Lila raptopolis: In the thoughts listeners sent me on disney, many of you held two feelings at once. You were grateful for a bit of wholesomeness in a complicated world,. But you were also cautious of too much nestalgia for a past that never was. And let's face it, being behind on race or on politics is not cool. So if the bottom line is that you'll subscribe to disney's platforms despite its problems, disney wins. If not, if it can't successfully be all things to all people, then maybe there's only so much bigger it can grow.
Happy New Year! Our first episode of 2022 is dedicated to one of the world’s most powerful cultural forces: Disney. What happens when a company with that much influence just keeps growing? We visit Disneyland for a rare interview with CEO Bob Chapek, with FT reporters Chris Grimes and Anna Nicolaou. We explore where Disney Plus fits into the digital streaming wars. And Lilah speaks with a Disney expert, Sabrina Mittermeier, about how the company is reckoning with its prejudices 100 years into its history.
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Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.
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Links and mentions from the episode:
– Chris and Anna’s profile of Bob Chapek, Disney CEO: https://www.ft.com/content/69e1cc1e-9c64-4000-b47f-a7e448107a5b
– And their follow-up on the streaming wars: https://www.ft.com/content/ae756fda-4c27-4732-89af-cb6903f2ab40
– Dr. Sabrina Mittermeier’s book, A Culture History of the Disneyland Theme Parks: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/C/bo70345519.html
–Follow Anna Nicolaou on Twitter @annaknicolaou
–Follow Chris Grimes on Twitter @grimes_ce
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Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design is by Breen Turner.
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