Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

By Andrew Sharp and Ben ThompsonTechnology

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Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson episodes

October 24, 2025 (Preview) Understanding the AWS Outage, Resiliency Realities and Innovation Urgency, F1 Heads to Apple TV
Celebrating the return of the NBA with reactions to Inside the NBA on ESPN before turning to an extended explanation of the technology underlying the AWS outage this week and the history of US-East-1 in Northern Virginia. Then: Grappling with the trade-offs inherent to investing in resiliency to preserve the status quo, the risks that preservation comes at the expense of innovation, and Twitter as an object lesson. At the end: Questions on F1's deal with Apple, an F1 hater checks in, a sales pitch for YouTubeTV, and Ben chooses his favorite karaoke songs and explains how he learned Chinese.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
The NBA's ESPN Problem Might Finally Be Over — Sharp Text
Resiliency and Scale — Stratechery
Zero Trust Information — Stratechery
F1 on Apple TV, Distribution as Differentiation, A Worthwhile Gamble — Stratechery Update
對面的女孩看過來 — Song by Richie Jen (任賢齊)
自由 — Song by Zhang Zhen Yue (張震嶽)
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.
30 min
October 17, 2025 (Preview) How America Lost Rare Earths, Netflix Partners with Spotify and Bill Simmons, What Comes Next in the Robotaxi Wars
Andrew and Ben begin by examining the various structural forces and business decisions that led the U.S. and the West to cede rare earth mining and refining to China, including reduced friction at the expense of resilience n a variety of areas, predatory pricing that pays extra dividends in the commodities business, and why Ben is keeping an eye on the Middle East in the months to come. From there: Reactions to the news that Spotify and Netflix are partnering and pulling podcasts off of YouTube, with thoughts on the limits of that strategy and the difference between YouTube's cut of creator ad revenue and Apple's developer fees. At the end: Uber, Tesla, and Waymo and the shape of the future autonomous vehicle marketplace, Ben's thoughts on Tesla's Full Self-Driving, OpenAI's corporate structure, and ChatGPT embraces AI erotica.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
An Interview with Gracelin Baskaran About Rare Earths — Stratechery Interview
Gas Turbine Makers Are Riding the AI Power Boom — Wall Street Journal
China and Rare Earth Metals, Chips and Rare Earths, The U.S.’s Self-Inflicted Challenge — Stratechery Update
Walmart on ChatGPT, Walmart (and Amazon) Motivations, Spotify Podcasts on Netflix — Stratechery Update
Netflix Jumps Into Podcasts With Spotify Deal — New York Times
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.
21 min
October 10, 2025 (Preview) OpenAI Astride the World, Infrastructure Buildouts and Boundless Ambitions, More on Sora and Creation
Thoughts on OpenAI after a month of infrastructure and partnership announcements, including the differences between OpenAI and a Mag7 company, Ben’s interview with Sam Altman this week, Apps in ChatGPT, and drawing on Windows, Apple, and WeChat to better understand the company’s strategy. At the end: Questions on Sora, the 90-9-1 law, and OpenAI’s approach to copyright, as well as some brief reactions to China's move to escalate curbs on rare earth exports.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
An Interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman About DevDay and the AI Buildout — Stratechery Interview
Sora, AI Bicycles, and Meta Disruption — Stratechery
OpenAI’s Windows Play — Stratechery
Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery
China Clamps Down Even Harder on Rare Earths — New York Times
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.
24 min
October 03, 2025 (Preview) Sora 2 and an AI Video Boom, Meta’s Vibes One Week Later, Questions on TikTok, Solar Power, and the iPhone Air
Andrew and Ben begin with reactions to OpenAI's Sora 2, a new Sora app, and more thoughts on last week’s ‘Vibes’ release from MetaAI. Topics include: Parallels between Sora 2 and the GPT 3.5 release in 2022, responding to a sample of disgusted MetaAI 'Vibes' reactions, why OpenAI is investing in short form video, why the threat to Meta is clearer than ever, and fair questions about Mark Zuckerberg's leadership after the last several years. At the end: TikTok’s business prospects and security concerns, solar power possibilities for AI infrastructure, Ben's shocking embrace of the iPhone Air, and a Sharp Tech x Oreo crossover.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Sora 2 is here — OpenAI
Sora the App, Sonnet 4.5 and the Question of Models as Processors — Stratechery Update
Emergency Pod: Instant Reactions to MetaAI Vibes — Sharp Tech
The TikTok War — Stratechery
An Interview with Terraform Industries CEO Casey Handmer About the Solar Energy Revolution — Stratechery Interview
An Interview with Ben Bajarin About AI Infrastructure — Stratechery Interview
Ben Buys an iPhone — Dithering
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.
35 min
September 26, 2025 Emergency Pod: Instant Reactions to MetaAI Vibes
Ninety minutes after they wrapped a conversation about YouTube, Google and the future of AI video, Ben and Andrew reconvene to make Ben eat his words about Meta's inability to ship and react to Vibes — a new feed in the Meta AI app for short-form, AI-generated videos.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Post by Alexandr Wang — X
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.
17 min
