Booyah! Acquired, the worldwide leader in acquisitions and IPOs, kicks off Season 4 with a classic: ESPN. How did a failed former TV weatherman end up building the world’s most valuable media company on top of a dump (quite literally) in Bristol, Connecticut? We follow the incredible entrepreneurial journey from Getty Oil diversification strategy to Berkshire Hathaway home run to Disney crown jewel. This Is Awesome, Baby!!
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On the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 launch, resident historian Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal recounts one of the most significant missions in human spaceflight history, featuring interviews with Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman and Bill Anders. HWHAP Episode 76.
We close out Season 3 and our China mini-series with a monster episode on Tencent, the Shenzhen-based social networking and entertainment powerhouse. We dive deep into the story of Pony Ma and his cofounders’ incredible journey from making software for pagers(!) to QQ, WeChat, League of Legends, Fortnite, Snapchat and even Tesla. This is one finale you don’t want to miss!
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- Ben: President Obama’s OG podcast! https://bit.ly/2BqXxHJ
- David: Kara Swisher’s interview with the Google Walkout organizers: https://bit.ly/2RwuskZ
- David (bonus!): Allen Iverson on the Players’ Tribune: https://bit.ly/2EkrRHQ
Matt Lemke, Orion avionics, power and software deputy manager, discusses how Orion is radiation-hardened so the systems inside can withstand the harsh environment of space. HWHAP Episode 75.
NASA Astronaut Anne McClain discusses her journey to space, from her education, her time in the Army as an aviator, and her training to become an astronaut. HWHAP Episode 74.
Jerry Ross, former NASA astronaut, talks about the first mission to assemble the International Space Station and his experience conducting the mission’s three spacewalks. The milestone shuttle mission STS-88 brought the Unity module to join Zarya, the first element of the space station. HWHAP Episode 73.
We complete our two-part Netflix special with the company’s bold transition to streaming, including of course the most (in)famous spin-out in business history. Rising from the ashes of Qwikster, we chronicle Netflix’s rebirth as a media company and long journey back to the top of the FAANG mountaintop!
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- Netflix’s Qwikster apology video: https://youtu.be/c8Tn8n5CIPk
- SNL parody of the apology video: https://bit.ly/2PWEyyZ
- Evolution of Netflix home page: https://read.bi/2KvHdte
- The Chaos Monkey: https://bit.ly/1qkqDxZ
- Benedict Evans’ chart of FAANG stocks: https://bit.ly/2r3D72A
Carve Outs:
- Ben: Kevin Rose interviews Matthew Walker on sleep: https://bit.ly/2LpIl5v
- David: Justin O’Beirne on Apple’s new Maps: https://bit.ly/2zrQ76Z
Doug Drewry, former FGB Program Manager, discusses leading the joint U.S and Russian teams during the development and launch of Zarya, the first element of the International Space Station, for its 20th anniversary in space. HWHAP Episode 72.
John Gruener and Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, planetary scientist and historian, respectively, team up to discuss both the science and history of the Apollo program, the Moon, and the Johnson Space Center. HWHAP Episode 71.
In a world ravaged by late fees and lack of rewinding, one man two men from a sleepy California beach town make a stand against tyranny, daringly dethrone an evil empire and… oh who are we kidding, they just copied Amazon’s business plan for books and applied it to movie rentals. But as always there is much more to the story than that! We dive into the fascinating, true, and oft-untold history of Netflix in our first two-part special on Acquired. Part 1 covers Netflix’s original DVD rental business from founding to 2009, and next time on Part 2 we’ll cover the (rocky) transition to streaming from 2010 to present. Buckle up for a wild ride!
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