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Land of the Giants

Land of the Giants

Author: Vulture

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Big tech is transforming every aspect of our world. But how, and at what cost? This season of Land of the Giants – The Disney Dilemma – focuses on Disney’s ability to weather the ups and downs of the business cycle and changing tastes and explores what has kept it successful for over 100 years. The entertainment giant has leveraged nostalgia and its intellectual property to build a beloved brand, but after an acquisition spree that included Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox, can it sustain high quality and brand loyalty on a scale that keeps it growing? Who is Disney now, and can it compete against the tech giants in a battle for our attention and dollars?


From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

71 Episodes
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The Rise of Amazon

The Rise of Amazon

2019-07-2202:428

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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 the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Small businesses and major brands alike rely on Amazon but are increasingly ambivalent about selling on the platform. The Amazon Marketplace is a battle royale of millions of sellers and declining profit margins. Meanwhile, Amazon is building its own branded line of competing products, called AmazonBasics. That, and other practices, make Amazon their frenemy -- a major competitor as well as their most important partner. From a societal standpoint, is this a good thing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In the final episode of our season on Amazon, NYU professor and “Pivot” podcast co-host Scott Galloway tells Jason Del Rey that Amazon needs to be broken up - and which parts of the company should be spun off first. They discuss Amazon’s ultimate impact on us as consumers, who are the companies left that can really compete with Amazon, and question the idea that we live in an era of innovation. Recorded live on September 9, 2019 at Code Commerce in New York City.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amazon's Middlewomen

Amazon's Middlewomen

2019-11-2622:538

Why do so many Amazon packages take a pitstop in the small town of Roundup, Montana? Find out in this episode of Reset, the new tech podcast from Recode and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Jason Del Rey and Reset host Arielle Duhaime-Ross discuss how Amazon's Marketplace has created some very unusual business opportunities. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Reset for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or your favorite podcast app to get new episodes every week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Netflix Effect

The Netflix Effect

2020-06-1503:123

In Land of the Giants: The Netflix Effect, Recode’s Peter Kafka and Rani Molla examine how Netflix got where it is today and whether or not it can maintain its streaming supremacy. Hear from Netflix’s founders and top executives as well as its competitors, critics and more - covering everything from its unusual internal culture to its battle with Blockbuster, its disruption of Hollywood and the upcoming streaming wars. The series comes out on Tuesdays starting June 23rd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Is working on a team of all-stars, excellent pay, and unlimited vacation worth the stress of constant criticism from co-workers and the knowledge that your boss is considering whether to replace you? Netflix execs will tell you that their internal culture is the key to their success. Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Netflix killed our trips to the video store and ushered in the streaming era. But when Netflix started out, it was a fraction of the size of Blockbuster. It should have been crushed, and almost was. What went wrong? Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Netflix’s recommendation algorithm is supposed to find you TV and movies that you’ll like — and that will keep you paying for Netflix. But is Netflix really showing you stuff you want to watch, or just stuff that Netflix made? Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Loaning out shows and movies to Netflix used to be a great way for studios to make a little money on the side, until they realized they were training audiences everywhere to watch Netflix. In this episode, we look at how Netflix went from renting content—and breathing new life into shows like Breaking Bad and The Office — to investing heavily in original content and changing Hollywood forever. Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Netflix hasn’t just disrupted Hollywood, it has become Hollywood. How has that changed the lives of studio executives, movie producers and creators in the entertainment industry? A lot. Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Netflix owes around $15 billion, yet it continues to spend money billions each year to fund its original programming. Is this a brilliant move to set it apart from the competition or a house of cards ready to collapse? Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
World War Stream

World War Stream

2020-08-0429:188

The "streaming wars" are here, but they're not what you think—or rather, where you think. While competitors are duking it out in the US, Netflix wants to take over the world. Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Google Empire

The Google Empire

2021-02-0903:004

In Land of the Giants: The Google Empire, Recode’s Shirin Ghaffary and Big Technology's Alex Kantrowitz explore how a company that began with idealistic goals of creative experimentation and making useful products has turned into a worldwide power with enormous impact on the way we live. New episodes begin Tuesday, February 16th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Search Begins

The Search Begins

2021-02-1642:2013

Some of the core values that built Google's runaway success — innovative technology to the max, an intellectually playful and open culture, and a corporate aspiration to do good ("Don’t be evil") — set it up for the existential questions it faces today. We examine how two grad students with a plan to search the Internet launched a company that would eventually become the gateway for the Internet for the entire world. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Today, nearly all of the world's smartphones are powered by Android. Which means Google is the gatekeeper to the Internet for billions of people. The story of Android is the story of how Google became so big. And it started with an existential threat. With Google in survivalist mode. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Comments (24)

Paja Storec

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Jan 15th
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Paja Storec

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Jan 15th
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A

the audio spike at the start of these episodes peaks my speakers and scares the crap out of me everytime

Sep 8th
Reply

Benjamin Chen

I was hoping this series would be about the tech, but I was disappointed that it mostly focuses on Elon and Elon drama. There's been so much of that breathlessly covered in the media, so I was hoping for something refreshing.

Aug 20th
Reply

Janet Lafler

Am I missing something here? If other studios are pulling their content from Netflix, so that the majority of what Netflix is showing is it's own shows, then it's hardly surprising that most of Netflix's recommendations are Netflix shows. Especially since the content that other producers don't bother to pull from Netflix is presumably the crappy stuff they don't think they can make money from.

Mar 22nd
Reply

Janet Lafler

You know how people complain about young women speaking with "vocal fry"? In this podcast it's the men using so much vocal fry that I could barely stand to listen.

Mar 13th
Reply (2)

Michael Brodie

Given I can't stand Zuckerberg, I hope this goes the way of 3D TV

Oct 14th
Reply

Kate Davidson

I thought the Amazon series was far more compelling than Netflix. I just felt that you went light on Netflix and left a lot of the issues too open for interpretation. It's a shame because I loved the Amazon series so much.

Sep 14th
Reply

Carl Doby

I canceled Netflix 2 years ago

Jul 25th
Reply (1)

Carl Doby

I canceled Netflix 2 years ago. Crappy company

Jun 25th
Reply (1)

Best of US Homes Birmingham, AL

I believe that if Alexa have been round in the early 2000's my daughter would be alive today. I can't wait to turn my home into a smart home in improve on my life. https://youtu.be/V54lAcYI9Q4

Sep 16th
Reply

certainperfectratio

i appreciate this work but calling the question of whether Amazon is too big "the question of our time" strikes me as an unnecessary reach

Aug 30th
Reply

Paul Stuefer

totally love the detail you put into every episode. really interested and a recommendation to all my friends already

Aug 29th
Reply

Shawn Ronakov

Searching for a specific product by name and being shown search results that have nothing to do with that product is the most frustrating thing on Amazon and it's horribly dumb.

Aug 28th
Reply (1)

Elijah Claude

It's utterly ridiculous and foolish to not be forthright in admitting how fast robotics/automation will take over almost every job field in the next decade or two. Nobody ever even seriously answers the question of what people will do instead either. We need to get on with #UBI @AndrewYang

Aug 21st
Reply (1)

Jess D

this is literally any factory though. I worked for a company called Reckitt Benkeizer which repackaged things like Lysol wipes. Their factory still isn't air conditioned. A lot of this is fairly industry standard. So to act like it sets Amazon apart as a bad actor is fairly disingenuous.

Aug 8th
Reply (2)