The first of a two part series on Amazon. In many ways, Amazon is the logical extension of America’s perverted version of neoliberal capitalism. The self-described libertarian founder Jeff Bezos created a company with nearly 100% brand recognition that has permeated our daily lives in obvious ways and some not so obvious ways. In Part 1 we examine Amazon’s relationship with its hometown of Seattle, its obsessive focus on the customer to the exclusion of all else and how it built its power base in Washington D.C.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Chapter One: Seattle Not-so Super Sonic: 00:07:33

Chapter Two: Customer Centric: 00:17:32

Chapter Three: Gaming the System: 00:25:44

Coffee Break 00:19:22

Post Show Musings: 00:33:23

Pod Love: 00:56:21

Book Love: 00:57:02

Outro: 00:57:19

Resources

Alec MacGillis: The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell

Danny Meyer: Setting the Table

The Seattle Times: Seattle ended decade with faster growth than suburbs, reversing a 100-year trend

The New York Times: The Amazon That Customers Don't See

The Intercept: Amazon Gets Tax Breaks While Its Employees Rely On Food Stamps, New Data Shows

The Guardian: Top Amazon boss privately advised US government on web portal worth billions to tech firm

The Hill: Monopoly critics decry ‘Amazon amendment’

Book Love

Alec MacGillis: Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America

Pod Love

Pitchfork Economics

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