Slate Business

Pinterest is an online destination frequented by crafty moms and brides-to-be. But former employees allege that its internal culture is far from woman-friendly.  Podcast production by Jess Miller and Asha Saluja, with help from Cleo Levin and Seth Stevenson.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

GoFundMe turned charitable giving into another form of social media. Should we be concerned that Silicon Valley is profiting off of our most selfless intentions?Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from 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

The name Wells Fargo conjures up images of old western stagecoaches and pioneers. But when scandal hit, was this feel-good history enough to deflect attention away from the bank’s present-day troubles?Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from 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

The National Enquirer played a large role in the 2016 election. Four years later, the paper has been merged with a company that sells corkscrews, umbrellas, and hand sanitizer, and its CEO has been ousted from his leadership role. What happened since its days of major scoops and supermarket dominance?Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from 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

For certain parents, a stroller isn’t just a product—it’s a lifestyle signifier. For the past 100 years or so, one stroller brand at a time seems to reign supreme, until it’s dethroned by the next up-and-comer. Right now, UPPAbaby is that “it” stroller. But with new customers being born every minute, how do they maintain a stronghold?Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Madeline Ducharme 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

Eastman Kodak revolutionized amateur photography, but after failing to embrace digital, it fell on hard times. Then, a lifeline came in the form of a loan from the federal government--to make not cameras, but pharmaceuticals. It sent stock prices soaring … but also raised a lot of questions.Podcast production by Jess Miller, with help from Madeline Ducharme 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

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