A live mash-up between Business History and Bloomberg's Everybody's Business.

On platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket you can bet on just about anything - from Taylor Swift's album sales to whether President Trump will say a certain word in a speech. Many people worry about these new prediction markets, but the concept is far older than some critics might think. 

We go back centuries to Papal conclaves; hear about how counting drinking toasts stood in for political polling; and learn how the US government tried using betting markets to predict terrorist attacks.   

A live mash-up between Business History&nbsp;and Bloomberg's <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts/series/everybodys-business">Everybody's Business</a>.
On platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket you can bet on just about anything - from Taylor Swift's album sales to whether President Trump will say a certain word in a speech. Many people worry about these new prediction markets, but the concept is far older than some critics might think.&nbsp;
We go back centuries to Papal conclaves; hear about how counting drinking toasts stood in for political polling; and learn how the US government tried using betting markets to predict terrorist attacks.&nbsp; &nbsp;

It’s the history of business. How did Hitler’s favorite car become synonymous with hippies? What got Thomas Edison tangled up with the electric chair? Did someone murder the guy who invented the movies? Former Planet Money hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith examine the surprising stories of businesses big and small and find out what you can learn from those who founded them.

It&rsquo;s the history of business. How did Hitler&rsquo;s favorite car become synonymous with hippies? What got Thomas Edison tangled up with the electric chair? Did someone murder the guy who invented the movies? Former Planet Money hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith examine the surprising stories of businesses big and small and find out what you can learn from those who founded them.

Business History

Betting on Taylor Swift or Who'll Be Made Pope: The Past and Present of Prediction Markets

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/fce8252c-b54b-4df5-853e-b41100c73b69/transcript

Jay Gould became hugely rich without ever really making a product or offering service to benefit his customers. Other "Robber Barons" in the 19th century forged steel or pumped oil to make money - but Gould preferred to manipulate the stock market or bribe judges and politicians to generate a profit. 

Even when he was fired from the railway company he mismanaged, he used this inside information to profit from the soaring share price. No one liked Jay Gould - indeed many people physically assaulted him because of his awful behaviour - but his real legacy was the raft of laws America passed to try to prevent such a businessman ever rising to power again.   

Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm

Jay Gould became hugely rich without ever really making a product or offering service to benefit his customers. Other "Robber Barons" in the 19th century forged steel or pumped oil to make money - but Gould preferred to manipulate the stock market or bribe judges and politicians to generate a profit.&nbsp;
Even when he was fired from the railway company he mismanaged, he used this inside information to profit from the soaring share price. No one liked Jay Gould - indeed many people physically assaulted him because of his awful behaviour - but his real legacy was the raft of laws America passed to try to prevent such a businessman ever rising to power again.&nbsp; &nbsp;
Write to us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:businesshistory@pushkin.fm">businesshistory@pushkin.fm</a>

The Robberiest Robber Baron: The Villainy of Jay Gould

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e52f6ddd-277c-4d49-8bc6-b488011f2371/transcript

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 plant near the small village of Flixborough, England, is busy churning out a key ingredient of nylon 6, a material used in everything from stockings to toothbrushes to electronics. When a reactor vessel fails, the engineers improvise a quick-fix workaround, so the plant can keep up with demand. Before long, the temporary patch - a small, bent pipe - becomes a permanent part of the factory, and the people of Flixborough unknowingly drift towards disaster.

Listen to more Cautionary Tales whenever you get your podcasts. 

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 plant near the small village of Flixborough, England, is busy churning out a key ingredient of nylon 6, a material used in everything from stockings to toothbrushes to electronics. When a reactor vessel fails, the engineers improvise a quick-fix workaround, so the plant can keep up with demand. Before long, the temporary patch - a small, bent pipe - becomes a permanent part of the factory, and the people of Flixborough unknowingly drift towards disaster.
Listen to more <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/cautionary-tales">Cautionary Tales</a> whenever you get your podcasts.&nbsp;

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

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7b46b833-c139-4927-8798-b478010ebb02/transcript

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 bank a fortune with arbitrage - the trick of buying an asset cheap in one place and quickly selling it for a profit in another. 

When he parted ways with Salomon Brothers, Meriwether took his "nerds" to set up a hedge fund. They prospered - making themselves and their clients rich. Two employees even picked up a Nobel Prize. But Long Term Capital Management operated in the real world - where projections and charts and formulas can't protect you from political chaos and economic turmoil. 

Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm

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 bank a fortune with arbitrage - the trick of buying an asset cheap in one place and quickly selling it for a profit in another.&nbsp;
When he parted ways with Salomon Brothers, Meriwether took his "nerds" to set up a hedge fund. They prospered - making themselves and their clients rich. Two employees even picked up a Nobel Prize. But Long Term Capital Management operated in the real world - where projections and charts and formulas can't protect you from political chaos and economic turmoil.&nbsp;
Write to us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:businesshistory@pushkin.fm">businesshistory@pushkin.fm</a>

The Nobel Winners Who Almost Crashed the Economy  

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/00de6b14-6d6d-40c0-8831-b46c00aebfa8/transcript

Betting on Taylor Swift or Who'll Be Made Pope: The Past and Present of Prediction Markets

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