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"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

Investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future.  

The Riff is a part of the Turpentine podcast network.

Recent Episodes

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E38: Resurgence of Prediction Markets, AI Adoption and Complex Financial Systems
July 25, 2024

E38: Resurgence of Prediction Markets, AI Adoption and Complex Financial Systems

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 Media Business
July 18, 2024

E37: 2024 Election Updates, Partisanship on Wikipedia, and Amazon’s Media Business

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
July 11, 2024

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 Larger AI Models
July 6, 2024

E35: How to Be President, the Future of AI Celebrities, and Training Larger AI Models

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
June 27, 2024

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
June 20, 2024

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.
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