Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson

How technology works, and the ways it is impacting the world

  • 14 minutes 49 seconds
    (Preview) The NBA Creates a Rights Bidding War, The Optimal NBA Schedule, RSNs and the Future of Customer Acquisition

    Parsing the latest reports on the battle for the NBA's next round of broadcast rights, a question about the NBA schedule and how the league should think about competing with the NFL, and the implications of an increasingly bleak outlook for regional sports networks.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    The NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery, Amazon and Microsoft Earnings — Stratechery Update

    NBC Prepares $2.5-Billion-a-Year Bid to Pluck NBA Rights From TNT — Wall Street Journal

    NBC Sports could buy back rights to iconic theme song ‘Roundball Rock’ if it airs NBA games again, composer John Tesh says — CNBC

    Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

    2 May 2024, 11:14 pm
  • 10 minutes 31 seconds
    (Preview) Virtual Reality and the Innovator's Solution, Meta Embraces the Android Approach, Uber as an Aggregator

    Ben proposes a potential update to Clayton Christensen's theory of disruption, why the latest round of Meta market skepticism is not as crazy as the last few episodes, questions about Facebook and Apple, and an emailer wonders whether Uber is the future aggregator for transportation and beyond.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    Meta and Open — Stratechery

    Does VR Matter?, Modular Products and Defining New Markets, TikTok Acquirers — Stratechery Update

    Apple Rivals Retool to Challenge the iPhone and Vision Pro — Bloomberg

    Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

    29 April 2024, 2:00 pm
  • 11 minutes 25 seconds
    (Preview) TikTok and the E-Commerce Giants, The FTC Moves to Ban Noncompete Agreements, 'Bluey' and Streaming Leverage

    Why TikTok makes more sense for Wal-Mart and Amazon than Oracle and Microsoft, and the FTC's ban on noncompete agreements prompts reflections noncompetes in Silicon Valley and the decline of trust across society. At the end: A question about Bluey and purchasing power for streamers, and an update on Drake's AI freestyle.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    The Inside Story Of How Glen Taylor Sabotaged The Timberwolves Sale — Huddle Up

    An Interview with Walmart CEO Doug McMillon About Omnichannel Retail — Stratechery Interview

    Business Groups Race to Block FTC’s Ban on Noncompete Agreements — Wall Street Journal

    FTC Enrages Corporate America by Eliminating Non-Compete Agreements — BIG by Matt Stoller

    Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

    25 April 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 12 minutes 40 seconds
    (Preview) What Taylor Swift Can Tell You About Netflix, What Meta Wants from Generative AI, Google and the Moonshot

    A closer look at Netflix after news that the streamer will stop reporting subscription numbers in 2025, a question about Meta’s AI ambitions, and the case for Google making a play to compete with the iPhone. At the end: Drake’s use of AI Tupac in a rap battle.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    Netflix Earnings, Netflix’s Reporting Change, Netflix’s Waiting Game — Stratechery Update

    Google and the Limits of Strategy — Stratechery

    Google’s True Moonshot — Stratechery

    Instagram, TikTok, and the Three Trends — Stratechery

    Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

    22 April 2024, 2:30 pm
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
    10 Years of Stratechery: Best and Worst Takes, Creating on the Internet, AI as a Threat, and Memories of Day 1

    Celebrating 10 years of Stratechery as a subscription business with 10 questions about analysis, creating on the Internet, what's coming with AI, and what it was like on day 1.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    MKBHDs For Everything — Stratechery

    Meta Myths — Stratechery

    Why Microsoft’s Reorganization Is a Bad Idea — Stratechery

    Popping the Publishing Bubble — Stratechery

    Peak Google — Stratechery

    The Vision Pro and the Newton, The Case Against AVP as an Entertainment Device, The Most Valuable Tech Product of All — 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.

    18 April 2024, 1:11 pm
  • 11 minutes 14 seconds
    (Preview) When AI Hits Digital Advertising, What the IT Era Can Teach Us About AI's Impact, Chip Questions and EV Mechanics

    The advertising possibilities that AI can unlock for Meta, Google and Amazon, why TikTok is interested in AI to create digital influencers, and looking to past technologies to predict the impact that AI will make on the economy. At the end: Two questions about chips, a story about EVs and British mechanics, and Scrabble.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    Actors Are Making Thousands of Dollars Through Fake Video Podcast Ads — Bloomberg

    TikTok Plots Using Virtual Influencers for Advertising — The Information

    The rise of the chief AI officer — Financial Times

    Nike designed these wild Air sneakers with a little help from AI — Fast Company

    EVs Head for Junkyard as Mechanic Shortage Inflates Repair Costs — 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.

