Making a Killing with Bethany McLean

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BUSINESS

Big Business is shaping the world in unprecedented ways. Through a series of conversations with today’s best business writers and thinkers, journalist Bethany McLean (co-author of The Smartest Guys in the Room) cuts through the hype and hand-wringing to reframe the stories you thought you understood and uncover the ones you didn’t know were important.

03/02/2020

Going, going, Ghosn - with Joe Nocera

In the Season One finale of Making A Killing, Bethany brings back her friend, colleague and co-author Joe Nocera (Bloomberg Opinion columnist and creator of The Shrink Next Door podcast) to bookend the season with a lively analysis of the former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault S.A., Carlos Ghosn... sure to go down in history as one of the wildest business stories ever. Time and time again we learn that in business, truth is always stranger than fiction. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

40 min
27/01/2020

Malcolm Harris on "Keynes Was Wrong. Gen Z Will Have It Worse."

John Maynard Keynes, the founder of macroeconomics, thought he knew what his grandchildren would be facing today. He imagined that capitalism would be almost over by now, having simply been a means to greater ends. About other things he was right; about capitalism being over, he was very, very wrong. Today's guest, Malcolm Harris -- editor of The New Inquiry and author of the book Shit is Fucked Up And Bullshit: History Since The End of History -- believes today's kids will have it even worse. Bethany and Malcolm have a Gen-X-meets-Gen-Y conversation about our future economy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

38 min
20/01/2020

Liam Denning on the Price of Oil

The inconvenient truth of oil is that it is still the lifeblood of industrialized nations -- and the price, politics and pollution of it matters. A lot. But one of the funny things about oil is how everyone who dares to make predictions has one thing in common: They’re wrong. In this episode, Bethany talks with Liam Denning, a well-known Bloomberg opinion columnist covering energy, mining and commodities. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

45 min
13/01/2020

Kirsten Korosec on the Rocky Road for Self-Driving Cars

Autonomous vehicles, or self-driving cars, are often painted as a utopian-like technology that will save time (no traffic), save lives (no crashes), save money (billions!), and maybe even save the Earth (no emissions). But, as TechCrunch's Kirsten Korosec notes in her recent piece, “Who Will Own the Future of Transportation?” even if autonomous vehicles are eventually deployed en masse, the road to that future promises to be long, chaotic and complex. In this fascinating episode, Bethany and Kirsten discuss the difference between describing a grand vision, and soberly understanding the real costs and deep impact incurred by the execution of said vision. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

40 min
06/01/2020

Chris McCann on Cryptocurrency in the Real World

Cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy, as it seems most people agree, but it also feels like we’ve reached a tipping point. Even in Crypto Winters when Bitcoin prices crash, undeniably formative companies and global leaders (Starbucks, Microsoft, Visa, Facebook, the entire nation of China!) continue to make significant bets on the space. As we move from a speculative era into today, driven by more and more people investing time and money into the Bitcoin ecosystem, how do we know that digital assets will find a regular, scalable place in the world? What happens if crypto totally upends the “real” (is that fair to say?) financial markets? Are we in danger of that? What happens if there is a recession in the U.S. again - does Bitcoin become more attractive as an alternative to a centralized federal money system? And what is money, anyway? Bethany's guest Chris McCann, partner at Proof of Capital, chats about all this and more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

41 min
30/12/2019

Paul Tough on How College Makes Us or Breaks Us

If there’s a defining feature of upper income life for people with children, it’s school stress. How do you get your kids into the right preschool so they can get into the right high school so they can go to the best college? Paul Tough’s new book THE YEARS THAT MATTER MOST: How College Makes or Breaks Us, reveals why college, which is supposed to be the great equalizer, has become something that depends on and reinforces class and privilege. This is a huge deal for the business world. If we’re losing access to talent, we’re losing more than words can say. It also, of course, is a huge deal for our society. It’s not too grandiose to say that education determines the shape of the society in which we live. So…what shape is that? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

44 min
23/12/2019

Nick Lemann on Shooting Sacred Cows (in Economics)

