Business History

"Time is Money": How Ben Franklin's Sayings Created American Capitalism and Grind Culture 03.06.2026 44p

Benjamin Franklin had a full life - he was a scientist, statesman, and a Founding Father. But we're looking at the huge impact he had as a writer of best-selling business books. Franklin first picked up the pen as a poor, downtrodden teenager to write satire, but as he became richer and more successful he instead shared his entrepreneurial insights with the public.    His sayings about time-wasting, thrift and the rewards of hard work were revolutionary. And both his admirers and critics claim his writings caused a profound global shift in how we think about work and wealth.  Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Founding Father Who Got Rich in the Revolution 27.05.2026 47p

Two-hundred-and-fifty years ago George Washington was fighting the Revolutionary War against the British, but Robert Morris doing something just as vital. He was raising money for the fighting and buying the gunpowder, tents, food and uniforms Washington's army needed.  Morris had been a merchant before the revolution, so didn't see why he shouldn't personally profit from his work supplying the colonists' struggle. He emerged from the war as a rich man and owned huge tracts of land. But the turbulent final years of the 18th Century saw Morris go first into substantial debt and then fall into utter ruin.      Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Dumbest Business Ever... Shipping Melting Ice to Calcutta. 20.05.2026 47p

Frederic Tudor could get ice any time he wanted. He lived in chilly Boston and his family had a lake that froze over in the winter. Harvesting ice and storing it was a normal thing in New England in the 1800s, but Frederic decided he'd make a fortune if he could ship ice to the warmest places on earth. And everyone thought this was the dumbest business idea of all time! No one would back Frederic's plan - no one would even let him rent a ship to carry his ice. For decades he tried and failed to get his ice business running. He even ended up broke and in jail. But finally he prevailed and became a wealthy and celebrated figure - who changed the world.      Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From History Daily: John S. Pemberton Sells the First Glass of Coca-Cola 15.05.2026 15p

Here's a preview of a show we think you'll like, History Daily. Every weekday, Lindsay Graham explores a momentous event that happened 'on this day' in history. Today: American pharmacist John S. Pemberton sells the first glass of Coca-Cola at a pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, a drink he originally bills as a cure-all tonic for the chronic pain caused by war and drug addiction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Match Maker Who Nearly Burned Down Wall Street 13.05.2026 48p

Swedish entrepreneur Ivar Kreuger built a fortune selling matches. He used this money to build a world famous financial empire that bankrolled whole countries. France borrowed from Kreuger. Germany borrowed from Krueger. He was crowned "The Match King" and ruled Wall Street in the 1920s.  But Kreuger's business was about to burn to the ground. The Swede had been using shady - even criminal - methods to move money around his empire and the good times came to an end. The discovery of Kreuger's crimes created chaos, but also proved pivotal in the creation of America's modern financial safeguards.   Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did "Neutron" Jack Welch Nuke GE? 06.05.2026 53p

In 1999, Jack Welch was named "Manager of the Century". As CEO of General Electric for 20 years, Welch transformed the conglomerate and made it the biggest company in the world. Nicknamed "Neutron Jack", he closed down big chunks of old GE and set up new ventures... including GE Capital - which operated more like a bank than the wing of a manufacturing giant.     Under the leadership of "Neutron Jack", General Electric was consistently profitable and seemed to be a safe investment... but in fact the company was headed for disaster. Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Widow Who Ruled the Champagne World 29.04.2026 40p

Running a wine business in Napoleonic France wasn't easy. Constant wars meant naval blockades stopped you exporting your wares and invading armies might loot your cellars. But it was even harder for women - who were forbidden to run companies.    None of this stopped Barbe-Nicole Clicquot. When her husband died, she used a loophole that allowed widows to be entrepreneurs. Naming her Champagne brand after herself - Veuve Clicquot - the "Widow Clicquot" pioneered innovations in production and marketing that transformed the entire industry.      Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Business of Staying Young and Living Forever (with Kara Swisher) 22.04.2026 42p

Kings and emperors spent fortunes pursuing the secret of eternal youth - but now it's tech billionaires who want to live forever and are funding research into scientific (and not-so-scientific) ways to beat aging and death.  Kara Swisher (host of CNN's new series Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever) joins Jacob and Robert to discuss the longevity business - from ancient China, via yoghurt enemas and blood swaps, to the latests developments in DNA editing. We also find out how Kara wants to die.    Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sinking the Global Economy: The Lloyds of London Story Part II 15.04.2026 39p

In the 1980s, Lloyds of London insured satellites, rock singers' voices and the legs of sports stars. Everyone was having fun and making money - but disaster was just around the corner.  Lloyds had always operated on the principle of unlimited liability - so the people backing up the insurance policies were expected to pay over all their assets if required. That hardly ever happened - until a series of huge claims hit Lloyds and the insurers suddenly faced huge bills that threatened to destroy the whole operation and the wider economy.   Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Insurers Who ALWAYS Paid Out: The Lloyds of London Story Part I 08.04.2026 32p

Edward Lloyd opened a coffee shop near the River Thames in the 1680s - it became a place where ship owners and money men rubbed shoulders and a trade in marine insurance sprang up.  The coffee-drinking insurers eventually decided to form an association and agree on a set of rules - and so Lloyd's of London was born. It became a key factor in keeping the global sea trade going, but soon branched out into insuring against burglaries, hurricanes and even earthquakes.    Lloyds developed a principle that seems odd today. It ignored the small print and said: "Pay all our policy holders in full, irrespective of the terms of their policies.” Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betting on Taylor Swift or Who'll Be Made Pope: The Past and Present of Prediction Markets 25.03.2026 36p

