Business History

The Dumbest Business Ever... Shipping Melting Ice to Calcutta.

From History Daily: John S. Pemberton Sells the First Glass of Coca-Cola

The Match Maker Who Nearly Burned Down Wall Street

Did "Neutron" Jack Welch Nuke GE?

The Widow Who Ruled the Champagne World

The Business of Staying Young and Living Forever (with Kara Swisher)

The pursuit of immortality and the business of longevity bridge ancient history and modern Silicon Valley, revealing a persistent human desire to "hack" life. Tech journalist Kara Swisher joins hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith to examine the spectrum between legitimate scientific breakthroughs, such as CRISPR and...

Sinking the Global Economy: The Lloyds of London Story Part II

The Insurers Who ALWAYS Paid Out: The Lloyds of London Story Part I

Lloyd's of London's history, from its humble beginnings in a 17th-century coffee house to its role in shaping global insurance, is examined. The coffee houses of London were centers of information exchange, and Edward Lloyd's establishment became a hub for shipping industry members. Lloyd started a newsletter that evol...

From SNAFU with Ed Helms: Adam Grant and The OG Ponzi Scheme

Betting on Taylor Swift or Who'll Be Made Pope: The Past and Present of Prediction Markets

Bowie, McCartney & Michael Jackson: How Songwriters Learned to Play Hardball

How GM Beat Ford

Henry Ford Invented the Modern World... Then Got Left Behind

War, Exploration and Beer: How the Tin Can Changed the World

The War on The A&P: When America Decided Cheap Groceries Were "Evil"

The 115-Year-Old Train Tunnels Turned National Emergency (from HISTORY This Week)

When E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Tanked Atari

How a Bad Boss Kickstarted Silicon Valley

Sears: Cocaine Wine, Shotguns, and the World’s Tallest Tower

Sears transformed from a small-town watch business into a retail juggernaut by mastering the "negative cash conversion cycle," which allowed the company to fund growth using customer payments before purchasing inventory. The iconic catalog, serving as a primary source of goods for rural Americans, eventually gave way t...

De-Nazifying the Love Bug: The VW Beetle Story Part II