It’s 1994 and WCW is stepping up its game. To get the jump on WWF, Ted Turner is writing big checks to steal away the WWF’s biggest stars and sponsors. And as WCW’s star power increases, so does its popularity with wrestling fans. But the WWF is in no position to fight back. It’s struggling to keep the lights on, there’s discontent among its roster of wrestlers, and Vince McMahon is preoccupied with staying out of prison. And now Turner wants to deliver a killer blow. A new Monday night wrestlin...
Sep 16, 2019•25 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the dawn of the 1990s and Vince McMahon’s WWF is the king of wrestling. But trouble’s brewing: a steroids scandal is about to deal a body blow to the WWF and its family-friendly reputation. The scandal will leave WWF stuck in damage control mode as it fights to stem the losses from falling TV ratings, ticket sales, and pay-per-view buys. Meanwhile, Ted Turner’s trying to get World Championship Wrestling fighting fit with help from a former Pizza Hut regional manager, a self-proclaimed Cowbo...
Sep 11, 2019•26 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the early 1980s and there’s peace in the wrestling business. For years regional wrestling companies have maintained order by sticking to their own slices of US and Canadian territory. But that’s all about to change. Vince McMahon has just taken over the World Wrestling Federation, and he wants war. He’s on a mission to crush all opposition and establish the WWF as the only wrestling game in town. But his assault on the wrestling status quo will also make him a powerful enemy: cable TV mogul...
Sep 09, 2019•30 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Harley Davidson built its brand on big, loud and heavy bikes. So why is the company staking its future on an electric motorcycle? It turns out Harley's main demographic, baby boomers, are aging out of the motorcycle scene and the company is looking for its next target market. But will people be interested in a bike that is so fundamentally different than what the company is known for? And how do motorbikes overall fit into an auto industry that is becoming increasingly electric? Journalist Bradl...
Sep 04, 2019•28 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast By the early 1980s, Harley-Davidson is fighting to survive. Japan has glutted the American market with bikes, creating a war Harley can’t fight alone. The company turns to the U.S. government. It’s something they tried in the ‘50s with no success, but now there’s a man in the White House who loves the all-American Milwaukee brand. In the years ahead Harley stands tall, surviving all manner of battles. But there’s one foe that never stops: time. The company needs to appeal to a new generation of ...
Sep 02, 2019•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 1969, and the iconic film Easy Rider stars Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson and—most prominently—Harley choppers. It boosts the brand’s cool cred even higher with the American counterculture, much to the chagrin of the aging, conservative company owners in Milwaukee. They’ve long-hated the fact that the Hells Angels ride Hogs, but now the top Angel reveals some shocking news on his true feelings about Harleys. Finally, there’s a new light in Milwaukee. Willie G. Davidson, son of Harley’s preside...
Aug 28, 2019•25 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 1963. After battling the wave of British bikes vying for the high-dollar U.S. motorcycle market, Harley-Davidson is slammed by a tsunami of machines from Japan. Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and—the biggest, most popular of them all—Honda. It’s a nightmare that will force the company to the edge of bankruptcy as the Japanese redefine the industry. Whether Harley can change with the changing times remains to be seen. On the literary front, writer Hunter Thompson canonizes the Hells Angels w...
Aug 26, 2019•26 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast By the late 1940s, World War II has ended, but Harley’s battle with a few disenfranchised veterans is just beginning. Bored and looking for kicks, these men are forming clubs based around a love of boozing, brawling and Harley Hogs. The motorcycle riots in the small town of Hollister, California bring huge headlines, and a few years later Hollywood stokes the fires with The Wild One . The first biker gang movie features Harleys front and center, and it’s publicity that the bosses in Milwaukee ha...
Aug 21, 2019•20 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 1903, and Harley-Davidson is entering the spanking new motorcycle market. Of the hundreds of fledgling brands, the bike to beat is Indian, and Harley has the company in its crosshairs. But a decade later, Harley is on the defensive, scrambling to distance itself from the deadly sport of board track racing and solidify its image as a respectable brand. Indian has its own image problem when Mexican rebel leader Pancho Villa starts leading charges on a Powerplus model. But when the U.S. ...
Aug 19, 2019•24 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast By the late 1940s, Harley-Davidson has become America’s leading motorcycle manufacturer. The family-owned Milwaukee brand has battled hundreds of companies since its first bike rolled out of a backyard shack in 1903. Now they’re facing the birth of the outlaw bikers, disenfranchised WWII vets who love their Harleys—and love to cause trouble. It’s an association that conservative Harley owners can’t stand. And fierce competition is coming in from British bike makers. Triumph is churning out light...
