Not only was Amazon's effort to back pro-business candidates for the Seattle City Council not effective, but its $1.45 million in contributions <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazon-bid-business-friendly-seattle-council-withers-adversary-pulls-ahead-surprise-comeback/">seems to have backfired on the company,</a> energizing its opponents and leading to a new City Council that's collectively more to the left of the political spectrum than before. It's the latest in a series of political and policy missteps and missed opportunities for the company, from <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazon-pulls-new-york-hq2-amid-growing-backlash/">HQ2</a> to <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/jedi-explaining-10b-military-cloud-contract-microsoft-just-won-amazon/">JEDI</a>.&nbsp; Also this week: Bill Gates and Elizabeth Warren are<a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/bill-gates-willing-talk-elizabeth-warren-offers-explain-wealth-tax/"> ready to talk about taxes</a>; a Microsoft study shows the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/microsoft-experimented-4-day-work-week-japan-saw-big-jump-productivity/">potential benefits of a shorter work week for productivity</a>; a <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/geekiestsoundersfan-wins-mls-cup-pitchside-seats-nerdy-8-bit-rap/">winning Seattle Sounders rap from a GeekWire reader</a>; and Cortana is <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/microsofts-cortana-can-now-read-emails-loud-run-daily-schedule/">ready to "play" your email for you</a>, but are you ready for her to do that?See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

The future of data with Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky

GeekWire brings you the week's latest technology news, trends and insights, covering the world of technology from our home base in Seattle. Our regular news podcast features commentary and analysis from our editors and reporters, plus interviews with special guests.