, Ping and AI — Stratechery Update
Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino — Daring Fireball
Apple AI’s Platform Pivot Potential — Stratechery
A Google I/O Idea, The Smartphone AI Value Chain, Apple’s Developer Hang-Ups — Stratechery Update
Why Doesn’t Apple Enable Sustainable Businesses on the App Store? — Stratechery
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
15min
March 13, 2025 Apple History and Apple Psychology, How Apple Should Capitalize On Its AI Potential, Why It Probably Won't
Revisiting Apple's nadir in the 1990s, along with internal friction that boiled over after Steve Jobs' passing, and explaining why Apple execs should—but probably won't—respond to the Apple Intelligence embarrassment by empowering third-party developers to build great AI products that run locally on the iPhone.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino — Daring Fireball
Apple AI’s Platform Pivot Potential — Stratechery
A Google I/O Idea, The Smartphone AI Value Chain, Apple’s Developer Hang-Ups — Stratechery Update
Why Doesn’t Apple Enable Sustainable Businesses on the App Store? — Stratechery (2013)
Macworld 1997: The return of Steve Jobs — YouTube
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
1h 9min
March 10, 2025 (Preview) The Murky Future for the NBA, A Variety of Notes on Apple and AI, In Defense of Tech That Removes Friction
A question about the future of the NBA as the league sees record revenues and declining ratings, several emails about Apple's continued adventures in AI, and follow-ups to last week's episode on Formula 1, Amazon, chatbots as the AI UI, and tech that removes friction.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Apple Delays Siri Upgrade Indefinitely as AI Concerns Escalate — Bloomberg
Apple’s Shifting Differentiation — Stratechery
Behind the scenes with Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive,’ capturing the F1 drama of Season 7 — The Athletic
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
12min
March 06, 2025 (Preview) YouTube Shall Inherit the Earth, NBC’s Peacock Strategy Then and Now, The Grim Future for Cable Networks
Surveying the streaming landscape in 2025, including YouTube’s opportunity to solve problems for millions of frustrated entertainment consumers, Peacock’s murky future, HBO and the Max mess, and lots more.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
An Interview with Michael Nathanson About the Streaming Endgame — Stratechery Interview
NBCUniversal is pinning Peacock’s streaming success on its $2.45 billion per year NBA deal — CNBC
Spotify Wants to Sell You Concert Tickets — Bloomberg
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
15min
March 03, 2025 (Preview) Amazon Introduces an AI-Powered Alexa, Is OpenAI the New BlackBerry?, The Social Costs of Removing Friction
Andrew and Ben react to Amazon's announcement for an AI-powered Alexa that has been "100 percent re-architected," and then answer mailbag questions about OpenAI's long-term future, LLM confidence, LLMs and the future of the English language, how a hardware business like Manna should approach aggregators, and the social costs of tech that optimizes for efficiency and eliminates friction. At the end: A word about the most exciting app of 2025.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
With Alexa Plus, Amazon finally reinvents its best product — The Verge
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
13min
February 27, 2025 AI Promises and Chip Precariousness, Policy Recommendations and a Changing World, Concerns and Counterpoints
A discussion of Ben's Stratechery article AI Promises and Chip Precariousness, including basic geography and evolving geopolitical considerations informing today's Taiwan tensions, the recent history of US policy surrounding chips, considerations for US policies going forward, and various concerns with lifting the chip ban and implementing stricter controls on chipmaking equipment.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
AI Promise and Chip Precariousness — Stratechery
Trump Team Seeking to Toughen Biden’s Chip Controls Over China — Bloomberg
Fab Whack-A-Mole: Chinese Companies are Evading U.S. Sanctions — SemiAnalysis
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
...more
1h 26min

FAQs about Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson:

How many episodes does Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson have?

The podcast currently has 216 episodes available.

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