GeekWire

Here’s what we’re talking about on this week’s episode of the GeekWire Podcast: Voting online is fast, convenient and also … vulnerable. In the wake of the Iowa caucuses app fiasco, we tried voting with a smartphone in a Seattle regional election. While there are valid concerns about security in mobile voting, organizations behind this test are confident it will be safe and are moving ahead with the technology. Amazon’s latest front in its battle for a lucrative U.S. military contract has it taking on President Trump. The company lost the JEDI contract to Microsoft, but now it wants a court to allow it to depose Trump to see if his animus toward Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was a factor in the decision. Speaking of President Trump, he found something interesting in the names of four giant tech companies this week. And, back to the ballpark! Seattle’s CenturyLink Field, home to the Seahawks and FC Sounders, is going cashless. Why are they doing it and what if you didn’t bring a credit card with you to the game? We talk about the future of a cashless world, and the controversy around the trend. With GeekWire’s Todd Bishop, Monica Nickelsburg and Kurt Schlosser. Audio editing and production by Curt Milton. Music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon’s second headquarters may be closer to Seattle than you think. Amazon says it plans to grow its presence in Bellevue, in the Seattle suburbs, to 15,000 employees in the next few years. That could be comparable to the number of employees working in the official HQ2 site of Arlington, Va. Will the company find a friendlier climate in the ’burbs? Yes, Virginia, there is an Amazon HQ2, but it’s actually 10 miles outside of Seattle Amazon to bring 15,000 employees to Bellevue as rapid expansion in Seattle-area city continues We also discuss how a case of billionaire envy may have driven Amazon’s secretive drive for HQ2 and possibly damaged its reputation for openness. Bloomberg News: Behind Amazon’s HQ2 Fiasco: Jeff Bezos Was Jealous of Elon Musk What caused the Iowa caucuses app fiasco and how might it influence an upcoming Seattle-area election that will be the first in the country to be done via a mobile app? The failure of the app that was supposed to speed up reporting of results leaves questions about the security of high-tech voting in its wake. The issue shook the confidence of a public wary of the tech industry and concerned about election security. What caused the Iowa app debacle, and why election tech leaders say it won’t happen in Seattle And finally, Seattle baseball fans will be able to use augmented reality software to digitally resurrect a concrete stadium that wasn’t very popular when it was standing. We discuss what tech we’d really like to see at T-Mobile Park. Old ballgame, new tech touches: Update at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park will offer AR view of Kingdome With GeekWire’s Todd Bishop, Monica Nickelsburg and Kurt Schlosser. Audio editing and production by Curt Milton. Music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's what we're talking about on this new episode of the GeekWire Podcast:  Amazon employees are responding to threats of termination for their climate advocacy by intentionally violating the company’s corporate communications policy. More than 350 workers criticized Amazon’s contribution to climate change, violating corporate PR rules that prevent employees from discussing company business without approval. It’s the latest example of tech workers leveraging their position as valued assets in a tight labor market to pressure their employers on political issues. Washington state lawmakers are considering a new regional tax that would raise an estimated $121 million a year from some of the Seattle area’s biggest employers, including tech giants Microsoft and Amazon, to fund programs to alleviate homelessness. The legislation, unveiled Wednesday, is the latest attempt to direct some of the wealth generated by Seattle’s tech boom toward addressing the homelessness crisis. Umbrellas become a lightning rod on Amazon's Seattle campus. In any other city, umbrellas would barely be noticed. But Amazon’s big orange-and-white rain deflectors are sparking discussion and debate in Seattle, where there’s a sizable and prideful segment of the population that believes umbrellas are not for locals, they’re for tourists and transplants. “Complaining about umbrellas is easily the worst old Seattle vs. new Seattle take,” an Amazon public policy employee wrote on Twitter. One GeekWire reader summed up the criticism in a comment: "It's not the issue of using an umbrella - it's how friggin' gigantic they are. To me these umbrellas are everything that's wrong with Amazon. No consideration for anyone but themselves." And finally, we discuss what a Seattle startup leader’s car purchase says about state of transportation in the city, and the uncertainty that can come with relying on experimental startups for vital services like getting from place to place. With GeekWire's Todd Bishop, Monica Nickelsburg and Kurt Schlosser. Audio editing and production by Curt Milton. Music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can we create modern workplaces where everyone can thrive? That's one of the questions at the heart of the new book, Female Firebrands, by human resources professional Mikaela Kiner, founder and CEO of Seattle-based Reverb Consulting. "Female