September 26, 2025 (Preview) Video's Ongoing Victory Over Text, Google and YouTube's Abundance of Opportunity, Six Questions About an AI Bubble
On today's show Andrew and Ben begin with a 60-second iPhone review before turning to YouTube and Google's abundance of AI opportunities. Then: Six questions about the AI bubble, including reactions to Nvidia's investment in OpenAI, Oracle's financing vs. cloud incumbents, Microsoft's spending strategy, the looming power crisis, and more. At the end: A salute to the bubble prince, more on Meta's smart glasses, and "presage" confirmation.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
The YouTube Tip of the Google Spear — Stratechery
Meta’s AI Abundance — Stratechery
MrBeast on His Quest to Turn YouTube Fame Into an Entertainment Empire — Bloomberg
Oracle Pops, From Databases to AI, Oracle and OpenAI — Stratechery Update
The Oracle Inflection Point, Apple’s Price Increase — 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.
33 min
September 19, 2025 (Preview) Meta Doubles Down on Smart Glasses, Nvidia Partners with Intel, Notes on the Hidden YouTube Colossus
Andrew and Ben react to the Meta Ray-Ban Display and the progress of the Meta Neural Band, including keynote FOMO, debating the value of handwriting words in the air, the strategic logic of shipping these products now, an incredible price point, and lots more. From there: A look at the Intel-Nvidia partnership that was announced Thursday morning, and Ben's thoughts on YouTube after a visit to New York City for an afternoon with creators and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. At the end: Positive buzz on liquid glass, the dangers of CFOs as CEOs, innovations from incumbent companies, Ben's repatriation takeaways, life advice for moving, and the five CEOs who have contributed most to the Stratechery bundle.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Meta Ray-Ban Display, Why Less is More, Price and the Neural Band — Stratechery Update
Meta Launches $799 Glasses With Screen and AI Integration — Bloomberg
Meta struggles to decouple from Chinese supplier of AI smart glasses — Financial Times
Intel and NVIDIA to Jointly Develop AI Infrastructure and Personal Computing Products — Intel Newsroom
An Interview with Dan Kim About Intel, Nvidia, and the U.S. Government — Stratechery Interview
An Interview with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan About Building a Stage for Creators — Stratechery Interview
The Deal That Makes No Sense — 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.
39 min
September 12, 2025 (Preview) New iPhones and an Absence of Awe, How Oracle Wins in the AI Era, Questions on MidJourney, Meta, and Armageddon
Thoughts on Apple's new generation of iPhones—which are genuinely exciting—and why the underwhelmed reaction from fans and analysts reflects choices that Apple made a long time ago and a new direction that lowers the ceiling on any release. From there: Mail on Apple's messaging and the competition in China, Oracle's strategy in the AI era, Midjourney and Meta, the strategic logic (or not) of Reality Labs investments, whether and how Netflix could attempt a Disney-ification (at the Sphere? via acquisition?), and a message to the Armageddon heretics.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
iPhones 17 and the Sugar Water Trap — Stratechery
Oracle stock gains 36% to post best day since 1992, adding $244 billion in value — CNBC
Ellison Tops Musk as World’s Richest Man After $101 Billion Gain — Bloomberg
An Interview with Midjourney Founder David Holz about Generative AI, VR, and Silicon Valley — 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.
34 min
September 05, 2025 (Preview) Google and Apple Avert Disaster, More on Kpop Demon Hunters and Hollywood, Mail on Microsoft, Adobe and ASML
Talking through Google’s big win in court this week, including the confounding opinion from Judge Amit Mehta, a strategy that paid off for Google, anti-monopolists and the Chrome crusade, and the hidden cost of Apple’s Google money. From there: Mail on ChatGPT’s follow-up questions, a KPop Demon Hunters digression, what really killed Hollywood’s creativity, Microsoft’s future in the AI era, Adobe and Salesforce vs. disruption concerns, trailing edge chips, ASML, and Nvidia comes to DC.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Google Remedy Decision, Reasonable Remedies, The Google Patronage Network — Stratechery Update
Friendly Google and Enemy Remedies — Stratechery
New Bing, and an Interview with Kevin Scott and Sam Altman About the Microsoft-OpenAI Partnership — Stratechery Update
GPT-5: It Just Does Stuff — One Useful Thing
Tech Philosophy and AI Opportunity — Stratechery
Paradigm Shifts and the Winner’s Curse — Stratechery
Innoveracy: Misunderstanding Innovation — Asymco
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.
22 min
August 29, 2025 Why Nvidia Wants to Sell Chips to China, Answering Intel Objections, KPop Demon Hunters Conquers the World
Unpacking the latest round of Nvidia earnings and the questions that loom over the company's future in China. Then: Answering a few of the most common objections to the US government's plans for Intel, and why the current path may be the least bad option on the board. At the end: A look at KPop Demon Hunters, Netflix dominance, the modern movie business, and dual monitor desk strategies.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Nvidia Earnings, Moats and China, Nvidia vs. the AI Labs — Stratechery Update
U.S. Intel — Stratechery
KPop Demon Hunters, Sony’s Risk, The Netflix Aggregator — 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.
1 hr 33 min