Andrew and Ben discuss another weekend of pivots, updates and clarifications to the Trump trade policies, the big picture shifts and fundamental questions underlying these policies, a question about Spotify, and Stevie's platform rant inspires an emailer's request for a tech blog post canon. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Apple Was on Brink of Crisis Before Trump Tariff Concession — Bloomberg Internet 3.0 and the Beginning...
Apr 14, 2025•12 min
Ben and Andrew return to discuss Liberation Day whiplash, Apple’s history in China and tech’s history in Asia, and the various challenges inherent to the efforts to rejuvenate America’s industrial capacity. At the end: Ben recaps a visit to a Formula 1 race in Japan. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube American Disruption — Stratechery Trade, Tariffs, and Tech — Stratechery Update A Chance to Build — Stratechery How Apple tied ...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Thoughts on both X and xAI in the wake of Friday’s announcement from Elon Musk, Chat GPT’s image capabilities and whether AI-adjacent SaaS companies will ever have a moat, and emailers offer counterpoints on Sam Altman’s ads answer and the notion that Google can’t make great products anymore. At the end: Should Substack serve ads?, answers on Israeli cybersecurity, and more on Steve Jobs and Studio Ghibli. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Cha...
Mar 31, 2025•13 min
Reactions to OpenAI's "Images in GPT," and thoughts on the Trump administration's Signal debacle, including a few points Ben neglected to emphasize earlier this week. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube OpenAI’s New Image Model, Graphic Design and Google, More on Security — Stratechery Update The Trump Administration Group Chat, Signal: The Coke of Secure Messaging, Transparency Versus Security — Stratechery Update Mailbag: A P...
Mar 27, 2025•9 min
A look at the logic of Google's plans to purchase an Israeli cybersecurity firm for $32 billion, more tension between Apple, Google and the EU, and an email about Xbox One and Microsoft's checkered history of consumer tech ambitions. At the end: Moana 2 and what led to the decision to abandon windowing, Bryan Johnson's pursuit of immortality, and a few follow-ups on Daylight Saving Time. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Goog...
Mar 24, 2025•14 min
After Ben's interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Andrew and Ben hold an impromptu symposium on AI and its implications, featuring questions from listeners. Topics include: The long-term UX for Deep Research, OpenAI's allergy to an ads-based business model, a confession from Ben after an Exponent take years ago, how AI might--or might not--change the White Collar economy, an era of startups capitalizing on AI-enabled cost structures, AI for companionship and adult content, and whether generative...
Mar 21, 2025•14 min
To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Metallica on Vision Pro, Non-Immersive Immersive Video, Ping and AI — Stratechery Update Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino — Daring Fireball Apple AI’s Platform Pivot Potential — Stratechery A Google I/O Idea, The Smartphone AI Value Chain, Apple’s Developer Hang-Ups — Stratechery Update Why Doesn’t Apple Enable Sustainable Businesses on the App Store? — Stratechery Get all episod...
Mar 17, 2025•15 min
Revisiting Apple's nadir in the 1990s, along with internal friction that boiled over after Steve Jobs' passing, and explaining why Apple execs should—but probably won't—respond to the Apple Intelligence embarrassment by empowering third-party developers to build great AI products that run locally on the iPhone. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino — Daring Fireball Apple AI’s Platfor...
Mar 13, 2025•1 hr 9 min
A question about the future of the NBA as the league sees record revenues and declining ratings, several emails about Apple's continued adventures in AI, and follow-ups to last week's episode on Formula 1, Amazon, chatbots as the AI UI, and tech that removes friction. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Apple Delays Siri Upgrade Indefinitely as AI Concerns Escalate — Bloomberg Apple’s Shifting Differentiation — Stratechery Behi...
Mar 10, 2025•12 min
Surveying the streaming landscape in 2025, including YouTube’s opportunity to solve problems for millions of frustrated entertainment consumers, Peacock’s murky future, HBO and the Max mess, and lots more. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube An Interview with Michael Nathanson About the Streaming Endgame — Stratechery Interview NBCUniversal is pinning Peacock’s streaming success on its $2.45 billion per year NBA deal — CNBC Spo...