Firebrands" profiles 13 women from a variety of backgrounds, exploring the realities of the modern workplace through their eyes and experiences. The book details the many obstacles they face, but also the steps they're taking to overcome them, along with efforts by colleagues, mentors, advocates and leaders to help remove barriers. The tech industry plays a central role, with anecdotes and examples from Microsoft, Google and other tech companies. "We talk about workplace culture and sometimes we don't notice what's going on around us," Kiner said. "We're like the frog in the water and the water's warming up. At least for me, personally, the water hit that temperature where I really had to look around and take stock of these issues." The result is a guidebook, in effect, with insights and practical tips not only for women and underrepresented minorities but for men and others seeking to create more diverse, inclusive and effective workplaces. The book includes chapters on key issues such as privilege in the workplace, the #metoo movement, and issues for working moms, with takeaways for people in a variety of different roles in the workplace. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we're joined by Kiner and two of the "firebrands" from the book, Ruchika Tulshyan, author of The Diversity Advantage and the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy firm; and Emily Parkhurst, president and publisher of the Puget Sound Business Journal in Seattle.  While many of these issues have been discussed for many years, the book focuses on new solutions and insights. Parkhurst said she is seeing some signs of change. She told the story of going to lunch with a female intern last summer. "Usually in those kinds of conversations the interns will ask me, 'You're a woman in a position of power. Tell me about how you got there?' At no point was that a question. It was an assumption that that was a place that she could eventually end up." One key, Tulshyan said, is for people in positions of privilege and power to start "stepping up and stepping in," and not just stand by as passive allies.  "The advice here isn't necessarily to women to do better. It is for others in the room, our allies, our advocates, people with privilege who have a platform, who have influence, to take a moment and really understand some of the vulnerabilities that we've shared in the book," said Tulshyan. "I really hope this conversation continues to happen, and we continue to find solutions together. It's not just women leading it."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia really hack into Jeff Bezos' phone? It sure looks that way, based on a forensic analysis of what happened after a video was sent to the Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner via WhatsApp by Mohammed bin Salman, a.k.a. MBS. A United Nations report this week called the incident part of a broader campaign against the Washington Post seeking to stifle its coverage of Saudi Arabia, allegedly including the subsequent killing of Saudi dissident and Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Within hours of receiving the nefarious video, "a massive and unauthorized exfiltration of data from Bezos' phone began, continuing and escalating for months thereafter," according to the forensic report.  It's an extraordinary demonstration of the perils of digital communication. But what else was leaked from the phone, and why didn't Bezos and his team have better security protocols in place at the time? That's our first topic on the show this week. RELATED READING: Decoding the Jeff Bezos phone hack: What the rest of us can learn from the forensic report Plus, an NFL quarterback invents a new way of interacting with a Microsoft Surface tablet on the sidelines, a new glimpse of the Microsoft Duo dual-screen device, and Seattle startup Mystery teams up with the famed Gottman Institute to rekindle romance. We explain what this partnership says about Mystery's larger business model. And finally, listen to the end for the answer to last week's trivia question: What do Jonas Salk, who discovered and developed the polio vaccine, and John Ehrlichman, the Nixon aide and Watergate figure, have in common as it relates to Seattle startups? Next event: Join us at the GeekWire Awards, March 26 at MoPOP in Seattle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple doubled down on artificial intelligence and boosted its presence in Seattle with the acquisition of Xnor.ai, an Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence spinout with roots at the University of Washington, as first reported by GeekWire this week. It was a win for those institutions, and investors including Seattle's Madrona Venture Group, but it's also an example of an ambitious startup selling to a tech giant before it has the chance to become one itself. So how should we look at deals like this? Plus, Microsoft's ambitious plan to go "carbon negative" puts the tech company at the forefront of corporate efforts to address the global environmental crisis. We explore what it means for the company, for its rivalry with Amazon, and for the planet. And in our final segment, it's the GeekWire Trivia Challenge, with a chance to win a pair of tickets to the upcoming GeekWire Awards. What do Jonas Salk, who discovered and developed the polio vaccine, and John Ehrlichman, the Nixon aide and Watergate figure, have in common as it relates to Seattle startups? Listen to the third segment and send your answer to podcast@geekwire.com for a chance to win.