Grocery delivery apps and why Wal-Mart might have the better idea, why Visible uses the Verizon network while charging half the price, and a question about the future of autonomous vehicles outside of passenger rides. At the end: whether tech could change content development in Hollywood and Ben's memories from the Ron Dayne era at Wisconsin.
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 8 min
A history of Google’s path to dominance in digital advertising, 149 pages of DOJ efforts to alter that same landscape, and a few more thoughts on advertising models vs. subscription models. Plus: Peloton, scooters, a Google diary, and two prongs of the Sharp Tech path to health and prosperity.
Jan 26, 2023•10 min
Parsing the good and bad from Q4 earnings announced by Netflix late last week, dreaming of a free, ad-supported Netflix in the future, what Reed Hastings got right as founder and CEO, plus emails on streaming cost structure, electric vehicles and Acorn computers in British classrooms.
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 1 min
A question about the "Svengali of tech" spawns an overview of ARM and the roots of its business model, follow-up to this week's Amazon conversation, and the future of the WWE leads to discussion of the streaming landscape and the NFL's invincibility.
Jan 19, 2023•8 min
Amazon after a rocky 12 months and on the verge of 18,000 layoffs, whether it's time for the business to mature beyond the Bezos' "Day 1" creed, plus Web3's AI outlook, the utopian view on AI's implications for linguistics, and a question about communities.
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Reactions to the structure of the rumored Microsoft-OpenAI investment, challenges and opportunities for Google as AI matures, what happens to the internet (and AI) after auto-generated text floods the zone. At the end: text vs. images for the future and follow-ups on failed Microsoft investments, YouTube's NFL gamble, and Amazon's NFL ratings.
Jan 12, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Last-minute tech gifts as a prelude to a gift-guide zag, YouTube TV and the implications of this week's Sunday Ticket news, the differences between remote work for a startup and a mature business, and closing with microchips and AI saving the day in D.C.
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr
Unpacking another weekend of drama and incoherence at Twitter, various lessons to be drawn from these public controversies, whether a Twitter collapse would be good for the media, and an apology to the L’Oreal corporate family (but not Renault/Alpine).
Dec 19, 2022•1 hr 2 min
The FTC's approach to Microsoft-Activision as a microcosm of broader questions and challenges, what Bell Labs history can tell us about future solutions, and follow-up questions related to TSMC in Arizona and America's approach to onshoring.
Dec 15, 2022•12 min
Various questions after a new round of TSMC investments in the U.S., reactions to TSMC founder Morris Chang saying that “globalization is almost dead,” beginning the remote work conversation with Ben's memories of life at Automattic, and thoughts on the competing factors that make the work-from-home question so difficult.
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 3 min
More questions on ChatGPT and what the future of start-ups may look like, Microsoft's success and the added scrutiny that comes with acquisitions in the consumer space, a case against the Australian approach to regulation, plus questions about Alphabet and Ben's Spotify Wrapped list.
Dec 08, 2022•13 min
The Internet-wide reaction to ChatGPT 3.5, how OpenAI has evolved and how its chat technology works, the UX challenge of contextualizing answers that are usually right but sometimes demonstrably wrong, plus some quick reactions to “The Twitter Files” on Friday night.
Dec 05, 2022•57 min
Surveying the landscape after a week of Musk tweets and rumors of a Musk-Cook summit, Amazon has a $10 billion Alexa problem, and Ben and Andrew are asked to build a successor to The Social Network.
Dec 01, 2022•14 min
The legend of Bob Iger and the recent history of Bob Chapek, why Disney stock went up last week (but not by much), ESPN and Disney+ in the shadow of the $71 billion 21st Century Fox acquisition, and emails about third party play-by-play and a scientific defense of cigar clubs.
Nov 28, 2022•1 hr 1 min
The night Twitter was laid to rest, TV in movie theaters and the debate over David Zaslav, whether strategy consultants are useful, and celebrating Thanksgiving with a plan to fix the NBA and a taxonomy of group chats.
