You're listening to Imaginary Worlds,

a show about how we create them,

and why we suspend our disbelief.

American Lensky.

Meet Amazon's newest holiday workers, the Kiva robots.

In the last few months, the media has come to realize

something that economists have been saying for a while.

Automation is the real culprit for job losses

and flat wages, not globalization,

and certainly non-immigration.

So far, there are nine robots here

doing the work of more than 250 humans.

And is your job my job at risk?

In fact, besides working on this podcast,

I also work for the New Yorker Radio Hour,

where I help New Yorker staff writers adapt

their print pieces to radio.

And I've been spending the last few months working

on a story about how automation is about

to take a huge leap forward, which means a whole sector

of jobs from warehouse workers to truck drivers

could be wiped out.

...