A live mash-up between Business History and Bloomberg's Everybody's Business. On platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket you can bet on just about anything - from Taylor Swift's album sales to whether President Trump will say a certain word in a speech. Many people worry about these new prediction markets, but the concept is far older than some critics might think.  We go back centuries to Papal conclaves; hear about how counting drinking toasts stood in for political polling; and learn how the US government tried using betting markets to predict terrorist attacks.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bowie, McCartney & Michael Jackson: How Songwriters Learned to Play Hardball 18.03.2026 45p

Once if you wrote a hit song there was no guarantee it would make you rich. So songwriters formed a cartel - the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. ASCAP started suing concert halls, cafes and nightclubs to claim back royalties. Seemed fair... except ASCAP started a war when it demanded radio stations turn over 10% of their revenues.     ASCAP's monopoly on music rights was broken, but they'd made songs into valuable financial assets. This set the scene for an epic copyright beef between Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, and for David Bowie to turn his pop hits into a complex special purpose vehicle... a securitization pool!  Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How GM Beat Ford 11.03.2026 36p

Ford was the pre-eminent American car maker and Henry Ford was the king of modern manufacturing, until a Michigan cigar salesman decided to consolidate a bunch of small auto companies into a single firm to defeat the Colossus of Detroit.  General Motors united the likes of Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac and decided to live by "the laws of Paris dressmakers" to make cars that were more stylish and fashionable than the austere, black-painted Model T that was coming out of the Ford plant.  Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Henry Ford Invented the Modern World... Then Got Left Behind 04.03.2026 50p

Farm boy Henry Ford hated toil. If only someone could invent ways to work more efficiently, as well as cheap, reliable machines to take some of the strain. Ford was a tinkerer and a lover of the newly invented automobile - so he started building cars in a new, streamlined way that made them affordable to many more Americans.        Thanks to Ford’s production line techniques, the Model T became the biggest selling car in the world. And other factories copied his system to manufacture the radios and vacuum cleaners that kickstarted the modern boom in consumerism. But then Henry Ford stopped listening to what car buyers wanted.  Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

War, Exploration and Beer: How the Tin Can Changed the World 25.02.2026 57p

Old-fashioned ways of preserving food made for salty, vinegary or chewy meals - but it was often a choice between that or starving. Soldiers, explorers and ordinary people alike faced malnutrition and food poisoning - but then came a French revolution... in a can!  First invented in Napoleonic France, the humble can would feed armies; sustain bold exploration; and give poor people access to wholesome food all year round. We don't think about the tin can much today, but its history is filled with skullduggery, vast riches and deadly choking hazards.    Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The War on The A&P: When America Decided Cheap Groceries Were "Evil" 18.02.2026 48p

Mom and Pops grocery stores were charming, but inefficient. They contributed to Americans either spending a lot on their food or having to go hungry. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company changed the entire model. The A&P established a chain of stores selling branded goods at the lowest prices.   The A&P kept its profit margins slim and allowed Americans to buy more food for less - but this wasn't celebrated as a success story. Politicians, radio stars and vested interests ganged together to hound The A&P. They demanded the grocery chain change its strategy, raise prices and even put its owners on trial on criminal charges. So why didn't America like cheap groceries?   Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Tanked Atari 11.02.2026 49p

Nolan Bushnell loved weed, hot tubs and games... especially games. He took computer games out of the laboratory and put them in bars. His arcade game Pong was a monster hit, so he set up Atari to build a home games console which became the must-have Christmas present of 1975.  Atari was the name on every kid's lips... but then investors came onboard to help the company expand. Bushnell and his engineers were sidelined, and Atari embarked on a crazy plan to rush out a game based on Spielberg's movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It was so bad... it sank Atari. Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How a Bad Boss Kickstarted Silicon Valley 04.02.2026 47p

William Shockley was an electronics genius - he even won a Nobel Prize - but he was an awful boss. Shockley was a cruel, paranoid micromanager. And this annoyed the staff of brilliant young engineers he'd assembled in a quiet town in Northern California. In fact, they quit and set up a company of their own inventing silicon chips.    Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore and the rest of "The Traitorous Eight" transformed computing, but also blazed a trail for the tech founders who would flock to Silicon Valley and change the world. Members of "The Traitorous Eight" set up Intel and AMD, while also funding businesses such as Google and Slack.   Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sears: Cocaine Wine, Shotguns, and the World’s Tallest Tower 28.01.2026 43p

Richard Warren Sears started off selling pocket watches - then published a catalog full of hundreds and hundreds of products from shotguns to cocaine wine. Sears & Roebuck offered even Americans living on remote farms the chance to shop like city dwellers. The catalog became an American institution - the Amazon of the 1890s - but as the nation changed, Sears adapted too and built a vast chain of physical stores.  Sears felt so secure that it built the world's tallest office building to house all its staff - but then came competition from specialist big-box stores and out-of-town megastores. Sears found itself in a death spiral and couldn't pull out. Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

De-Nazifying the Love Bug: The VW Beetle Story Part II 21.01.2026 42p

It's 1945. The Volkswagen factory has been bombed and members of the staff have been arrested as war criminals. So how did the company turn around in just a few years and begin making Beetle cars that became a global sensation? Big political and economic moves helped - but a British Army officer, Walt Disney and a New York ad agency also played pivotal roles in turning a car that Hitler had championed into the favourite ride of surfers, school teachers and hippies.       Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.