Business Wars

After five intense days, Sam Altman prevails over the OpenAI Board and is reinstated as CEO, with a new board in place.  But the turmoil has shown that OpenAI is vulnerable and its competitors, including Google and Microsoft, are ready to take advantage of OpenAI?s weakness.  And with OpenAI?s old board out and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever?s role at OpenAI murky, the path is clear for OpenAI to develop and commercialize AI at an even faster rate than as before. 

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OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever?s move to fire Sam Altman with no warning kicks off five days of chaos for the tech company. After he gets over the shock, Altman uses all his corporate savvy to fight back. For days, over McDonalds and Boba tea, Altman and the board feud over the path forward for Altman and OpenAI, while the business community waits on tenterhooks to find out the future of one of the most important AI companies in the world.

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In the 1990s and early 2000s, Enron was like no corporation on earth. It was the ultimate corporate success story. But the key to Enron?s success? Accounting fraud. At the time, the scale of illegal manipulation of the American financial system was unprecedented. The sheer breadth and complexity of Enron?s crimes stunned the world, and in the aftermath, many wondered how such massive fraud could go undetected for so long.

This is just a preview of American Scandal. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or at wondery.fm/american-scandal.

For more deep dive and daily business content listen to Wondery ? the destination for business podcasts. With shows like How I Built This, Business Wars, The Best One Yet, Business Movers and many more, Wondery Means Business.

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Costco's membership retention rate is the stuff of other retailers' dreams, nevermind the love they get on social media. With very little paid advertising, the company has managed to keep its spot as the third largest retailer in the U.S. We?re finding out how they do it with Susan and David Schwartz, authors of ?The Joy of Costco: a Treasure Hunt from A to Z,? and Business Insider reporter Dominick Reuter.

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From the outside, OpenAI looked like one of Silicon Valley?s biggest success stories. In 2022, it had stunned the world with the release of ChatGPT3.5, leapfrogging some of the biggest tech companies to be an industry leader in artificial intelligence. But, inside the company walls trouble was brewing. Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever had increasing concerns about the speed at which OpenAI was commercializing and releasing AI products. He worried about the direction AI was heading and the impact it would have on the future of humanity.

In November 2023, Sutskever reached his breaking point. His actions would have a tumultuous effect.

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With everything Taylor Swift?s been up to lately, being a Swiftie is almost a fulltime job. Today, David speaks with two digital creators who have been covering her since day one. First up, pop culture YouTuber Lauren Lipman talks about Taylor?s NFL era, the challenges of covering Taylor during her fight for her masters, and the time she got to meet Taylor. 

Next, digital creator and longtime Swiftie Autumn Kennedy takes us inside her fan account TS Tour Tips. With more than 400,000 followers, Autumn?s Instagram page chronicles Taylor?s Eras Tour as it travels around the world.

Check out Lauren Lipman on Instagram @LaurenLipman and Autumn Kennedy @TSTourTips.

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These are stories you were never meant to hear. The invisible but vital work of the world?s intelligence services: secret operatives playing to very different rules. The Spy Who, hosted by Indira Varma and Raza Jaffrey, takes you deep inside that shadow world to meet spies who risked everything in the national interest ? or, sometimes, their own.

Search and follow The Spy Who wherever you listen to podcasts, or binge entire seasons early and ad-free on Wondery+ on Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app.

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When Taylor Swift began planning The Eras Tour, she probably didn't expect to be at the forefront of an antitrust battle that could decide the future of concerts in the U.S. But the battle for Taylor Swift tickets leads Swift, her fans, and Senators into a tussle with Ticketmaster, the biggest live events company on the public markets. And Hollywood's next.

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By 2019, Taylor Swift's battle to get her masters back from Scooter Braun has gone public. She decides to fight by deploying her own, very dangerous weapon -- the Swifties. And Braun pulls out all the stops to protect his $300 million asset.

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By 2014, Taylor Swift has spread her wings into pop. But as her self-confidence grows, so does her discontent with her label. So she makes a bold move. Meanwhile, mega-manager Scooter Braun sees a business opportunity in Swift's early masters. The problem is, Swift has serious beef with Braun and his clients. And when she finds out about his plan, it'll be all out war.

