About this podcast
Netflix vs. HBO. Nike vs. Adidas. Business is war. Sometimes the prize is your wallet or your attention. Sometimes, it’s just the fun of beating the other guy. The outcome of these battles shapes what we buy and how we live. Business Wars gives you the unauthorized, real story of what drives these companies and their leaders, innovators, investors and executives to new heights -- or to ruin. Hosted by David Brown, former anchor of Marketplace. From Wondery, the network behind Against the Odds and American History Tellers.
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Episodes
The newest 50 of 715 episodes
- Big Beef: The War on Your Wallet | Something Rotten | 2 · 41 min · Season 146 Episode 2A lot has changed in the eight years since the ranchers first sued Big Beef. IBP was acquired by Tyson Foods, a behemoth with even more ability to withstand a lawsuit. But no…
- LISTEN NOW: The First Wife · 9 minMany listened to the Dirty John podcast, which introduced the world to John Meehan, a dangerous serial predator who infiltrates the life of Debra Newell and ultimately dies at…
- Big Beef: The War on Your Wallet | A Bloody Business | 1 · 42 min · Season 146 Episode 1In 1996, a handful of cattle ranchers make a bold decision: to sue IBP, the biggest beef processor in the world. They accuse IBP of price-fixing, putting cattle producers out of…
- Indian Motorcycle vs Harley-Davidson | Indian Summer | 2 · 51 min · Season 145 Episode 2Harley-Davidson’s suffering. The credit boom has gone bust and that’s hammering its sales. The snowmobile company behind the latest attempt to revive Indian Motorcycle sees an…
- Listen Now— Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe · 7 minA Hollywood stuntwoman turned personal injury attorney. A handsome disbarred lawyer with a dark past. And an elaborate scheme that leads to murder. Vanessa Motta gives up a…
- Indian Motorcycle vs Harley-Davidson | Roadkill | 1 · 45 min · Season 145 Episode 1It’s been 45 years since Indian Motorcycle became corporate roadkill. But as the 2000s approach, entrepreneurs are jockeying for the opportunity to resurrect it as an alternative…
- Buffalo Wild Wings vs Wingstop | Spice Off | 3 · 37 min · Season 144 Episode 3For years, Buffalo Wild Wings was the undisputed king of chicken wings. But for the past decade, Wingstop has owned that crown with its takeout friendly spin on everyone’s…
- Buffalo Wild Wings vs Wingstop | Chicken Fight | 2 · 37 min · Season 144 Episode 2After years of turning profits, in 2015 Buffalo Wild Wings sees signs of trouble. Younger generations are take-out over dine-in, and for the first time since going public…
- Listen Now: Audible True Crime – Ghost Story · 9 minAudible True Crime is a dedicated podcast feed where we bring you the best podcasts in true crime, with episodes dropping every single week. Just in time for spooky season, we’re…
- Buffalo Wild Wings vs Wingstop | Winging It | 1 · 48 min · Season 144 Episode 1It’s the early 1980s, and a pair of brothers open a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio serving Buffalo wings. They see an opportunity to bring the spicy, tangy wings to diners around…
- FanDuel vs DraftKings | Open The Gates | 2 · 52 min · Season 143 Episode 2It’s May 2018, and the U.S. Supreme Court just struck down a law that banned most sports betting nationwide. The gold rush is on to capture a newly wide-open market of online…
- FanDuel vs DraftKings | The Enemy of My Enemy | 1 · 47 min · Season 143 Episode 1It’s 2009, and most online betting is illegal in the U.S. Then tech founder Nigel Eccles finds a nifty loophole around fantasy sports, and FanDuel is born. The new ‘daily fantasy…
- Roomba: Hitting the Wall | The New Space Race | 3 · 36 min · Season 142 Episode 3Recent visitors to China’s tech zone in Shenzhen have come away in awe of the country’s manufacturing capabilities, including its increasingly advanced humanoid robots. And when…
- Roomba: Hitting the Wall | The Moat | 2 · 48 min · Season 142 Episode 2It’s 2017 and the Roomba rules the robotic vacuum market. But cheaper competitors from China, some of whom offer more features for less money, start eating away at its lead…
- Roomba: Hitting the Wall | Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control | 1 · 48 min · Season 142 Episode 1It’s 1984 and MIT professor Rodney Brooks has a radical idea: robots don't need complicated brains to navigate the world — they just need simple rules. Brooks and two of his…
