Show Notes
When entrepreneur Henry J. Heinz went bankrupt after his first venture, he nearly lost it allâhis farmland, his parents' home, and his own reputation. But then, he launched a stunning comeback that changed everything about the meaning of the name âHeinz.â This Master of Tomatoes built a condiment empire on super fresh produce and, by pioneering food safety standards decades before regulations existed. (Hint: it involved unleashing a team called the Poison Squad⌠and no, that name isnât metaphorical.) Heinz battled exploding bottles and cheaper competitors to build a $35B empire that endures today. Learn why Heinz is in 97% of American homes, the strange origins of that number 57, and what Teddy Roosevelt had to do with America's favorite tomato topping. Here's why Heinz Ketchup is the best idea yet. Be the first to know about Wonderyâs newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter Follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting www.wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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When Johnny Carson, 1970s late-night king, declared he wanted another day off, it left NBC with a hole in their weekend lineup. 11:30pm Saturday night wasnât exactly the hot time slot⌠so the network recruited a quiet Canadian comedy writer named Lorne Michaels to produce a live variety show on the cheap. NBC figured, this thing might not get ratings, but it should be affordable and easy to produce. What could go wrong? Turns out, a LOT. Cost overruns. Clashing egos. A studio that hadnât been used since the 50s. And yeah, some drugs along the way. The show that eventually became Saturday Night Live has actually never been cheap OR easy to make. But it also made TV history. SNL is kingmaker, cash cow, and comedy accelerator program. (Without SNL, thereâs no Shrek, no Mean Girls, and definitely no 30 Rock.) Find out how this 50+ year old network program became an unofficial cofounder of Youtube; why Lorne defines success as a Snickers bar, and why Saturday Night Live is the best idea yet. Be the first to know about Wonderyâs newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter Follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting www.wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/ now.
In postwar Tokyo, two engineers were tinkering with rice cookers and busted home radios when they stumbled across a new kind of audio technology: magnetic tape. It inspired them to create a range of ahead-of-their-time tape recorders â and the success took Sony from small repair shop to global electronics powerhouse. Then, in 1979, after decades of bringing cutting-edge tech to homes across the world, they released their most surprising hit: a little cassette player you could clip to your belt. Their invention made music portable and personal. For the first time, you could jog along to Bon Jovi, ride the bus with Blondie, and moonwalk to work with Michael Jackson. It turned headphones into a fashion statement, launched the mixtape era, and kicked off a global obsession with portable tech â paving the way for the iPod and the iPhone. So slip in your party mixtape and press play as we take a moonshot with Barbra Streisand (seriously), unpack how Sony couldâve (shouldâve?) won the digital music wars, find out why Steve Jobs smashed his Walkman to pieces, and why the Sony Walkman is the best idea yet.
When Jane Birkin's boyfriend ran over her beloved wicker basket, she was stuck lugging a messy tote onto a flight to London. As her Hermès planner exploded across the first-class cabin, her mortified seatmate suggested she needed a bag with pockets. ""Hermès doesn't make one with pockets,"" Jane sighed. He replied: ""But I am Hermès."" Jean-Louis Dumas, head of the luxury empire, watched Jane sketch her dream bag on an airplane vomit bag. Three years later, the first-ever Birkin arrived as a gift⌠kicking off what would become the most expensive, hard-to-get handbag design in the world. But this hand-stitched masterpiece wasnât always the ultimate status symbol. The Birkin didnât fit in the logo-obsessed 1980s, and didnât truly pop off until it landed a starring role on Sex and the City. Today, Birkins start at $12,000 with impossible waitlists, while the rarest sell for $450,000âmore than some housesâand have spawned multi-million-dollar counterfeit rings. Discover how Hermès weaponized scarcity to invent the Holy Grail of handbags; how a luxury product can outperform the stock market; and why the Birkin Bag is the best idea yet. Be the first to know about Wonderyâs newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter Follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting www.wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/ now.
In the spring of 1903, the NYC subway wasnât yet open⌠the Wright Brothers hadnât yet taken their epic flight⌠and the New York Yankees were not yet the Yankees. They were the Highlanders: a group of unremarkable transplants from Baltimore, their future not guaranteed. But through determinationâand some old-style political maneuveringâ the Highlanders clung on as the Big Appleâs third-best baseball team. Then, with a single trade, the fate of the Yanks and Major League Baseball changed forever: the Red Sox dealt Babe Ruth to New York. The Babe helped elevate the Yanks from worst to first, putting them on a path to win 27 World Series rings and becoming the winningest team in American pro sports. But along the way, a big-mouthed big spender named George Steinbrenner remade the Yankees in the free agency era⌠and happened to transform the way we broadcast sports in the process. Start spreading the news⌠hereâs why the New York Yankees is the best idea yet. Be the first to know about Wonderyâs newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter Follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting www.wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/ now.