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We?ve got the keys to Barbie's dream house and we?re unlocking her legacy, staying power and what?s ahead. We're joined by Time reporter and Mattel expert Eliana Dockterman and entertainment and culture journalist Matthew Jacobs to talk about Barbie's ups and downs and the key business decisions that revived the flailing brand. Plus, what's behind the movie's Oscars nominations... and snubs.

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When Taylor Swift signed to an upstart country label as a teen, she probably didn't realize that she was signing away the rights to something she would spend decades getting back -- her masters. Swift?s fight for her $300 million master recordings is a scrimmage that could reshuffle the entire business model of the music industry. But first, Swift has to make it big. And that's a one-in-a-million shot.

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When the Apple Watch first debuted, designer Jony Ive envisioned the gadget as a must-have in the world of high fashion. But even if the smartwatch hasn?t become a mainstay in the luxury world, it has become a tool many of us can?t live without.

Wired Editor-at-large Steven Levy joins David to unpack the evolution of the Apple Watch.  Steven?s covered Apple since the early 80s, and he?s connecting the dots to share how the Apple of yesterday brought us the Apple Watch of today. Later, GQ Senior Style Writer Cam Wolf, tells us how the rise of the Apple Watch has changed the mechanical watch market.

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It?s 2016 and in the wake of a major PR fiasco, Samsung is rolling out their new round smartwatch with a beautiful rotating bezel, while an MLB cheating scandal puts the Apple Watch squarely in consumers? sights. And, enhanced health features in the Series 4 rocket Apple Watch sales to record heights. Meanwhile Samsung gets hit with a lawsuit and then releases a tone-deaf ad campaign savaged by women around the world. And as both smartwatch contenders add more health functionality to their devices, they?re dogged by controversies over patents, consumer privacy and failure to deliver on vaulted promises of medical grade precision.

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It?s 2012 and Apple?s legendary designer in chief, Jony Ive, decides the company?s first product launch after Steve Jobs? death should be a smartwatch. But he struggles to get buy-in from CEO Tim Cook and upper management. Meanwhile Samsung races to beat Apple to market.. Then Samsung raises the stakes with a wildly successful satirical ad campaign aimed at Apple?s pretentiousness, but eventually launches a flawed smartwatch that leaves consumers cold. After Apple finally greenlights the smartwatch project, Jony Ive and Apple engineers grapple with a host of challenges.

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Before Apple and Samsung took over our wrists, there was Fitbit. The fitness tracker was just about the coolest thing in Silicon Valley, and everyone in tech was wearing one ? including Wired Magazine senior editor Michael Calore and senior writer Lauren Goode!

Long before the pair started hosting the Wired Gadget Lab podcast, they were crushing their steps goal while reporting on the buzziest wearable on the market. Michael and Lauren join David to help trace the steps that Fitbit took to become one of the most enduring pioneers of the wearable world, walking 10,000 steps so that the Apple Watch could run...and answer calls...and text.

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It?s 1936 in a small town in Korea and a rakish scion of a wealthy family realizes he has to clean up his act by starting a small import export business.  By the 1980s, he fast tracks South Korea?s first computer chip factory, and turns hundreds of engineers into fiercely loyal, tirelessly diligent ?Samsung Men.? But as Apple?s star rises, Samsung turns to American designers from California to teach its employees innovation and free-wheeling creativity. The result is a 1999 futuristic watch phone ? a forerunner to Samsung?s first Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

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Can you imagine video games without Sony? A partnership between Sony and Nintendo could have changed the future of Playstation ? and the video game industry ? as we know it? if the deal hadn?t ended with a dramatic betrayal. Tristan Donovan, author of Replay: The History of Video Games (and writer of this season of Business Wars), joins David to tell us about the console that almost wasn?t. You?ll also hear why Nintendo is so hard to predict, and where the video games market is going next. 

For the full story on what went down with Playstation in the early 1990s, listen to the Business Wars Nintendo vs. Sony season, also written by Tristan. 

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It?s 2016 and Xbox boss Phil Spencer?s leading a reboot of the Xbox brand after the Xbox One?s fumbled start. But with Sony and Nintendo surging ahead, he needs to make some big plays to get Microsoft back in action.

But when he homes in on a plan to spend tens of billions of dollars to reinvent Xbox and move beyond the console war, Sony?s going to go all out to stop Microsoft from spending its way to victory.

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It?s 2007 and both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are in trouble. Microsoft?s dealing with an epidemic of dying consoles. Sony lacks sales momentum. And Nintendo?s surging back with the Wii ? a console that lets people play using a motion-tracking controller.

But when Microsoft hits paydirt with its own motion-controller ? the Kinect ? it will change the direction for Xbox and give Sony an opportunity for a comeback.

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It?s 2002 and the race to build the next generation of game consoles is already underway. And Sony?s got big plans for the PlayStation 3. It wants to use it to introduce a new kind of computer architecture and it?s teamed up with Toshiba and IBM to do it.

But with Microsoft?s gunning to get its next console, the Xbox 360, into stores first, IBM spies a golden opportunity. IBM can make huge profits by partnering with both rivals in the console war.

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American Girl or Barbie? Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The Game of Life or Monopoly? We're putting your favorite nostalgic toys head-to-head to determine the GOAT (greatest of all TOYS) with comedian Josh Gondelman and New York Times retail reporter Jordyn Holman. And later on, David goes in the hot seat to choose between some of his most beloved childhood toys (POGs, anyone?). Happy holidays from Business Wars to you!

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It?s the year 2000. Sony?s PlayStation 2 is ready to conquer the game business and leave its Japanese rivals Sega and Nintendo looking like has-beens.

But Sony?s gaming success is causing alarm at Microsoft?s headquarters. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates fears Sony will use the PlayStation to conquer computer-based home entertainment and shut Windows out of the home.

So he?s striking back by deploying Microsoft?s billions to create a Windows-based game console called the Xbox. But the team he?s assigned to the job are about to reject his plan.

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?Tis the season for toys! First, we?re getting an update on where toy retailers stand today with Forbes Senior Contributor Joan Verdon. She?s covered Toys R Us since the late 90s, and has the inside scoop on whether this chain is actually making the big comeback the headlines claim.

Later, we?re zooming in on one toy that?s stood the test of time ? Hot Wheels ? with Bruce Pascal, who has the world?s most valuable, historically-complete collection of these tiny cars. And he?s recently created his own museum for them. Plus, Bruce shares how he acquired the ?holy grail? for Hot Wheels collectors (hint: it?s hot pink).

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It?s 2004 and toy retailers across America are assessing the post-holiday damage from Walmart?s brutal price attack.

And with KB Toys mortally wounded, it falls to Toys ?R? Us to lead the fight. But when the debts mount and Amazon turns from friend to foe, Toys ?R? Us ends up in a desperate battle for survival.

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It?s 1999 and the world wide web is the new retail frontier. And both KB Toys and Toys ?R? Us hope to use the internet to keep Walmart at bay.

But Toys ?R? Us's plan for online glory is about to go haywire ? giving KB Toys the upper hand and forcing Toys ?R? Us into a surprise alliance with Amazon.

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It?s 1990 and Toys ?R? Us rules toy retail. But when big-box retailers Walmart and Costco threaten to intrude on its territory, Toys ?R? Us uses toymakers to wage retail war.

And as the clash of the giant superstores rages around it, the owner of KB Toys loses faith in its mall-based strategy.

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We're talking about legendary toy stores and how they can compete today with comedian Gianmarco Soresi, who's in the new Netflix series "Verified Stand-Up" and editor-in-chief of The Toy Book, James Zahn. Plus which toys are made to become stars of the silver screen (did somebody say Barbie?) and which are destined to flop.

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It?s the 1950s and in Washington D.C., Charles Lazarus is running a small baby furniture store in the house he was born in.

But when a customer comes seeking toys, Lazarus starts on the path towards creating a toy superstore empire called Toys ?R? Us and building immense wealth.

And he?s not the only businessman chasing toy riches. In Massachusetts, a wholesaler called Kaufman Brothers is building a rival toy chain in the nation?s shopping malls.

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Between overworked pharmacists, healthcare consolidation, and rising drug costs, pharmacies are constantly having to adapt. Dan Weissmann, host of the An Arm and a Leg podcast, joins David to talk about how these conditions are affecting pharmacies ? big and small ? and consumers nationwide.  

Later, Liz Tung, a reporter for WHYY?s The Pulse, shares her deep dive into the mysterious world of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Her recent reporting examines how these entities hurt consumers and pharmacists alike, and what?s being done to challenge them. 

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It?s 2013 and CVS boss Larry Merlo is formulating a plan to wipe two-billion dollars off of the company?s sales by stripping cigarettes from the chain?s shelves.

But while Merlo seeks to forge a tobacco-free future for CVS, over at Walgreens the pressure is mounting on CEO Greg Wasson.

The deal to buy European pharmacy giant Alliance Boots is nearing completion. But the deal?s about to take an unexpected turn that?ll see Walgreens under new management.

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It?s 2009 and Walgreens is in crisis. It?s just lost its CEO and surrendered its top-dog status to CVS.

But it?s about to fightback. It?s got a plan to launch itself onto the world stage and sock it to the pharmacy benefit managers that are eroding its profit margins.

But when its comeback plan hits trouble, it?ll be CVS that benefits.

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It?s the late 1990s and CVS and Walgreens are battling for control of the nation?s best street corners and there?s a huge prize at stake.

Tens of millions of boomers are about to turn grey and thanks to new drugs and prescription insurance they will soon be spending billions at the nation?s pharmacy counters.

But CVS isn?t just eyeing the prescription dollars. It's formulating a plan to shoot past Walgreens by turning its drugstores into healthcare destinations.

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No tricks, just treats in this chat with New York Times retail reporter Jordyn Holman and comedian Max Fine. We're talking about candy, and just in time for spooky season! Then, we dig into America's obsession with snacks. Find out which new products are out there, who's selling them, and who's buying.

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It?s 1895 and Chicago?s a boom town that?s overflowing with pharmacies. But one drugstore is about to emerge from the city?s mass of small-time drugstores and become a national force. 

It?s name is Walgreens and by the late 20th century it will be spreading nationwide and looking unbeatable.

But then a multi-billion-dollar shoe company bets everything on a little New England drugstore chain called CVS.

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Mike Calore and Lauren Goode from Wired are back! The pair co-host Wired?s Gadget Lab podcast, where they?ve been diving deep into what the future of AI looks like. Mike and Lauren join host David Brown to share their predictions, and give us their takes on whether the classic sci-fi films that feature AI are hitting a little too close to home these days.

Listen to Gadget Lab. 

Catch Mike and Lauren?s latest reporting at wired.com.

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With the popularity of ChatBots exploding, Microsoft invests billions of dollars into AI-assisted internet search,trying to strike at Google?s core business. Google answers back with its own ChatBot ?Bard?. And Facebook makes a surprising move to stay in the race. But more people start to have questions about whether the disruptions to society are worth the benefits. Politicians push for more regulation and leading researchers warn about the dangers of advanced AI. Some even call for a moratorium on research, leaving the future of AI uncertain. 

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Google is the undisputed leader in the race to dominate AI, in part because of its reputation as a company with strong corporate ethics.  But as questions about the morality and efficacy of AI become more pronounced, Google finds itself mired in internal conflicts and bad PR.  Google?s stagnation gives Microsoft an opportunity to team up with an ambitious start-up called OpenAI.  When OpenAI releases ChatGPT, the chatbot shakes up the AI landscape and puts Google on its heels. 

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You've heard about how AI is poised (and already) revolutionizing just about everything. We're digging deeper into that and taking a look at the way AI has altered three industries ? climate change management, fast food and advertising. We're joined by journalist Haje Kamps and comedian Kenny DeForest.

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For decades, AI stagnated with only a few dedicated scientists working on it.  But in 2012, a researcher at the University of Toronto made a breakthrough  ? and every major tech company wanted in on it.  They were convinced that AI was the next big thing, destined to change the world the way the personal computer, internet, and smart phone all had in previous decades.  The race to be the leader would soon become cutthroat.

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Grab your suitcase, because we?re taking a vacation! Today, we?re joined by Allison Pohle, travel reporter for the Wall Street Journal. She?s zooming in on the hotel industry ? the post-pandemic bounceback, labor strikes, and Airbnb?s continued impact ? and what this means for travelers. 

