Land of the Giants

About this podcast

Facebook. Apple. Amazon. Netflix. Google. These five tech giants have changed the world. But how? And at what cost? Google’s dominance in everything from search and online advertising to YouTube and Android gives it tremendous power and responsibility. In season three, The Google Empire, Recode’s Shirin Ghaffary and Big Technology's Alex Kantrowitz explore how Google became one of the most powerful companies in the world and whether it has become too big for our own good. New episodes every Tuesday. From Recode and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Land of the Giants

Episodes

2021
Planet YouTube
When Google bought YouTube, it went from being a company that helps users search the Internet, to a company that shapes the Internet itself. With 2 billion users, YouTube generates its own gravitational pull on society and culture worldwide. And as an open platform that allows anyone to upload videos, it's a force that even Google can't quite control. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Guest co-host: Peter Kafka (@peterkafka) 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
March 2, 2021
50 min
Chrome and the Android Wars
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
February 23, 2021
41 min
The Search Begins
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
February 16, 2021
41 min
The Google Empire
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
February 9, 2021
3 min
2020
World War Stream
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 4, 2020
28 min
Money to burn; why Wall Street loves NFLX
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 28, 2020
28 min
Netflix is Hollywood | Part 2
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 21, 2020
34 min
Netflix vs. Hollywood | Part 1
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 14, 2020
29 min
Did the algorithm make you watch Tiger King?
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 7, 2020
22 min
Who really killed Blockbuster Video?
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 30, 2020
38 min
“Netflix is a team, not a family”
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 23, 2020
40 min
The Netflix Effect
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. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 15, 2020
4 min
2019
Amazon's Middlewomen
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
November 26, 2019
23 min
'I love Amazon. Let’s break it up'
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.
September 12, 2019
29 min
Is Amazon Too Big? We Ask Its Sellers
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?
August 27, 2019
47 min
How Amazon Charmed Wall Street
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?
August 20, 2019
38 min
Why the Robot Revolution is Our Fault
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?
August 13, 2019
39 min
When Amazon Leaves Your Town
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.
August 6, 2019
42 min
Alexa, What's Amazon Doing Inside My Home?
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?
July 30, 2019
35 min
Why You’ll Never Quit Amazon Prime
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.
July 23, 2019
35 min

Land of the Giants

About this podcast

Categories

About this podcast

Categories

Land of the Giants

Episodes

Planet YouTube

Chrome and the Android Wars

The Search Begins

The Google Empire

World War Stream

Money to burn; why Wall Street loves NFLX

Netflix is Hollywood | Part 2

Netflix vs. Hollywood | Part 1

Did the algorithm make you watch Tiger King?

Who really killed Blockbuster Video?

“Netflix is a team, not a family”

The Netflix Effect

Amazon's Middlewomen

'I love Amazon. Let’s break it up'

Is Amazon Too Big? We Ask Its Sellers

How Amazon Charmed Wall Street

Why the Robot Revolution is Our Fault

When Amazon Leaves Your Town

Alexa, What's Amazon Doing Inside My Home?

Why You’ll Never Quit Amazon Prime