Podcast profile
By Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson
A podcast about understanding how tech works and the way it is changing the world. Hosted by Andrew Sharp with Ben Thompson.
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29 min
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On today’s show Ben and Andrew begin with Microsoft, Meta and Google in the wake of their latest earnings reports. First: Microsoft’s push to be the middle layer for enterprise AI, threats to the company’s competitive position in the long run, and the subtext of the open weights open letter frenzy two weeks ago. Then:
On today’s show Ben and Andrew begin with takeaways from OpenAI’s sandboxing snafu, including a reminder that the big bad wolf is real, OpenAI’s failures, and the timing challenge with warnings from AI labs. From there: Talking through Ben’s article on Kimi K3 and the future of open weights AI models in the U.S., inclu
On today’s show Ben and Andrew begin with a raft of OpenAI news, including reactions to the first reports of what OpenAI’s first hardware product will be, the logic of OpenAI’s hardware business generally, the Codex push in the mac app, and a request for a Codex computer. From there: The Apple-OpenAI trade secrets laws
On today’s show Andrew and Ben begin with a look at the state of Meta. Topics include: Mark Zuckerberg’s sins of commission vs. omission as a messenger, Meta’s AI opportunity, directionally correct investments, the problems with Meta as a cloud provider, and the absence of religion in Menlo Park. From there: Why Micros
Ben and Andrew begin with an extended look at the market for memory chips, including market history, the supply crunch driving up today’s valuations, the myopia from SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron, new entrants from China, and why the timing of Apple’s price increases are a bearish signal. From there: Both hosts share th
On today’s show Ben and Andrew begin with a hydration break take as the World Cup continues before turning to the latest on Anthropic’s export control saga, what the Trump administration may not understand about AI cybersecurity, and what Anthropic still doesn’t understand about dealing with the government. From there:
Ben and Andrew begin by talking through five questions on WWDC in 2026, including thoughts on Apple’s answer to the critics, whether Apple is or is not thinking different, decoding the Google partnership and Craig Federighi’s corporate speak, the wide gap between Siri AI and frontier AI, and why memory concerns are mis
Ben and Andrew begin with a look at SpaceX before its June IPO. Topics include: Why the S-1 math that doesn’t quite pencil out for now, the madness of analyzing Musk companies generally, the company’s ultimate upside, and why the IPO is worth applauding regardless. Then: Questions on terrestrial solutions vs. data cent
Ben and Andrew discuss the future of computing and its implications for the chip market, including what Cerebras is doing that’s different, why speed may no longer be a top priority for inference, good news for China’s AI ecosystem, the future for Nvidia, and questions on Pat Gelsinger’s role in Intel’s revival. From t
Ben and Andrew react to Amazon’s impressive earnings in AI with a cliffs notes history on AWS cloud computing strategy, how Amazon is returning to that playbook in AI, and why the Trainium bets look more reasonable than ever. From there: Understanding both sides of the OpenAI and Microsoft deal this week, including why
Ben and Andrew begin with six emails on AI, including a question about the future of AI consumer demand, Gemini’s quiet few months, whether compute constraints should lead to price hikes, and divergent approaches to AGI at Anthropic and OpenAI. From there: An extended answer to a question about AI messaging in the face
Ben and Andrew begin with reactions to Anthropic’s Mythos announcement and Project Glasswing, including thoughts on the security risks, the business benefits of keeping this model private, lessons on the “Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and renewed focus on Anthropic’s relationship with the U.S. government. From there: Anthropic’
Ben and Andrew begin with Q&A on Apple after 50 years, including thoughts on Steve Jobs weaknesses, putting iTunes on Windows, the best Apple ads, Chinese manufacturing counterfactuals, and tech company Mount Rushmore. From there: Thoughts on Apple’s AI bet and the downside risk, the signs that Cupertino sees AI as a d
Ben and Andrew interrupt Stratechery’s spring vacation with a mailbag. First, they discuss the end of Sora, the difference between Sora and Instagram, and where the OpenAI/Microsoft parallels break down. Then: A great take on advertising, ChatGPT engagement farming, Formula 1’s new era, the NFL’s world takeover, and ho
Ben and Andrew begin with the news that OpenAI is shifting away from “side quests” and allocating resources to the enterprise space, including Dropbox history to explain OpenAI’s present, lessons in the enterprise space generally (and what you learn in business school), and OpenAI taking cues from 1980s Microsoft. From
Ben and Andrew begin with the MacBook Neo, including Ben’s memory needs, Apple’s clever move to repurpose old iPhone chips, and the market for a $599 laptop. From there: A question about VisionOS, Andrew’s notes after six weeks of Vision Pro joy, and an extended discussion of Claude’s differentiation, harnessing, Micro
Ben and Andrew react to a week of Anthropic discussion, including Dario Amodei’s leaked memo to employees, why a compromise is still possible, and answering a variety of questions in response to Ben’s article this week. At the end: A terrible AI law for young parents, surveying the implications for Netflix after Paramo
Ben and Andrew discuss the global memory shortage and answer a listener’s question: how did this happen? Topics include: What memory chips have in common with logic chips, why Intel left the memory market in the 1980s, how the international shipping market explains today’s shortage, how major players will address the p
Ben and Andrew react to a killer round of earnings for Spotify and Daniel Ek’s final earnings call, including thoughts on Spotify’s transformation of the music industry, how a record company oligopoly helped create the definitive tech bundle, and why Spotify’s personalization requires an addendum to aggregation theory.
Ben and Andrew react to a bloodbath for public Saas companies with thoughts on the future of software in the AI era, beginning with why companies choose to outsource solutions to Saas companies today, and why those moats may be more durable than skeptics think. Then: Why SaaS skepticism remains fair, including an analo
Unpacking the latest round of Meta earnings, including Wall Street’s about-face after last year’s CapEx squeamishness, whether Zuckerberg’s astronomical CapEx plans are more evidence he yearns to be more than an app maker, why Meta owes a thank you to Apple, Apple and Meta in the AI era, and a word about Instagram mess
TSMC’s pricing power in the AI era, a brief history of TSMC’s culture and CapEx decisions, and ongoing capacity constraints that should be pushing tech companies to build up competitors. Then: Thoughts on Netflix after Ben’s interview with co-CEO Greg Peters, including Wall Street’s concerns despite enormous success, w
A call for Apple to finally be confident in its Vision Pro hardware, a brief history of broadcasting sports on TV, and yet another reminder that immersive live experiences should be the killer use case that brings users to the Vision Pro platform. Then: Q&A on the AVP, a question on the Siri and Gemini partnership, and
Andrew and Ben return from the holidays to discuss Ben’s Article AI and the Human Condition, and various responses to the preponderance of pessimistic forecasts for what AI will mean for the future, including thoughts on employment, sex, and the problem with trying to regulate human nature. Then: An email about OpenAI
Andrew and Ben begin with reactions to ChatGPT’s new image capabilities, a reminder of OpenAI’s strategic advantages vs. Google, Disney’s deal with Sora, and Gemini 3 Flash. From there: Netflix and its competition for attention, Netflix continues its foray into podcasting, and a question about movie theaters highlights