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CES is becoming less of a place where companies unveil game-changing products, and more where they show attention-grabbing ideas. That's one of the takeaways from GeekWire's CES 2020 coverage team, managing editor Taylor Soper and photographer/videographer Kevin Lisota, who just returned from several days at the big technology show in Las Vegas. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, they recap some of the strangest things they saw at CES, but also some of the most interesting and impactful products and trends. Plus, celebrity sightings, cutting-edge food and robot companions. Amazon and Ring Amazon signals big ambitions for automobiles with expanded presence at CES Amazon devices chief on Sonos accusations: ‘We have tried to be a great partner to them’ ‘Alexa, pay for gas’: Amazon unveils voice control feature to buy fuel at Mobil and Exxon stations Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff on ‘productizing’ privacy and staying the course amid controversy Here are all of Google’s voice assistant announcements from CES as it battles Amazon Inside Amazon’s CES media event: Shaq shows up, touts Ring, makes drinks with celeb chef Guy Fieri Demos and experiences Delta Air Lines debuts crazy ‘parallel reality’ airport experience based on Seattle startup’s technology Hands-on demo with Charmin’s new toilet paper robot and fart smell sensor at CES CES: Smart toothbrushes go from concept to reality as industry giants embrace more tech Video: Pizza-making robot arrives at CES to feed hungry attendees, thanks to Seattle startup We tried Impossible Foods’ new pork, the latest fake meat from the Bill Gates-backed company Tech trends Privacy is front and center at CES as execs from Apple, Facebook, others debate key tech issues CES: These are the consumer tech trends to watch for 2020 and beyond, according to show organizers See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than half of the U.S. population over age 12 has now listened to a podcast, according to Edison Research. The medium has fundamentally altered the landscape for audio content, liberating and empowering both listeners and creators. And big acquisitions such as Spotify’s purchase of Gimlet Media signal that the business of podcasting is coming of age, too. But there remains an economic gulf that some entrepreneurs and investors see as an opportunity. Ad spending on podcasting is around $500 million, by some estimates, but that compares to $17 billion or more for radio. So where is podcasting heading next? How will speech recognition, smart speakers and other innovations change the landscape for podcasts? Should you start your own show? Could you make any money if you did? On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, we’re going meta. It’s a podcast about podcasting: a discussion with podcast producers, media vets and startup entrepreneurs, recorded on stage at the GeekWire Summit this fall. Phyllis Fletcher, the senior editor for podcasts at American Public Media, who has worked on shows including APM’s hit business podcast, Spectacular Failures. You may recognize her voice from her previous work as a reporter and editor at KUOW Radio in Seattle. (You can check out all of her tweets from the GeekWire Summit here.) Steve Henn, who leads content strategy for audio news at Google. He’s a journalist turned tech entrepreneur who left a career in radio to co-found a digital media startup that was acquired by Google in 2017. You may recognize his voice from his work in public radio as a correspondent on such shows as Marketplace, Planet Money and NPR. David Payne, the president of Rainstream Media and the co-creator, author and executive producer of its flagship show, “Somebody Somewhere,” a true crime podcast. A lawyer and former federal prosecutor, his career in media has included roles as Chief Digital Officer for Gannett/USA Today, and senior vice president and GM of CNN Digital. Amira Valliani is the CEO and co-founder of Glow, a Seattle startup and Pioneer Square Labs spinout that is building a subscription, monetization and distribution platform for podcasts. She served as a communications adviser in the Obama White House and as a speechwriter for then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She got started in podcasting with her own local politics show in Cambridge, Mass. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Amazon to Zillow, big successes to surprising failures, it was an extraordinary year for technology and innovation emerging from and impacting Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. That's the consensus from GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop, who independently compiled their own lists of the biggest stories of the year, then compared notes in this year-end GeekWire Podcast discussion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John and Todd make it through the rain and into the studio to discuss some of the  biggest stories of the week: Car2go's exit from North America, which will leave Seattle without a free-floating car-sharing service for the first time in many years; and the sudden downfall of Vicis, the high-tech football helmet maker backed by some of the NFL's biggest names. Plus the answer to last week's Name that Tech Tune challenge.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.