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

Nov 8, 2019 • 1h 1min
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: Free Speech — xkcd
Pat Kerr: Why I think xkcd is wrong about Free Speech — Medium
Ben Thompson: The China Cultural Clash — Stratechery
The Federalist Papers : No. 84 — Yale Law
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez questions Mark Zuckerberg on when Facebook will fact check — YouTube
Jon Gertner: The Very, Very Personal Is the Political — The New York Times Magazine
United States v. Alvarez — Casetext
Julia Angwin and Terry Parris Jr.: Facebook Lets Advertisers Exclude Users by Race — ProPublica
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Oct 25, 2019 • 55min
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 audio discrepancy between Ben and James
Links
Ben Thompson: The Internet and the Third Estate — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Zuckerberg’s Speech, Facebook Versus China, The Structure of Free Expression — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: TV Advertising’s Surprising Strength — And Inevitable Fall — Stratechery
Perry Link: China: The Anaconda in the Chandelier — ChinaFile
Mark Zuckerberg Stands for Voice and Free Expression — Facebook
The Federalist Papers: No. 47— Yale Law
Ben Thompson: Strategy Credit — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Oct 15, 2019 • 52min
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 Of Companies Under China’s Censorship Orders (So Far). Credit To U/Lebe — Reddit
Sam Dastyari Quits As Labor Senator Over China Connections — The Guardian
Rejected three times due to fear of Beijing, controversial book on China’s secret influence will finally be published — Business Insider
Ethan Strauss: Can Steve Kerr and the NBA do better on China? — The Athletic
Ben Thompson: Apple Pulls Hong Kong App, Tim Cook’s Memo, Honesty and Control — Stratechery
A message about iOS security — Apple
Ben Thompson: Apple Versus Project Zero, Apple’s Poor Response, The China Paradox — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Privacy Fundamentalism — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Oct 5, 2019 • 49min
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 With Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong? — New York Times
Ben Thompson: Child Sexual Abuse Material Online, The Problem With Community, Towards More Friction — Stratechery
Casey Newton: Read The Full Transcript of Mark Zuckerberg’s Leaked Internal Facebook Meetings — The Verge
Ben Thompson: Facebook’s All-Hands Leak, Facebook Versus Warren, Zuckerberg’s Culture
— Stratechery
Attorney General Bill Barr Will Ask Zuckerberg To Halt Plans For End-To-End Encryption Across Facebook’s Apps — BuzzFeed News
Ben Thompson: Facebook’s Privacy Cake — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Beachheads and Obstacles — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Curse of Culture — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Sep 20, 2019 • 59min
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 of Attractive Profits — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Cloudflare’s S-1 — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: AWS and the Impact on Venture Capital — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: WeWork Delays IPO — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: The WeWork IPO — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Why WeWork Isn’t AWS — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: What Is a Tech Company? — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Jun 13, 2019 • 47min
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 Age — Stratechery
Letter from Tim Cook to Apple investors — Apple
Ben Thompson: Strategy Credit — Stratechery
Updates to the App Store Guidelines — Apple
Ben Thompson: Antitrust, the App Store, and Apple — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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May 24, 2019 • 56min
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, Too — Foreign Policy
How China Uses High-Tech Surveillance to Subdue Minorities — New York Times
Ben Thompson: The Pollyannish Assumption — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: More on Values (and Facebook) — Stratechery Daily Update
Ben Thompson: Open, Closed, and Privacy — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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May 10, 2019 • 44min
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
Ben Thompson: The State of Technology at the End of 2018 — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Google Fights Back — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The End of Windows — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Microsoft’s Earnings, Microsoft’s Growth Opportunities — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Microsoft Build, Microsoft’s Strategic Clarity, An Interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: The Cost of Developers — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Google Fights Back — Stratechery
Geoffrey Moore: To Succeed in the Long Term, Focus on the Middle Term — Harvard Business Review
Ben Thompson: Apple Should Buy Netflix — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Services, Not Devices — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Apr 19, 2019 • 1h 2min
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 of TV — Stratechery
Ben Thompson: Disney and the Value of the Consumer Relationship, Disney’s Consolidation of Hulu, Comcast and AT&T — Stratechery Daily Update
Disney CEO Bob Iger Unveils Details on Disney+ Streaming Service — CNBC
Ben Thompson: Airbnb and the Internet Revolution — Stratechery
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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Apr 12, 2019 • 49min
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
New Livestreaming Legislation Fails to Take Into Account How the Internet Actually Works — The Conversation
Out of the Clouds and Into the Weeds: Cloudflare’s Approach to Abuse in New Products — Cloudflare
Unpacking the Stack and Addressing Complaints about Content — Cloudflare
Ben Thompson: Mark Zuckerberg’s Proposal, The Copyright Directive and Sunk Costs, You Say You Want Some Regulation — Stratechery Daily Update
Hosts
Ben Thompson, @benthompson, Stratechery
James Allworth, @jamesallworth, Harvard Business Review
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