Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

A podcast about understanding how tech works and the way it is changing the world. Hosted by Andrew Sharp with Ben Thompson.

(Preview) All About AI Companions: Personalization Upsides, Dystopian Downsides, AI Therapy, Advertising Tension, and Lots More
Apr 28, 2025 – 00:10:47
Apple and the Ghosts of Companies Past, Privacy at the Expense of Performance, The Cook Question
Apr 24, 2025 – 01:00:09
(Preview) What Memory Can Do for ChatGPT, OpenAI's Future and Google's Circles Past, What College Football Can Teach Us About Tech
Apr 21, 2025 – 00:16:00
Three Eras of Facebook (and the Internet), The Problems with FTC v. Meta, The Realities of Perfect Competition
Apr 17, 2025 – 01:09:24
(Preview) Apple Gets a Temporary Reprieve, The End of Internet 2.0, An Incomplete Tech Blog Post Canon
Apr 14, 2025 – 00:11:56
American Disruption, Tech’s Manufacturing History in Asia, The Power of Demand in an Uncertain Future
Apr 10, 2025 – 01:14:28
(Preview) xAI Buys X, The Bitter Lesson for Everyone, Everywhere, Google’s Only Hope in AI
Mar 31, 2025 – 00:12:58
(Preview) The Delights of Images in GPT, The Future of Graphic Design, Signal and Multiple Dimensions of Security
Mar 27, 2025 – 00:09:08
(Preview) Why Google Wants Wiz for $32 Billion, Xbox One and Bygone Streaming Hardware Dreams, Immortality and Daylight Saving Time
Mar 24, 2025 – 00:13:33
(Preview) Deep Research and OpenAI's Business Model, A Counterpoint on White Collar Concerns, The Future of Cognition and Companionship
Mar 21, 2025 – 00:14:11
(Preview) Should Apple Buy Perplexity?, What Apple Could Learn from IBM, Vision Pro and Its Vaporware
Mar 17, 2025 – 00:14:47
Apple History and Apple Psychology, How Apple Should Capitalize On Its AI Potential, Why It Probably Won't
Mar 13, 2025 – 01:08:55
(Preview) The Murky Future for the NBA, A Variety of Notes on Apple and AI, In Defense of Tech That Removes Friction
Mar 10, 2025 – 00:11:36
(Preview) YouTube Shall Inherit the Earth, NBC’s Peacock Strategy Then and Now, The Grim Future for Cable Networks
Mar 6, 2025 – 00:14:22
(Preview) Amazon Introduces an AI-Powered Alexa, Is OpenAI the New BlackBerry?, The Social Costs of Removing Friction
Mar 3, 2025 – 00:12:40
AI Promises and Chip Precariousness, Policy Recommendations and a Changing World, Concerns and Counterpoints
Feb 27, 2025 – 01:25:55
(Preview) Apple’s Answer to the UK, Encryption History and Privacy’s Future, Waiting for Drone Delivery in the U.S.
Feb 24, 2025 – 00:14:02
(Preview) Xi Jinping and China's Tech Companies, The Long-Run Implications of the Chip Ban, and a Pessimistic Outlook for Taiwan
Feb 19, 2025 – 00:15:45
(Preview) Experimenting With OpenAI’s Deep Research, Another ChatGPT Moment, Won’t Someone Think of the Entry-Level Employees?
Feb 6, 2025 – 00:12:17
(Preview) Apple Abandons Its Smart Glasses, Google as the Yellow Pages, LLMs and the Overton Window
Feb 3, 2025 – 00:13:10
The End of DeepSeek Week: Moneyball for AI, The Future of Compute Demand, Geopolitical Reality Checks, and More
Jan 30, 2025 – 01:15:59
(Preview) 72 Hours of DeepSeek Hysteria, What DeepSeek Means for Big Tech, Lessons on the Efficacy of Chip Controls
Jan 27, 2025 – 00:12:05
(Preview) The End of OpenAI and Microsoft, Risks and Rationale of the Stargate Project, DeepSeek-R1 and Bitter Lessons for the Future
Jan 23, 2025 – 00:13:59
(Preview) A Long Weekend for TikTok, Preparing for Trump and an Era of Upheaval, LeBron James as an iPhone
Jan 20, 2025 – 00:10:52
AI’s Uneven Arrival, TikTok’s Potential Departure, Xiaohongshu and the Delights of Cultural Exchange
Jan 16, 2025 – 01:09:35
(Preview) Meta’s Moderation Changes, Tech’s Evolving Political Calculus, The Importance and Difficulty of Maintaining Principles on the Internet
Jan 14, 2025 – 00:14:41
(Preview) What AI Could Mean for Aggregation Theory, o3 and Moore’s Law, More Questions Than Answers as Tech Enters 2025
Jan 6, 2025 – 00:13:40
Holiday Mailbag: The Next Intel, Google’s AI Revival, Modern Sportswriting, TSMC Mugs, Tutoring Takes, and Lots More
Dec 19, 2024 – 01:40:09
(Preview) Google’s Willow Chip, Drones as a Platform and Anduril Follow-Up, Building Inside and Outside Silicon Valley
Dec 16, 2024 – 00:22:12
(Preview) Anduril and the Lattice Partner Program, A New Direction for Defense Tech, OpenAI Introduces ChatGPT Pro
Dec 12, 2024 – 00:10:50
(Preview) Mailbag: Building Toward Self-Driving Computers, Capitalism and Its Trade-Offs, The Reels-ification of 'X'
Dec 9, 2024 – 00:14:27
Gelsinger Out at Intel, 20 Years of Structural Challenges and Strategic Blindspots, The Board and What’s Next
Dec 5, 2024 – 01:04:24
(Preview) Mailbag: AppLovin on a Tear, The Business of OnlyFans, Questions on OpenAI and Elon Musk
Dec 2, 2024 – 00:13:40
(Preview) LLM Utilities, Google Disruption, Remote Work Angst, Family Tech Support, and a Thanksgiving Mailbag
Nov 26, 2024 – 00:18:21
America and the Trade Status Quo, Tariffs and What May Come Next, A Chance to Build in Tech and Beyond
Nov 22, 2024 – 01:08:40
(Preview) Monday Mailbag: Netflix and Its Mike Tyson Adventures; WBD Settles with the NBA; Lessons from Building Passport
Nov 18, 2024 – 00:13:15
(Preview) Today’s Internet and Tomorrow’s AI Innovation, Progress Reportedly Slowing for New LLMs, The Vision Pro as a Productivity Device
Nov 14, 2024 – 00:12:21
(Preview) What Trump 2.0 Could Mean for Tech, Questions on Antitrust, EU and Growth, Elon Musk and the Election
Nov 7, 2024 – 00:15:38
(Preview) Monday Mailbag: The James Harden of Tech; Bandwidth and the Video Takeover; Gen AI and Ads; Political Donation Texts
Nov 4, 2024 – 00:18:24
Meta and an Abundance of AI Opportunities, When AI Integrates Into the Feed, AI for UI and One Emailer's Dismay
Oct 31, 2024 – 01:10:10
(Preview) Monday Mailbag: AI Abundance and Enterprise Questions; Automated Podcasts; Big Tech and China Tariffs; Reading Habits
Oct 28, 2024 – 00:12:51
Understanding Stablecoins and Their Utility, Why Stripe is Buying Bridge, Virtual Reality for NFL Quarterbacks
Oct 24, 2024 – 01:04:05
(Preview) Monday Mailbag: The Value of the ChatGPT Brand; OpenAI and Its AGI Clause; Bitter Lesson Follow-Up; Orion and Big Tech Recruiting
Oct 21, 2024 – 00:12:51
Tesla and the Road to True Autonomy, Strategy that Starts with the Dream, Regulation and Market Questions
Oct 17, 2024 – 01:04:36
(Preview) Monday Mailbag: A Moment for SpaceX; After the End of the Beginning; Tesla's 'We, Robot' Event; Waymo Follow-Up
Oct 14, 2024 – 00:14:47
(Preview) Google and the Search for Antitrust Remedies, Network Effects and Natural Monopolies, Waymo vs. Tesla for the Future of Transportation
Oct 10, 2024 – 00:11:30
(Preview) Waymo and Our Automated Future, Augmented Reality and Form Factor Questions, NotebookLM and Media Consumption
Oct 2, 2024 – 00:11:00
(Preview) Mailbag Monday: Meta and the Smartphone; Upheaval at OpenAI; Dossier Censorship; ESPN and Media Consumption
Sep 30, 2024 – 00:12:11
Meta Previews an Augmented Reality Future, Orion and the Apple Vision Pro, A Call for More Live Keynotes
Sep 27, 2024 – 01:00:01
(Preview) Mailbag Monday: Sports Gambling Apps; PlayStation’s New Price Point; Robotics and AI Upheaval; Apple’s ‘Intelligence’ Ads
Sep 23, 2024 – 00:14:21

