Primed

An economy podcast from a city that (almost) never stops growing.

When it comes to security of smart home devices, Amazon's biggest weakness — is us.

We’re entering the biggest shopping season of the year. For many people, that means online shopping — packages piled on doorsteps, delivery cars and vans whipping down streets. But what do we do with the packaging after we rip it open?

On this week’s episode of Primed, we talk to Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist whose book "Deep Medicine" explores the impact of AI technology on health care. Dr. Topol believes AI can help doctors build a more nuanced model of their patients’ profiles — a model that more accurately represents the complex human beings who need care.

Joyce Lee, a pediatrician and professor at the University of Michigan, thinks a lot about how technology and design can help people remember to take their pills. Her inspiration? A ketchup bottle.

Minutes after the Apollo 15 lunar module blasted off the surface of the moon, Astronaut James Irwin’s heart began to stutter. Down at Mission Control, Dr. Charles Berry watched the astronaut’s EKG. He saw a series of rapid double beats with long pauses in between. If Irwin was on Earth, Dr. Berry said, “I’d have him in ICU being treated for a heart attack.”

There’s a secret apartment on the 30th Floor of Amazon’s Day One building in Seattle. We’ve wanted to get inside for months. This week, we finally did.

On this week’s episode of Primed, we explore how smart speakers like Amazon’s Echo fit into the lives of older people. Some elders find Alexa annoying or intrusive. But others interact with the technology in practical, creative ways. Here are a few of their stories.

This week’s episode of Prime(d) talks about the relationship between children and Alexa, Amazon’s AI-powered virtual assistant. Kids love to ask Alexa questions. And Alexa is listening.

Amazon is ending up in more and more of our homes. But are we asking the right questions when we invite Amazon and Alexa into our lives?

In this season finale of Prime(d), we go deep into how neighborhood social networks and surveillance are changing our behavior in our neighborhoods.

We hosted a debate with some big thinkers.

On this episode of Prime(d), we talk with David Choffnes, Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Northeastern University. He helps run a lab studying IoT devices.

As we say in the radio biz – the mic is always on.

The last mile of delivery is the hardest. And for the biggest internet retailer in the U.S., sometimes FedEx, UPS and the USPS aren't enough. That's why Amazon created an army of gig workers paid demand-based wages to deliver packages using their own personal vehicles.

Where is our addiction to Amazon's instant gratification taking us?

Are you ready for a future where you browse for knick knacks while cameras watch and analyze your every move? Well, it may already be here.

Seattle isn’t particularly known for its fashion sense, but a breakthrough might be coming from those tech offices in South Lake Union.

People might think they can wean themselves off Amazon. But they can’t, not really.

Amazon broke up with New York City on Valentine’s Day. Or maybe, New York broke up with them. Either way, Amazon is not moving in and New York is moving on.

The online grocery business is a real tough nut to crack.

One study found that Amazon is one of the most trusted institutions in the country.

There are those that have been expecting big changes for a neighborhood in Queens, New York called Long Island City.

Two decades ago, people stood in long lines at real, physical stores in order to stock the space underneath the evergreen tree twinkling in their living room.

In this special mini-episode of Prime(d) we'll hear some of the first impressions from Amazon's new neighbors.