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 17 min
A closer look at Opendoor in the midst of its biggest challenge yet, the state of Twilio and Cloudflare, excellent pushback on claims that crypto doesn’t have a product, and reactions to SBF’s DMs and Max Verstappen’s antics.
Nov 17, 2022•12 min
The implications of a straight-forward case of fraud, what Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX teach us about the dangers of conflation, why and how Twitter is failing under Elon Musk, and responses to emailers who have asked about Meta's ability to develop a Twitter competitor.
Nov 14, 2022•1 hr 8 min
An email about Netflix spawns an extended overview of Spotify's present and future, a closer look at Apple Music's royalties messaging, reactions to the permanent injunction block Penguin Random House's attempted acquisition of Simon and Schuster, and the two most important features we need from Twitter Blue.
Nov 10, 2022•14 min
A question about Section 230 spawns expansive thoughts from Ben, a proposal for an alternate solution to moderation, new questions on Twitter as the Mastodon takeover approaches, and responses to listeners who balked at Andrew's broad social media dismissal last week.
Nov 07, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Reactions to $8/month for Twitter Blue, the fevered conversation around Musk’s ownership, whether Twitter should take even more risks as a private company, and answers to mailbag questions about Apple, Netflix and Ben’s personal calculus in Taiwan.
Nov 03, 2022•11 min
How Ben reads an earnings report, the various challenges that might unsettle TikTok investors, an extended debate on whether Twitter and Facebook have been good for society, and Andrew is profiled by a major news outlet while Ben shares lessons from his early years.
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Google's core business is sound but YouTube's numbers are murkier, the bull case for Meta as the market runs the other way, and a fair and balanced look at Snap. Then, a few mailbag questions about automation, Netflix abroad, and the psychology of a Red Bull fan.
Oct 27, 2022•11 min
Netflix's Q3 response to all its Q1 critics, sorting through the threats elsewhere in the streaming landscape, what to look for as Netflix makes its foray into ads. Then, responses to a new report on TikTok that was published hours after last Friday's podcast.
Oct 24, 2022•1 hr
Taiwan's military readiness and the modal outcome for Tik Tok in the U.S., a question about immersive audio spawns Clubhouse lament, two questions about the future of AI in the knowledge economy, choosing the NBA coaches and GMs who will lead the next era in tech.
Oct 20, 2022•13 min
The narrow purpose of the latest US export controls, the broad attack the Chinese government will likely perceive, why heightened American attention to Taiwan could be dangerous, and a variety of unknowns as the world awaits the next steps.
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr
Ben remembers why he believes in the future of VR, Andrew remembers why he's not a fan the metaverse movement, listeners wonder about possibilities at Apple and beyond, and Ben offers guidance on tech travel kit best practices.
Oct 14, 2022•11 min
Reactions to Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote at Meta Connect 2022, why it makes sense for Meta to partner with Microsoft in the virtual reality space, the aspects of the VR pitch that still feel underwhelming, and whether Zuckerberg is the right person to lead this era of Facebook.
Oct 11, 2022•58 min
Elon Musk is a land of contradictions, reframing re-bundling and TNT's NBA incentives, a variety of questions about ad-supported business models, and a podcast confirmation hearing as Andrew faces questions about his tech opinions.
Oct 07, 2022•11 min
Why it may make sense to sell Netflix, Apple TV, Paramount Plus and other streamers as one product, why cable may (or may not) be the intermediary brokering the sale, questions for the future of live sports rights. Then, an answer to listeners who have questions about the new era of Stratechery.
Oct 04, 2022•59 min
User agency within Apple's ATT landscape, what Covid can teach us about the risks of regulating content moderation, whether AI fears spawned by The Terminator are reasonable, interrogating Andrew's gamer logic.
Sep 29, 2022•1 hr
