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 5, 2020 • 13min
Incumbents, Not Startups, Are Regulatory Arbitrageurs
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) - Incumbents, Not Startups, Are Regulatory Arbitrageurs
(07:07) - Limits to Automation
(08:22) - Silver Lake
(09:58) - 1830, 1930, 2030
(10:35) - Google Dissolves the Webpage
(11:11) - Globalizing Cybersecurity
(11:58) - Private Equity in 401Ks
May 29, 2020 • 16min
The Bloomberg Terminal Shows How to Create Virtual Economic Cluster
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 Bloomberg Terminal Shows How to Create Virtual Economic Cluster
(06:13) - A Word From Our Sponsors
(07:10) - Big Tech M&A
(07:54) - Europe Reopens for Vacation Season
(08:19) - Reverse Hong Kong
(09:05) - Microsoft Subsidiary Disrupts Microsoft Subsidiary
(09:48) - Airbnb for Warehouse Space
(10:29) - A16Z on Accounting Versus Economics
(12:03) - How Social Engineering Drives Technology
(13:48) - Systematic Value, Re-Revisited
(14:24) - How Stripe Scales Remote
May 22, 2020 • 20min
You Learn From Good Businesses and Bad Trades
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) - You Learn From Good Businesses and Bad Trades
(13:45) - A Word From Our Sponsors
(14:31) - ByteDance
(15:00) - Clubhouse
(15:56) - What's China Up To?
(17:25) - The Cloud
(18:25) - Facebook Goes More Remote
(19:04) - Italy's Financial Engineering
May 18, 2020 • 15min
Bretton Woods 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) - Bretton Woods Revisited
(10:37) - Facebook/Giphy
(12:21) - Africa and Covid-19
(13:02) - China, Chips
(13:38) - Italy Doesn't Plan to Miss Tourist Season
(14:12) - Good Bubbles
May 15, 2020 • 15min
The Future of Remote Work is not That Remote
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 Future of Remote Work is not That Remote
(09:28) - A Word From Our Sponsors
(10:06) - Multilateralism
(11:01) - Unilatéralisme
(11:58) - 51% of Ad Dollars Spent, Not Wasted
(12:35) - Domestic Fabs
(13:27) - Google Privatizes the Web
(14:08) - Restaurant Software; Restaurants as Software
May 8, 2020 • 14min
VC and Public Choice: Logo-Hunting and Optionality
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) - VC and Public Choice: Logo-Hunting and Optionality
(07:11) - Negative Oil Futures: Almost Precedented
(08:41) - Uber: Meet the New Boss
(10:39) - Zoom Makes Progress
(11:22) - California Approaches a 2009-Level Deficit
(11:53) - Quantifying Gouging
(12:30) - This Time is Different
May 1, 2020 • 12min
V-Shaped Recovery for Me, L-Shaped Recovery for Thee: The Aftermath
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) - V-Shaped Recovery for Me, L-Shaped Recovery for Thee: The Aftermath
(07:29) - Supply Chains and Deflationary Bullwhip Effects
(08:25) - Microsoft Commoditizes the Complement
(09:25) - "I think this is the future"
(09:57) - Apple's Demographic Crunch
(10:30) - State Bailouts
(11:11) - Adpocalypse: Bad News and Green Shoots
Apr 24, 2020 • 14min
The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Airline Fuel Hedges
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 Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Airline Fuel Hedges
(09:23) - Amazon's Decentralization and Reputational Risk
(10:37) - More Adpocalypse
(11:30) - Tax Policy as Accidental Industrial Policy
(12:47) - More Clever Policy Plans
Apr 17, 2020 • 8min
Sparta, LARPs, and Ivies
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) - Sparta, LARPs, and Ivies
(04:57) - Out-Aggregating Amazon
(05:24) - YC Undoes Something That Doesn’t Scale
