Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Latest Episodes:

The Hamas Attacks and Social Media, Competing Public Interests, Efforts to Stay Sane in a New Information Ecosystem Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

Zero Trust Information — Stratechery

Tech and War — Stratechery

The TikTok War — Stratechery

Graphic war videos go viral, testing social media’s rules — The Washington Post

TikTok Footage Becomes World’s Window Into Israel Conflict — Bloomberg

Pro-Neutrality, Anti-Title II — 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.

(Preview) The Sphere is Here, Collapsing Distinctions Between Physical and Digital Reality, Emails on Amazon and Antitrust Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

The Sphere in all its LED splendor, more questions about AI devices and virtual reality, brief thoughts on Michael Lewis and SBF, and reading a few of the many listener emails inspired by Tuesday's Amazon discussion.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

The world's most unique billboard: The hefty price tag to advertise on the Vegas Sphere — NBC Las Vegas

New York Loves to Hate Him. Can a $2.3 Billion Sphere Redeem Jim Dolan? — New York Times

Las Vegas and Its Big, Big Ambitions — New York Times

World While Las Vegas inaugurates its Sphere, London residents push back on plans for replica venue — CBS News

Amazon Used Secret ‘Project Nessie’ Algorithm to Raise Prices — Wall Street Journal

AI and Ambient Computing, Zuckerberg and The Verge, Amazon and Anthropic — Stratechery Update

AI, Hardware, and Virtual Reality — Stratechery

Michael Lewis on '60 Minutes' — CBS News

SBF Was Reckless From the Start — Bloomberg

Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America — Good Reads

24 years ago today, the ultimate posterize by Shaq — YouTube: New York Post Sports

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.

(Preview) Amazon and the FTC, Antitrust Laws and Big Tech, Consumer Welfare and American Welfare Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

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@sharptech.fm

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.

Voice and Video Demos with ChatGPT, How AI Could Redeem Meta’s Mixed Reality Bets, OpenAI Explores Hardware Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

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@sharptech.fm

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.

New Features for ChatGPT and Spotify, Revisiting the CarPlay Discussion, TikTot on Advertising and Time Management Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

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@sharptech.fm

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.

(Preview) Microsoft’s Snafu and Apple’s Shenanigans, Car Companies with SaaS Envy, The Logic Behind Delta's SkyMiles Move Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

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.

An Endgame for YouTube TV, Big Disney Decisions (And Whether Bob Iger Should Make Them), The Era Beyond Peak TV Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

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@sharptech.fm

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.

(Preview) Is the iPhone Still Interesting?, Unity’s New Model for Mobile Developers, YouTube Highlights and Taylor Swift’s New Movie Sep 14, 2023

Show notes

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@sharptech.fm

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.

Charter Wins and Does Disney a Favor, Charter and the Broadband Market, SMIC Gets the US Government’s Attention Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

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@sharptech.fm

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.

Disney vs. Charter and a New ESPN Reality, The Future of the Cable Business, Risks for the NBA and Other Sports Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

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.

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