Microsoft is putting Amazon into a difficult position by advocating a tax increase on both companies in their home state. Meanwhile, Apple is placing an even bigger bet on privacy as a feature. We explain a surprising startup investment by two Seattle tech veterans. Plus, the return of the Random Channel.

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Every year, Amazon and Jeff Bezos hold an elite, invitation-only conference called MARS, for Machine learning, Automation, Robotics and Space, which doubles as an excuse for the Amazon founder to test out the latest in autonomous vehicles, robots and personal aircraft. GeekWire aerospace and science editor Alan Boyle joins us with a rundown. Plus, 15 years after Google started a wave of engineering outposts in the Seattle area, the region's startups are figuring out how to co-exist with Silicon Valley tech giants. And how DNA is inspiring the next generation of data storage technology at Microsoft and the University of Washington.

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After a year of privacy scandals, consumers are beginning to realize that the volume of data tech companies collect on them exceeds what they could have imagined. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood has been helping listeners untangle the complex web of the data economy on her show. She visited Seattle last week to discuss those issues with Giri Sreenivas, CEO of private email server startup Helm, Ryan Calo, co-director of the University of Washington Tech Policy Lab, and Monica Nickelsburg, GeekWire’s civic editor, during an event hosted by KUOW.

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We're preparing for the GeekWire Awards, our annual event recognizing the best in Pacific Northwest tech and innovation, and on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast we provide an update on past Startup of the Year winners and preview this year's contest. Find out more, submit nominations, and buy tickets at geekwire.com/awards. Plus, a brave Amazon employee asks Jeff Bezos if his tumultuous personal life is distracting from his work, and Peter Sagal of Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me offers his input on getting less input in our lives.

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GeekWire photographer Kevin Lisota has taken pictures of everything from rocket launches to tech luminaries, but he recently spent a couple weeks far from Seattle, on a photo expedition in far-western Mongolia. On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, he shares photography tips and tricks from expedition leader Andy Williams of Muench Workshops and the reCOMPOSE photo podcast. 

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's ambitious plan to regulate Facebook, Google and Amazon as utilities and roll back some of their biggest acquisitions, is a giant stake in the ground for the 2020 presidential campaign -- but is it realistic? And would it really have the desired impact on competition and consumers? We dive into those questions on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast,

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What the heck is going on at Zillow? The online real estate giant announced the return of co-founder Rich Barton as CEO, along with a major change in its business model. John Cook and Todd Bishop sort out the news, speculate on the cause, and speculate wildly on what could be next. Plus, Amazon is backing out of a high-profile Seattle skyscraper in the latest sign of its troubled relationship with its hometown. And we say farewell to those cute little Amazon Dash buttons!

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This is a guest episode of the new podcast Under Construction, from the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, featuring a conversation with my GeekWire co-founder John Cook, talking with the podcast's host, Seattle Metro Chamber CEO Marilyn Strickland. For more episodes, check out seattlechamber.com/underconstruction, or subscribe at soundcloud.com/seattlechamber.

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Come on, Amazon, really? The tech giant spent more than a year looking for its "HQ2," planning to establish a second headquarters equal to its Seattle home, before surprising everybody by instead splitting the giant project between New York City and Arlington, Va. Now, after facing initial opposition from some New York city and state leaders, the company this morning said, well, nevermind.

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Bill Gates sits down with GeekWire to talk about what's on his mind in 2019, including what he would say to President Trump about nationalism vs. globalism, why he's pushing the U.S. to double down on nuclear energy, thoughts on the future of techbooks, and memories of his late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Plus, his take on the viral photo of him standing in line at a popular Seattle burger stand.

See GeekWire.com for more coverage of the interview, and read Bill and Melinda Gates' 2019 annual letter at gatesletter.com. 

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