(Preview) OpenAI Wants Help from the Government, Apple Taps Google for AI, Q&A on Bubbles, Amazon Groceries, and YouTube TV

More from Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson All episodes →

1. 

   12 Dec 2025 · 20 min

   (Preview) Netflix Opportunities and Anxieties, Merger Hurdles to Come, Hollywood’s Endgame and What Comes Next

   Andrew and Ben talk through Netflix’s proposed $72 billion deal to buy Warner Brothers, including the logic for Netflix, the frictionless nature of competition on the internet, and the threat that Netflix sees from YouTube. Then: David Zaslav’s windfall, and an argument about the regulatory questions that may scuttle this deal. At the end: The better business model between YouTube and Netflix, an emailer wonders why everyone is mourning the end of a Hollywood business that can’t succeed in the modern marketplace, groupchats and the college experience, and a word about Flighty.

2. 

   5 Dec 2025 · 26 min

   (Preview) OpenAI Declares a ‘Code Red,’ Alan Dye Leaves Apple for Meta, Questions on Tranium 3, Substack, and F1

   Thoughts on OpenAI as Sam Altman declares a “Code Red” in response to Gemini 3, including real concerns about ChatGPT’s market position, why the missed ads opportunity is becoming more acute, and ominous Google history. From there: Context on Alan Dye’s departure from Apple, Meta’s emphasis on a new design language, and the Meta fundamentals regardless of AR/VR and its AI efforts. At the end: Amazon’s tranium chips and its AI efforts, Substack and the challenge of customer acquisition, defending tech at Thanksgiving dinner, and various F1 takes before this weekend’s finale in Abu Dhabi.

3. 

   26 Nov 2025 · 22 min

   (Preview) How Tech is Transforming the Suburbs, Q&A on Gemini, LLM Use Cases, Working With Your In-Laws, UAPs, and More

   The ways tech has improved suburban life, why urbanism may have peaked, and the first and second order effects of Tesla's full self-driving technology. Then: A Thanksgiving mailbag! Topics include: A note from the Gemini team, a correction on Llama 4, a hater’s question on the utility of ChatGPT group chats, Ben and Andrew share their daily use cases for AI and Ben shares his prompt, while an emailer wonders about a boss using Copilot to send holiday gifts. From there: A subject matter expert debates whether to train his AI replacement, a listener seeks advice about working for his…

4. 

   21 Nov 2025 · 33 min

   (Preview) Google Starts Dancing, The Winners and Losers of Gemini Week, OpenAI Has an Advertising Problem

   Ben and Andrew begin with Gemini 3, what to make of its terrific benchmark results, and why TPUs provide Google a sustainable cost advantage in AI. From there: Google’s opportunity in the enterprise space, Apple’s white label deal, and questions about both OpenAI’s future growth and challenges that loom if ChatGPT can’t incorporate advertising. At the end: Thoughts on what Gemini means for Nvidia, Anthropic’s market in AI, why Amazon and OpenAI are losers of the Anthropic-Nvidia-Microsoft announcement, and a correction regarding Charter cellular coverage.

5. 

   14 Nov 2025 · 23 min

   (Preview) How Apple Changed the Cellular Economy, What SpaceX Wants to Do With Spectrum, Airlines and Carriers, Yann LeCun Departs Meta

   Andrew and Ben analyze SpaceX's nearly $20 billion in purchases by first touching on cell carrier history and the power dynamics that iPhones upended 20 years ago. Then: Understanding the SpaceX business and Musk's approach to strategy, what Starlink is trying to do with satellite internet on airlines, a power play with cell carriers that appears to have failed earlier this year, and now, a Plan B that may involve an acquisition and a bid to partner with Apple. At the end: Why Yann LeCun leaving Meta is the right outcome for both sides, a question about big companies and innovation spawns…

6. 

   31 Oct 2025 · 32 min

   (Preview) The Hidden Benefits of Bubble Economics, Microsoft and OpenAI Make a Deal, Notes on Taylor Sheridan, Sora, and Nexperia

   Discussing Ben's interview with Substrate CEO James Proud, including the "insane" challenge he's undertaken as Substrate attempts to compete with TSMC and ASML, and the ways in which a bubbly environment benefits innovation by incentivizing exactly that sort of moonshot. From there: Ben's thoughts on the "Too Big to Fail" era in tech that may be averted, reactions to the latest humanoid robot, and thoughts on both sides of the OpenAI-MIcrosoft announcement earlier this week. At the end: Taylor Sheridan leaves Paramount for greener pastures, Sharp Text and lessons from Grantland, a…

7. 

   24 Oct 2025 · 29 min

   (Preview) Understanding the AWS Outage, Resiliency Realities and Innovation Urgency, F1 Heads to Apple TV

   Celebrating the return of the NBA with reactions to Inside the NBA on ESPN before turning to an extended explanation of the technology underlying the AWS outage this week and the history of US-East-1 in Northern Virginia. Then: Grappling with the trade-offs inherent to investing in resiliency to preserve the status quo, the risks that preservation comes at the expense of innovation, and Twitter as an object lesson. At the end: Questions on F1's deal with Apple, an F1 hater checks in, a sales pitch for YouTubeTV, and Ben chooses his favorite karaoke songs and explains how he learned Chinese.

8. 

   17 Oct 2025 · 21 min

   (Preview) How America Lost Rare Earths, Netflix Partners with Spotify and Bill Simmons, What Comes Next in the Robotaxi Wars

   Andrew and Ben begin by examining the various structural forces and business decisions that led the U.S. and the West to cede rare earth mining and refining to China, including reduced friction at the expense of resilience n a variety of areas, predatory pricing that pays extra dividends in the commodities business, and why Ben is keeping an eye on the Middle East in the months to come. From there: Reactions to the news that Spotify and Netflix are partnering and pulling podcasts off of YouTube, with thoughts on the limits of that strategy and the difference between YouTube's cut of creator…

9. 

   10 Oct 2025 · 23 min

   (Preview) OpenAI Astride the World, Infrastructure Buildouts and Boundless Ambitions, More on Sora and Creation

   Thoughts on OpenAI after a month of infrastructure and partnership announcements, including the differences between OpenAI and a Mag7 company, Ben’s interview with Sam Altman this week, Apps in ChatGPT, and drawing on Windows, Apple, and WeChat to better understand the company’s strategy. At the end: Questions on Sora, the 90-9-1 law, and OpenAI’s approach to copyright, as well as some brief reactions to China's move to escalate curbs on rare earth exports.

10. 

    3 Oct 2025 · 35 min

    (Preview) Sora 2 and an AI Video Boom, Meta’s Vibes One Week Later, Questions on TikTok, Solar Power, and the iPhone Air

    Andrew and Ben begin with reactions to OpenAI's Sora 2, a new Sora app, and more thoughts on last week’s ‘Vibes’ release from MetaAI. Topics include: Parallels between Sora 2 and the GPT 3.5 release in 2022, responding to a sample of disgusted MetaAI 'Vibes' reactions, why OpenAI is investing in short form video, why the threat to Meta is clearer than ever, and fair questions about Mark Zuckerberg's leadership after the last several years. At the end: TikTok’s business prospects and security concerns, solar power possibilities for AI infrastructure, Ben's shocking embrace of the iPhone Air,…