Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

By Andrew Sharp and 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

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How many episodes does Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson have?

The podcast currently has 289 episodes available.

Best of Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: (Preview) The App Store in the Shadow of AI, Offensive and Defensive Cybersecurity, Q&A on Financial Planning, AI Writing, American Sports
On today’s show Andrew and Ben begin with reflections on big Apple news that feels relatively small alongside a world of growth and dramatic questions across technology in the AI era. Then: They turn to the news that OpenAI is pausing its Internet model training, the incentive structure that makes cybersecurity challenging and how AI compounds the challenge, two digressions from Ben on misalignment and a new AI use case, and why black hat and white hat cybersecurity actors are both doing the same thing in the AI era. At the end: More thoughts on bubble benefits that may survive, an emailer considers a financial planning career but is concerned about AI, two follow-ups on AI and the writing process, and European emailer thinks Americans who love sports love everything but the actual sport. To email the show: [email protected] @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Apple Settles With E.U.; U.S. App Store Fees; ATT Rules in — Stratechery Update Data and Definitions — Stratechery What Happened: OpenAI and Hugging Face — The Zvi Black Hat USA 2026 | The ‘Breaking’ News: The OpenAI–Hugging Face Incident — Black Hat 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.
August 21, 202621min
Number 2: (Preview) Astra (and AGI?) Arrives, Meta’s Muse and the Agent Opportunity, Anthropic and the Revival of (P)Doom Angst
Andrew and Ben begin with Ben’s article on Tuesday on the transformative value of LLMs writing things down. Topics include: How assistants have helped Ben solve his blindspots, the omnicompetent assistants that are now available to everyone, a brief detour into markdown file history, the arrival of OpenAI’s Astra models, a future of models that use computers, the astounding value of a pro subscription to Anthropic and OpenAI, and the pace of AI progress in the fall of 2026. From there: More on the Hugging Face incident, a listener asks for advice on getting started with agents, and Meta’s Muse arrives to help normal unlock the potential of agents. At the end: Reactions to a pair of viral p(doom) tweets from Anthropic employees, why one writer’s pandemic callback offers an unintentionally instructive parallel, and an emotional announcement about the iPhone Air. To email the show: [email protected] @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Write Things Down — Stratechery An Interview with OpenAI President Greg Brockman About Astra and Alignment — Stratechery Interview OpenAI Does Math, Reward-Hacking, Meta Launches Personal Agent — Stratechery Update Anthropic Researcher Jacob Coxon Quits Over ‘Out-of-Control’ AI Fears — The Wall Street Journal 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.
September 10, 202625min
Number 3: (Preview) Fable 5.1 and Anthropic’s Data Retention Pivot, AI Civilizations and Related Matters, Q&A on Meta, Shopify, 3-D Printing
On today’s show Ben and Andrew begin with notes on a home networking project before turning to the release of Fable 5.1, including Anthropic’s announcement that it has walked back the data retention safety initiative the company announced earlier this year. From there: Reactions to a viral post on the OpenAI-Hugging Face incident, the problem with anthropomorphizing machines, and why Ben finds this discourse unhinged and unproductive. At the end: Follow-ups to last week’s Meta discussion on the tension between libertarian and conservative impulses, Shopify is a platform and not an aggregator (and that’s great), a well-timed question about 3-D Printing, an F1 app PSA, a listener’s girlfriend hates vibe coding, and apropos of last week, a pronunciation email. To email the show: [email protected] @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Fable 5.1, Enterprise Frontier Safeguards — Stratechery Update The Rise and Fall of Agent Civilizations — Dwarkesh Podcast Meta Settles, A Framework For Regulating Content, The Rest of Big Tech — Stratechery Update Friction — Stratechery An Interview with Michael Morton About E-Commerce in the Age of AI — Stratechery Interview 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.
September 03, 202626min
Number 4: (Preview) Meta’s New Restrictions for Teens, Nvidia’s Open Source Investments, Q&A on Netflix, Druckenmiller, Parameters and Performance
On today’s show Ben and Andrew begin with initial reactions to Meta’s settlement with 29 states, including behavioral remedies that will impose restrictions on teens using Facebook and Instagram. From there: Reactions to a report that Nvidia is set to acquire HuggingFace, including why a robust open source ecosystem looks increasingly urgent for Nvidia, and why OpenAI’s surprisingly impressive jalapeño chip underscores the point. At the end: Netflix pivots from a longstanding refusal to funnel customers to rivals, F1’s declining ratings on AppleTV, ESPN abandons the bottom line for college football, Stanley Druckenmiller uses AI for his Wall Street Journal op ed, a vibe coding question (and more adventures with Ben’s over-engineered psychosis), a coffee pot question, parameter sizes and the mysteries of model performance, and a hurling PSA yields an appreciation for various sports on TV. To email the show: [email protected] @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Meta to Pay up to $18 Billion in Settlement With States Over Social-Media Addiction Claims — Variety Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Make Sure His Competitors Share His Pain — New York Times I Can Tolerate Anything Except The Outgroup — Slate Star Codex Nvidia Agrees to Buy Open Source AI Platform Hugging Face For $12.9 Billion — The Information The Biggest Dogs in Streaming Want You to Use Only Their App — New York Times Analysis shows F1 viewership on Apple TV down significantly from ESPN — Awful Announcing ESPN Removing BottomLine Ticker on College Football Games — Front Office Sports Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s WSJ Op-Ed Criticizing Bessent Was Written With AI — NOTUS The Magic of Hurling — 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.
August 28, 202623min
Number 5: (Preview) Nvidia’s Answer to Capital Constraints, Google’s Attrition and Direction, Q&A on AI Writing, Vision Pro, Vibe Coding
Ben and Andrew begin with Nvidia’s announcements of a new funding model for AI infrastructure, including the differences and similarities with railroad expansion 150 years ago, why LLMs were a gift and curse to Nvidia’s business, the pressure on Nvidia coming from Google and Amazon, and the expanded blast radius as Nvidia works to mobilize third party funding. From there: Why the turnover at Google may actually be a good sign for Google’s frontier efforts, and extended thoughts the future of AI-generated output, ideas and substantiation, and Anthropic’s plan to watermark outputs. At the end: A question about the Vision Pro, the obstacles for Starlink Mobile, and a cranky emailer yields a clarifying answer on why Ben is excited about his vibe coded app. To email the show: [email protected] @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Nvidia’s Risky Business — Stratechery The Google Capital Company — Stratechery Anthropic’s Watermarking, How It (Probably) Works, Worse Than It Seems — Stratechery Update The AI Unbundling — Stratechery Apple Earnings, OpenAI Deep Research, The Unbundling of Substantiation — Stratechery Update My Vibe Coding Adventure, The App and the Experience, Ten Takeaways — Stratechery Update 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.
August 14, 202627min