Podcast of the Week

Podcast of the Week: Land of the Giants

Bradley Chambers | Jul 25 2020 - 9:00 am PT

Land of the Giants season one was a very interesting look at how Amazon is impacting our daily lives. Season 2 is now underway, and it’s looking at Netflix.

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Facebook. Apple. Amazon. Netflix. Google. These five tech giants have changed the world. But how? And at what cost? Netflix now has nearly 200 million subscribers, and the biggest companies in media and tech are racing to catch up. In our new season, The Netflix Effect, Recode’s Peter Kafka and Rani Molla examine the unique ways the company has disrupted entertainment and completely changed the way we watch

In episode two, Netflix’s culture is discussed at length. One of the discussions I really enjoyed is how Netflix looks at employees like football teams do their players: if you can get a better player, why would you not?

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.

I’ve posed that question to a number of people in the weeks since, and while I don’t agree 100%, I do think it’s an interesting question to answer. Netflix changed a lot with how TV shows and movies are created and consumed, so looking at their past is very interesting.

Subscribe to Land of the Giants on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Castro, Pocket Casts, Spotify, or RSS.