Business History

Herman Petty's Dream: The Struggles of the First Black American to Own a McDonald's

Herman Petty was a Chicago barber and bus driver who dreamed of running his own business. When his local McDonald's restaurant was abandoned in 1968, Herman approached th

The Battle of Fort Frick and the Anarchist Assassin

Concluding our story of Andrew Carnegie's effort to break the unions at his Homestead steel factory, we look at how the plant boss Henry Clay Frick enlisted a private arm

Andrew Carnegie's War with his Workers

In the first of two shows about the fight between the richest man and the unions at his Homestead steel plant - we look at why Andrew Carnegie decided that his workforce

George Washington’s Trusted Tavern Guide: The Birth of the User Review

When America’s first president set off to tour his new country, he had no idea where to stay. George Washington slept in some taverns he described as dirty and grim, but

The DeLorean Saga: Fraud, Drug Deals and Marty McFly's Car

This is a special crossover episode with Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford.  John DeLorean was a top car executive - but he was too maverick to fit into the oppressive

The Tangled Story of Instant Ramen

Momofuku Ando told the world he invented instant ramen noodles in a shed in his backyard. In Japan, there's not one, but two museums celebrating this breakthrough. Only A

Billy Beer: When American Beer Hit Bottom, Then Bounced Back

President Jimmy Carter had a brother, and this brother LOVED beer. Billy Carter was a big 1970s celebrity and a struggling brewery decided to bet on him to revive its for

The Printing Press: The Invention Built on Debt and Sin

Before 1450, books were written out by hand. It was slow and expensive. But Johannes Gutenberg borrowed a ton of money to create a printing press that could crank out Bib

The Robberiest Robber Baron: The Villainy of Jay Gould

Jay Gould became hugely rich without ever really making a product or offering a service to benefit his customers. Other "Robber Barons" in the 19th century forged steel o

The Factory That Was Wiped Off The Map (From Cautionary Tales)

Business History will be back on July 22nd - but here's an episode from another Pushkin Industries show we're sure you''ll enjoy, Cautionary Tales. A giant chemical pla

The Nobel Winners Who Almost Crashed the Economy

John Meriwether assembled the smartest team on Wall Street. In the 1980s, he combed Harvard and MIT for geniuses to join him at Salomon Brothers and make the investment b

A Store Owner You Can Trust: John Wanamaker, Returns and the Price Tag

Shopping used to be adversarial. Shoppers and store owners would bargain and haggle over prices. What one person got for $1, the next guy bought for £1.25. And there were

The Boy Scout Who Brought us the Age of Disruption

Why have so many tiny start-ups come from nowhere to take down huge established corporations? Is it because the incumbents were dumb? Harvard Business School professor Cl

Ida Tarbell: The "Muckraker" Who Beat John D Rockefeller and Big Oil

At a time when women couldn't vote or freely enter the workplace, Ida Tarbell took on the richest man in America and triumphed. Ida grew up in the Pennsylvania oil fields

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

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

The Founding Father Who Got Rich in the Revolution

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

The Dumbest Business Ever... Shipping Melting Ice to Calcutta.

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 no

The Match Maker Who Nearly Burned Down Wall Street

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 bor

Did "Neutron" Jack Welch Nuke GE?

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

The Widow Who Ruled the Champagne World

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