Episodes
E44: Founder Mode, Uber’s Self-Driving Strategy, and Big Tech Skeptic…
This week, Byrne and Erik discuss the idea of taxing unrealized capital gains, networked nature of the finance industry, the strategic direction of Uber in autonomous vehicles, the merits of 'founder mode' and more.
E43: The Silicon Valley Canon, Smart Contracts, and the Yen Carry Tra…
On this week’s episode of The Riff, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg discuss the Silicon Valley Canon, impact of tech on traditional markets, the evolution of smart contracts, risks of currency carry trades and more.
E42: Navigating Tech Antitrust and the Future of AI
On this week’s episode of The Riff, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg discuss tricky antitrust decisions, Balaji’s Network State, the dynamics of content moderation, and more.
E41: Meta’s Open Source Strategy, Amazon’s Culture Drift, and What’s …
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss Meta's open source AI strategy, Amazon's expansion into remote areas, and the future of AI models.
E40: The Age of the AI Organization
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss the future of AI-powered organizations with Omar Shams
E39: Mental Models and Financial Infrastructure with Patrick McKenzie
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Patrick discuss financial fraud, the evolution of trust in financial systems, talent spotting strategies, and the power of cold emailing.
E38: Resurgence of Prediction Markets, AI Adoption and Complex Financ…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss the rise of prediction markets, AI's impact on software economics, and the evolving landscape of financial systems and public markets.
E37: 2024 Election Updates, Partisanship on Wikipedia, and Amazon’s M…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss the recent Trump assassination attempt, Wikipedia's reliability issues, Amazon's complex media strategy, and the benefits of America's liquid financial markets.
E36: Meritocracy, Modeling Globalization, and The Burden of Knowledge
This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg dive deep into David Graeber's controversial concept of 'Bullshit Jobs,' exploring its validity and impact.
E35: How to Be President, the Future of AI Celebrities, and Training …
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss the evolution of monetary systems, the economics of AI investments, and how AI is impacting the job market for junior software developers.
E34: Chamath, Threads API, and the Difficulties of Scaling AI Labs
This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg discuss a lesser-known Chamath Palihapitiya story, the index rebalancing trade as a postmodern part of finance, AI labs, crypto, and more.
E33: AI Therapy, 4chan, and Why Conferences Are Like Cities
This week, writer Byrne Hobart and investor Erik Torenberg discuss the economics of conferences and cities, rise of meme stocks, future of coding in the age of AI and more.
E32: Populism, Elites, and Preparing for AGI
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss populist cycles, why billionaires buy media companies, how to invest if you think AGI is coming soon, and more.
E31: Google API Documentation Leak, Apple's Plans for Siri, and Analy…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss Elon Musk's and Yann Lecun's Tweets, what we can learn from Google's API decumentation leaks, how Apple is planning on improving Siri, and more.
E31: Google API Documentation Leak, Apple's Plans for Siri, and Analy…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss Elon Musk's and Yann Lecun's Tweets, what we can learn from Google's API decumentation leaks, how Apple is planning on improving Siri, and more. beehiiv: Head to http...
E30: xAI Fundraising, Vivek's BuzzFeed Investment, and Ad-Based AI Mo…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne talk about xAI's fundraising round, Vivek Ramaswamy's investment in BuzzFeed, and the dynamics of using ads to monetize AI.
E30: xAI Fundraising, Vivek's BuzzFeed Investment, and Ad-Based AI Mo…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne talk about xAI's fundraising round, Vivek Ramaswamy's investment in BuzzFeed, and the dynamics of using ads to monetize AI. beehiiv: Head to https://beehiiv.com and use code ...
E29: Meme Stocks, Reserve Currencies, and the Case Against Home Owner…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne talk about meme stocks, the nature of reserve currencies, and why you should consider not owning a home in America.
Meme Stocks, Reserve Currencies, and the Case Against Home Ownership
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne talk about meme stocks, the nature of reserve currencies, and why you should consider not owning a home in America. beehiiv: Head to https://beehiiv.com and use code "MOZ" fo...
E28: Amazon’s Potential for an Airline, Hidden Economic Gains, and th…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne talk about Amazon’s potential to buy a passenger airline, hidden economic gains, equities, and more.
E28: Amazon’s Potential for an Airline, Hidden Economic Gains, and th…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne talk about how to apply Costco's business model in other industries, the risky business of Martingale strategies, usage as a potential barrier to AI model development, and mo...
E27: Costco's Business Model, Martingale Strategies, and Usage-Based …
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne talk about how to apply Costco's business model in other industries, the risky business of Martingale strategies, usage as a potential barrier to AI model development, and more.
E27: Costco's Business Model, Martingale Strategies, and Usage-Based …
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne talk about how to apply Costco's business model in other industries, the risky business of Martingale strategies, usage as a potential barrier to AI model development, and mo...
E26: Stripe's Unbundling Strategy, What AI Means for Education, and 2…
On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik and Byrne discuss AI & education, Stripe's shift towards unbundling, and the possibility of 24 hour markets.