Aug 14, 2019•25 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast With all the hype around portable and smart speakers, it’s easy to forget that they didn’t always exist. In fact, it took one fateful meeting with Monster Cables and Interscope Records to really kick the industry off. In this one-episode Business Battle, we explore the time when headphones became fashion, what it takes to get people to shell out $350 for a pair, and what happens when a million dollar mistake becomes a billion dollar mistake. Support us by supporting our sponsors! Se...
Aug 07, 2019•26 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Or is it? While that phrase sounds scientifically and nutritionally sound, it’s origins can be traced back to cereal company marketing departments. We conclude our series on the cereal wars with Alex Mayyasi, editor of Gastro Obscura. Alex has traced the origins of breakfast as a meal and how cereal marketing came to be so aggressive. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Noti...
Aug 05, 2019•28 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the year 2000 and, for the first time in almost a century, Kellogg’s is no longer America's top cereal maker. Now a new CEO is in the driving seat, and he’s on a mission to win back the cereal crown from General Mills. But even as the two rivals slug it out for number one, they’re both facing a new reality: a market that’s losing its appetite for cereals as people abandon their breakfast bowls for grab-and-go morning meals of granola bars, bagels and Egg McMuffins. See Privacy Policy at htt...
Jul 31, 2019•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the 1980s and General Mills is making waves with a new cereal based on the world’s hottest video game: Pac-Man. But Kellogg’s is hoping to cash in on a different trend: the growing clamour among adults for healthier breakfasts. So it’s plotting a taboo-busting ad campaign that will rewrite the rules of cereal promotion and spark an all-out battle among the cereal makers to win over the health conscious. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19....
Jul 29, 2019•26 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the late 1950s and General Mills is playing catch-up. While Kellogg’s and Post are thriving on the back of animated characters and sugary cereals, General Mills’ cereals are looking stale. So now the Cheerios maker is on a mission to create its own roster of cartoon heroes who can charm children into demanding its cereals. As General Mills fights back, Post is looking to the stars. It's planning a direct attack on Kellogg’s best-selling cereal with help from the space race. But after years ...
Jul 24, 2019•27 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast World War II is in the rearview mirror, and breakfast cereal is on the brink of a new calorific era. Post Cereals decides to break from its healthful past and start sugar coating its cereals. It’s a move that leaves Kellogg’s and General Mills in a quandary: should they follow Post’s lead or stick to their nutritional traditions? But sugary cereal isn’t the only new challenge the cereal giants are wrestling with. A new, exciting medium called television is taking off fast and changing the rules ...
Jul 22, 2019•25 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 1904 and Quaker Oats is about to make an, ahem, explosive entry into the cold cereal business. With the Kellogg brothers at risk of being left behind, Will Kellogg finally decides it’s time to stand up to his brother. He cuts ties and brings the original corn flakes to market — aided by some shrewd advertising and an army of housewives — but sets off a legal battle that pits brother against brother. But there’s about to be another entrant to the cereal business. General Mills is an up...
Jul 17, 2019•25 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the late 1800s and America is in the grip of a bellyache epidemic. But, thanks to a divine revelation, help is on the way in the form of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. In his quest to calm the nation’s bowels, Dr. Kellogg is feeding his patients a new kind of breakfast: ready-to-eat cereal. But when he refuses to exploit the full profit potential of his creations, one of his former patients seizes the opportunity to become a breakfast millionaire — muc...
Jul 15, 2019•24 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Ian S. Port, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll joins us to talk about the future of the electric guitar as music creation becomes increasingly digital. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jul 10, 2019•26 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In the '90s and 2000s, new ownership has revitalized both Fender and Gibson and rekindled their rivalry. Through acquisitions, artist endorsements and their rapidly expanding custom shops, both brands are in a heated battle to win the hearts and minds of guitar lovers worldwide. Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz doesn't want to just dominate the electric guitar market. He wants to reinvent it. And with guitar sales declining, he goes all-in on new technology that will ei...
