Business Wars

Are you curious to know why China is starting to import rice from the US? Or why the thermostat in the office affects productivity of men and women differently? On NPR's daily economics podcast The Indicator from Planet Money, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Cardiff Garcia use humor and storytelling to shed light on the economic stories of the day. It’s like getting to understand a complicated slice of the economy every episode, in under ten minutes. Listen every afternoon.

It’s the late 1970s and Mars is America’s top confectioner. But Hershey is hungry for a comeback. It’s plotting a return to the top powered by a rush of new candies it hopes can nibble away at Mars’ market share. Not that Mars has any intention of surrendering pole position without a fight. It thinks it can stop Hershey in its tracks by focusing exclusively on best-selling brands like Snickers, M&M’s and Milky Way...

It’s 1965 and Forrest Mars has just become the manufacturer of Snickers and M&M’s. He is now – at last – ready to duke it out with Hershey in a battle to become the number one candy maker in America. And he knows Hershey is far from prepared for his sudden switch from ally to enemy. Hershey is a company wedded to tradition. It has no marketing department, doesn’t advertise, and has a completely complacent sales team...

It’s the 1940s and Forrest Mars’ plan to create a candy empire is stepping up a gear. He’s plotting to seize control of his dad’s company Mars and turn it into a Hershey killer. First he needs to get his new candy venture off the ground. But to do that he needs help. Help from Hershey. But while Forrest’s laying plans, Hershey’s trying to get over the death of founder Milton Hershey and grappling with an unexpected opportunity to become a global player...

It’s 1923 and the Hershey Chocolate Company dominates the candy bar business. With its milk chocolate Hershey bar and bite-sized Kisses, Hershey seems impossible to beat.  But in a Chicago police station, an awkward father-son reunion is about to sire a new challenger in the candy business. That challenger is Mars and it’ll make its breakthrough by wrapping nougat in chocolate. For now, it’s got no plans to topple Hershey...

It’s 1886 and in New York City, a young confectioner called Milton Hershey is desperately trying to save his business. He’s been struggling for years. He founded his first candy business in Philadelphia, only to watch it collapse. His second venture lasted just weeks. Now, he’s loaded up with debts he cannot pay...

In Wondery's new series Bad Batch, host Laura Beil (Dr. Death) investigates the multi-billion dollar underregulated industry of stem cell therapy where greed and desperation collide. When a group of patients wind up in a Texas hospital in critical condition, the trail leads back to one stem cell company and its charismatic CEO. What happens when a supposed miracle cure leaves you worse off than before? Listen to Bad Batch at wondery.fm/BadBatchPod

The social media world moves fast, and the next big thing is already upon us. It’s called TikTok. A video-based app where users create short clips to share with the world, TikTok is growing at a rapid rate. The app has already been downloaded a billion times and boasts 500 million active users around the globe. We conclude our series on Facebook vs Snapchat with a look at the next big player in the social media game. Support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19...

It’s June 2018. Mark Zuckerberg is struggling and morale at the social media giant is low. Facebook has been battered by data breaches and there’s no end in sight. Meanwhile, Evan Spiegel has a chance to turn Snapchat around by refocusing on the teens who’ve abandoned Facebook.  As Snapchat unveils new features, the startup begins its next battle: To become profitable...

It’s April 2017, and Mark Zuckerberg is issuing a new challenge to Snapchat. By making its face filters open source, the tech giant is coming directly for Snapchat's most popular feature. But founder Evan Spiegel has other things to worry about: Snapchat is hemorrhaging users, and its share price is plummeting. But when the Cambridge Analytica scandal breaks, Facebook's most pressing battle moves to the court of public opinion...