Podcast Episodes

👜 Birkin: The Handbag That Costs More Than Your House

Episode 48

When Jane Birkin's boyfriend ran over her beloved wicker basket, she was stuck lugging a messy tote onto a flight to London. As her Hermès planner exploded across the first-class cabin, her mortified…

Published on 12 hours ago

⚾️ New York Yankees: Rise of the Bronx Bombers

Episode 47

In the spring of 1903, the NYC subway wasn’t yet open… the Wright Brothers hadn’t yet taken their epic flight… and the New York Yankees were not yet the Yankees. They were the Highlanders: a group of…

Published on 1 week ago

🏍️ Harley-Davidson: Tattoo’d on 700,000 Biceps

Episode 46

It started with a souped-up bicycle inspired by a vaudeville show, and the need for speed. The dream – shared by four Harley brothers and one Davidson – came true, and became one of America’s most ic…

Published on 2 weeks ago

🏰 Disneyland: The Fantasy that Almost Flopped

Episode 45

Who wouldn’t want to visit the happiest place on Earth? Well — at the start of the 1950s, it seemed like no one did, at least not when Walt Disney pitched the idea. Sure, Walt had revolutionized anim…

Published on 3 weeks ago

🍜 Instant Ramen: The Incredible, True Story of “Mr. Noodle”

Episode 44

It’s postwar Japan, and entrepreneur Momofuku Ando has lost everything—his business, his home, and his savings. In fact, the whole country has been ravaged by air raids, and people are hungry. But wh…

Published on 4 weeks ago

🥃 Hennessy: From King George to Kendrick

Episode 43

A wounded Irish soldier crawls from a blood-soaked battlefield in the French countryside. He survives, but his fighting days are over. So he settles in the Cognac region, and in 1765, starts a modest…

Published on 1 month ago

🛹 Skateboard: Defying Physics & Freaking Out Parents for 60+ Years

Episode 42

Imagine yourself on a sandy SoCal beach, surfboard in hand. But the ocean’s too calm: not a single wave in sight. What do you do? Well, if you’re a kid in the early 60s, you throw some wheels on a pl…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Business Wars Presents: The AOL-Time Warner Disaster

Think business is boring? What about when your streaming bill goes up, or your favorite restaurant files for bankruptcy? Do you ever wonder what’s going on behind the scenes? Business Wars gives you …

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

🐲 Pokémon: The Little Monsters that Played Their Cards Right

Episode 41

What do you get when you mix a passion for collecting bugs with an obsession for video games? For Satoshi Tajiri, the answer is the world's largest media franchise (over $92 billion revenue — more th…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

⭐ Michelin Guide: The Tire Company That Accidentally Conquered Food

Episode 40

André and Édouard Michelin were desperately seeking a way to save their family rubber business, when a hapless cyclist with a flat came staggering into their workshop. The brothers saw an opportunity…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago