PBS takes on Amazon's Jeff Bezos

Here’s what we’re talking about this week on the GeekWire Podcast.

PBS’s Frontline profiled the Amazon empire and painted a complicated picture of unrelenting ambition. Frontline spent a year examining Amazon’s impact on commerce, technology and society, and landed interviews with several current executives and former employees. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos didn’t sit for an interview, however. Though the documentary didn’t cover much new ground, it did provide a striking narrative, highlighting new voices and perspectives.

• The definitive account of Amazon’s perilous ambition: Key scenes from PBS’s epic investigation
• Watch: Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos

Speaking of Bezos, he made a big splash this week when he announced plans to donate $10 billion to nonprofits fighting climate change. We discuss the Bezos Earth Fund, and how experts in philanthropy and climate change are reacting to it. Plus, Sen. Bernie Sanders takes a swing at tech fortunes during a campaign stop in the Seattle area.

• Jeff Bezos launches $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, kicking off his own effort to fight climate change
• Jeff Bezos wants to curb climate change via $10B fund — but is money his most powerful tool?
• Bernie Sanders takes on the ‘billionaire class’ at rally near Seattle, home to Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates

Finally, we caught up with our resident space and science geek, Alan Boyle, to discuss the mega-earthquake predicted to hit the Seattle region. Boyle also caught us up on how technologists are thinking about what happens to our remains — physical and digital — after we die.

• Earthquake experts lay out latest outlook for the ‘Really Big One’ that’ll hit Seattle
• Tech after death: Researchers work on new ways to handle your remains, in the flesh and online

With GeekWire’s Monica Nickelsburg, Taylor Soper and Alan Boyle. Audio editing and production by Curt Milton. Music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

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