Later, we?ll venture outside the corporate hotel world with Margaret and Corey Bienert, creators of A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour. Their photo project has documented some of the dreamiest hotels across the US and the world on social media. The couple is walking us through some of their favorites, and previewing their upcoming book, Hotel Kitsch.

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It?s 2001 and the hotel industry is reeling from 9/11. But terror attacks are only the one of the new challenges closing in on Marriott and Hilton.

The uniform hotels of the 20th century no longer cut it with young travelers, Starwood is making inroads, and online travel agents are upending vacations.

But Marriott?s got another problem to fret about. Because Hilton?s about to shake free of the Hilton family and go on the attack.

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It?s the early 1990s and Marriott?s a financial wreck heading for the rocks, and running out of time to find a way to remedy its debts.

But as Marriott crumbles, the sleeping giant that is Hilton is waking up. And it wants its position as market leader back.

But to retake the crown it needs to move fast. The hotel industry is consolidating and right now Hilton looks more prey than predator.

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It?s the late 1960s and succession is top of mind at both Hilton and Marriott.

Conrad Hilton?s almost 80 and about to hand his business over to his sons, Nicky and Barron. But their rivalry will push Hilton into making a damaging decision.

Meanwhile, Bill Marriott railroads his father, J.W., in order to load up on debt and catapult the Marriott Corporation into the hotel big-time.

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We'll take a look at the hotel industry landscape this summer, including the "Taylor Swift effect," and the amped up fight against rental companies like AirBnB. Travel industry journalist Sean O'Neill and comedian Liz Barrett join us for this journey.

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It?s 1919 and Conrad Hilton is among the fortune seekers in the oil-boom town of Cisco, Texas. But when his plan to buy a bank unravels, he turns to hotels and finds himself heading down the rocky road to business success.

But as Hilton breaks ground and flirts with bankruptcy, over on the east coast, J.W. Marriott?s starting a business that?s destined to break into the big time not by selling beds, but by serving root beer.

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We?ve spent this season telling the story of how Quiznos and Subway battled to create a sub sandwich that would lure the most customers. Now, we?re putting them to the test ? a taste test, that is.

Josh Scherer and Nicole Enayati are Kitcheneers and hosts of Mythical Kitchen, an offshoot of the popular YouTube channel, Good Mythical Morning. They also co-host the podcast ?A Hotdog is a Sandwich.? We?re going deep with them on what makes a winning sandwich and how the current competition stacks up. They?ll also bite into sandwiches from both Subway and Quiznos and give us their official reviews.

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It?s 2008 and as the Great Recession sinks in, Panera, Jersey Mike?s and Firehouse Subs amp up the competition. Quiznos tries to win back dwindling market share with an avalanche of coupons. But store managers refuse to honor them and sue the parent company for abusive practices. While civil war rages at Quiznos, Subway faces down a serious scandal. But Quiznos can?t take advantage of their competitor?s troubles; they?re in a fatal tailspin. Now both franchises experiment with store remodels, drive thru and online kiosks in a bid to recover from the global pandemic and its devastating disruption of the restaurant industry.

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It?s 2003 in Miami, Florida and a Subway franchisee comes up with a catchy promotion: the 5 Dollar Footlong. But Subway Corporate is preoccupied with a costly new innovation: special ovens to toast their subs. Robbed of their ?toasty? advantage, Quiznos counters with a hip ad featuring uncanny creatures called Spongmonkeys, and a campaign claiming their steak subs have more meat than Subway?s. But the aggressive media campaign has dramatic fallout for franchisees who are already struggling to pay high prices for company-owned food and supplies. As more franchisees fall into debt, store owners rebel.

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It?s 1987 in Denver, Colorado, and a 22-year-old stockbroker named Rick Schaden invests a market windfall into a Quiznos franchise. Four years later, he and his wealthy father buy all 18 stores. Their outlandish dream: take on Subway. Meanwhile, a college kid manages to lose 245 pounds eating 2 Subway sandwiches a day. With ?Jared the Subway Guy? as their new spokesperson, and the introduction of freshly baked bread, Subway?s profits and store count soar. But by 2000, the Schadens? savvy business strategy and aggressive franchise marketing catapults Quiznos into third place behind Subway and Blimpie. But manic growth hides troubling signs of dysfunction.

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