Amazon’s Hidden Prime Secrets
Uncanny Valley | WIRED31 Heinä 2020

Amazon’s Hidden Prime Secrets

If you have an Amazon Prime membership (maybe it’s where you’ve been buying all your toilet paper during the pandemic) then you’re likely aware of the key benefits: free shipping, access to special deals, and the free streaming movies and TV shows. But there are a host of other, lesser-known benefits available to Prime customers, like free Kindle books, free Twitch Prime, free kids’ content, and a few ways to earn credit on future purchases. This week, we’re joined by WIRED staff writer Louryn Strampe, who tells us about all of the free and discounted stuff you can get from Amazon that you didn’t even know about.

Also, we discuss how the pandemic has shaped online retail in general, and how Amazon’s poor track record with worker’s rights and third-party seller relations have led some to shop at other online stores, even if that means a diminished experience.

[#iframe: https://playlist.megaphone.fm?p=DGT6274552575](100%x482)

Show Notes:

Read Louryn’s full list of hidden Amazon Prime perks. Her roundup of the WIRED staff’s quarantine hobbies is here. Also, Louise Matsakis’s report about the risks faced by Amazon workers during the pandemic is here.

Recommendations:

Louryn recommends the YouTube channels ASMRplanet and Dianxi Xiaoge. Lauren recommends the greeting card subscription service Warmly. Mike recommends the episode of the Broken Record podcast with Run The Jewels.

Louryn Strampe can be found on Twitter @lourynstrampe. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(425)

How China Is Hoping to Attract Tech Talent

How China Is Hoping to Attract Tech Talent

When news broke last month that H1-B visa holders in the U.S would be subjected to a new hefty fee of $100,000, chaos and confusion ensued for a lot of tech workers and their employers. It’s the lates...

9 Loka 202532min

BIG INTV: Patreon CEO Jack Conte Wants You to Get Off of Your Phone

BIG INTV: Patreon CEO Jack Conte Wants You to Get Off of Your Phone

Jack Conte, founder of Patreon tells Katie if we can send rockets into space and have self-driving cars we can figure out how to pay creators for their work. In this interview recorded in front of a l...

7 Loka 202532min

WIRED Roundup: The New Fake World of OpenAI’s Social Video App

WIRED Roundup: The New Fake World of OpenAI’s Social Video App

In today’s episode, Zöe is joined by WIRED’s Manisha Krishnan to run through five of the best stories we published this week — from how federal workers are being told to blame Democrats for the govern...

3 Loka 202523min

Your Delivery Robot Is Here

Your Delivery Robot Is Here

Earlier this week, DoorDash unveiled its own new autonomous robot, called Dot. The company says it’s part of its goal to have a “hybrid” model for deliveries going forward—working with humans, but als...

2 Loka 202528min

BIG INTV: Lareina Yee Discusses Breakthrough Technologies

BIG INTV: Lareina Yee Discusses Breakthrough Technologies

Branded Content by McKinsey | WIRED’s Global Editorial Director, Katie Drummond sat down with McKinsey’s Global Institute Director and Senior Partner Lareina Yee for a conversation on the technologies...

30 Syys 202527min

WIRED Roundup: Groypers Going Mainstream

WIRED Roundup: Groypers Going Mainstream

In today’s episode, Zöe is joined by WIRED’s Jake Lahut to run through five of the best stories we published this week — from Customs & Border Protection efforts to collect American’s DNA to tech bill...

26 Syys 202523min

Is Silicon Valley Still the Tech Capital?

Is Silicon Valley Still the Tech Capital?

Earlier this month, we took the show to San Francisco for a live recording in front of a great audience at KQED's The Commons. WIRED'S Lauren Goode, Katie Drummond and Jason Kehe asked themselves and ...

25 Syys 202549min

BIG INTV: Signal's Meredith Whittaker Says AI Is Just A Branding Term

BIG INTV: Signal's Meredith Whittaker Says AI Is Just A Branding Term

The Signal Foundation president, Meredith Whittaker recalls where she was when she heard Trump cabinet officials had added a journalist to a highly sensitive group chat. And tells, Katie about why it'...

23 Syys 202545min