In its second season, KUOW’s Prime(d) podcast shifts focus to how Amazon is changing life as we know it
February 4, 2019
Seattle, WA – It started with books. Today, Amazon is transforming virtually every facet of the American consumer economy. Each new Amazon initiative strikes fear among potential competitors and stirs fresh concerns about automation, monopoly and the power being amassed by one giant company. But most consumers love Amazon’s convenience, prices and innovation. In fact, the company remains one of the most trusted institutions in America.
In 2017, KUOW launched Prime(d), a podcast exploring how Amazon transformed Seattle and what might be in store for its yet-to-be announced second headquarters. The podcast’s second season, which launches on February 4, will shift focus to explore how Amazon is transforming the modern economy and re-configuring our behaviors as consumers and as citizens.
Prime(d) is hosted by KUOW journalists Carolyn Adolph and Joshua McNichols, who have reported on Amazon and the booming Puget Sound region for many years. Seeking answers both here in Seattle and in Long Island City and Crystal City—where Amazon will soon also call home—Carolyn and Joshua will explore the mixed emotions this iconic company inspires, the trade-offs that come with lower prices and smarter devices, and what this famously data-focused company knows about us that we don’t.
"This season we’re excited to explore Amazon’s impact on the way we live. Amazon is giving people powers we've never had before—as consumers. Amazon is also empowering millions of sellers and a vast array of customers on its AWS service, the biggest cloud service in the world. We choose Amazon, but do we understand just how much we are coming to depend on Amazon?” said co-host Carolyn Adolph.
The first episode of Prime(d)’s second season will explore why Amazon is among the most trusted institutions in America, and how we square that with the palpable fear among its competitors in the marketplace and consumer advocates that this company is getting too big and powerful. Carolyn and Joshua will speak to antitrust researcher Lina Khan.
In subsequent episodes, the podcast will explore how Amazon is impacting the future of retail and of grocery shopping, the sudden push to bring artificial intelligence into our kitchens, how humans fit into the future Amazon envisions and more.
In conjunction with Prime(d), KUOW will host live public events in partnership with Marketplace Tech, Town Hall and GeekWire, with guests including Molly Wood and Amy Webb. Details about events will be announced at later dates. You can catch up on Prime(d)’s first season at kuow.org/primed or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes will drop weekly, starting February 4.
Contact
Michaela Gianotti, Communications Manager