Slate Business

For more than a century, Brooks Brothers defined fashion for a certain kind of east coast, American elite. It’s been the clothier to nearly every US president. So how did its madras start to bleed so badly?Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Madeline Ducharme, Hannah Klein, and Cleo Levin.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbnb transformed the experience of travel by turning ordinary neighborhoods into tourist destinations, and ordinary people into backdoor innkeepers. These people’s small businesses are the backbone of Airbnb’s big one. But facing a pandemic and a potential PR disaster, would the company prioritize its guests or its hosts?Podcast production by Heba Elorbany and Jess Miller, with help from Madeline Ducharme and Asha Saluja.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are few more iconic pieces of Americana than a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. But its singular Americanness - the thing that has kept the brand popular for decades - may now be a harbinger of its downfall.Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Asha Saluja.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary says things about customers and competitors that you wouldn’t expect him to get away with -- but he does. He takes business risks that others wouldn’t dream of -- and they almost always pay off. Now facing a global pandemic, will Ryanair’s signature “no-frills” model and its lightning-rod CEO weather the storm?Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Madeline Ducharme, Hannah Klein, Cleo Levin, and Asha Saluja.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crocs once teetered on the verge of total ruin, but after a long, bumpy journey, the instantly recognizable plastic clogs are back. The fact that people hate them may very well be what saved them.Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Madeline Ducharme, Hannah Klein, and Asha Saluja.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lot has changed since we first reported on Epic Games and its smash hit, Fortnite. This week, we bring you new reporting on how the little start-up that changed the world of gaming could permanently alter the way tech giants like Apple do business.Podcast production by Jess Miller and Asha Saluja.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Goya CEO Robert Unanue recently praised Donald Trump at the White House, resulting in a call to boycott Goya from the political left and endorsements from the political right. Did Unanue do this to jeopardize the sale of his company and to maintain control of what his family founded? Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Madeline Ducharme, Hannah Klein, Megan Kallstrom, and Asha Saluja.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few years ago, the Department of Justice started looking into business practices in the canned tuna industry. What unfolded was a price fixing story so dark and disruptive, it threatened to upend a century-old industry. Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Madeline Ducharme, Hannah Klein, Megan Kallstrom, and Asha Saluja.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Its chief digital officer called it “an e-commerce company that sells pizza.” Tasters across the country once said its products tasted like cardboard. But by cornering the delivery business early on, Domino’s set itself up for success—a gamble that especially paid off once in-house dining went on pause.Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Asha Saluja and Megan Kallstrom.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since its founding in the 1920s, McKinsey has become the gold standard for management consulting. But as its business grew, so did America’s wealth gap. Is that a coincidence?Podcast production by Heba Elorbany and Jess Miller with help from Asha Saluja.Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Dear Prudence and Slow Burn. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices