The Diff
Byrne Hobart
The Diff is a newsletter exploring the technologies, companies, and trends that are making the future high-variance. Posts range from in-depth company profiles, applied financial theory, strategy breakdowns and macroeconomics.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 12, 2023 • 12min
Unavoidable Drawdowns
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - Unavoidable Drawdowns
(06:45) - Dumb Money
(08:08) - Adversarial Environments
(09:04) - Coasian Bargains in Immigration
(10:05) - Asset Allocation
(11:23) - Lock-In
Jun 5, 2023 • 15min
In Defense of Made-Up Metrics
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - In Defense of Made-Up Metrics
(07:32) - Scaling the Non-Scalable
(09:49) - VR and Platform Ownership
(11:15) - What is a Bank?
(12:19) - The Non-Recession Recession, in One Graph
(13:23) - Going Direct
May 30, 2023 • 15min
Data, Prices, and Central Planning
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - Data, Prices, and Central Planning
(09:02) - Japan Remains Cheap
(10:08) - Tipping and Price Discrimination
(11:10) - Bad News is Good News
(12:26) - Black Markets
(13:08) - Jobs
May 22, 2023 • 13min
Cava: One Brand, Many Channels
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - Cava: One Brand, Many Channels
(07:41) - AI and Incumbents
(08:51) - Buying Reputation
(09:40) - Restaurant Pricing
(10:35) - Debt, Prices, and the Pull-Forward Effect
(11:46) - Assets and Distribution
May 15, 2023 • 12min
Why Do Equities Build So Much Wealth?
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - Why Do Equities Build So Much Wealth?
(07:36) - Efficient Markets
(08:15) - Logistics
(09:28) - Markups
(10:02) - The New Geography
(10:34) - Marking to Market
May 8, 2023 • 12min
The Relationship-Transactional-Relationship Business Cycle
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - The Relationship-Transactional-Relationship Business Cycle
(07:46) - Metrics at Twitter
(09:04) - Workarounds
(09:49) - Generative Ads
(10:14) - Elsewhere in AI
(10:55) - Banking
May 1, 2023 • 14min
SVB in Retrospect
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - SVB in Retrospect
(09:01) - And in Other Banking News
(10:05) - States See Like Big Tech
(11:17) - Aggressive Competition
(12:12) - Agglomeration and Sports
(13:02) - The Narrow Rally
Apr 24, 2023 • 12min
Why The Answer Is So Often Ads
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - Why The Answer Is So Often Ads
(07:33) - Strategic Shutdowns
(08:11) - Verification, Ads, and Membership
(08:49) - The China Cap Table
(09:28) - Very Long-Term Investing
(10:46) - Branding a Bank
Apr 17, 2023 • 20min
Working with a Copilot
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - Working with a Copilot
(11:59) - Catching Up
(14:09) - Private Capital
(15:35) - AI Regulation
(17:17) - AI Stocks
(19:04) - Cars and Interfaces
Apr 10, 2023 • 15min
Dueling Over Platforms
This is an audio version of the free newsletter. Read the newsletter at thediff.co, and subscribe for an additional 3 posts (and podcasts!) per week.
(00:00) - Dueling Over Platforms
(09:46) - De-Googling
(10:17) - Reshoring
(11:53) - Attribution
(12:49) - Volatility
(13:18) - The State of AI Workers
