Business History

Henry Ford Invented the Modern World... Then Got Left Behind

Farm boy Henry Ford hated toil. If only someone could invent ways to work more efficiently, as well as cheap, reliable machines to take some of the strain. Ford was a tinkerer and a lover of the newly invented automobile - so he started building cars in a new, streamlined way that made them affordable to many more Americans.        Thanks to Ford’s production line techniques, the Model T became the biggest selling car in the world. And other factories copied his system to manufacture the radios and vacuum cleaners that kickstarted the modern boom in consumerism. But then Henry Ford stopped listening to what car buyers wanted.  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

War, Exploration and Beer: How the Tin Can Changed the World

Old-fashioned ways of preserving food made for salty, vinegary or chewy meals - but it was often a choice between that or starving. Soldiers, explorers and ordinary people alike faced malnutrition and food poisoning - but then came a French revolution... in a can!  First invented in Napoleonic France, the humble can would feed armies; sustain bold exploration; and give poor people access to wholesome food all year round. We don't think about the tin can much today, but its history is filled with skullduggery, vast riches and deadly choking hazards.    See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

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

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?   See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

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

For more historical deep dives just like these, check out HISTORY This Week [http://historythisweekpodcast.com/] 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 [https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/]; Jill Jonnes, author of Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels [https://www.amazon.com/Conquering-Gotham-Construction-Station-ItsTunnels/dp/0670031585]; 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 [https://www.amazon.com/Nickel-Token-Journey-Board-Transportation/dp/0823271803]. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

When E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Tanked 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.  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. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.