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

Sep 9, 2016 • 48min
Episode 087 — Meditations on Courage
Ben and James discuss James’ adventurous summer and the recent Apple event and what it says about the future of Apple.
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Links
Wolverine Misses Exponent — Twitter
James Allworth: So You’re Thinking About Doing a 10 Day Silent Vipassana Meditation Retreat? — Medium
Naked People — Exponent
Ben Thompson: Beyond the iPhone — Stratechery
Farhad Manjoo: What’s Really Missing From the New iPhone: Cutting-Edge Design — New York Times
Ben Thompson: Apple’s Organizational Crossroads — Stratechery
Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple ‘is sort of a lonely job’ — The Washington Post
Ben Thompson: Apple’s PR Push, Maps and Apple’s Organizational Structure — Stratechery Daily Update
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Presented by MailChimp

Jul 22, 2016 • 1h 4min
Episode 086 — Following a Pokémon Off a Cliff
Ben and James discuss Facebook Live and Pokémon Go. Please note that this episode was podcast five days ago, on Saturday, July 16.
Links
Ben Thompson: A Technical Glitch — Stratechery
The Laborers Who Keep Dick Pics and Beheadings Out of Your Facebook Feed — Wired
Mat Honan: Why Facebook And Mark Zuckerberg Went All In On Live Video — BuzzFeed
Ben Thompson: Facebook and the Feed — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Pokémon Go Phenomonan, Nintendo’s Pivot, Additional Notes on Pokémon Go — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: Activision Blizzard Buys King Digital — Stratechery Daily Update
Aaron Levie: Nintendo’s Mobile Strategy — Twitter
James Allworth: The Blessing of Failure — Medium
Ben Thompson: Facebook, Phones, and Phonebooks — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Jul 1, 2016 • 60min
Episode 085 — Ballots Versus Guillotines
Ben and James discuss why the sociopolitical factors underlying the Brexit vote and their relationship to technology and a system of the future.
Links
Ben Thompson: The Brexit Possibility — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: TV Advertising’s Surprising Strength — And Inevitable Fall — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Follow-up: The Big Picture — Stratechery
James Allworth: Brexit, Trump, and the Ultimatum Game — Medium
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Jun 24, 2016 • 1h 4min
Episode 084 — The Old World Order
Ben and James discuss how the TV industry and the companies that advertise on TV are interconnected, and how they will rise and fall together.
Links
Ben Thompson: TV Advertising’s Surprising Strength — and Inevitable Fall — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Cord Cutting Fantasy — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Why Disney and ESPN Will Be OK — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Old-Fashioned Snapchat — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: How Technology is Changing the World (P&G Edition) — Stratechery
Ken Doctor: The Macy’s Factor — Politico
Ben Thompson: Cars and the Future — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Publishers and the Smiling Curve — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Changing — and Unchanging — Structure of TV — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The FANG Playbook — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Aggregation Theory — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Jun 17, 2016 • 1h 12min
Episode 083 — Microsoft & LinkedIn versus Apple & WWDC
Ben and James discuss Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn and Apple’s WWDC announcements, and figure out why they feel so differently about the two of them.
Links
James Allworth: Who’s going to be having sleepless nights after Microsoft’s LinkedIn deal? — Medium
Ben Thompson: Microsoft and Apple Double Down — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: How Satya Nadella Killed Windows Phone — Stratechery
Microsoft’s Nadella Manages Legacy of Ballmer-Board Split — Bloomberg
Ben Thompson: The Deal That Makes No Sense — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Curse of Culture — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Apple’s Organizational Crossroads — Stratechery
James Allworth: The Blessing of Failure — Medium
Ben Thompson: Apple Watch: Asking Why and Saying No — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Jun 10, 2016 • 1h 22min
Episode 082 — A Podcast About Podcasts
Ben and James discuss the present and future of podcasts, and how media companies need to take a holistic approach to their businesses.
