Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith talk with Adrian Wooldridge, co-author of The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea. 

Companies are some of the most powerful institutions in the modern world – right up there with the nation-state. Where did the modern corporation come from? And what do AI and Chinese state-owned firms mean for the future of the company?

Connect with us:
Follow Business History on Instagram and TikTok
Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram 
Follow Robert Smith on Instagram and X
Email us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm 
Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn and X 
To listen to the show ad free, sign up for Pushkin+ 

Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith talk with Adrian Wooldridge, co-author of The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea.&nbsp;
Companies are some of the most powerful institutions in the modern world &ndash; right up there with the nation-state. Where did the modern corporation come from? And what do AI and Chinese state-owned firms mean for the future of the company?
Connect with us:
<ul>
<li>Follow Business History on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/businesshistorypod/" data-airgap-id="11">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@businesshistorypod" data-airgap-id="12">TikTok</a></li>
<li>Follow Jacob Goldstein on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-goldstein-888a2441/" data-airgap-id="13">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://x.com/jacobgoldstein?lang=en" data-airgap-id="14">X</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jacobjgoldstein/" data-airgap-id="15">Instagram&nbsp;</a></li>
<li>Follow Robert Smith on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/radiosmith/" data-airgap-id="16">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://x.com/radiosmith" data-airgap-id="17">X</a></li>
<li>Email us at <a href="mailto:businesshistory@pushkin.fm" data-airgap-id="18">businesshistory@pushkin.fm</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Follow Pushkin on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/" data-airgap-id="19">Instagram</a>,<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all" data-airgap-id="20"> LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en" data-airgap-id="21">X</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>To listen to the show ad free, sign up for <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin" data-airgap-id="22">Pushkin+</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

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

How the Company Conquered the World

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ee2f53bf-d5a8-4fe4-a964-b4e9014da79e/transcript

In the late 1800s, a Russian immigrant named Samuel Zemurray spent nearly everything he had on a load of bananas, and turned it into a fortune. But Sam the Banana Man wasn’t just a business titan. He was a puppeteer on the geopolitical stage, bankrolling a revolution in Honduras and pushing the CIA to overthrow Guatemala’s democratically elected leader. 

For decades, Zemurray battled the United Fruit Company, an institution with its tentacles in governments across the Americas — including the United States. In the end, he wound up running the company.

Connect with us:
Follow Business History on Instagram and TikTok
Follow Jacob Goldstein on LinkedIn, X and Instagram 
Follow Robert Smith on Instagram and X
Email us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm 
Follow Pushkin on Instagram, LinkedIn and X 
To listen to the show ad free, sign up for Pushkin+  

In the late 1800s, a Russian immigrant named Samuel Zemurray spent nearly everything he had on a load of bananas, and turned it into a fortune. But Sam the Banana Man wasn&rsquo;t just a business titan. He was a puppeteer on the geopolitical stage, bankrolling a revolution in Honduras and pushing the CIA to overthrow Guatemala&rsquo;s democratically elected leader.&nbsp;
For decades, Zemurray battled the United Fruit Company, an institution with its tentacles in governments across the Americas &mdash; including the United States. In the end, he wound up running the company.
Connect with us:
<ul>
<li>Follow Business History on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/businesshistorypod/" data-airgap-id="217">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@businesshistorypod" data-airgap-id="218">TikTok</a></li>
<li>Follow Jacob Goldstein on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-goldstein-888a2441/" data-airgap-id="219">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://x.com/jacobgoldstein?lang=en" data-airgap-id="220">X</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jacobjgoldstein/" data-airgap-id="221">Instagram&nbsp;</a></li>
<li>Follow Robert Smith on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/radiosmith/" data-airgap-id="222">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://x.com/radiosmith" data-airgap-id="223">X</a></li>
<li>Email us at <a href="mailto:businesshistory@pushkin.fm" data-airgap-id="224">businesshistory@pushkin.fm</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Follow Pushkin on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/" data-airgap-id="225">Instagram</a>,<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/pushkin-industries/posts/?feedView=all" data-airgap-id="226"> LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://x.com/pushkinpods?lang=en" data-airgap-id="227">X</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>To listen to the show ad free, sign up for <a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin" data-airgap-id="228">Pushkin+</a> &nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Sam the Banana Man: Gunboats, Coups, and United Fruit 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/41675275-ace2-4efe-8897-b4e2015a502a/transcript

We're here with a preview of Blockers, a new audiobook from Michael Lewis, the author of Liars Poker, Moneyball, The Big Short and more. In Blockers, Lewis tells the story of a handful of people who dedicated their careers to public service—until the Department of Government Efficiency decided they were a problem. These were people who believed they had a calling—people who kept American's sensitive tax data out of the wrong hands, made sure that politicians and civil servants played by the rules, and figured out how to stop wildfires from destroying suburban neighborhoods—and then discovered they were no longer wanted.

Here's an excerpt from the audiobook. You can buy the audiobook exclusively at blockers.fm. 

We're here with a preview of Blockers, a new audiobook from Michael Lewis, the author of Liars Poker, Moneyball, The Big Short and more. In Blockers, Lewis tells the story of a handful of people who dedicated their careers to public service&mdash;until the Department of Government Efficiency decided they were a problem. These were people who believed they had a calling&mdash;people who kept American's sensitive tax data out of the wrong hands, made sure that politicians and civil servants played by the rules, and&nbsp;figured out how to stop wildfires from destroying suburban neighborhoods&mdash;and then discovered they were no longer wanted.
Here's an excerpt from the audiobook. You can buy the audiobook exclusively at <a href="http://blockers.fm/" data-airgap-id="19">blockers.fm</a>.&nbsp;

Blockers | A Preview of Michael Lewis's New Audiobook

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/97519d76-bb9c-4a95-bb68-b4da00f919cb/transcript

Business History is off this week, so we wanted to keep you entertained with a rerun, in case you missed our Beetle episode the first time around. (You can help us win a Signal Award for this episode by voting here.)

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.  

Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm

Business History is off this week, so we wanted to keep you entertained with a rerun, in case you missed our Beetle episode the first time around. (You can help us win a Signal Award for this episode by voting <a href="https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/individual-episodes/genre/history" data-airgap-id="11">here</a>.)
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;
Write to us at <a href="mailto:businesshistory@pushkin.fm">businesshistory@pushkin.fm</a>

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

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bcca729e-71e7-4064-b690-b4d4013b6cac/transcript

How the Company Conquered the World

In 1 playlist(s)

Business History

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips