Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

By Andrew Sharp and Ben ThompsonTechnology

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Typical duration
26 min
per episode

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Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson episodes

October 03, 2023 (Preview) Amazon and the FTC, Antitrust Laws and Big Tech, Consumer Welfare and American Welfare
The FTC’s Amazon complaint and ongoing criticism of FTC Chair Lina Khan, understanding Amazon’s power and the limits of antitrust law, modern regulators vs. the Chicago school, and why “big is bad” might be a good strategy.
To email the show: [email protected]
Khan Seeks to End Amazon ‘Illegal Conduct,’ Quiet on Breakup — Bloomberg
Lina Khan Once Went Big Against Amazon. As FTC Chair, She Changed Tack. — Wall Street Journal
Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox — The Yale Law Journal
Lina Khan Has a Weak Case Against Amazon — Wall Street Journal
Market share of leading retail e-commerce companies in the United States as of June 2022 — Statista
Is William Baxter Anti-Antitrust? — New York Times
Beyond Aggregation: Amazon as a Service — Stratechery
FTC Sues Amazon, FBA and Prime, Pricing Punishment — Stratechery Update
Fulfillment: A Conversation on Amazon and Regional Inequality with Alec MacGillis — American Compass
Antitrust and Aggregation — Stratechery
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
18 min
September 29, 2023 Voice and Video Demos with ChatGPT, How AI Could Redeem Meta’s Mixed Reality Bets, OpenAI Explores Hardware
Ben shares his experience with a ChatGPT demo that inverted his expectations, a reminder that reducing friction is essential for AI’s next steps, and reactions to Meta’s Smart Glasses and reports of Jonny Ive and Sam Altman brainstorming. At the end: Delta follow-up, Disney capacity, and the Swift-Kelce bundle.
To email the show: [email protected]
AI, Hardware, and Virtual Reality — Stratechery
A Dame Trade Deep Dive With Ben Thompson, Plus Seth Meyers and Million-Dollar Picks — The Bill Simmons Podcast
OpenAI and Jony Ive in talks to raise $1bn from SoftBank for AI device venture — Financial Times
Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discuss AI Hardware Project — The Information
Emergency Podcast: Giannis, Heat Twitter, Depraved Suns Decision Making, and More Winners and Losers from the Damian Lillard Trade — Greatest of All Talk
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
1 hr 10 min
September 26, 2023 New Features for ChatGPT and Spotify, Revisiting the CarPlay Discussion, TikTot on Advertising and Time Management
The voice and image commands announced by OpenAI (and the Google threat that still looms), Spotify’s new translation software, and a wave of CarPlay love among the emailers leads to clarifications and more talk of software and the auto industry. At the end: Kids in a world of advertising, and advice for budgeting time and money in early parenthood.
To email the show: [email protected]
You can now prompt ChatGPT with pictures and voice commands — The Verge
Spotify is going to clone podcasters’ voices — and translate them to other languages — The Verge
AI Homework — Stratechery
Podcast Grifting; Aggregator Lessons; Ostroff, Simmons, and Harry — Stratechery Update
An Interview with The Ringer Founder and CEO Bill Simmons — Stratechery Interview
How do consumers perceive in-car connectivity and digital services? — McKinsey & Company
Wayne Jenkins Supercut - The Rewatchables Podcast — YouTube
Lex Fridman on X — @lexfridman
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
1 hr 15 min
September 21, 2023 (Preview) Microsoft’s Snafu and Apple’s Shenanigans, Car Companies with SaaS Envy, The Logic Behind Delta's SkyMiles Move
To email the show: [email protected]
Microsoft Mistakenly Reveals Secret Game Plans in Court Case — Bloomberg
The new FineWoven iPhone cases are very bad — The Verge
Max Gets Sports, The Fox Linchpin, Disney’s Taylor Swift Era Confirmed — Stratechery Update
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
6 min
September 19, 2023 An Endgame for YouTube TV, Big Disney Decisions (And Whether Bob Iger Should Make Them), The Era Beyond Peak TV
How the history of Google and may predict the future for YouTube, the stakes for Disney and Bob Iger as the earth shifts underneath them, and various considerations for consumers and content makers alike as the entertainment industry prepares for a new era. At the end: missed exit opportunities, a few antitrust digressions, and one man's iPhone 15 grievance.
To email the show: [email protected]
Why Has a Useless Cold Medication Been Allowed on Shelves for Years? — The Atlantic
FTC Fines Epic, Netflix Ads, YouTube and the NFL — Stratechery Update
Bob Iger Back at Disney; Chapek’s Tactics, Iger’s Strategy; Tactics, Strategy, or Environment — Stratechery Update
Cord-Cutting and YouTube TV, Disney Earnings, Pay TV’s Vision Cycles — Stratechery Update
An Interview with The Ringer Founder and CEO Bill Simmons — Stratechery Interview
Disney’s Taylor Swift Era — Stratechery
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
1 hr 14 min
September 14, 2023 (Preview) Is the iPhone Still Interesting?, Unity’s New Model for Mobile Developers, YouTube Highlights and Taylor Swift’s New Movie
Reactions to Tuesday’s iPhone event at Apple, the recent history of the development landscape in gaming, and an overview of the flaws in the plan Unity announced this week. At the end: Competing thoughts on the NFL and NBA, John Malone’s portfolio, and Taylor Swift in theaters.
To email the show: [email protected]
Apple’s iPhone Event; Innovation and Iteration; Pricing, Inflation, and Services — Stratechery Update
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
9 min
September 12, 2023 Charter Wins and Does Disney a Favor, Charter and the Broadband Market, SMIC Gets the US Government’s Attention
The eleventh hour agreement between Charter and Disney, why Charter was the clear winner but Disney will benefit regardless, and what Charter’s investments say about the future of internet in America. At the end: Reactions to a breakthrough chip from Huawei and SMIC and its potential implications on US-China policy.
To email the show: [email protected]
Charter-Disney Winners and Losers — Stratechery
The Rise and Fall of ESPN’s Leverage — Stratechery
Cable’s Last Laugh — Stratechery
Disney, Charter End Dispute, Restoring ESPN, ABC to 15 Million Households — Wall Street Journal
The Huawei Mate 60 Pro, 7nm Background, Implications and Reactions — Stratechery Update
Huawei Teardown Shows Chip Breakthrough in Blow to US Sanctions — Bloomberg
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
1 hr 14 min
September 07, 2023 Disney vs. Charter and a New ESPN Reality, The Future of the Cable Business, Risks for the NBA and Other Sports
To email the show: [email protected]
The Rise and Fall of ESPN’s Leverage — Stratechery
An Interview with John Kosner About the Past and Future of Sports in an Age of Abundance — Stratechery Interview
Disney Earnings, A Split Disney?, ESPN’s Advertising — Stratechery Update
Cable’s Last Laugh — Stratechery
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
1 hr 12 min
August 31, 2023 (Preview) Why Amazon and Shopify Went from Rivals to Partners, A More Precise Definition of Disruption, Streams and Nightmares for Warner/ESPN/Disney
To email the show: [email protected]
Beyond Aggregation: Amazon as a Service — Stratechery
What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong — Stratechery
Shopify Exits Logistics, The Shopify Logistics Side Quest, Whither Buy with Prime — Stratechery Update
Harley Finkelstein — X
Amazon in Talks With Disney About ESPN Streaming Partnership — The Information
‘Ahsoka’ Premiere Draws Big Audience, Disney+ Says — The Hollywood Reporter
Live-Streamed CNN Channel With New Shows Set to Debut on Max — Variety
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
6 min
August 29, 2023 Your Regularly Scheduled Nvidia Hysteria, Nvidia and the Metaverse, Questions on Sony and Adyen
To email the show: [email protected]
Nvidia Sales Surge as AI Boom Lifts Earnings — Wall Street Journal
Nvidia On the Mountaintop — Stratechery
Nvidia In the Valley — Stratechery
An Impromptu Nvidia Symposium, A Brief History of Solaris and Sun Microsystems, The Future of AI Energy Consumption — Sharp Tech
Get Sharp Tech Premium, Sharp China, Stratechery Update, Stratechery Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $12/month.
1 hr 1 min