Business Wars

It’s 1940, and the world is at war. The Allies and Axis powers are scrambling to lock down supplies of the industrial diamonds needed to mass produce their tanks, planes and submarines.But when the White House demands De Beers hands over a year’s supply of industrial diamonds, it soon learns the cartel is as hard to break as the diamonds it sells. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1914 and De Beers’s monopoly is under threat. Diamonds have been discovered on the desolate coast of the German colony of South West Africa.So it hired an ambitious diamond expert named Ernest Oppenheimer and gave him his orders: head to the beach and assess the threat.But then World War One disrupts De Beers chance to do a deal with the German diamond miners. Now, Oppenheimer sees his chance to scramble to the very top of the diamond industry.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ here Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1869 and diamonds have been found in Cape Colony. Now, diamond hunters from across the world are heading to this remote British outpost in southern Africa, seeking a glittering fortune.And among them are two wide-eyed hopefuls: streetwise Barney Barnato, who hails from the London slums, and Cecil Rhodes, a vicar’s son with a head full of imperialist daydreams.When the diamond rush turns to bust, Barnato and Rhodes embark on a quest to conquer the mines. But only one man can win. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Uber and Lyft have made their mark as very different brands.Lyft was born out of a need for more environmentally friendly rideshare options. And is also seen as the “friendlier” of the two companies. While Uber’s former CEO, Travis Kalanick built a reputation for ruthlessness, sexual harassment and “bro culture.”Still, both companies have seen protests from their drivers, who’ve demanded benefits and better pay for countless hours spent on the road. So how much has Uber and Lyft’s company culture affected their business up until now? And what will the future hold for these tech giants?For some answers, we hear from New York Times Technology Reporter Mike Isaac. Isaac is also the author of the book, “Super PUMPED: The Battle for Uber.” He’ll talk about his reporting on Kalanick, Uber and how company culture at Uber and Lyft matters, now more than ever, to consumers. Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/priv

New CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is cleaning house after the departure of Travis Kalanick. But after a disappointing IPO, Khosrowshahi has to boost the company’s ailing financials and fight against lawmakers who are siding with aggrieved drivers.Then COVID-19 hits. Uber and Lyft are faced with a crisis that could alter ridesharing forever. Khosrowshahi leans into Uber Eats, while John Zimmer and Logan Green struggle to keep their dream alive.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

