Business Wars

With UPS expanding aggressively into Europe and other continents, FedEx decides to bet big on China. But it’s a risky strategy that initially looks like it’s going to fall short.  Meanwhile, UPS tries to maintain its competitive advantage by pushing for more productivity from its workers. But the drivers have had enough and UPS soon has a major labor relations problem on its hands. UPS’s troubles give FedEx an opening to peel away some of its business.And at the dawn of the dot com era, both companies make a play for a new type of customer. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

UPS decides it’s time to expand its market outside North America and makes a big push into Western Europe. But it’s harder than expected to integrate its corporate culture with European norms.  FedEx CEO Fred Smith eschews European expansion and goes all-in on a risky new service called ZapMail, much to his executive team’s dismay.  Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Finally financially stable, FedEx takes on the US government to overturn regulations that limit the size of the planes they can fly. Convinced the regulations are limiting its growth, FedEx launches a multi-pronged strategy to persuade Congress to change the rules.And UPS realizes it needs to compete directly with FedEx and finally buys its own planes to offer next-day air service.   Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After a disastrous start, FedEx needs to change its sales pitch or it will run out of money before it even has a chance to take off.  Smith resorts to surprising means to raise the money to keep his fledgling company going.UPS is convinced FedEx will be out of business in a matter of months.  But it has its own problems to attend to, as drivers are feeling dissatisfied and start to organize for better working conditions.  Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the early 1970s, and 27-year-old Fred Smith has an idea for a new kind of package delivery service, one that uses its own planes to deliver packages in under 24 hours. Skeptics tell him the start-up costs are too high and the demand too low, but Smith thinks he’s found a way to make it work. He invests millions of his own money to get the new company started.  But when one thing after another goes wrong, it looks like Smith might have made a big mistake. And that’s before he’s even had a chance to challenge one of the most respected companies in America: UPS. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Almost one in three relationships start as online encounters. But the popularity of dating apps isn’t surprising with so many to choose from, and the pandemic may even be boosting dating app use.For more on how COVID-19 has changed online dating, and how apps are adapting, David speaks today with Ashley Carman, a senior reporter covering dating apps for The Verge. Carman is also Co-host of The Verge’s Why’d You Push That Button podcast. She’s here to talk about which apps are thriving, and what they’ve been doing right.For more on Ashley Carman:https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/host/ashley-carmanListen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Whitney Wolfe Herd establishes Bumble with a strident anti-misogyny agenda, but that foundation is rocked when shocking accusations of sexual harassment surface against Wolfe Herd’s co-founder. Meanwhile, the revolutionary gay app Grindr goes through a scandalous upheaval when a Chinese company buys the company and installs a straight president.  And the cyber dating world undergoes a major rethinking as the coronavirus ushers in unprecedented, devastating changes for singles and everyone else on the planet. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Niche apps are kicking into high gear for users with specific criteria, and there’s something for everyone: muzmatch for Muslims, Mouse Mingle for Disney fans, Twindog for canine lovers, Sizzl for bacon aficionados, Bristl for beard enthusiasts and Dead Meet for morticians and other death professionals. In the mainstream, Match and Tinder have a new, serious competitor: Whitney Wolfe Herd’s Bumble. The feminist app debuts to a huge response — and a stinging lawsuit from Wolfe Herd’s former employer, Tinder. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What seemed like a run of the mill office romance gone very, very wrong will result in a devastating upheaval in the power structure at Tinder. And repercussions will be felt throughout the industry as Whitney Wolfe exacts some delicious corporate revenge.And as the cyber dating world is rocked by horrific violence against women, apps that put female users in the driver’s seat start to get serious traction.  Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new app aimed at gay users is about to break open an entirely new feature that will redefine the cyber dating business. And a young man emerging from a shower gets his inspiration for a new hookup site as he wipes the steam from his mirror. Soon Tinder is on fire, but the conglomerate Match Group is determined to get a stranglehold on the market. And as the industry leaps from computer screens to mobile devices, things are heading into uncharted territory.