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

June 12, 2025 Apple’s WWDC Retreat, Liquid Glass and One Question, Meta Puts $14.8 Billion Toward an AI Reset
A variety of announcements at WWDC, and why Apple’s lack of jaw-dropping news or boundary pushing plans was the most sensible approach available this year. Then: Questions about Meta’s AI execution, as the company reportedly invests $14.8 billion in Scale AI and its CEO Alexander Wang.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Apple Retreats — Stratechery
Meta Is Creating a New A.I. Lab to Pursue ‘Superintelligence’ — New York Times
Meta + Scale AI?, Meta’s Reset, AI as Sustaining Innovation — 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
June 05, 2025 (Preview) Nike’s Lessons on the Internet, Why Nike on Amazon Makes Sense, Meta and Anduril and Silicon Valley History
What’s gone wrong for Nike and why a deal with Amazon is likely the best way forward, the history of the U.S. military and Silicon Valley, and rationale for both sides of the Meta-Anduril partnership. At the end: Some corrections on Ukraine’s drone attack and more thoughts on the future of high-trust trade.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Nike on Amazon; Nike’s Disastrous Pivot; Inevitability, Intentionality, and Amazon — Stratechery Update
Anduril + Meta, Silicon Valley and the Pentagon, Meta’s Motivations — Stratechery Update
An Interview with Michael Morton About E-Commerce Winners and Losers — 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.
9 min
June 02, 2025 (Preview) Operation Spider's Web and Global Trade, More on io and Devices of the Future, The Allure of Sports on Streaming
Reactions to Sunday’s shocking reports out of Russia and why the virtues of a shipping container may become more complicated in years to come. Then: questions on foldable phones, the io upside, and the future of apps, and NASCAR goes to streaming, where early returns are positive.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Ukraine stages audacious attack on airfields deep in Russian territory — Financial Times
Daily Update: Thinking Twice on Drones, by James Allworth — Stratechery Update
Friction — 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.
11 min
May 29, 2025 (Preview) The End of the Ad-Supported Internet, Imagining What Comes Next, A Human-AI Agent PSA
Discussing Ben's Article on the future of the agentic web, including the virtues of the ad-supported internet we've enjoyed for the last three decades, why that model is becoming less viable as the years pass, and the potential for new solutions as agentic web traffic proliferates in the years and decades to come. At the end: An epiphany surrounding AI workflows and chain of thought exchanges between employers and their employees.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
The Agentic Web and Original Sin — Stratechery
Personalized Advertising — Minority Report (2002)
Claude 4, Anthropic Agents, Human-AI Agents — 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.
13 min
May 22, 2025 OpenAI Enters the Hardware Business, The Challenges and Opportunities for Jony Ive, Takeaways from Google I/O 2025
Ben and Andrew react to the news that OpenAI is acquiring Jony Ive's hardware startup for $6.5 billion worth of stock, including questions about the form factor of future AI devices, challenges inherent to manufacturing hardware in 2025, the logic of these ambitions for OpenAI, and yes, a few words about the 9-minute video announcing the deal. At the end: Google's plans for its search business, Veo 3 and gen AI videos, and Ben's appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast this week.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
OpenAI Acquires io, OpenAI’s Strategic Positioning, Apple’s Worsening AI Problem — Stratechery Update
OpenAI to Buy AI Device Startup From Apple Veteran Jony Ive in $6.5 Billion Deal — Bloomberg
Sam & Jony introduce io — OpenAI
A conversation with Jony Ive — Stripe (YouTube)
Google I/O, The Search Funnel, Product Possibilities — Stratechery Update
The Invincible OKC, Knicks Nirvana and Giannis Trades — The Bill Simmons Podcast
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 5 min
May 19, 2025 (Preview) The U.S. Partners with the Middle East in AI, Why OpenAI Is Acquiring Windsurf, Google’s Side of the Platform Wars
The implications of last week’s announcements on AI investments from Saudi Arabia and the UAE (and the repeal of the AI Diffusion rules), Ben’s thoughts on OpenAI’s acquisition of Windsurf, and questions about Android and VRBO vs. Airbnb.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — 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.
10 min
May 15, 2025 (Preview) Airbnb and Its Varied Ambitions, The High Agency Golden Era, HBO Max and the End of an Error
Reactions to a revamped app and the expanded ambitions of Airbnb, an excellent email about practical considerations for leaders if AI accelerates a bifurcation of society, and thoughts on HBO's rebrand and ESPN's new streaming app.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Airbnb’s New App, Experiences and Services, Chesky’s Founder Mode — Stratechery Update
It’s Not Max, It’s HBO Max: Streaming Service Flips Name Again — 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.
12 min
May 08, 2025 Apple and the Power of Platforms, AI Comes for Google Search, ChatGPT Comes for Higher Education
Talking Platform Power and 15 years of App Store arguments, with topics including Ben's memories from Microsoft, the difference between regulating platforms and aggregators, and the case for intervening in the App Store today. Then: Eddy Cue testifies that Apple is exploring AI search options for Safari, and a New York Magazine feature on ChatGPT in colleges sparks thoughts on tech, higher education, and Blue Books.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Platform Power Is Underrated — Stratechery
Apple Eyes Move to AI Search, Ending Era Defined by Google — Bloomberg
Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College — NY Mag
AI Homework — 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.
1 hr 20 min
May 05, 2025 (Preview) What’s Next for Apple and the App Store, The Risks of Continuing This Fight, More on Meta and Its AI Vision
Ben's Daily Update on Friday and Apple's argument appealing the order in Epic v. Apple, the risks facing Apple as they've continued to fight these battles the past several years, and questions for the future as the present gets increasingly messy. At the end: Meta's plans for AI business agents, an emailer asks whether Meta's message today means Facebook failed yesterday, and a proposal for AI officiating in the NBA is soundly rejected.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Apple Held in Contempt, The Crux of the Case, The Takings Clause — 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.
14 min
May 01, 2025 (Preview) Meta and Its Many Plans in AI, Apple Gets Hammered in Court, The Costs of Waiting to Do the Right Thing
A 360 degree look at Meta's AI efforts after Ben's sitdown with Mark Zuckerberg and Meta's launch of a standalone AI app. Then: Reactions to Wednesday's holding that Apple violated a court order and may be criminally liable for its behavior, responses to an email about a broadened understanding of consumer welfare, and a Punchbowl News headache for Amazon.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
An Interview with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg About AI and the Evolution of Social Media — Stratechery Interview
Meta’s AI Abundance — Stratechery
Apple Dealt Stinging Court Defeat on App Store Sales Commissions — Bloomberg
Amazon, Trump, and Tariff Costs; Amazon Haul and Temu; Political Lessons — 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.
11 min