Recent Reviews

elpcreek326566swdw

Stop interrupting

while Ben is speaking. And, I think I know all of Ben’s favorite phrases and words.
Evan8900

Beat Tech Podcast

Ben is the best voice/writer in tech and Andrew is a great co-host. Must listen in my rotation.
Futurelistening

You sound like the Crunchtime guy on NBATV

Love the pod: the takes, making the case, and creative in-depth analysis
gershbec

Actually…

Take a drink every time Ben says the word “actually”.
matt zeitlin

Good show but Andrew detracts from quality

I enjoy the show overall and learn a lot from Ben on each episode. Unfortunately, Andrew leaves a lot to be desired as a co-host. He sometimes is defiantly uninformed and skeptical of technology. He injects ignorant and sanctimonious takes on culture and society that add nothing to the conversation and only distracts the listener. I very much welcome rigorous critiques of modern technology, big business, and tech’s impact on the world, but Andrew does not have the tools or curiosity to do that - he just has simplistic pet peeves and axes to grind that he repeats over and over. Examples are his proclamation that social media in general have no value; on another episode, he proudly announced of his ignorance of even the theoretical value of major tech platforms like linkedin. I encourage Ben to find another co-host, ideally someone who is interested in thinking more deeply about tech than Andrew.
Lord Luginbill

Not Another Tech Podcast

I’ve been in the world of tech and startups for as long as I can remember. After a while, you get sick of all the same programming and overused tropes like “Market Discovery,” “Disruption,” & “Innovation.” Andrew Sharp takes a practical approach to explaining complex topics with a down-to-earth tone. As someone who loves and sometimes loathes the tech world, this podcast is a breath of fresh air. 5/5
mcLizzy6969

News is crap, this is gold

Andrew Sharp has been teaching me things and making me laugh for years. Tune in.
HPC323

Great host chemistry

Love the conceit of tech guy explaining to non tech guy, and the hosts have great chemistry for it. Looking forward to woman-splaining tech stuff to my friends after I catch up on the back episodes!