“Please prepare yourself for a level of intensity that is greater than anything most of you have ever experienced before,” Elon Musk once wrote in an email to employees at Tesla. The subject line, “ultra hardcore,” also operates as an edict - go hard or go anywhere else. But this “ultra hardcore” philosophy has led to injuries, scandals and lawsuits. Are the ... Show More
Aug 2024
Disney is a Tech Company?
Streaming didn’t just change the way consumers watched movies and TV shows, it reconfigured how media giants operated, and how they saw themselves. If tech companies were disrupting old business models, perhaps Disney’s best move was to join the crowd. In our final episode, we lo ... Show More
38m 9s
Aug 2024
Disney is Bob Iger's Company
The Walt Disney Company has been led by eight different men in its century of existence. But few would object to the idea that only three have really mattered. Walt Disney, Michael Eisner, and Bob Iger have all made lasting impacts on the company, but how these executives went ou ... Show More
40m 55s
Jul 2024
Disney is a Cinematic Universe Company
Marvel and Star Wars are the crown jewels of Disney’s empire. They’re the highest-grossing movie franchises in history, with devoted fan bases and expansive IP universes, but right now, both are in a bit of a slump. As Disney asked for more and more content to satisfy its busines ... Show More
41m 37s
Mar 2023
🦣 “Mam & Eggs” — Vow’s lab-grown mammoth. Lululemon’s bad bet. Elon’s anti-AI letter.
How do you like your Mammoth cooked? Australian startup Vow just served lab-grown Mammoth Meatballs and raised $50M for it. Lululemon’s stock jumped 13% yesterday, but Lulu made the wrong bet on your workouts. And Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and 1,000 other tech leaders just signed ... Show More
21m 22s
Mar 2023
💳 “I only date Costco members” — Costco’s membership magic. Universal’s boy-band power. VinFast’s super-cheap car.
There are more Costco families in America than there are families with dogs… so everyone’s wondering what Costco is about to do to its annual Membership Club fee. Universal, the largest record label in the world, just enjoyed a revenue rock concert because Boy Bands beat Solo Art ... Show More
20m 21s
Aug 2022
🩲 “The Undies Economy” — Parade’s $200M underwear. Cable TV’s grandma fee. Rivian’s Indonesia problem.
Tech stocks are down, so Venture Capitalists are jumping into your underwear. Charter Communications is a case study in Cable TV’s strategy: For every Grandkid lost to cord-cutting, squeeze more from Grandma. And Rivian’s electric trucks lost nearly $2B in just 3 months, but its ... Show More
20m 40s
Apr 2023
⚽ “Ryan Reynolds FC” – Wrexham’s soccer contentification. Tesla’s MegaBatteries. National Parks’ small fees.
Actor Ryan Reynolds acquired a Welsh soccer club that’s now winning — The story’s worthy of a documentary (oh wait, there already is one). Tesla’s craziest product yet isn’t cars, cybertrucks, or robots — it’s building sized batteries. And US National Park visits just hit an all- ... Show More
20m 11s
Sep 2023
Escape From Burning Man + Musk vs. the A.D.L. + Listener Questions
This week: How tech executives’ favorite place to take their pants off turned into a muddy hellscape. We talk to one executive who couldn’t just call a helicopter to escape.Then, Jonathan Greenblatt, C.E.O. of the Anti-Defamation League, on how his organization went from having a ... Show More
1h 4m
Oct 2023
Uber’s Profit, Power and Problems with CEO Dara K
Uber: hard to live with it, or without it. In this episode Kara grills CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on the company’s sky-high prices, high take rate, treatment of drivers/couriers, policies around safety and why oh why he is kind to his predecessor, Travis Kalanick. Before and after the ... Show More
1 h