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Neil Clark Warren is a 63-year-old theologian and clinical psychologist with a vision for a site he’s certain can lead to romantic success. eHarmony will be the first to take on the powerful Match.com. And Warren believes he is on—quite literally—a sacred mission to offer something that Match.com can’t match.eHarmony’s Christian agenda seems to be working, until the God stuff leads to serious disharmony. Dr. Warren doesn’t know it, but he’s headed for a holy war.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1995, and computer dating is in its infancy. Most people think it’s a dark, sleazy world for desperate losers and horny perverts. But that’s all about to change. Pioneer site Match.com paves the way for cyber dating to move toward mainstream culture, but—in an era when few people even use a computer—it’s going to be a serious struggle.And as the dating market blossoms, burgeoning companies will stop at nothing to get the coveted edge, fighting for hip cache, consumer convenience and tech advances. It’s a tough business, but all’s fair in online love and war.   Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today we conclude our Diamond Wars series. These precious stones are known to be undeniably beautiful, rare and a symbol of luxury. But diamonds have also been associated with war, human rights abuses and death. In response, consumers these days are demanding more transparency about where stones are sourced. Some are seeking out less expensive gemstone alternatives or lab-grown diamonds. And even powerhouse companies like De Beers have taken strides to adapt.  To find out more about the future of the diamond industry we’ll hear from Paul Zimnisky, an independent global diamond industry analyst. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the 2000s and the diamond cartel is dead. Now, De Beers must adjust to its new status as the market leader rather than the monopoly. But the threats to its business aren’t going away.  Diamonds are losing their luster with the young, and Zimbabwe’s undermining the industry’s response to conflict diamonds. And most threatening of all, a wave of new start ups are out to disrupt De Beers by growing man-made diamonds. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the late 1990s and rebel armies in Angola, Sierra Leone and Congo are bankrolling campaigns of mass murder and terror with diamonds. Now, after years of turning a blind eye, the diamond-buying public is starting to notice the bloodshed. But as the issue of so-called “blood diamonds” rises up the political agenda, De Beers is plotting what might be the boldest move yet in its long history: giving up its quest to control all the world’s diamonds.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1966 and De Beers is about to abandon its eleven-year search for diamonds in Botswana. But the geologist behind the search is far from ready to pack up his tools.And De Beers isn’t the only one searching for gemstones. Soon, a major diamond find in Australia will leave the diamond monopoly facing a big dilemma: should it seek to control or to destroy this Antipodean threat?Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s the early 1950s and West Africa’s growing number of diamond smugglers is causing headaches for De Beers. Faced with millions of pounds in losses, the diamond monopoly decides it’s time to get tough with the smugglers.But while De Beers battles the illicit diamond traders, in the far east of the Soviet Union a new threat is brewing. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1940, and the world is at war. The Allies and Axis powers are scrambling to lock down supplies of the industrial diamonds needed to mass produce their tanks, planes and submarines.But when the White House demands De Beers hands over a year’s supply of industrial diamonds, it soon learns the cartel is as hard to break as the diamonds it sells. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1914 and De Beers’s monopoly is under threat. Diamonds have been discovered on the desolate coast of the German colony of South West Africa.So it hired an ambitious diamond expert named Ernest Oppenheimer and gave him his orders: head to the beach and assess the threat.But then World War One disrupts De Beers chance to do a deal with the German diamond miners. Now, Oppenheimer sees his chance to scramble to the very top of the diamond industry.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ here Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s 1869 and diamonds have been found in Cape Colony. Now, diamond hunters from across the world are heading to this remote British outpost in southern Africa, seeking a glittering fortune.And among them are two wide-eyed hopefuls: streetwise Barney Barnato, who hails from the London slums, and Cecil Rhodes, a vicar’s son with a head full of imperialist daydreams.When the diamond rush turns to bust, Barnato and Rhodes embark on a quest to conquer the mines. But only one man can win. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.