Exponent

Latest Episodes:

Episode 177 — Principle Stacks Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss the origins of the First Amendment, what a culture of free expression means, and Facebook’s ad policy.

Links

Ben Thompson: Tech and Liberty — Stratechery
Randall Munroe: Free Speech — xkcd
Pat Kerr: Why I think xkcd is wrong about Free Speech — Medium
Ben Thompson: The China Cultural Clash — Stratechery
The Federalist Papers : No. 84 — Yale Law
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez questions Mark Zuckerberg on when Facebook will fact check — YouTube
Jon Gertner: The Very, Very Personal Is the Political — The New York Times Magazine
United States v. Alvarez — Casetext
Julia Angwin and Terry Parris Jr.: Facebook Lets Advertisers Exclude Users by Race — ProPublica

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 176 — The Second Estate Era Oct 25, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss how the Internet’s impact will be like the printing press’s, and what that means for how we should think about Facebook.

Note: We apologize for the slight audio discrepancy between Ben and James

Links

Ben Thompson: The Internet and the Third Estate — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Zuckerberg’s Speech, Facebook Versus China, The Structure of Free Expression — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: TV Advertising’s Surprising Strength — And Inevitable Fall — Stratechery
Perry Link: China: The Anaconda in the Chandelier — ChinaFile
Mark Zuckerberg Stands for Voice and Free Expression — Facebook
The Federalist Papers: No. 47— Yale Law
Ben Thompson: Strategy Credit — Stratechery

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 175 — The Abyss Stares Back Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss the NBA and Apple in China and the long-term implications of doing business with authoritarian governments.

Links

Ben Thompson: The China Cultural Clash — Stratechery
r/HongKong: List Of Companies Under China’s Censorship Orders (So Far). Credit To U/Lebe — Reddit
Sam Dastyari Quits As Labor Senator Over China Connections — The Guardian
Rejected three times due to fear of Beijing, controversial book on China’s secret influence will finally be published — Business Insider
Ethan Strauss: Can Steve Kerr and the NBA do better on China? — The Athletic
Ben Thompson: Apple Pulls Hong Kong App, Tim Cook’s Memo, Honesty and Control — Stratechery
A message about iOS security — Apple
Ben Thompson: Apple Versus Project Zero, Apple’s Poor Response, The China Paradox — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Privacy Fundamentalism — Stratechery

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 174 — Distracted at Facebook Oct 05, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss Facebook from multiple angles, including child sexual abuse material, encryption, Oculus, and a leaked all-hands meeting.

Links

Ben Thompson: Friction — Stratechery
The Internet Is Overrun With Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong? — New York Times
Ben Thompson: Child Sexual Abuse Material Online, The Problem With Community, Towards More Friction — Stratechery
Casey Newton: Read The Full Transcript of Mark Zuckerberg’s Leaked Internal Facebook Meetings — The Verge
Ben Thompson: Facebook’s All-Hands Leak, Facebook Versus Warren, Zuckerberg’s Culture
— Stratechery
Attorney General Bill Barr Will Ask Zuckerberg To Halt Plans For End-To-End Encryption Across Facebook’s Apps — BuzzFeed News
Ben Thompson: Facebook’s Privacy Cake — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Beachheads and Obstacles — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Curse of Culture — Stratechery

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 173 — The Exponent IPO Sep 20, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss Cloudflare and what it is like going through an IPO, as well as what has gone wrong with WeWork.

Links

Ben Thompson: Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Cloudflare’s S-1 — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: AWS and the Impact on Venture Capital — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: WeWork Delays IPO — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: The WeWork IPO — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Why WeWork Isn’t AWS — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: What Is a Tech Company? — Stratechery

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 172 — Game of Phones Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss WWDC keynote and why it was so important for Apple to move past the iPhone.

Links

Ben Thompson: Apple’s Audacity — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Apple’s Middle Age — Stratechery
Letter from Tim Cook to Apple investors — Apple
Ben Thompson: Strategy Credit — Stratechery
Updates to the App Store Guidelines — Apple
Ben Thompson: Antitrust, the App Store, and Apple — Stratechery

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 171 — An Intra-west Debate May 24, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss the U.S.-China trade war and the fundamental issues facing both countries generally and tech specifically.

Links

Ben Thompson: China, Leverage, and Values — Stratechery
We Were Pirates, Too — Foreign Policy
How China Uses High-Tech Surveillance to Subdue Minorities — New York Times
Ben Thompson: The Pollyannish Assumption — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: More on Values (and Facebook) — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: Open, Closed, and Privacy — Stratechery

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 170 — A Perfect Meal May 10, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss the Zoom and Slack IPOs in the context of Microsoft’s current success and long-term challenges.

Links

Ben Thompson: Microsoft, Slack, Zoom, and the SaaS Opportunity — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The State of Technology at the End of 2018 — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Google Fights Back — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The End of Windows — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Microsoft’s Earnings, Microsoft’s Growth Opportunities — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Microsoft Build, Microsoft’s Strategic Clarity, An Interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Cost of Developers — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Google Fights Back — Stratechery
Geoffrey Moore: To Succeed in the Long Term, Focus on the Middle Term — Harvard Business Review
Ben Thompson: Apple Should Buy Netflix — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Services, Not Devices — Stratechery

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 169 — Family-Friendly Disney Apr 19, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss Disney’s recent announcements on streaming and what it says about not just TV but strategy broadly in the Internet era.

Links

Ben Thompson: Disney and the Future of TV — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Disney and the Value of the Consumer Relationship, Disney’s Consolidation of Hulu, Comcast and AT&T — Stratechery Daily Update
Disney CEO Bob Iger Unveils Details on Disney+ Streaming Service — CNBC
Ben Thompson: Airbnb and the Internet Revolution — Stratechery

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

Episode 168 — A Community of Loonies Apr 12, 2019

Show notes

Ben and James discuss why Internet regulation is coming, why it is probably necessary, and how it should be targeted.

Links

Ben Thompson: A Regulatory Framework for the Internet — Stratechery
New Livestreaming Legislation Fails to Take Into Account How the Internet Actually Works — The Conversation
Out of the Clouds and Into the Weeds: Cloudflare’s Approach to Abuse in New Products — Cloudflare
Unpacking the Stack and Addressing Complaints about Content — Cloudflare
Ben Thompson: Mark Zuckerberg’s Proposal, The Copyright Directive and Sunk Costs, You Say You Want Some Regulation — Stratechery Daily Update

Hosts

Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review

Podcast Information

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