With his AT&T Cingular Flip 2 in hand, Michael Valeri genuinely believes he’s living a better life for himself without a smartphone, and he’s interested in teaching people how they can do it, too. And the distinction is important — he doesn’t want to tell people why they should give up their iPhones, but rather how to survive if they do. He spoke with GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser, who wrote about Valeri here: https://www.geekwire.com/2019/can-live-without-smartphone-flip-phone-fan-done-13-years-will-teach/

We're back! John Cook, Monica Nickelsburg and Todd Bishop get the GeekWire Podcast rolling for 2019 with our weekly news discussion, exploring the potential  implications of Jeff Bezos' divorce for Amazon and the Seattle region, explaining why Facebook needs its Uber moment, and debating the finer points of modern grocery shopping. Go to geekwire.com/podcast for links and more info.

New York Public Library’s Tony Ageh was recently in Seattle to talk about libraries’ digital transformation. Ageh made the point that tech now permeates pretty much all of a library’s operations. But in many ways, it's a good thing that libraries have been behind other organizations in adopting technology. Highlights from Ageh's conversation with GeekWire contributor Frank Catalano at Seattle Public Library.

Hey GeekWire Podcast listeners, we hope you enjoy this latest episode of our new podcast, Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer, featuring the remarkable story of Arlan Hamilton, who went from homeless to running her own venture capital firm, investing in "underestimated" founders. To listen to every episode of the new podcast, go to geekwire.com/numbersgeek. We'll be back soon with a new GeekWire Podcast episode. Thanks for listening!

"You’re worth a trillion dollars. Why do you need our 3 billion dollars?" That's how Amazon was greeted by the New York City Council this week. City leaders in the Big Apple pointed to the tech giant's rocky relationship with its original hometown of Seattle to contend that winning the company's HQ2 isn't much of a prize. Meanwhile, Apple announced plans for a big Austin campus, along with new offices in Seattle and Southern California.

Our guest on this special edition of the podcast, Wash. State Gov. Jay Inslee. He spoke with us on stage during a special reception prior to the GeekWire Gala, about everything from his presidential ambitions to regulating big tech to lessons learned from Amazon's HQ2 search.

A preview of the new GeekWire podcast, Numbers Geek with Steve Ballmer, where we present a data-driven take on the country's most divisive issues. Subscribe now in your favorite podcast app to hear episode one.

This week, Microsoft rivaled Apple to be the most valuale company based in the U.S. But just a few years ago, that success seemed almost impossible. The Microsoft Surface division has been a microcosm of the company's struggles and failures in the past years and on this episode, we speak with journalist and author Brad Sams about that story. Sams' book about the Surface is called "Beneath A Surface" and is out now.

It's the holiday season, and along with festive Amazon packaging and never-ending carols, that means its time to buy holiday gifts! This week, we're sharing our annual Geared Up Tech Holiday Gift Guide. Todd and Andru will share their recommendations for the best gadgets and gizmos to put on your list -- plus a special surprise recommendation for that one person who has EVERYTHING.

Visit GeekWire.com/GearedUp to see a full list of our recommendations and links to all the specific products we mention on this episode.

Subscribe to Geared Up in your favorite podcast app by searching "Geared Up."

Pickles that yodel. Foot-tall punching nuns. A rubber chicken museum. What do these things have in common? They're all brainchildren of Archie McPhee, the Seattle-based makers and retailers of whacky, delightful and (occasionally) practical items for more than 35 years. Join us for an audio tour of Archie McPhee's out-of-this-world retail store as we learn more about the company's history, its creative process and the stories of some of its most popular items. We're joined on this episode by David Wahl, Archie McPhee director of awesome (a.k.a. marketing and creative services).