Friday Feb 18, 2022
10: Chasing That Paper
Peak Salvation
Former CEO and tech millionaire Philip Su is saved from spiraling depression when he becomes an Amazon warehouse worker during Peak 2021, the company‘s busiest season from Black Friday to Christmas. Philip explores not only what it‘s like to go from earning seven figures in an air-conditioned office to working mandatory overtime for just above minimum wage, but also the impact of technology and automation on our collective futures and the unexpected blessing of resetting the hedonic treadmill.
Listen on:
Episodes
Episodes
Friday Feb 25, 2022
Friday Feb 25, 2022
The tide of basal talent required to participate in our winner-take-all economy is rising beyond the capabilities of many. Computers used to serve our needs; we now increasingly serve robot overlords. What will happen to skilled labor in this future?Full transcript: https://peaksalvation.com/thank-you-very-much-mr-roboto.
Friday Mar 04, 2022
Friday Mar 04, 2022
Philip is invited to a private event at the Space Needle where only multimillionaires are allowed. Such things apparently do exist — and they're as surreal as they sound. Full transcript: https://peaksalvation.com/socioeconomic-bends
Friday Mar 11, 2022
Friday Mar 11, 2022
The tendinitis plaguing Philip reaches fever pitch, forcing him to navigate the labyrinthine process of getting a medical accommodation from Amazon. The whole process proves farcical, calling into question whether the system works at all. Full transcript: https://peaksalvation.com/gonna-make-you-sweat
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Philip is encouraged when meeting an associate who also joined Amazon in order to combat depression. He reflects on the benefits of his journey thus far, and encounters an incredibly rare event that's full of wonder.
Full transcript: https://peaksalvation.com/the-major-lift
Friday Mar 25, 2022
Friday Mar 25, 2022
It's the end of Philip's time at Amazon. The warehouse, BFI4, celebrates Christmas with a free lunch, and Philip gets, at last, to enter Bezos's Balls.
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
On his first anniversary of working peak season at Amazon, Philip reflects on life after Peak, and on the career decisions he's made in the months hence. Full transcript at https://peaksalvation.com/where-are-they-now.
If you'd like to try The Program (audio series) podcast, a high-quality fiction production exploring future technical dystopias, please check it out. My favorite episode is this one: https://programaudioseries.com/11-motherboard/.
Thank you all for your continued support! Please write me at philip@peaksalvation.com, and rate Peak Salvation on iTunes and Spotify. I'd love to hear from you.