Land of the Giants

When Amazon became a publicly traded company in 1997, it was losing money. And it wouldn’t turn a profit for years. So how did it convince Wall Street to do something unprecedented: Turn a blind eye to profit? And how did that help Amazon become one of the world’s most valuable companies today -- and how did it change the way tech companies grow?

In recent years Amazon has quietly become one of the leaders in automation, reshaping its workforce of nearly 600,000 workers, and the way humans work with robots. We fear robots taking over the world, but do we understand just how we as consumers are making that future happen?

In 1999, Amazon opened one of its first warehouses in the small town of Coffeyville, Kansas. Fifteen years later, it closed. We visit Coffeyville to learn what Amazon can bring and what it can take away, and what lessons Coffeyville might have for a community that’s just getting started with an Amazon warehouse: Staten Island, New York.

Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant can tell you the weather, operate home appliances, and video chat family members. Alexa aims to be the centerpiece of the “smart home” connected to the Internet. It can lull us with the convenience, but what’s the downside to letting Alexa run your entire home? And why is Amazon making a microwave oven powered by Alexa?

With over 100 million members, Prime is the engine that’s made Amazon a retailing juggernaut and one of the largest companies in the world. Jason Del Rey explores how Prime came to be, why it’s so effective at keeping us locked into the Amazon ecosystem, and how it became the source of the company’s power. Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode or send an email to landofthegiants@voxmedia.com. Subscribe for free. Be...

Examine how the biggest tech companies rose to power, and what they're doing with that power. In season one, The Rise of Amazon, Recode's senior commerce correspondent Jason Del Rey traces how Jeff Bezos transformed Amazon from an online bookseller to one of the largest companies in the world, and what that means for how we shop, work, and live. Tuesdays starting July 23rd. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

Recode's Kara Swisher and Jason Del Rey preview Land of the Giants, a new narrative podcast that examines the unparalleled power of the world’s biggest tech companies, and how they've changed the way we live today.