logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
44m 49s

🧱LEGO: Earth’s Biggest Toy Biz | 11

Wondery
About this episode
Click… That satisfying sound of Lego bricks has brought joy to millions of kids - and adults (kidults?) for more than 70 years. But did you know it all started in a Danish carpenter's workshop during WWII? And that boxes of Lego were used to smuggle grenades to resistance fighters? Today, family-owned Lego is the biggest toy company on earth, but this plasti ... Show More
Up next
Sep 2025
🎬 That’s a Wrap on Season 1 | 51
But you can still get Nick & Jack every day! Follow The Best One Yet, our daily news show delivering 3 stories in 20 minutes. Where business meets pop-culture. Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-best-one-yet/id1386234384Listen on Spotify: https://open.spot ... Show More
6m 2s
Sep 2025
📺 SNL: The Snickers Bar of Saturday Night | 50
When Johnny Carson, 1970s late-night king, declared he wanted another day off, it left NBC with a hole in their weekend lineup. 11:30pm Saturday night wasn’t exactly the hot time slot… so the network recruited a quiet Canadian comedy writer named Lorne Michaels to produce a live ... Show More
42m 25s
Sep 2025
🎧 Sony Walkman: The Analog Icon That Led to a Digital Revolution | 49
In postwar Tokyo, two engineers were tinkering with rice cookers and busted home radios when they stumbled across a new kind of audio technology: magnetic tape. It inspired them to create a range of ahead-of-their-time tape recorders — and the success took Sony from small repair ... Show More
41m 43s
Recommended Episodes
May 2025
The Ultimate Lego House (encore)
In 2009, a television presenter from the BBC, a guy by the name of James May, gathered about 2,000 volunteers and approximately 3.2 million bricks donated by LEGO to create a two-story house out of Legos. He created this for a series called James May's Toy Stories. The house even ... Show More
5m 54s
Jul 2025
Rebuilding LEGO | Brick to the Future | 2
<p>It’s late 2003 and LEGO’s turnaround strategy has failed. It’s hurtling towards bankruptcy. Its only hope now is a three-man shadow leadership team. And they’re about to learn that the problems at LEGO go way deeper than anyone thought.</p><p>Be the first to know about Wondery ... Show More
40m 8s
Sep 2025
Lego Blocks of Leverage
Click Here to Get All Podcast Show Notes!Feeling like your effort isn’t getting you anywhere? In this episode, Sharran breaks down why hard work alone isn’t enough and how to find the game you were truly built to win. Using tennis, business, and life as examples, he introduces hi ... Show More
20m 53s
Jun 2025
Rebuilding LEGO | A Burning Platform | 1
<p>It’s early 1997, and after decades of success, LEGO is rocked by a sudden collapse in its profit. To recover, the Danish toy manufacturer jacks up its innovation efforts. But can it deliver a company-saving idea in time?</p><p>Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcas ... Show More
41m 39s
May 2023
📺 “Get a Free TV (with a catch)” — Telly’s giveaway strategy. Lego’s adult sales. Home Depot’s chill zone.
One new startup will give you a free big-screen TV… for free — Because they don’t want your money, they want your data. Lego’s newest toy is for people ages 18 and up, because Lego’s new favorite customer is adults. And Home Depot’s stock just dragged down the stock market, but t ... Show More
18m 10s
Sep 2025
Niels B. Christiansen: Leading LEGO, Competing in the Digital Age, and Shaping Creative Minds
How do you build bridges between generations? Nicolai Tangen sits down with Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of LEGO, to explore the building blocks of this remarkable Danish company. They discuss how LEGO competes for children's time in our digital age, the risks and rewards of rapid ... Show More
52m 34s
Jun 2021
Ep. 182 - Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Part 2) w/ Eric Scull
Eric Scull of MuggleCast is back and he chats with Schubes about Years 2-4 of Lego Harry Potter! Topics include: carrot wands, MLB The Show, LEGO Creator, LEGO Island, Jigglypuff, Crash Bandicoot, Michael Jordan, Kevin from The Office, underrated Pomfrey, redhead representation, ... Show More
1h 8m
Oct 2024
The Best Idea Yet 🍟 The Happy Meal: A Delicious McMystery
Episode #1 of our new show… The Best Idea Yet. We’re serving it up here early for the Besties & Yetis.For future episodes of TBIY, subscribe/follow here: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/The Happy Meal is the most successful meal in human history. With over 35 billion ... Show More
44m 26s