
Exponent
A podcast about tech and society, hosted by Ben Thompson and James Allworth
Latest episodes

52 snips
Dec 9, 2022 • 1h 6min
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 — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: An Interview With Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman About the Democratization of AI — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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4 snips
Nov 5, 2021 • 1h 15min
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 Metaverse — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: AR vs. VR — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Apps, People, and Jobs to be Done — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Metaverses — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Oct 18, 2021 • 1h 10min
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 End of the Beginning — Stratechery
John Perry Barlow: A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace — EFF
Ben Thompson: Internet 3.0 and the Beginning of (Tech) History — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Internet and the Third Estate — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Apr 30, 2021 • 1h 6min
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 Spotify — Exponent
Ben Thompson: Podcasts, Analytics, and Centralization — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Spotify’s Podcast Aggregation Play — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Dithering and Open Versus Free — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Spotify Earnings, Podcasts and Lifetime Value, The Ringer Acquisition — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The European Super League, Apple Music’s Letter to Artists — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Podcast Subscriptions vs. the App Store — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Fearing Spotify?, Apple’s Earnings, Margins and Chips — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Mar 26, 2021 • 57min
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 Begun — Hurst Publishers
Ben Thompson: Defining Information — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Feb 19, 2021 • 49min
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
James Allworth: Australia’s Proposed “Fox News Tax” — Medium
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Jan 8, 2021 • 1h 6min
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 Crippling the U.S. Economy — Medium
Ben Thompson: Trump and Twitter — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Nov 13, 2020 • 60min
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 Differentiation — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Intel Opportunity — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Apple, ARM, and Intel — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Chips and Geopolitics — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Intel and the Danger of Integration — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Oct 6, 2020 • 49min
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
Reed Hastings: 2018 Q4 Letter to Shareholders — Netflix
Growth At Any Cost: Top Facebook Executive Defended Data Collection In 2016 Memo — And Warned That Facebook Could Get People Killed — BuzzFeed News
Ben Thompson: Manifestos and Monopolies — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Facebook Lenses — Stratechery
Casey Newton: Mark in the Middle — The Verge
Ben Thompson: Losing My Amazon Religion — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Jobs TV Does — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Sports Linchpin — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Apple’s “Time Flies” Event, Apple One, Fitness+ and Peloton — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: PS5 and Xbox, Sony’s Console, Microsoft’s Service — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Aug 7, 2020 • 55min
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 New York Times: Here’s which tech C.E.O. was asked the most questions by lawmakers. — NY Times
Ben Thompson: Why Doesn’t Apple Enable Sustainable Businesses on the App Store? — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Apple’s China Problem — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Antitrust Hearing, The Role of Congress, CEO Questions — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: A Framework for Regulating Competition on the Internet — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Ends, Means, and Antitrust — Stratechery
James Allworth: Prioritizing Economics is Crippling the U.S. Economy — Medium
Ben Thompson: TikTok Key Money, Rule By Law, China Gaslighting — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: Tech and Trump: The Meeting — Stratechery Daily Update
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
Podcast Information
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