Exponent
A podcast about tech and society, hosted by Ben Thompson and James Allworth
Episode 197 — ChatGPT (at Normal Speed)
Ben and James reunite to discuss the potential impact of AI on white collar work. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus, including Sharp Tech and Sharp China. Links Ben Thompson: AI Homework —…
Episode 196 — Forecasting the Metaverse
Ben and James discuss Facebook and Microsoft’s metaverse announcements, and how the future might play out. Links Ben Thompson: Meta — Stratechery Ben Thompson: An Interview with Mark Zuckerberg about the…
Episode 195 — Technological Revolutions
Are we in the middle of the IT revolution, or on the verge of something new? Links Ben Thompson: The Death and Birth of Technological Revolutions — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The…
Episode 194 — Back on Spotify
Ben and James discuss the history of podcasts and why Spotify’s recent announcements are so compelling for creators. Links Ben Thompson: Spotify’s Surprise — Stratechery Episode 185 — Open, Free, and…
Episode 193 — Sovereign Podcasters
Ben and James discuss Substack and the rise of the sovereign creator. Links Ben Thompson: Sovereign Writers and Substack — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Never-Ending Niches — Stratechery Bruno Maçães: History Has…
Episode 192 — The Australian Perspective
Ben and James discuss Australia’s Media Bargaining Code and its fall-out. Links Ben Thompson: Google Makes Deal With News Corp, Facebook Blocks News in Australia, Microsoft’s Shamelessness — Stratechery Daily Update…
Episode 191 — Facebook, Twitter, and Trump
Ben and James discuss whether Facebook and Twitter should de-platform President Trump. Links Ben Thompson: Tech and Trump — Stratechery Ben Thompson: New Defaults — Stratechery James Allworth: Prioritizing Economics is…
Episode 190 — Intel, Apple, Disruption, and Differentiation
Ben and James discuss Apple’s new chip announcement and what it means for both Apple and Intel. Links James Allworth: Intel’s Disruption is Now Complete — Medium Ben Thompson: Apple’s Shifting…
Episode 189 — Bundles
Ben and James discuss the state of bundles in 2020, including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Microsoft, and Apple. Links Ben Thompson: 2020 Bundles — Stratechery Ben Thompson: The Great Unbundling — Stratechery…
Episode 188 — Big Tech, Antitrust, and Democracy
Ben and James discuss the antitrust subcommittee hearing, the problems of mixing antitrust and Aggregators, and how to think about regulation and democracy. Links Ben Thompson: Antitrust Politics — Stratechery The…
Episode 187 — India, TikTok, and the U.S.
Ben and James discuss the Indian internet, TikTok, and whether or not the U.S. should ban it. Links Ben Thompson: Facebook Invests in Jio Platforms, The Building of Jio, Understanding the…
Episode 186 — Speech and Systems
Ben and James discuss the current protests and Facebook’s decision to not take down Trump tweets. Links Ben Thompson: Zero Trust Information — Stratechery Ben Thompson: Dust in the Light —…
Episode 185 — Open, Free, and Spotify
Ben and James discuss Dithering, how Spotify is like Facebook, and a bit about working from home. Links Ben Thompson & John Gruber: Dithering — Dithering Ben Thompson: Dithering and Open…
Episode 184 — Good is Better than Perfect
Ben and James discuss masks and Twitter’s decision to delete tweets about COVID-19. Links Zeynep Tufekci: Why Telling People They Don’t Need Masks Backfired — The New York Times Ben Thompson:…
Episode 183 — A Search for Everything
Ben and James contrast U.S. and China’s response to the coronavirus, and the choices facing society about how to handle information. Links Ben Thompson: Apple’s Earnings, Slowing Services Growth, Apple and…
Episode 182 — Scale Scale Scale
Ben and James discuss the FTC’s decision to block the acquisition of Harry’s Razors, the DTC market, and the difference between being a monopoly and being too big. Links Ben Thompson:…
Episode 181 — Competing with Spotify and Regulating Acquisitions
Ben and James discuss Ben’s new Daily Update Podcast, and why Exponent is not on Spotify. Then, should regulators roll back acquisitions or prioritize the avoidance of unintended consequences? Links Ben…
Episode 180 — It’s Been a Week
Ben and James eulogize Professor Clayton M. Christensen Links Clayton M. Christensen: How Will You Measure Your Life? — Harvard Business Review Ben Thompson: What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong — Stratechery…
Episode 179 — The Water We Swim In
Ben and James discuss whether mobile and hyper-scale clouds are the natural endpoint for this stage of technology, or if new companies will ride new paradigm shifts to replace Amazon, Google,…
Episode 178 — More Ergonomic
Ben and James discuss the downsides of monopoly, and Apple. Then, why there is no absolute answer when it comes to integration or modularization, and why different approaches require different types…
Episode 177 — Principle Stacks
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:…
Episode 176 — The Second Estate Era
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…
Episode 175 — The Abyss Stares Back
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…
Episode 174 — Distracted at Facebook
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…
Episode 173 — The Exponent IPO
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…
Episode 172 — Game of Phones
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…
Episode 171 — An Intra-west Debate
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,
Episode 170 — A Perfect Meal
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…
Episode 169 — Family-Friendly Disney
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…
Episode 168 — A Community of Loonies
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…
Episode 167 — YouTube and the End of Friction
Ben and James discuss the question of YouTube, why it’s similar and different from Facebook, and why engagement is both alluring and a potential problem. Links YouTube Executives Ignored Warnings, Letting…