Mar 06, 2025•14 min
Andrew and Ben react to Amazon's announcement for an AI-powered Alexa that has been "100 percent re-architected," and then answer mailbag questions about OpenAI's long-term future, LLM confidence, LLMs and the future of the English language, how a hardware business like Manna should approach aggregators, and the social costs of tech that optimizes for efficiency and eliminates friction. At the end: A word about the most exciting app of 2025. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcas...
Mar 03, 2025•13 min
A discussion of Ben's Stratechery article AI Promises and Chip Precariousness, including basic geography and evolving geopolitical considerations informing today's Taiwan tensions, the recent history of US policy surrounding chips, considerations for US policies going forward, and various concerns with lifting the chip ban and implementing stricter controls on chipmaking equipment. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube AI Promise...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 26 min
The history underlying Apple’s decision to pull its Advanced Data Protection feature from the UK market, criticisms of the UK, Apple and a few of Apple’s loudest critics, and thoughts on the future of drone delivery after Ben’s interview with Manna CEO Bobby Healy. At the end: font guidance and memecoins. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube The iPhone 16e; Apple Intelligence Table Stakes; Apple vs. U.K, Continued — Stratechery ...
Feb 24, 2025•14 min
On today’s special crossover Sharp Tech/Sharp China episode, Ben Thompson and Bill Bishop discuss the private enterprise symposium and Xi Jinping's rapprochement with China's tech companies, and the connection between xAI and DeepSeek. Then, an extended debate on the chip ban, including its potential long-term consequences, and whether or not a course correction is possible. Finally, why the situation surround Taiwan is worrisome, and whether Trump is looking to make a deal. To email the show: e...
Feb 19, 2025•16 min
To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Apple Earnings, OpenAI Deep Research, The Unbundling of Substantiation — Stratechery Update OpenAI Releases AI Agent Designed to Act Like a Research Analyst — Bloomberg The AI Unbundling — 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/yea...
Feb 06, 2025•12 min
Answering mailbag questions on a report that Apple has abandoned its plans for smart glasses, Google, OpenAI and advertising, why LLMs struggle with sports statistics, whether generative AI will become more acceptable in media, and a few thoughts on manufacturing, tariffs, and the de minimis exception. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Apple Scraps Work on Mac-Connected Augmented Reality Glasses — Bloomberg An Interview with ...
Feb 03, 2025•13 min
Andrew and Ben reconvene to answer your emails on DeepSeek and its implications. Topics include: DeepSeek as the Oakland A’s and Big Tech as the Red Sox, questions about distillation, video game history and coding to the metal, waiting for Silicon Valley products in AI, the future of compute demand and power consumption, and a variety of follow-up thoughts to Monday’s export control discussion. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTu...
Jan 30, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Unpacking several days of dizzying reactions to DeepSeek, including a closer look at the costs of model development, why the heightened scrutiny looks like a coping mechanism, DeepSeek’s efficiency breakthroughs, the implications for big tech, and the future of export controls on semiconductors. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube DeepSeek FAQ — Stratechery DeepSeek-R1, DeepSeek Implications — Stratechery Update Get all episode...
Jan 27, 2025•12 min
To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Stargate, The End of Microsoft and OpenAI — Stratechery Update Microsoft Earnings; Microsoft and OpenAI, Again; GitHub Copilot Adds Gemini and Claude — Stratechery Update The Accidental Consumer Tech Company; ChatGPT, Meta, and Product-Market Fit; Aggregation and APIs — Stratechery Update Stratechery Updates, DeepSeek-R1, DeepSeek Implications — Stratechery Update AI’s Uneven Arrival — Strate...
Jan 23, 2025•14 min
To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube TikTok Ban Approaches, Generational Implications, Xiaohongshu — 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....