Links
Ben Thompson: The Future of Podcasts — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Why Web Pages Suck — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Publishers and the Smiling Curve — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Grantland and the (Surprising) Future of Publishing — Stratechery
Ezra Klein Show: Ben Thompson on How to Make it in the Media in 2016 — Vox
Marco Arment: Apple’s Actual Role in Podcasting: Be Careful What You Wish For — Marco.org
Podcasts Surge, but Producers Fear Apple Isn’t Listening — New York Times
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Jun 3, 2016 • 54min
Episode 081 — We Have Always Been at War with Amazon
Ben and James explain why Alexa is an even bigger deal than it seems, and why both Apple and Google should fear Amazon. Plus, why Microsoft’s challenges are only beginning.
Links
Ben Thompson: The Amazon Tax — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Jeff Bezos at the Code Conference — Stratechery Daily Update
Jeff Bezos Intervew at the Code Conference: Video, Podcast, Live Blog
Now We’re Talking: Amazon Alexa Comes to Pebble Core — Pebble
Ben Thompson: Twilio Files for IPO — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Google’s Go-to-Market Gap — Stratechery
James Allworth: The Blessing of Failure — Medium
Ben Thompson: Mobile Makes Facebook Just an App, That’s Great News — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Curse of Culture — Stratechery
Microsoft Board Mulls Sales Force Revamp to Speed Shift to Cloud — Bloomberg
Ben Thompson: Redmond and Reality — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Disruption of IBM — Stratechery Daily Update
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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May 27, 2016 • 59min
Episode 080 — Multiple Full Circles
Ben and James discuss briefly revisit last week’s discussion on Facebook, then discuss the Peter Thiel versus Gawker affair, and the implications for tech broadly. Then, how culture helps and hurts at Facebook, Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
Links
Ben Thompson: The Real Problem with Facebook and the News — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Peter Thiel, Comic Book Hero — Stratechery (note: this was written after the podcast)
When the Most Personal Secrets Get Outed on Facebook — Wall Street Journal
Ben Thompson: The Curse of Culture — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Google’s Go-to-Market Gap — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Everything as a Service — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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May 20, 2016 • 58min
Episode 079 — Twerk the Algorithm
Ben and James discuss the allegations that Facebook is censoring conservative news, and renew their ongoing debate about Facebook’s power. Then, why Google’s current situation is similar to Microsoft, even though the long-term looks good.
Links
Want to Know What Facebook Really Thinks of Journalists? Here’s What Happened When It Hired Some. — Gizmodo
Former Facebook Workers: We Routinely Suppressed Conservative News — Gizmodo
Nilay Patel: Let’s Say Obvious Things About Facebook and Conservative News — The Verge
Ben Thompson: The Voters Decide — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Real Problem with Facebook and the News — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Defending Facebook Stratechery Daily Update
Nicholas Kristof: A Confession of Liberal Intolerance — New York Times
Ben Thompson: Facebook, Phones, and Phonebook — Stratechery
James Allworth: The Blessing of Failure — Medium
Ben Thompson: Google’s Go-to-Market Gap — Stratechery
Steve Yegge: Stevey’s Google Platforms Rant — Google Plus
Ben Thompson: Everything as a Service — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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May 6, 2016 • 1h 12min
Episode 078 — Bending Trees
Ben and James discuss how the world will change, how change happens in companies and society, and debate whether or not we have crossed the rubicon to a new world.
Links
Ben Thompson: Everything as a Service — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Friction — Stratechery
Farhad Manjoo: The Uber Model, It Turns Out, Doesn’t Translate — The New York Times
Ben Thompson: Intel Restructures — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: Microsoft’s Mobile Muddle — Stratechery
Max Wessel: Path Dependency, Infrastructure, and Entrepreneurship — LongLogic
Too Much of a Good Thing — Economist
Ben Thompson: Facebook and New Market Disruption — Stratechery Daily Update
The web app that Ben mentioned for writing is Draft.
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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