68 episodes

Big tech is transforming every aspect of our world. But how, and at what cost? This season of Land of the Giants – The Disney Dilemma – focuses on Disney’s ability to weather the ups and downs of the business cycle and changing tastes and explores what has kept it successful for over 100 years. The entertainment giant has leveraged nostalgia and its intellectual property to build a beloved brand, but after an acquisition spree that included Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox, can it sustain high quality and brand loyalty on a scale that keeps it growing? Who is Disney now, and can it compete against the tech giants in a battle for our attention and dollars?

From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

Land of the Giants Vox Media Podcast Network

    • Business
    • 4.5 • 2.1K Ratings

Big tech is transforming every aspect of our world. But how, and at what cost? This season of Land of the Giants – The Disney Dilemma – focuses on Disney’s ability to weather the ups and downs of the business cycle and changing tastes and explores what has kept it successful for over 100 years. The entertainment giant has leveraged nostalgia and its intellectual property to build a beloved brand, but after an acquisition spree that included Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox, can it sustain high quality and brand loyalty on a scale that keeps it growing? Who is Disney now, and can it compete against the tech giants in a battle for our attention and dollars?

From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

    Disney is a TV Company

    Disney is a TV Company

    When you think about Disney, your first thought isn’t “cable television giant.” But Disney’s broadcast and cable television holdings, especially ESPN, helped turbocharge Disney’s growth over the last 30 years. It was a formula that worked extremely well – until now. As more and more consumers cut the cable cord, Disney must reckon with declining assets and the hit to its bottom line.

    Hosted by Joe Adalian (@TVMoJoe)

    From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network



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    • 39 min
    Disney is a Theme Parks Company

    Disney is a Theme Parks Company

    These days the Walt Disney Company is mostly a theme parks company. About 70 percent of its operating income comes from its parks and other experiences like Disney Cruises. But the parks do something else: they help the company attach itself to our emotions, memories, and identities. How can Disney continue to strengthen this relationship in an era where data - not whimsy, fantasy, or even original IP - shapes so much of how we experience the world?

    This episode hosted by Rebecca Alter (@ralter)

    From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network



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    • 44 min
    Disney is an Animation Company

    Disney is an Animation Company

    Disney’s soul is arguably its animation studio, which has a 100-year track record of creating iconic characters and stories, and a distinct brand centered around “once upon a time.” Not so long ago, Disney produced films like "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King," catapulting animation into the mainstream while burnishing Disney's own brand as the premier animated film studio. But lately, those movies have felt lost and often, distinctly, "un-Disney." Recent box office flops like “Wish” are costly missteps that have a huge impact on Disney’s bottom line.
    With more studios producing animated films, and Disney having acquired Pixar, it’s not always clear what’s a Disney film anymore. So what makes a film a Disney film today, and why does it matter?

    This episode hosted by Bilge Ebiri (@BilgeEbiri)

    From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network



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    • 45 min
    The Disney Dilemma

    The Disney Dilemma

    Over the past 100 years, the Walt Disney Company has grown from a small animation studio to become one of the largest companies in the world, with an enviable history of creative and financial success. But as it's grown and acquired companies like Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, can its winning streak continue? What has Disney lost in the process of getting so big, and can it sustain its high quality and brand loyalty at this enormous scale? 
    From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Episodes drop every Wednesday beginning July 10th. 
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 2 min
    What We All Got Wrong About Twitter

    What We All Got Wrong About Twitter

    Twitter began life as an accident. In the beginning, even its founders weren’t sure what it was: the internet’s town square, a real-time information source, or the next Facebook, maybe? Twitter's power has always been misunderstood -- by its leaders, by its users, and lately, by the world's richest person.

    Hosted by Peter Kafka (@pkafka)

    Be the first to hear next week's episode by following Land of the Giants on your favorite podcast app

    Follow @voxdotcom for more coverage of X/Twitter and Big Tech


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    • 41 min
    A Million Different Twitters

    A Million Different Twitters

    Twitter was created by its users, who invented features like the retweet and hashtag. These features helped create vibrant communities like Black Twitter and Comedy Twitter, but eventually, some groups exploited Twitter’s virality in order to intimidate and harass others online. In this episode: how Twitter became the best and worst place on the internet.
    EDITOR'S NOTE: This episode contains descriptions of sexual harassment and of graphic threats of violence. This section begins 9 minutes after the midroll break and lasts for about 5 minutes, or approximately 35:30 through 41:20.

    This episode hosted by Peter Kafka (@pkafka) and Lauren Goode (@laurengoode)


    Be the first to hear next week's episode by following Land of the Giants on your favorite podcast app

    Follow @voxdotcom for more coverage of X/Twitter and Big Tech


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    • 49 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
2.1K Ratings

2.1K Ratings

SBDON12121 ,

yay

i t w a s g o o d a n d s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d d o n t a s k a n y y t h i n g e l s e

mcc_nyc ,

Disney season

The host in the second episode is hard to listen to/take seriously. There’s really no need for profanity, and the narrating doesn’t need to be dumbed down.

MarvinJG ,

It was a good podcast

I have nothing against the new host of the Disney podcast but I feel like I’m listening to an audiobook. If I wanted to listen to an audiobook I would but I wanted to listen to podcast. This new season is going to be used to go to sleep. They should have just recasted one the previous hosts. Please fix this for next season.

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