Jan 20, 2025•11 min
Looking to digital advertising history for clues about AI’s impact on the economy, proposed frameworks for AGI and ASI, and why AI benefits are likely to be unevenly distributed in the near term. Then: The logic and continued uncertainty surrounding a TikTok ban in the United States, the delights of Xiaohongshu mania, and a word about TikTok and conflicting principles. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube AI’s Uneven Arrival — S...
Jan 16, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Meta’s new approach to moderation questions, the context for an apparent shift to the right among tech leadership, and lessons from the last several years of moderation challenges and mistakes. At the end: Mark Zuckerberg offers his assessment of Apple in the modern era. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Meta Changes Moderation Policies, Zuckerberg’s Journey — and Mine, The Audacity of Copying Well — Stratechery Update Mark Z...
Jan 14, 2025•15 min
Ben and Andrew return from the holidays to check in on the AI landscape. Topics include: Aggregation Theory and the return of marginal costs for hyperscalers, the architecture of OpenAI’s o3 model, the murky future for software engineers and SaaS companies, and whether Scarlett Johansson fumbled the bag. At the end: In praise of learning to ski as a middle-aged beginner. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube 2025 AI & Semicon...
Jan 06, 2025•14 min
Ending the year with a slew of great emails from listeners, including questions about the next U.S. flagship to fail, Google's advantages in AI, an iOS 18 autopsy, the classes that Ben and Andrew would teach as professors, AI for chip production, TSMC mugs, recommendations for X usage, and the return of the TikTot segment to discuss tutoring and children. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the whole Sharp Tech family! To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 40 min
A high level read on Google's quantum computing announcement and Google's R&D efforts generally, a listener's question about drones as a platform, follow-up on last week's conversation about Anduril and the future of the U.S. defense industry, and questions on the near term concerns surrounding an AI Manhattan project, Clayton Christensen’s theory of integration and modularity as applied to Silicon Valley, and housing prices in the Bay Area. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPo...
Dec 16, 2024•22 min
Unpacking a quietly significant announcement from Anduril this week, the future of hardware and software in the U.S. defense industry, and checking in with OpenAI as the company announces a new subscription tier for ChatGPT. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Anduril Industries — X: @andruiltech An Interview with Gregory Allen About the State of China Chip Export Controls — Stratechery Interview ChatGPT Pro, o1 Pro, Sora — Str...
Dec 12, 2024•11 min
First, a follow-up to Ben's article on Gen AI and the future of user interfaces, and then emails on architecture and structural incentives, Bob Noyce and American lithography, Blue Origin and Amazon, the role of capitalism in the declining birth rate around the world, and thoughts on 'X' and its Reels-ification in 2024. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube The Gen AI Bridge to the Future — Stratechery Get all episodes of Sharp T...
Dec 09, 2024•14 min
A closer look at Intel's fall from grace in the wake of CEO Pat Gelsinger's sudden retirement and with the company facing a fresh round of questions about its future. Topics include: Ben's overview of a 20-year run of paradigm shifts and strategic missteps, Gelsinger's strengths and weaknesses, CHIPS Act funds and a looming inflection point, and the murky path forward for American made chips. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube...
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Returning from the holiday week with a look at the explosive growth of AppLovin, various takeaways from the towering success of OnlyFans, Bloomberg history, and questions on the future for Elon Musk and OpenAI. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube An Interview with Eric Seufert About the Current State of Digital Advertising — Stratechery Interview Podcast: Understanding AppLovin — Mobile Dev Memo The Single-Staircase Radicals Ha...
Dec 02, 2024•14 min
Celebrating the holiday week with emails from subscribers. Topics include: integrating LLMs into the modern workflow, human reactions to AI content, Google and its disruption risks, a follow-up to last week’s trade discussion, advice for a young engineer working remotely, creating new reality shows, an unpaid shoe testimonial, family tech support, and more. Happy Thanksgiving to all! To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Get all ...
Nov 26, 2024•18 min