It's easy to take the economic mores of the time in which you live for granted. It's so easy, in fact, that it doesn't occur to most of us to question them. But question them we should. In his new book, TRANSACTION MAN, longtime journalist and Dean Emeritus of the Columbia Journalism School Nick Lemann shows that the beliefs that have shaped our modern world are not inviolable truths, but rather temporary and fragile constructs. In this episode, Bethany and Nick range from the 1950's-era belief that big corporations were the keepers of the social good, to the modern era of profit maximization, and agree that we need to keep questioning economic models and trends...because you never know when you’ll realize, all of a sudden, that they’re wrong. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

33 min
16/12/2019

Mark Rampolla on Peak Alt-Meat

Mark Rampolla has been at the forefront of not one, but two industry-making companies. The first was his own ZICO coconut water, which birthed an $8 billion alternative beverage industry. The next saw Mark as an investor in Beyond Meat, which has been leading the plant-based food revolution. In both cases, the pioneering companies were met head on with major challenges. Both companies had to change deeply held biases of their consumers. But then, the minute they started to win people over, competitors came on strong. Is there such a thing as first-mover advantage, and if so, how do you hang onto it? What happens when you literally create an industry, and then the industry tries to cannibalize you? Pun intended! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

41 min

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TRAILER

Trailer: Making a Killing

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10/06/2019

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2 min

We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Friday.

4.6 (16)

HISTORY
You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

5.0 (33)

SOCIETY & CULTURE
In 2020, the Financial Times exposed a €2 billion fraud at Wirecard, a high-flying German fintech. Many thought that was the end of the story. But for reporter Sam Jones, it was just the beginning. This season on Hot Money: Agent of Chaos, Jones investigates Wirecard’s chief operating officer, who vanished just as Wirecard collapsed. And turned out to also be a Russian spy. From an Ibizan sting operation to an attempted takeover of the Austrian intelligence service, his reporting spirals into a world of warlords, espionage, and disinformation. All in an attempt to answer one question: Who is the real Jan Marsalek? And what does his secret life reveal about the powerful forces he serves?

5.0 (3)

BUSINESS
How did a Black man in 1940s Jim Crow South open a club where Black and white people danced together? Charlie’s Place was revolutionary, and that meant it was dangerous. In this 5-part series, host Rhym Guissé explores the unbelievable true story of Charlie Fitzgerald, a mysterious Black businessman whose nightclub became an unlikely site of integration in 1940s Myrtle Beach. Charlie broke down racial barriers through the power of music and dance, hosting some of the greatest musicians of our time: Little Richard, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and many more. But who was Charlie? How did he rise to power? And what price did he pay for achieving the impossible—an integrated club in the Jim Crow South? This is a story of joy and passion that erupted into violence and changed a community forever. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season early & ad-free in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus.

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PLACES & TRAVEL
Maybe you’ve laid awake and imagined how it could have been, how it might yet be, but the moment to act was never right. Well, the moment is here and the podcast making it happen is Heavyweight. Join Jonathan Goldstein for road trips, thorny reunions, and difficult conversations as he backpedals his way into the past like a therapist with a time machine.

5.0 (33)

PERSONAL JOURNALS
McCartney: A Life in Lyrics offers listeners the opportunity to sit in on conversations between Paul McCartney and poet Paul Muldoon dissecting the people, experiences, and art that inspired McCartney’s songwriting. These conversations were held during the past several years as the two collaborated on the award winning book, “The Lyrics: 1965 to Present.” Over two seasons and 24 episodes of “McCartney: A Life in Lyrics”, you’ll hear a combination master class, memoir, and improvised journey with one of the most beloved figures in popular music. Each episode focuses on one song from McCartney’s iconic catalog – spanning early Beatles through his solo work. Season 2 premieres on February 7th. “McCartney: A Life in Lyrics” is a co-production between iHeart Media, MPL and Pushkin Industries. Cover Portrait © 1967 Paul McCartney / Photographer: Linda McCartney

5.0 (3)

ARTS

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Big Business is shaping the world in unprecedented ways. Through a series of conversations with today’s best business writers and thinkers, journalist Bethany McLean (co-author of The Smartest Guys in the Room) cuts through the hype and hand-wringing to reframe the stories you thought you understood and uncover the ones you didn’t know were important.