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
Dec 19, 2022 • 22min
How Companies Think About Layoffs
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) - How Companies Think About Layoffs
(14:15) - Moderation
(17:48) - Understanding TikTok
(19:19) - Reputational Bank Runs
(20:13) - Coal
(21:02) - Disney
Dec 12, 2022 • 16min
"A Solution in Search of a Problem" is a Low-Rates Phenomenon
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) - "A Solution in Search of a Problem" is a Low-Rates Phenomenon
(09:38) - Money and Equilibria
(11:50) - eSports
(13:03) - The Price of Liquidity
(13:43) - Plausible Deniability
(14:30) - The Illiquidity Premium, Continued
Dec 5, 2022 • 13min
The Uses of Friction
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 Uses of Friction
(07:37) - Market-Making
(09:19) - Poaching and Equity Currency
(10:44) - China's Covid Economy
(11:31) - The Cost of AI
(11:55) - Friendshoring
Nov 28, 2022 • 15min
Why Finance is Hard to Decentralize
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 Finance is Hard to Decentralize
(09:40) - Why They Don't Drill
(11:26) - Shorting
(12:30) - Crypto Liquidity
(13:24) - Food Convergence
(14:29) - Crypto Transparency
Nov 21, 2022 • 12min
What Part of the System Needs to be Smart?
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) - What Part of the System Needs to be Smart?
(05:44) - Redemptions
(07:05) - FTX, Continued
(07:51) - Single-Celebrity Companies
(09:00) - Unretiring
(10:56) - Activism
Nov 14, 2022 • 29min
Money, Credit, Trust, and FTX
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) - Money, Credit, Trust, and FTX
(24:40) - Alternatives
(25:44) - Where Inflation Hits
(26:09) - The Best Job In Tech
(26:59) - Sitting it Out
(27:56) - LNG
Nov 8, 2022 • 13min
The Beloved Regional Grocery Store Chain Model
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 Beloved Regional Grocery Store Chain Model
(07:15) - The Microcap Manipulation Boom Continues
(08:41) - Persistence
(09:58) - Bad Hedges
(11:12) - Repurposing Assets
(12:18) - Comebacks
Nov 7, 2022 • 13min
Kroger / Albertsons: Buying Data in Bulk
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) - Kroger / Albertsons: Buying Data in Bulk
(06:10) - Meme Shorts in Crypto
(08:48) - Unfiring
(09:52) - Will Expensive Food Cause Expensive Food?
(10:25) - The Outrage Cycle
(11:24) - Stability and Financial Repression
Oct 31, 2022 • 13min
Is Mental Math Part of the Current Meta?
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) - Is Mental Math Part of the Current Meta?
(07:15) - Diseconomies of Scale
(08:58) - Licensing
(10:06) - Inflation
(10:52) - Normalization
(11:41) - Ads: Content and Context
Oct 24, 2022 • 21min
Snowflake Revisited
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) - Snowflake Revisited
(15:28) - A Word From Our Sponsors
(16:11) - Microsoft's Antitrust Edge
(16:47) - The Free Time Dividend
(17:28) - Feedback Loops
(18:32) - The News Business
(19:50) - Ending the Traffic Jam