- The Sweetener Wars | Sweet Goes Sour | 2 · 44 min · Season 141 Episode 2After years on top, Sweet’N Low is sinking fast. Newer artificial sweeteners aspartame and sucralose are spawning fresh competition. But the problems go even deeper – because…
- The Sweetener Wars | Attack of the Cancer Rats | 1 · 46 min · Season 141 Episode 1The promise seemed miraculous. Sweetness minus the calories. But when studies begin to link artificial sweeteners with cancer, the entire industry faces oblivion. And it'll take…
- Warby Parker vs Luxottica | A Modern Lens | 3 · 39 min · Season 140 Episode 3When Warby Parker debuted in 2010, the brand disrupted not just how much eyeglasses cost, but also how customers purchased them. Its direct-to-consumer e-commerce business model…
- Warby Parker vs Luxottica | Getting Vertical | 2 · 43 min · Season 140 Episode 2Warby Parker is three weeks old and its online glasses store is proving so popular the brand’s in danger of burning out. But if it’s going to pose a real challenge to Luxottica…
- Warby Parker vs Luxottica | The Empire of Eyes | 1 · 40 min · Season 140 Episode 1After a childhood of hard knocks, Italian entrepreneur Leonardo Del Vecchio sets out to build an eyewear empire by swallowing brands like Ray-Ban, Sunglass Hut, Lenscrafters, and…
- GoPro: The Billion Dollar Wipeout | Crash Landing | 2 · 39 min · Season 139 Episode 2After a successful IPO in 2014, GoPro founder and CEO Nick Woodman hopes to lead the company into its next act. In his vision, GoPro won’t just be a camera maker anymore; they’ll…
- GoPro: The Billion Dollar Wipeout | Think it. See It. Do it. Boom. | 1 · 44 min · Season 139 Episode 1In 2002, while on a surf trip to Bali, 26-year-old Nick Woodman has an idea for a camera mount that would allow him and his friends to capture action shots of themselves in the…
- Universal vs Disney: The Battle for Orlando | Epic Rivalry | 4 · 44 min · Season 138 Episode 4For decades, Disney was the undisputed champion of theme parks. But Universal Studios had its big breakthrough when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened in 2010. And it’s…
- Universal vs. Disney: The Battle for Orlando | An IP for an IP | 3 · 48 min · Season 138 Episode 3With Harry Potter on its team, Universal hopes to cast a spell on millions of vacationers. Meanwhile, Disney’s new boss Bob Iger is about to strike back with Star Wars. But who…
- Universal vs. Disney: The Battle for Orlando | The Park That Lived | 2 · 48 min · Season 138 Episode 2After a bumpy opening, Universal Studios Florida is looking for a way to get out of Disney World’s shadow. But if Jaws, King Kong and Back to the Future won’t do it, what will?…
- Universal vs. Disney: The Battle for Orlando | A Kingdom Invaded | 1 · 48 min · Season 138 Episode 1Walt Disney World: it’s the Central Florida theme park destination that dreams are made of. And Universal’s dream is to build an even better theme park next door. But Disney boss…
- ENCORE: Cruise Ship Wars | Mayday | 4 · 45 min · Season 137 Episode 4As the cruise industry enters the 21st century, Carnival and Royal Caribbean square off again as they battle to acquire British company Princess Cruises. Whoever wins Princess…
- ENCORE: Cruise Ship Wars | A Shot Across the Bow | 3 · 43 min · Season 137 Episode 3As Carnival cements its success by going public, founder Ted Arison and his son and CEO Micky set their sights on growing the company through acquisition. They make long-time…
- ENCORE: Cruise Ship Wars | Making Waves | 2 · 45 min · Season 137 Episode 2After his bitter exit from Norwegian Cruise Line, Ted Arison has limited time to make his new company Carnival a success. With little funds and one run-down ship, the odds are…
- ENCORE: Cruise Ship Wars | Anchors Aweigh! | 1 · 42 min · Season 137 Episode 1In 1950, an enterprising Miami businessman has the idea to use a passenger liner to ferry retired Floridians to the Caribbean. He makes their time on board the ship as much a…
- Chobani: The Yogurt That Ate America | Fungi and Bankruptcy | 2 · 39 min · Season 136 Episode 2It’s 2013 and upstart yogurt brand Chobani is riding high. But in its huge new factory in Idaho, a microscopic threat is spreading: mold. And when it contaminates Chobani’s…
- Chobani: The Yogurt That Ate America | Nothing But Good | 1 · 39 min · Season 136 Episode 1When a leaflet advertising a decrepit factory for sale lands in the office of struggling entrepreneur Hamdi Ulukaya, it sets him on a quest to make America fall in love with…
