Steve Wasserman: Amazon.com’s Takeover

Steve Wasserman: Amazon.com’s Takeover

Steve Wasserman: Amazon.com’s Takeover

As a bookseller, Amazon has left no corner of the publishing world untouched. What will happen as it ventures into publishing original content?  

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

As a bookseller, Amazon has left no corner of the publishing world untouched. What will happen as it ventures into publishing original content?

Amazon claims to be a democratizing force in the world of book distribution and production. In reality, however, it’s a monolith that, by dominating bookselling, is able to dictate increasingly exploitative and punitive terms, says Steve Wasserman, editor at large for Yale University Press, in this episode of Nation Conversations with Nation literary editor John Palattella. And as Amazon aims to expand into the world of publishing, its impact could be even more devastating.

Be sure to read Wasserman’s article “The Amazon Effect” for more.

Subscribe to Nation Conversations on iTunes for exclusive audio of Nation editors and writers digging into the topics and issues that shape the magazine. Check back for a new episode each Thursday.

Note: This episode was first published on June 1st. New episodes of Nation Conversations will return Thursday, August 23rd.

Support independent journalism that does not fall in line

Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Ad Policy
x