    15 April 2024, 2:01 pm
  • 15 minutes 37 seconds
    (Preview) Mailbag: AI Hardware, NBA Newsbreakers as Aggregators, Reels vs. Shorts, The Best Approach to Age Verification

    Andrew and Ben turn to the emailers and answer questions on Jony Ive's post-Apple adventures, structural parallels between tech and the rise of journalists Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski, Instagram's strategy for Reels, the information environment surrounding Neuralink, and the best approach to solving age verification for teenagers.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s AI Device Startup in Funding Talks With Emerson, Thrive — The Information

    Instagram, TikTok, and the Three Trends — Stratechery

    Elon Musk’s Neuralink Shows First Patient Using Its Brain Implant — Wall Street Journal

    What the NBA Can Learn From Formula 1 — Stratechery

    ESPN Financials, NBA Spin, Jon Stewart vs. Apple — 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.

    11 April 2024, 11:55 am
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    Amazon and the “Just Walk Out” Parable, Mythbusting on Meta and TSMC, The XZ Backdoor and Its Implications

    Updated thoughts on Amazon rolling back “just walk out” in grocery stores, context for a viral Meta tweet and a year of pessimism surrounding TSMC in Arizona, and Ben walks through what happened with the XZ backdoor and the changes that should come next.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    The Status of Just Walk Out, TSMC Gets CHIPS Act Grant — Stratechery Update

    The XZ Backdoor, What Happened, Open Source Safety — Stratechery Update

    Amazon Ditches 'Just Walk Out' Checkouts at Its Grocery Stores — Gizmodo

    Facebook Gave Data Access to Chinese Firm Flagged by U.S. Intelligence — New York Times

    TSMC says Arizona fab is now ahead of schedule; signs semiconductor talent agreement with Kyushu University — Data Centre Dynamics

    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.

    8 April 2024, 1:51 pm
  • 17 minutes 7 seconds
    (Preview) Apple Flunks a Vision Pro Test, Microsoft Unbundles Teams from Office, AI and Energy Consumption

    To email the show: [email protected]

    Scheduling Note: There will be only one episode of Sharp Tech this week

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    MLS on Vision Pro, The Vision Pro’s Missing Content, The Vision Pro’s DRI — Stratechery Update

    An Interview with Hugo Barra About a Career in Tech and the Future of VR — Stratechery Interview

    Exclusive: Microsoft to separate Teams and Office globally amid antitrust scrutiny — Reuters

    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.

    2 April 2024, 3:30 pm
  • 1 hour 15 minutes
    New Laws to Regulate Big Tech, The Distinction Between Platforms and Aggregators, Apple’s API and Accessories

    Follow-up on Apple and the DOJ, including new antitrust laws Ben would like to see, distinctions between platforms and aggregators in a regulatory context, and both sides of the Apple API argument. At the end: Attempts to bridge antitrust confusion and a rant on Boeing’s CEO search.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    Scheduling Note: There will be only one episode of Sharp Tech next week

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    United States v. Apple — Stratechery

    Apple and Antitrust for Aggregators, DMA Investigations and Apple’s Risk — Stratechery Update

    Apple and the Monopoly Question, iPhone Market Share, Apple’s Durability — Stratechery Update

    A Framework for Regulating Competition on the Internet — 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.

    28 March 2024, 3:27 pm
  • 10 minutes 58 seconds
    (Preview) US v. Apple, Specific Allegations and Broad Implications, The Decisions that Made Apple a Target

    A closer look at the US v. Apple complaint, including the good and bad of the introductory rhetoric, debate over the notion that consumers have co-signed Apple's control of the app store, text messaging technology, smartwatches, what Apple has always offered consumers, and the strategic decisions that made the company an attractive antitrust target.

    To email the show: [email protected]

    @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

    @Stratechery Channel — YouTube

    United States v. Apple — Stratechery

    The Supreme Court Declines to Hear Apple-Epic, Apple’s (Predictable) Response — Stratechery Update

    Integrated Apple and App Store Risk — Stratechery

    App Store Arguments — 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.

    25 March 2024, 3:11 pm
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