Acquired artwork

Technology · Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Acquired

by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.

Chart trend

Position in the overall Apple Podcasts chart (US), last 90 days.

#11
all-time peak
16
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire

#8 trending · Technology

In 1984, the Walt Disney Company was worth more dead than alive. Disney Animation — the heart of Walt's famous flywheel — had stagnated for years, bleeding away talent wh

Aug 10
4 h 32 min

The Walt Disney Company

#31 trending · Technology

The Walt Disney Company is the most successful enterprise ever created for monetizing human nostalgia. Today it’s the king of global entertainment, holding the intellectu

Jun 22
4 h 31 min

Vanguard

Vanguard is the most effective vehicle ever created for participating in the fruits of American capitalism. Today it’s the single largest equity owner of the majority of

May 18
3 h 48 min

Ferrari

Ferrari is the pinnacle of luxury scarcity — across its entire 79-year history, the company has sold just 330,000 cars at an average price today of $500,000. For context,

Apr 13
3 h 59 min

Rolex

Rolex is a series of paradoxes. They sell obsolete and objectively inferior mechanical devices for 10-1000x the price of their superior digital successors… and demand is

Mar 5
4 h 51 min

Costco

Costco is not only Charlie Munger’s favorite company of all time (plus he’s on the board, natch), it’s an absolutely fascinating study in how seemingly opposite character

Mar 4
2 h 53 min

Formula 1

Formula 1 is three competitions in one: a 200mph battle of the world's best race car drivers, the world cup of engineering where thousand-person teams spend hundreds of m

Mar 2
4 h 18 min

The NFL

The NFL is nearly synonymous with America today. Practically nothing is more quintessentially and universally American than tuning in every Sunday (and Monday, and Thursd

Jan 27
4 h 08 min

10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)

Why has Acquired — seemingly against all odds — “worked”? It's a puzzling question: episodes are four hours long, they come out infrequently, and they usually don’t have

Dec 15 2025
2 h 37 min

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is… sugar water. And somehow it’s also America, Christmas, summertime, friendship and happiness. Today we tell the story of how The Coca-Cola Company amazingly

Nov 24 2025
3 h 53 min

Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe's breaks every rule of modern retail. They don't do e-commerce. They don't do delivery. No sales, coupons, or loyalty programs. They only stock 4,000 SKUs vers

Oct 27 2025
3 h 17 min

Google Part III: The AI Company

Google faces the greatest innovator's dilemma in history. They invented the Transformer — the breakthrough technology powering every modern AI system from ChatGPT to Clau

Oct 6 2025
3 h 56 min

Acquired Live at Radio City Music Hall (Presented by J.P. Morgan)

It’s finally here! Today we are releasing Acquired’s first “concert film” — the full video recording of our Radio City live show from this summer with Jamie Dimon, Andrew

Oct 1 2025
1 min

Google Part II: Alphabet

In its first six years from 1998 to 2004, Google built one of the greatest products of all time (and certainly the greatest business of all time) with Search. Then in its

Aug 26 2025
4 h 02 min

The Jamie Dimon Interview

We sit down with Jamie Dimon for a live conversation at Radio City Music Hall, covering the incredible journey from his 1998 firing at Citgroup (where he was widely expec

Jul 16 2025
1 h 00 min

Google Part I: Origins of Search

We tell the story of the single greatest business ever created: Google search. From its origins as a Stanford research project called BackRub, Google became the front doo

Jun 30 2025
3 h 29 min

The Steve Ballmer Interview

We sit down with Steve Ballmer, the legendary former Microsoft CEO and owner of the LA Clippers, for an epic conversation covering his 34 years at Microsoft. Steve listen

Jun 2 2025
2 h 48 min

Epic Systems (MyChart)

What if we told you that the most important company in US healthcare was run from a farm in rural Wisconsin? And that farm contained the world’s largest subterranean audi

Apr 21 2025
3 h 46 min

Indian Premier League Cricket

When you saw this episode pop up in your feed, you either jumped for joy and hit play immediately (in which case you’re not reading this), or you said “Huh. That’s a surp

Mar 24 2025
4 h 17 min

TSMC Founder Morris Chang

We flew to Taiwan to interview TSMC Founder Morris Chang in a rare English interview. In fact, the last long-form video interview we could find was 17 years ago at the Co

Jan 27 2025
2 h 47 min

Chart positions

Where Acquired ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 9, 2026).

#124 ▼ 3 All Podcasts US
#4 Technology US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

These guys are great businessman and born storytellers. There’s fascinating history behind every company and lessons to be learned regardless of what business you’re in. Everybody I’ve recommended this podcast winds up loving it.

renosnave · Dec 2024

Acquired is the case study learning method I always wanted. Told with enthusiasm and relatability. Like the hosts, I put myself in the company’s shoes and ask what I would have done in their circumstance. Then marvel at their choices and subsequent successes. I also appreciate the technical additions to learn and stay sharp. I’m hooked!

Al Lione · Dec 2024

The Acquired podcast is truly exceptional! Each episode dives deep into the stories of some of the most iconic companies, offering a masterclass in business strategy, innovation, and leadership. The hosts bring an incredible level of research, insight, and passion, making complex topics both engaging and easy to understand. It’s not just educational but also deeply inspirational, as it uncovers the challenges and triumphs behind major successes. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a business enthusiast, or simply curious about how the world’s greatest companies are built, Acquired is a must-listen. Highly recommended!

Pnandraj · Dec 2024

I only started watching this show earlier this year. I think I discovered it because it was mentioned in a WSJ article. Anyway, I did and still have tons of episodes to discover. I decided to look through the episodes and listen to those in the same industry in a row and it is working well for me. My first listen was Hermes, then I listened to LVMH, etc. I especially enjoy the history of the company and the elements that make the company successful. Brad and David are engaging and I like that they do not always present a united front on all issues discussed. I used to live in SF and have visited Seattle so I can relate to where they live and work. This aspect may not be the same for someone from another part of the country. I always learn new things and have a better appreciation for company values and leadership.

april fool · Dec 2024

They have political biases that influence how they tell the story. Facts start to get a bit skewed at times because of the narrative they want to push. I love the story telling. The length is perfect as it allows you to get in the full history and a lot of the details/decisions that are pertinent to story. I think it is great when you take small tangents to really drive home what is happening in the time period you are discussing. It really sets the context and deepens the magnitude of the events that are happening.

Shalaron · Jun 2024

The histories are typically interesting and well produced but are far too laudatory of individual “brilliant men” while glazing over the human cost. Big, increasing numbers are often rattled off as if they are unequivocally good and the morally just results of good decisions.

Timbecile_ · Jun 2024

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About Acquired on Reason.fm

Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Acquired, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

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