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Dec 8, 2022
Episode | Date |
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Season 2 Finale & Costco: Kings of Kirkland
57:16
SEASON 2 FINALE!! Thanks for your support this season, we'll be back with Season 3 later this summer!! Don’t forget to rate and review this podcast. Becca and Adam flew close to the sun last week and decided to end the season on a high note. We answer some listener questions and crown our 2023 Corporate Cutie before getting into some feel-good Corporate Gossip. The Costco story (18:45) is straight from a Jack Welch nightmare. Low CEO pay, a modest corporate headquarters, and no private jets?!!! Despite skimping on executive perks, Costco became a retail giant, peaking at #11 on the Fortune 500 list. And they did it without layoffs, downsizing, or offshoring… suck it McKinsey!! This episode has no strip clubs, accounting fraud, or subterfuge… BUT it does have threats of MURDER!! Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list Tiktok: @corporategossippod Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Timestamps: 01:00 - Intro (Confirmation that John Flannery is, in fact, still alive and thriving!! and our close encounter with Andy Cohen and why we’re wrapping season 2 06:00 - Listener Questions 15:00 - Corporate cutie awards 2023 18:45 - Costco: Kings of Kirkland Links: Costco CEO Craig Jelinek Leads the Cheapest, Happiest Company in the World Link to chart with revenue / salary Amazon and Walmart have raked in billions in additional profits during the pandemic, and shared almost none of it with their workers (Brookings institute expose) |
May 12, 2023 |
Enron Rules
01:26:03
Submit a question for us to answer our final episode of the season by sending us an email becca@nitetoast.com!! Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!! This is a true Corporate Gossip Exclusive: The ONLY comparative exploration of Enron and Vanderpump Rules. On a summer day in 2012 in a restaurant garden in Weho, waitress Schena Shay confronts Housewife Brandi Glanville about the rumors of infidelity surrounding Brandi's husband, Eddie Cibrian. Narratively, this scene breaks the seam between the women of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the servers who tend to them. And television's crown jewel is born: Vanderpump Rules. Few know that there was another cosmic seam that ripped at the same moment, and merged two dimensions along thematic parallels: cheating, fraud, topless bars, uppers, women's rights, and women's wrongs. If you're a Vanderpump girlie who wants to get into Enron or an Enron bro who wants to get into Vanderpump - this is ENRON RULES! We explore the Enron collapse by meeting each of the main players and following them throughout the Enron story. We'll start with the villains who commanded the corporate clusterfuck and then meet the heroes who had the guts to defy them. This episode also features our DAD! @Jeffplatsky Take our listener survey! Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list Tiktok: @corporategossippod Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Timestamps / Cast of characters: 6:00 - Introducing our DAD, the original corporate gossiper! 10:00ish - The Enron Scandal as told through the eys of the villains and the heroes: The Villains: Enron CEO Ken Lay aka Tom Schwartz Enron COO / CEO Jeff Skilling aka Jax Taylor Enron CFO Andy Fastow aka Tom Sandoval Bonus Villain! The Analysts aka Ken Todd and Lisa Vanderpump The Heroes: Enron Whistleblower Sherron Watkins aka Kristen Doute Enron Whistleblower Margaret Ceconi aka Lala Kent Fortune Journalist Bethany McLean aka Schena Shay Links: The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron (Book) The Smartest Guys in the Room (Movie) You're Wrong About: Enron (Podcast)
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May 05, 2023 |
Jack Welch & GE: Daddy Issues
01:31:21
A SUPERSIZED EPISODE!! Two pods in one!!! Take our listener survey! Rate and review this podcast! Jack Welch is our collective Corporate Villain origin story. Potentially the most famous American CEO, Welch, like so many of the leaders we cover on this pod, possesses a dangerous combination of ruthlessness and incompetency. Adam and Becca trace his meteoric rise and salacious downfall before passing the reins of turd mountain (GE) to a series of doomed successors. Our apologies in advance to the fine people of Massachusets for our repeated unsuccessful attempts at a Boston accent. P.S. John Flannery if you're reading this right now we love you please come on the pod <3333 Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list Tiktok: @corporategossippod Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Links: How Jack Welch’s Reign at G.E. Gave Us Elon Musk’s Twitter Feed Was Jack Welch the Greatest C.E.O. of His Day—or the Worst? Jack Welch: Managerial Genius Who Made One Disastrous Mistake Harvard Editor Faces Revolt Over Handling of Welch Story Pic of Welch and Suzy making out Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt on his controversial legacy: ‘I don’t want to hide’ GE Cuts Larry Culp’s 2022 Pay After Shareholder Protest Corrections:
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Apr 28, 2023 |
Subway: Never go against the fahmily
01:00:45
Take our listener survey! If Theresa Giudice opened a mediocre fast casual sandwich shop it would look like Subway restaurants. Founded in part by a 17 year old from the Bronx named Fred Deluca, Subway would become the world’s largest fast-food chain. But while Deluca's family was raking in that sweet meatball money, their franchisees were in honey ham hell. Once the sandwich king, Subway now faces serious lawsuits and FTC investigations amid dwindling sales. How did this chain, known for its "definitely 100% real, seriously guys I promise it really is tuna" sandwiches tumble to the bottom of the food chain? Find out on this episode of Corporate Gossip! Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list Tiktok: @nitetoast Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Timestamps: 1:50 - Fred Deluca opens the first Subway with $1,000 and a bag of tuna and quickly realizes that making franchise royalties is wayyyyy easier than making a hot italian sandwhich. 5:15 - Deluca is Tiny Time vibes with a Scrooge personality. 7:40 - The most haunted calendar of all time is created by Deluca and his colleagues. They literally take pictures of themselves shirtless around the office. Deluca is Mr. January. 12:30 - Subway becomes the LuLaRoe of fast food restaurants. 16:00 - Wokeup this mornin' and I got myself a sub.... Subway's hitmen set their targets on francisees. 22:30 - J*red F*gle, I don't think I need to say anymore. 26:00 - After his death, Deluca gives his estranged wife the ultimate anniversary present... half of a dying sandwhich company! 31:50 - Subway's requirement for a new CEO? Sharing the majority of the founder's DNA. 37:00 - You know what they say about mixing business with family? It literally always works every time! You should def do it! 40:00 - Subway spends millions of dollars on a rebrand and a ton of celebrity influencers but their sandwhiches still suck. 44:20 - Subway's future looks as grey as their tuna. 45:45 - Find out what fast food restaurant you are based on your zodiac sign. Links: SubCon 2023! (Subway Convention) Subway does franchisee damage control after John Oliver segment: memos Subway Got Too Big. Franchisees Paid a Price New Subway sandwich menu items taste just as vile as the old ones |
Apr 14, 2023 |
Fixing Capitalism in 60 Minutes or Less or Your Money Back with Nathan Macintosh
56:47
Take our listener survey! This episode is Not Safe For Work / Your Harvard MBA class Professional Canadian... sorry, Professional COMEDIAN, Nathan Macintosh joins Becca to fix capitalism. It's so easy it literally took us less than an hour guys. We discuss a few interesting proposals to address capitalism's systemic problems, AND plan the first EVER Corporate Gossip Cruise / Davos for the rest of us. Support the pod by buying us a coffee Check out our reading list Tiktok: @nitetoast Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Timestamps: 10:00 You Better Work Betch: Full employment guarantee 20:00 Go back in time and destroy Reagan! 31:00 YOU can get a house without waiting for your parents to unalive 42:00 A cult classic: The Four Day Work Week! Links: Nathan Macintosh: Money Never Wakes National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (Aka the Works Progress Administration) The Accountable Capitalism Act of 2018 Investment Firms Aren’t Buying All the Houses. But They Are Buying the Most Important Ones |
Apr 07, 2023 |
Are you there Herb? It's me, Southwest
01:02:16
Take our listener survey! Join Becca and Adam on a journey that starts in in a smoky Texas hotel lobby in 1967. We'll pass trough a decomposing sportatorium off the Dallas freeway in 1992 and end at a contentious company sponsored JoJo concert in 2022. Once a shining star in the skies over the Texas Plains, Southwest experienced a slow and then sudden descent after the departure of it's distinctive founder. Executive would try to repair the damage, but for many it was "Too Little, Too Late." Support the pod by buying us a coffee Tiktok: @nitetoast Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Links: Southwest Airlines Engine Explodes in Flight, Killing a Passenger Column: The guilty parties evading blame for the Southwest meltdown are its board members |
Mar 31, 2023 |
SVB: Silly Con Valley Boss Bois
54:01
Take our listener survey! It's a bank run, dummies! The SVB collapse is true corporate gossip catnip, and we couldn't resist bringing you this ~very special~ episode about the biggest corporate shitshow of the year (so far). Aaron Cohn, business professor and scorned ex-lover of venture capital, joins Becca to recap the bank's meltdown and subsiquent VC temper tantrum. Aaron is fresh off the plane from SXSW and ready to spill all the tea on venture capital. It's a little bit cringe, a little bit spooky, but mostly a good reminder to never trust a billionare and that NOTHING MATTERS ANYMORE :) Support the pod by buying us a coffee Tiktok: @nitetoast Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Links: The Incredible Tantrum Venture Capitalists Threw Over Silicon Valley Bank |
Mar 24, 2023 |
Boeing Blows It
01:02:38
Take our listener survey! Boeing is the quintessential american company. For decades it was the destination of choice for America's brightest minds in engineering. Pilots revered the institution, "if it aint Boeing, I'm not going," they'd often say. But by the turn of the century, Boeing's engineering supremacy was replaced with a relentless devotion to shareholder value. Passengers... you can kick rocks! Boeing execs have got a company to plunder in the name of shareholder value maximization!!! Support the pod by buying us a coffee Tiktok: @nitetoast Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Timestamps: 9:30 The airline deregulation act: L or W? Becca’s take will SHOCK you! 16:30 Boeing catches shareholder value maximiziation-itis and Boeing fish starts to rot from the nose down 20:00 Boeing execs are giving big Dr. Evil energy 27:00 Capitalism Kills - the Boeing 737 Max Crashes 30:00 Boeing: “Shareholders are my main chick and the flying public is my sidepiece” 35:30 The FAA & Boeing are like the Abby Lee Dance Company and the Candy Apple Dancers 33:00 The aftermath of the Boeing 737 Max crashes Spoiler alert - Boeing leadership = Dickless losers and a rare Ted Cruz W 49:30 If life couldn’t get worse for the plane crash victims… here comes Tom Girrardi and all the other vultures 54:30 Latest updates on Boeing
Links: Read Flying Blind: The 737 Max Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing Report on Boeing 787 Dreamliner Battery Flaws Finds Lapses at Multiple Points Final report on Boeing 737 MAX crash sparks dispute over pilot error Boeing Reaches $200 Million Settlement With Regulators Over Its 737 Max Families of Boeing Crash Victims Can Challenge U.S. Settlement, Judge Rules Whistle-blower settles case (Gary Eastman) House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure members The Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation members
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Mar 17, 2023 |
Season 2 Trailer!
01:45
We're brewing up some hot Corporate Tea for you... Season TWO of the Corproate Gossip Podcast is coming March 2023! Here's a sneak peak of upcomming episodes: Boeing, Southwest, Subway, Blackberry, McKinsey, HBO, Cesars, VW, Costco, Chobani and MORE! Have thoughts on those companies? Have an idea for an episode? Send an email to becca@nitetoast.com THANK YOU for listening, rating, reviewing, and gossiping with us! Follow us on Tiktok: @nitetoast |
Jan 16, 2023 |
Ozy Media: Corporate Catfish
56:44
Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!! Carlos Watson has it all: an Ivy League pedigree, an electric personality, and a media empire called “Ozy.” There’s only one problem… Watson is a prolific bullshit artist. When he and his co-founder are caught catfishing Goldman Sachs executives, his empire begins to crumble and his throne of lies is exposed. The Ozy story is truly wild and includes feuds with Sharon Osbourne, a Fyre Fest knockoff, and millennial-era side bangs! Tiktok: @nitetoast
Timestamps: 03:33 - Ozy Media background and Becca’s side bang regret 10:15 - Ozy becomes the most popular website of all time!! More readers than the Bible!!! 15:40 - Carlos Watson’s catfish practice with A&E 24:15 - The Ozy Media Fyre Fest that almost was 31:25 - Don’t F* with Sharon Osbourne 33:54 - Carlos Watson: World’s Best Boss 38:00 - Carlos & Samir catfish Goldman Sachs & the Ozy downfall 44:35 - Ozy 2.0: The Return of the Carlosfish 50:50 - Takeaways Links: Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong Ozy Built a TV Show on a False Claim, Says Its Former Producer 18-hour days and panic attacks: Former Ozy staffers allege an abusive environment
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Dec 30, 2022 |
Under Armour: Business Bros
56:03
Don't forget to rate and review this podcast!! Under Armour is what happens when a group of perpetually rowdy frat bros is at the helm of a multi-billion dollar company. Starting with a single sewing machine in his grandma's basement, Ken Plank grew the UA brand to market dominance over two decades, and then oversaw its demise over two years. This story has it all: A+ list athletes, strip club scandals, Twitter PR disasters, adulterous adventures on a private jet, and Becca's favorite: light accounting fraud! Tiktok: @nitetoast Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese @bigmanmike Vignette written by: Becky Nanns Beckysaysitall.com Timestamps: 06:16 - Kevin Plank creates the first moisture-wicking athletic T-shirt and founds Under Armour from his Grandma's basement. The company, with the help of lucrative movie cameos and athletic partnerships, is valued at $157m by 2005 and grows to $17B 10 years later. 15:34 - Under Armour produces a series of uggo shoes that are blasted on Twitter. 20:02 - As Plank becomes increasingly distracted with his side hustles, UA sales slump. The UA team employ a series of questionable accounting practices to hide the truth, and their actions result in a $9m class-action shareholder lawsuit. 27:00 - HR revokes one of the c-suite's favorite perks: free strip clubs. After that, it's one buzzkill after another for UA executives. 35:00 - Turns out the culture at the top of Under Armour wasn't exactly... conducive to not being a huge dirtbag. 43:15 - Has your boss ever brought his paramour - sorry - "strategic advisor" to a business meeting? If so, you might be working for Ken Plank!! 49:00 - Where does UA stand today? Links: Steph Curry's new Under Armour sneakers lit Twitter on fire with Dad jokes, memes Under Pressure at Under Armour, CEO Says His Eye Is on the Ball Under Armour’s #MeToo Moment: No More Strip Clubs on Company Dime
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Dec 16, 2022 |
Disney Drama Kings (Part 2)
23:39
Hi, Hi, Hiya! The Disney Drama continues as Michael Eisner hires his Hollywood buddy, super-agent Michel Ovitz, as president of the company. 434 days later he's fired and a contentious lawsuit brings the executive suite to court where Eisner alleges that Ovitz was acting like a jerk at his Mom's funeral (seriously... you can't make this stuff up). We then meet up with Bob Iger in 2022 as he's relentlessly trash talking Bob Chapeck over lunches in LA. Ultimately, a fairy grants him his wish and he's returned to the throne at Disney HQ. Will King Bob I be the hero Disney needs? Find out on this episode of Corporate Gossip! P.S. We make a lot of Heavyweights references in this episode. You can watch it on most streaming platforms. Tiktok: @nitetoast Website: corporategossippod.com Hosts: Becca Platsky (Becca@nitetoast.com) Adam Platsky (Adam@nitetoast.com) Produced by: Michael Albanese Timestamps: 01:13 Michael Ovitz, hollywood honcho, becomes president of Walt Disney for 434 days 06:40 Bob Iger (aka Tony Perkis) takes over summer camp. Attention campers. Lunch has been canceled due to lack of hustle. Deal with it. 11:45 Bob Iger hastily departs Disney seconds before Covid hits the states and puts Bob Chapek at the helm for less than two years. After trash talking his successor for months, Bob Iger returns! Time to wake up, campers! Today is evaluation day. The key word here is 'value.' Do you have any? Not yet! But before summer's over, this camp's gonna be filled with skinny winners! 15:00 What's next for Iger & Disney. If the main players in this story were characters in Heavyweights, who would they be? Links: Ovitz and Eisner: A Kids’ Story Disney’s Robert Iger Loomed Over Bob Chapek After Ceding CEO Role, Creating Tensions The Ride Of A Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Bob Iger Remember to Rate and Review this podcast! |
Dec 09, 2022 |
Disney Drama Kings (Part 1)
46:57
The drama in the C-suite at Disney's HQ in Burbank makes the Real Housewives of Orange County look like an episode of Mickey Mouse's clubhouse. Each CEO transition is messier than the next as these execs wrestle for the top spot in Cinderella's castle. This is part 1 of a 2 part episode. Timestamps: 03:47 Bob Chapeks sudden and surprise departure in November of 2022 08:40 Bob Igers complicated and codepedent relationship with Disney 17:00 Disney's price hikes makes vacation for the average family out of reach 22:05 Abigail Disney debuts a scathing documentary on Disney's employee experience 32:13 3 grown men getting in a fight for the top role at Disney that will ultimately cost the company half a billion dollars 37:00 Disney’s epically bad theme park that almost was Links discussed: ‘Prison food’: Disney fans slam skimpy, overpriced, ‘disgusting’ grub at theme parks Abigail Disney turns critical lens on her family's company in new doc Ovitz and Eisner: A Kids’ Story A Deep Dive Into the Bloody Battle for 'Disney’s America', the Theme Park That Never Was Images from Bob Iger's book, The Ride of a Lifetime Send us a message becca@nitetoast.com Rate and review this podcast wherever you listen! |
Dec 02, 2022 |
Bed Bath & Broke
49:00
No it’s not an episode of succession, but it feels like one. This story has billionaires, nepotism, betrayal, criminal accusations, and COUPONS! For links to all of the articles we discuss here check out corporategossippod.com Follows us on tiktok @nitetoast Timestamps: 01:00 - Background 04:12 - BBBY CEO Steve Tamaras stupidly overpaid 08:00 - Activist investors kick out the CEO 14:15 - Nepotism!! 19:50 - Activist investors kick out ANOTHER CEO 26:50 - BBBY as a meme stock and r/wallstreetbets 40:50 - SEC investigations, death of BBBY CFO 44:50 - Takeaways Thank you for listening!! Please send me an email becca@nitetoast.com |
Nov 04, 2022 |
Peloton: Riding off a cliff (Part 2)
28:54
Activist investors take a stake in Peloton and dunk on John Foley via powerpoint deck as loyal riders hang up their shoes and get back outside. Follow us on tiktok @nitetoast |
Oct 21, 2022 |
Peloton: Riding off a cliff (Part 1)
42:37
Has Peloton spun off the track? How did this coveted brand crash and burn? And why didn't founder John Foley hit the breaks? In this two part episode, we follow the rise of this pandemic-era darling and identify how the wheels started to wobble. Follow us on tiktok @nitetoast |
Oct 21, 2022 |