Jul 08, 2019•24 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast It's the early 1980s, and for the first time in 30 years, the U.S. guitar market has gone cold. Bands are switching to synthesizers and kids are ditching their garage bands for computers and video games. A group of employees has bought the Fender brand but not its factory. Now they need to find a place to keep making guitars — fast. And Gibson has new owners, too — who bring plenty of rock 'n' roll attitude to the job, but little experience. Can these new stewards of guitar's most hallowed brand...
Jul 03, 2019•24 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast In the 1960s, rock'n roll's popularity continues to grow. But one of the genre's most popular guitars, the Les Paul, is no longer being made. Now the guitar's namesake must convince an out-of-touch Gibson to put the favorite guitar of Eric Clapton and Keith Richards back into production. Meanwhile, Gibson's rival Fender has a new parent company: CBS. Thanks to their deep corporate pockets, Fender is manufacturing and selling more guitars than ever. To keep pace, Gibson also finds a new cor...
Jul 01, 2019•22 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Gibson's Les Paul sets a new standard for the solid-body electric guitar, and rival guitar maker Fender needs to respond. The company does so in 1954 with a sleek, futuristic guitar unlike anything else on the market: the Stratocaster. It's a hit. With their higher volume and heavier tones, the Les Paul and Stratocaster help give rise to a new style of music: rock 'n' roll. It opens up a whole new market for electric guitars -- but which company will dominate? Support us by sup...
Jun 26, 2019•24 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast It's 1950, and Fender's first solid-body guitar, the Esquire, is the laughingstock of the music industry. To guitar makers used to elegantly made hollow-body guitars, Fender's thin, simple plank of solid wood is a joke. But its bright, powerful sound and lack of feedback make it a hit with guitar players. Gibson's ambitious young president, Ted McCarty, knows his company has to counter with a solid-body electric guitar of its own. To market the instrument, Gibson will turn to the most famous ele...
Jun 24, 2019•27 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast In the 1930s and ’40s the market for electric guitars is growing, but it’s hindered by the instruments’ flawed designs. But a small group of mavericks is rethinking the guitar for the electronic age. One of them, guitarist Les Paul, tries unsuccessfully to convince one of America's oldest guitar companies, Gibson, to mass-produce his "Log" — one of the first solid-body electric guitars. Gibson turns him down flat. But when a radio repairman turned inventor named Leo Fender sees Paul's Log, he's ...
Jun 19, 2019•25 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast It’s a new century and the beer industry is changing fast. Beyond America, new brewery empires are forming and they want to buy their way into the lucrative U.S. market. And Miller is the first to fall, bought out by a South African company that wants to pull the Milwaukee brewery out of the doldrums. But Anheuser-Busch isn’t worried. It’s the biggest brewer on the planet by some margin. But the king of beers is about to discover that its throne isn’t as secure as it thinks. Support us by suppor...
Jun 17, 2019•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the 1980s and Miller’s glory days are over. Drinkers are deserting High Life and Anheuser-Busch is about to launch a $50 million attack on Miller Lite. With the pressure mounting, Miller hunts for a way to revive its momentum. It’s a search that see the company travel to Japan, disguise itself as a microbrewery, and go head hunting. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my...
Jun 12, 2019•25 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the late 1970s and Miller is hurtling towards the top of the brewing industry on the back of High Life and Lite. Anheuser-Busch’s new leader August Busch III knows he must act fast to stop the threat. But before he can do that there’s internal problems that need fixing. A strike has shut down the company’s breweries and threatening to leave the business disunited and demoralized at the worst possible moment. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...
Jun 10, 2019•23 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Come the early 1970s, Miller has a new owner: tobacco giant Philip Morris. Armed with the Marlboro maker’s millions and marketing skills, Miller is about to shake up the beer business with a campaign targeting blue-collar workers thirsty for a cold pint...or three. But at Anheuser-Busch, a generational rift is brewing — one that could have major repercussions for the beer business. The tensions between conservative-minded CEO Gussie Busch and his forward-thinking son and heir August Busch III ar...
Jun 05, 2019•23 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast By 1933 Prohibition is over, and that means the race is on to dominate a beer market that’s been reset. Under the leadership of Anheuser-Busch heir Gussie Busch, the company is out to reclaim the beer throne. But there’s a challenger for the crown — Milwaukee’s top brewery, Schlitz. But as these two giants lock horns in the fight for dominance, Miller Brewing is struggling to realize its dream of becoming a major league brewer. And it won’t sit by on the sidelines. Support us by supporting our s...
Jun 03, 2019•25 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast 