- Meta and the Battle for Smart Glasses | Google's Return | 3 · 45 min · Season 135 Episode 3Back in 2014, Google Glass made the dream of smart glasses a reality for the tech-obsessed. But a hefty price tag and divisive design prevented Google from bringing its vision to…
- Meta and the Battle for Smart Glasses | I'm a Creep | 2 · 49 min · Season 135 Episode 2It’s 2023, and Meta Ray-Bans have just helped Mark Zuckerberg turn a corner. After his disastrous investment in the Metaverse, Meta’s AI-enabled smart glasses are a welcome…
- Meta and the Battle for Smart Glasses | Prize on the Eyes | 1 · 48 min · Season 135 Episode 1It’s 2011, and two Stanford students have built eyeglasses with a tiny camera inside. Their a prototype paves the way for Meta Ray-Bans, the first tech-enabled eyewear to truly…
- F1 vs NASCAR | F1 Roars Into the U.S. | 4 · 39 min · Season 134 Episode 4In 2019, the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive To Survive ushered in a major uptick in the sport’s popularity among Americans. Then, the 2021 F1 season saw an epic showdown between…
- F1 vs NASCAR | Land of Liberty | 3 · 41 min · Season 134 Episode 3Formula One is under new management and pushing to finally break into America. But after decades of failure, it needs to remodel its approach while also facing off against…
- F1 vs NASCAR | Pedal to the Metal | 2 · 45 min · Season 134 Episode 2When the European Union moves to ban tobacco sponsorship, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone finds himself racing to expand the sport’s global reach. But as F1 goes global…
- F1 vs NASCAR | Start Your Engines | 1 · 48 min · Season 134 Episode 1When moonshine runners turn stock car racers, Bill France creates NASCAR and turns it into America’s top motorsport. Meanwhile, in Europe, another canny operator – Bernie…
- Bumble's Stumble | The Sting | 2 · 42 min · Season 133 Episode 2It’s 2024 and Bumble’s users are increasingly frustrated by matches that go nowhere. Investors are equally uneasy as the stock price cascades from its post-IPO highs. In…
- Bumble's Stumble | The Queen Bee | 1 · 44 min · Season 133 Episode 1It’s 2014 and twenty-four-year-old Whitney Wolfe sues Tinder for harassment, sending shockwaves through Silicon Valley. She walks away with a settlement but pays a high personal…
- Athletic Brewing and the NA Beer Revolution | Is NA Here to Stay? | 3 · 43 min · Season 132 Episode 3When Athletic hit the shelves in 2017, it proved to naysayers that you can have a non-alcoholic beer without sacrificing on taste. Dare we say, it even gave NA brews a certain…
- Athletic Brewing and the NA Beer Revolution | Bring Your Beer to Work | 2 · 38 min · Season 132 Episode 2With its brewery finally open, Athletic Brewing is on a mission to get its beer into stores. But Heineken, the European leader in this space, is also chasing this growing market…
- Athletic Brewing and the NA Beer Revolution | Brewing the Impossible | 1 · 37 min · Season 132 Episode 1It’s 2017 and Bill Shufelt is about to quit stock trading to start a company with a product it seems like nobody wants: non-alcoholic beer. And that’s not even his biggest…
- Spotify vs Apple Music | Dehumanizer | 2 · 43 min · Season 131 Episode 2It’s 2015 and Taylor Swift’s just thrown Apple Music into crisis. But as the Silicon Valley giant tries to get its music-streaming service back on track, its Swedish rival…
- Spotify vs Apple Music | Who Stopped the Music? | 1 · 44 min · Season 131 Episode 1It’s the late 2000s and the music industry dances to the beat of Apple iTunes. But two Swedish tech entrepreneurs are out to challenge Apple's dominance with their…
- Under Armour's Attack on Nike | Signature Sneakers | 3 · 42 min · Season 130 Episode 3When Michael Jordan signed with an upstart running shoe company called Nike in the 1980s, it revolutionized the signature sneaker landscape and made Nike the brand to beat. Under…
- Under Armour's Attack on Nike | Dropping the Ball | 2 · 45 min · Season 130 Episode 2It’s 2014 and Under Armour is getting increasingly aggressive as it takes on Nike, buying fitness apps and signing record-breaking endorsement deals. But they face a major…
- Under Armour's Attack on Nike | Sweat Equity | 1 · 44 min · Season 130 Episode 1It’s 1995 and college football player Kevin Plank is frustrated with the way the cotton t-shirt he wears under his pads gets drenched with sweat. He begins designing a t-shirt…
- Gatorade Sweats the Competition | Defending the Title | 3 · 38 min · Season 129 Episode 3As the 1990s come to a close, Gatorade has become an established powerhouse brand, thanks to a 25-year head start and the star power of their spokesperson Michael Jordan. But the…
