Expanding Corporate Dominance, Waves in the Gulf, The Rise of Black Lives Matter

Coming up on today’s show:

• Following Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods, The Takeaway examines the future of the company and its grip on the economy, as well as the question of anti-trust laws as Amazon continues to grow in size and power. Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Self-Reliance and author of “Big-Box Swindle,” and James Marcus, editor of Harper’s Magazine and author of “Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot-Com Juggernaut,” weigh in. 

• Christian Madsbjerg, author of “Sensemaking: The Power of Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm,” warns that the focus on coding, artificial intelligence, and machine learning is dangerous, particularly without taking into account how humanities and liberal arts create more empathetic people who are necessary in the work force. He discusses his work today on The Takeaway. 

• There’s a new succession line in Saudi Arabia: King Salman has made his 31-year-old son first in line to succeed him as king, a spot previously held by the king’s nephew. Not everyone is happy about the decision, but it provides an indication where Saudi leadership will go for generations to come. James Smith, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2009 to 2013, explains. 

• Qatar’s neighbors in the Middle East have broke relations with the country, and the United States is sending mixed message about the Gulf nation. Randa Slim, director of the Track II Dialoguest initiative at The Middle East Institute, explores how this shift is affecting global markets, and America’s military bases in Qatar. 

• Much like the phrase “Black Power” evoked the struggle for racial justice in the 1960s, “Black Lives Matter” has become a slogan for activism and social justice today. Christopher Lebron,an assistant professor of African American studies and philosophy at Yale University, is the author of the new book, “The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea.” He examines how history laid the foundation for the Black Lives Matter movement, and where it may go next. 

• The experimental protest band Algiers, originally from Atlanta, is out with a new album tomorrow, called “The Underside of Power.” They started working on the album during Brexit, and finished the record after the 2016 election in the U.S. Band members Franklin James Fisher and Matt Tong discuss their new work today on The Takeaway.