Week In Geek Podcast: Tech tangles with politics over net neutrality and government incentives

The tech industry’s entanglements with politics were on full display this week. Washington and other states are fighting the FCC’s net neutrality rollback with new bills and lawsuits, and advocates across the political spectrum are criticizing Amazon’s request for government incentives in its HQ2 search, with some calling it ‘corporate welfare.’

We explore both topics on this episode of the Week In Geek Podcast. Plus, we take a look at the technology behind wireless, over-the-air charging — it’s closer to reality than you might think —  and an app that could help in the battle on the opioid crisis.

On the random channel: A tech leader gets involved in the gun control debate — with some ice cream; The latest sci-fi we’re reading (Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice) and watching (Netflix’s “Altered Carbon”); and Ellen schools Bill Gates on grocery shopping basics.

This week’s stories:

• As net neutrality repeal becomes official, here is where Washington state’s open internet fight stands
• Conservative group’s ad attacks ‘corporate welfare’ deals with Amazon in HQ2 cities
• Charging your smartphone with lasers? Engineers say it’s not as scary as it sounds
• Over-the-air wireless charging inches toward consumer market, starting with small devices
• 2Morrow launches pain management app, as tech industry addresses opioid crisis