America and the Trade Status Quo, Tariffs and What May Come Next, A Chance to Build in Tech and Beyond
Talking through the evolution of the modern trade landscape, the implications of tariffs under a new U.S. administration, and Ben’s article on Monday, A Chance to Build. Topics include: the realities that are prompting change, China’s growth in hardware and software, TSMC and Trump, the future for Waymo, and more.
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1:08:40
(Preview) Monday Mailbag: Netflix and Its Mike Tyson Adventures; WBD Settles with the NBA; Lessons from Building Passport
The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight and what might have gone wrong for Netflix on Friday night, a resolution of the NBA's months-long contract dispute with Warner Bros. Discovery, and Ben explains what Passport can do for creators and shares a few takeaways from his experience building the product over the past few years.
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13:15
(Preview) Today’s Internet and Tomorrow’s AI Innovation, Progress Reportedly Slowing for New LLMs, The Vision Pro as a Productivity Device
An emailer wonders whether 30 years of Internet investments and data were the bootloader for an AI transformation in the real world. Ben offers his take on recent reports that OpenAI and Google are seeing diminishing returns from their latest LLMs, and the arrival of Ultrawide capabilities leads to refined takes on the Vision Pro and advice for Apple moving forward.
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12:21
(Preview) What Trump 2.0 Could Mean for Tech, Questions on Antitrust, EU and Growth, Elon Musk and the Election
Looking to President Trump's first term for clues about what tech policy might look like for the next four years. Topics include: Apple's balancing act with the U.S. and China, why Meta and Google might have fared better under Kamala Harris, the implications for "Little Tech," an open question on M&A policies, unresolved tensions with EU regulators, TikTok, crypto policy, the case for growth, and thoughts on Elon Musk and the role that X played in the election.
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15:38
(Preview) Monday Mailbag: The James Harden of Tech; Bandwidth and the Video Takeover; Gen AI and Ads; Political Donation Texts
An email comparing James Harden to a tech company spawns several other tech and basketball crossovers. Then: A brief history of the bandwidth buildout that made it possible for video to take over the internet, an email about generative AI and digital advertising, a listener cries for help over political donation solicitations, and Ben aborts an experiment with the Google Pixel.