The VW Beetle was the biggest selling car of all time - and it found particular favor with people like hippies and surfers. But this icon of the 60s counterculture had its roots in Nazism. The Volkswagen - the People's Car - was an obsession of Adolf Hitler. He wanted to transform Germany into a land of drivers - and needed an affordable, but reliable automobile.   

Germany's private auto manufacturers knew the project was doomed to failure. So Hitler assembled a team of designers and factory managers to enact his vision - even if that meant enslaving workers and committing murder.  

The VW Beetle was the biggest selling car of all time - and it found particular favor with people like hippies and surfers. But this icon of the 60s counterculture had its roots in Nazism. The Volkswagen - the People's Car - was an obsession of Adolf Hitler. He wanted to transform Germany into a land of drivers - and needed an affordable, but reliable automobile.&nbsp; &nbsp;
Germany's private auto manufacturers knew the project was doomed to failure. So Hitler assembled a team of designers and factory managers to enact his vision - even if that meant enslaving workers and committing murder.&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

Hitler's Gift to the Hippies: The VW Beetle Story Part I

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5feda9d2-0a0c-48b4-b1a1-b3b60115cf93/transcript

Longtime Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman thinks all cars are great, even the awful ones. But some cars, he says, transcend their "car-ness” and have a story to tell. On Car Show!, Alterman tells those stories. Stories of the vital cars — the ones that have changed how we drive and live, whose significance lies outside the scope of horsepower or miles per gallon. Because some cars are more than just a pile of metal, glass, and rubber. Some cars are rolling anthropology. Launches May 18, with new episodes on Wednesdays.

To hear the show ads free, as well as exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries. 

If you’d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at Pushkin.fm.

Longtime Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman thinks all cars are great, even the awful ones. But some cars, he says, transcend their "car-ness&rdquo; and have a story to tell. On Car Show!, Alterman tells those stories. Stories of the vital cars &mdash; the ones that have changed how we drive and live, whose significance lies outside the scope of horsepower or miles per gallon. Because some cars are more than just a pile of metal, glass, and rubber. Some cars are rolling anthropology. Launches May 18, with new episodes on Wednesdays.
To hear the show ads free, as well as exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Pushkin+ in Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;d like to keep up with the most recent news from this and other Pushkin podcasts be sure to sign up for our email list at <a href="http://eepurl.com/grpqpD">Pushkin.fm</a>.

Car Show! with Eddie Alterman

Mom and Pops grocery stores were charming, but inefficient. They contributed to Americans either spending a lot on their food or having to go hungry. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company changed the entire model. The A&P established a chain of stores selling branded goods at the lowest prices.  

The A&P kept its profit margins slim and allowed Americans to buy more food for less - but this wasn't celebrated as a success story. Politicians, radio stars and vested interests ganged together to hound The A&P. They demanded the grocery chain change its strategy, raise prices and even put its owners on trial on criminal charges. So why didn't America like cheap groceries?  

Mom and Pops grocery stores were charming, but inefficient. They contributed to Americans either spending a lot on their food or having to go hungry. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company changed the entire model. The A&amp;P established a chain of stores selling branded goods at the lowest prices.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The A&amp;P kept its profit margins slim and allowed Americans to buy more food for less - but this wasn't celebrated as a success story. Politicians, radio stars and vested interests ganged together to hound The A&amp;P. They demanded the grocery chain change its strategy, raise prices and even put its owners on trial on criminal charges. So why didn't America like cheap groceries?&nbsp;&nbsp;

The War on The A&P: When America Decided Cheap Groceries Were "Evil"

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4cb5cd6b-5cd9-44a4-b504-b3ec00da3641/transcript

For more historical deep dives just like these, check out HISTORY This Week wherever you get your podcasts!

February 14, 1905. A stick of dynamite detonates under the Hudson River — and the ground above swallows a locomotive whole. It's the latest setback in an audacious plan to tunnel beneath the river and bring trains into Manhattan. The Pennsylvania Railroad is the largest corporation in the world, but the goopy riverbed keeps fighting back. How did they finally break through? And why are these 115-year-old tunnels still the most critical infrastructure in America?

Special thanks to our guests: Polly Desjarlais, content and research manager at the New York Transit Museum; Jill Jonnes, author of Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels; and Andy Sparberg, former LIRR manager, transit historian, and author of From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA.

For more historical deep&nbsp;dives just like these, check out <a href="http://historythisweekpodcast.com/">HISTORY This Week</a> wherever&nbsp;you get your podcasts!
February 14, 1905. A stick of dynamite detonates under the Hudson River &mdash; and the ground above swallows a locomotive whole. It's the latest setback in an audacious plan to tunnel beneath the river and bring trains into Manhattan. The Pennsylvania Railroad is the largest corporation in the world, but the goopy riverbed keeps fighting back. How did they finally break through? And why are these 115-year-old tunnels still the most critical infrastructure in America?
Special thanks to our guests: Polly Desjarlais, content and research manager at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/">New York Transit Museum</a>; Jill Jonnes, author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Gotham-Construction-Station-ItsTunnels/dp/0670031585">Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels</a>; and Andy Sparberg, former LIRR manager, transit historian, and author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Token-Journey-Board-Transportation/dp/0823271803">From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA</a>.

 How To Dig a Train Tunnel Under the Hudson River (from HISTORY This Week)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b1a1efdb-44c9-4bd7-8564-b3f3002c4baa/transcript

Nolan Bushnell loved weed, hot tubs and games... especially games. He took computer games out of the laboratory and put them in bars. His arcade game Pong was a monster hit, so he set up Atari to build a home games console which became the must-have Christmas present of 1975. 

Atari was the name on every kid's lips... but then investors came onboard to help the company expand. Bushnell and his engineers were sidelined, and Atari embarked on a crazy plan to rush out a game based on Spielberg's movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It was so bad... it sank Atari.

Nolan Bushnell loved weed, hot tubs and games... especially games. He took computer games out of the laboratory and put them in bars. His arcade game Pong was a monster hit, so he set up Atari to build a home games console which became the must-have Christmas present of 1975.&nbsp;
Atari was the name on every kid's lips... but then investors came onboard to help the company expand. Bushnell and his engineers were sidelined, and Atari embarked on a crazy plan to rush out a game based on Spielberg's movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It was so bad... it sank Atari.

When E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Tanked Atari

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/eee3e744-f1a7-4fba-82fe-b3d901110586/transcript

Hitler's Gift to the Hippies: The VW Beetle Story Part I

Car Show! with Eddie Alterman

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