February 2017, Super Bowl Sunday. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is taking a black car home when he gets in an altercation with the driver. LIttle does he know, the entire exchange has been captured on a dashcam recording. And when it goes viral, Kalanick will have to fight for his reputation — and his job. Lyft, meanwhile, spies an opening. As sexual harassment scandals plague their rival and users move to #DeleteUber, John Zimmer and Logan Green finally have a chance to really capitalize on their “good guy” reputation.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Uber is facing blowback from all directions — the taxi industry, riders, and the most important man in tech: Apple's Tim Cook. Uber’s been engaged in some disreputable activity, and it's finally catching up with them. Lyft forges ahead and forms a new alliance to fight back against Uber's growing global footprint. But Uber will once again outmaneuver its competitor. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's 2013, and Lyft's CEO John Zimmer is hosting a little celebration for drivers when some very unwelcome interlopers turn up to crash the party. Uber’s Travis Kalanick wants to destroy Lyft at any cost, and he's willing to do what it takes to outmaneuver his competitor and steal its riders and drivers — even if it means playing dirty. Lyft decides to stick to its environmentalist roots and focus on a new ridesharing feature it hopes will woo customers away. Until Uber beats them to the punch, and drives its rival to the brink of collapse.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's the late '90s, and Travis Kalanick is hanging out in his dorm room at UCLA. He’s having a file-sharing party with his friends that leads to his first business. But Kalanick’s forced to grow up quickly as he learns that naïveté can cost you millions and Silicon Valley investors aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Logan Green finds inspiration while stuck in horrible LA traffic and adopts a new anti-car ethos that will shape Lyft’s mission. And on the East Coast, John Zimmer learns how to woo customers — a skill he’ll translate into startup success.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s December 2008, and two friends and fellow tech entrepreneurs, Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick, can't get a taxi. Camp’s already obsessed with the idea of a service that summons a private driver with the push of a button, but now Kalanick gets the appeal. Together, they'll build Uber, and do whatever it takes to reign supreme. Meanwhile, recent college grads John Zimmer and Logan Green channel their shared passion for the environment into the creation of a carpooling startup for long rides. But pretty quickly, they realize they need to service short trips, too, and Lyft is born. But in order to succeed, they have to convince people to jump in a car with a complete stranger. And, they’ll have to go up against Uber in a battle for ridesharing supremacy. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Quarantine restrictions during the coronavirus have induced toilet paper panic-buying as people scratch, claw and punch each other to get rolls. But why? What’s behind the frenzy, and how will that affect the TP industry? In the last 150 years, it’s grown from selling humble boxes of paper to mass marketing rolls of delicate, luxurious tissue. And now a wave of eco-friendly independent companies are making a bid for your bathroom business. It’s a high stakes, multi-billion dollar industry that we take for granted. Until we fear losing it. Then all bets are off.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1988, and Tetris is making waves. It’s billed as the first Soviet video game, and it’s selling fast.But the man who introduced it to the West harbors a secret: he doesn’t own the rights. And when his subterfuge fails, a multi-million-dollar battle to win over the communist regime breaks out on the streets of Moscow.It’s a clash that pits the Japanese gaming overlords of Nintendo against the sprawling empire of ruthless media baron Robert Maxwell.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1984 and the cola war is neck and neck. After years of struggle, Pepsi looks ready to triumph over Coca-Cola. So Coke’s striking back by opening a new battlefront in the quest for soda supremacy: outer space. But its plan to send its world-famous drink into orbit won’t stay secret for long. And when Pepsi finds out, it sparks a new space race.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's 1902 and political campaigner Lizzie Magie is fighting a losing battle. For years, she’s pushed the idea of a land-value tax, but fewer and fewer people are listening.So she’s going to try something new to spread the word. She’s going to make a board game – and not just any game. Magie’s game is going to become the biggest game of all time.Trouble is, when the battle for her game breaks out, she’s the one who winds up the loser.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Since the novel coronavirus hit, Amazon and Walmart have seen a rise in profits, unlike many other retailers. But there have also been struggles to keep up with the flood of customer demands during the pandemic.Hundreds of thousands of workers have been hired collectively between Amazon and Walmart. And employees for both companies have accused management of not protecting workers enough from the threat of COVID-19. So how are Amazon and Walmart handling the pushback from disgruntled employees? And will they become even bigger threats in the retail market once the pandemic ends? To find out what the future holds for these companies, we turn to Jason Del Rey, a senior correspondent covering commerce at ReCode. Del Rey also hosted a podcast from Vox and ReCode called “Land of the Giants: The Rise of Amazon.”Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is brought to you by Wondery in partnership with Dell Technologies. In honor of small businesses, we’re featuring inspiring stories of successful companies that started out small.In upstate New York, a Kurdish immigrant wants to make his biggest dream come true: to produce the tart, custard-thick Greek yogurt of his childhood for American palates. In 2005, he buys an abandoned Kraft factory for cheap. With an ingenious financing deal, standout packaging and clever marketing, he launches Chobani — the yogurt sensation that eventually forces goliaths Yoplait and Dannon to move over. While Chobani launched a quiet incursion, William Wrigley Jr. set out to upend the gum industry in 1893 with an improved spearmint flavor.  After one misstep after another, he finally gets traction. Then the gum monopoly approaches him: join or be crushed. Thanks to a savvy advertising campaign, he blows past them to become the nation’s biggest gum purveyor.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and C

As the COVID-19 virus spreads across the globe and forces people inside their homes for months, the world relies on online shopping more than ever. Amazon and Walmart both struggle to keep up with surging demand as their legendary infrastructures are put to the test. And workers inside both companies rise up, arguing that the retail giants are failing to protect them from the virus, prioritizing the bottom line over workers’ health. They’re both more powerful than ever, but also more vulnerable.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is brought to you by Wondery in partnership with Dell Technologies. In honor of small businesses, we’re featuring inspiring stories of successful companies that started out small.In 1972, pinball machines and mechanical games ruled the arcades. Then, Atari founders Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney came up with a game on a television screen controlled by two players. Pong helped catapult Atari from a start-up to the leader of video games, where it would stay – almost unopposed – for the next decade. Once Atari made Pong, the company took off like a rocket. But for Dietrich Mateschitz, success was a slog. When he returned home to Austria from a trip to Thailand in 1982, he brought an idea for an energy drink with him. His creation was expensive and tasted foul, and would be rejected over and over.  But a slick marketing campaign made it the symbol of club cool and fuel for daredevils — and it took North America by storm.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N

Amazon decides to go after Walmart’s biggest category: fresh food. But moving into groceries is harder than Bezos expected. Meanwhile, Walmart has finally found success in marrying their online operation with their brick and mortar stores by allowing consumers to order groceries online and pick them up at a store. And with an aggressive new head of online sales — who has a personal vendetta against Bezos — Walmart is feeling good. But, determined to make an impact in the world of fresh food, Bezos makes a move that surprises everyone and upends the retail world yet again.  Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Walmart finally decides to focus aggressively on its e-commerce division, but struggles with the best way to use the internet to reach consumers. They decide their best strategy is to buy up successful online retailers. Unbeknownst to Walmart, Amazon, which is looking to move into apparel sales, is pursuing a similar strategy. As the two companies go head-to-head over an unlikely product, Walmart is unprepared for just how dirty Amazon will play.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.