Corporate Gossip

Larry Ellison has been weirdly lurking in the background for decades, but then he turned 80 and decided that being the second richest man in the world wasn't enough, he also needed attention! Becca and Robby psychoanalyze baby Larry, visit his failed NOBU lettuce farm in Hawaii, and fall into the family's shiny new money pit. We think this could have all been avoided if Larry never discovered samurai swords... TW: mention of suicide, death Welcome to the NEW CO-HOST OF CORPORATE GOSSIP Robby Slowik Thanks to our sponsor Orange Marketing Watch on YouTube Advertise with us Pictures from today's episode For bonus episodes, ad-free main-feed, and book club join us on Patreon Streaming alternatives Cut off the Spigot Timestamps: (00:00) Introducing ROBBY! (05:00) The myth of Oracle & Larry Ellison (20:00) I actually think I can fix Larry Ellison! (30:00) Hi, My name is Larry Ellison, I invented colonization and it's actually not that bad (44:00) Larry's shiny new money pit (Paramount WBD) Links: Larry Ellison's Half-Billion-Dollar Quest to Change Farming Has Been a Bust Oracle CEO Larry Ellison Is Stepping Down to Spend More Time With His Yachts Still No. 1, and Doing What He Wants Larry Ellison Is More Interesting Than Ever at 81 The Son King of Hollywood Everyone Else Must Fail

To hear the full episode, join the Corporate Gossip Patreon and get TWO bonus epiosdes every month! If you want even more Corporate Gossip in your life join at the Murdoch's Mates level for access to the group chat and the quarterly book club! Brett Ratner's Indecent proposal: $40 million for 20 days with your wife! Robby Slowik joins the Corporate Gossip Podcast for this certified hogleg (official announcement coming next week!). We discuss all the drama surrounding the $75m bribery payment from Jeff Bezos to the Trump family in the form of a 105-minute piece of trollaganda. Yes, we unfortunately both watched the movie! TW: SA Links: Melania: The Movie. The Bribe. The Shame. How the Trumps Turned an Election Victory Into a Cash Bonanza Bezos Cornered by Own Reporters on $75M 'Melania' Deal How once-exiled filmmaker Brett Ratner staged a Hollywood comeback with 'Melania' Rush Hour 4 Will Shoot in Saudi Arabia Trump's Save America PAC, which raises money to push election fraud claims, paid $60,000 to Melania's stylist Steven Mnuchin's wife's inexplicable movie trailer

An earlier version of this episode was uploaded with only the good news segment - please refresh if you suspect you have the older version. Apologies!!!! Stop your protesting! Stop your organizing! The only thing we need is 🤑 MANIFESTATION 💸 It's time to talk about the Pyramidschemification of America. This episode has so many fun characters: 17th century Puritans, Tammy Faye Baker, Amanda Frances, an MLM hun on a regional jet somewhere over Sandusky, Ohio, and Elizabeth Holmes??? Thanks to our sponsor Orange Marketing Watch on YouTube Advertise with us For bonus episodes and book club join us on Patreon Timestamps: 10:30 - The Puritanical roots of Mulitilevel Marking 21:00 - Stop organizing! Start manifesting! 30:00 - Turns out, Regan pyramidschemified America 35:00 - Betsy Devos putting in 40 hours at the Stupid Idea Factory Links: Little Bosses Everywhere 2023 FTC report on MLMs The Unkillable Appeal of Multilevel Marketing They Spent Their Life Savings on Life Coaching The 'Exciting Business Opportunity' That Ruined Our Lives The Miseducation of Betsy DeVos These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department. DeVos held in contempt for violating judge's order on student loans DeVos-Linked Adoption Agency Exposed Highly Sensitive Children's Medical Data Blackwater Guards Found Guilty in 2007 Iraq Killings Email our good news correspondant with tips: [email protected] Good News: Media, the nation's first Fair Trade Town, marks 20 years supporting farmers in the developing world Learn more about Fair Trade Certification

Please rate and review this podcast!! For bonus episodes and book club join us on Patreon Advertise with us We're willing to bet that there's a 92% chance that Prediction Markets are a pyramid scheme! Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are EVERYWHERE. Are the the future of democracy powered by collective wisdom? OR just another product of the 30 under 30 grift factory? Thanks to our sponsor Orange Marketing You should hire Jennifer Tisdale! Pictures Watch on YouTube Timestamps: 00:00 - An orgy at a SF Area tech convention?? WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED!!! 11:30 - BREAKING NEWS: A group of isolated white 20 something men with a high risk appetite have it all figured out! 21:00 - It's not called insider trading, it's called "having an edge" 35:00 - Do you like my new app? I designed it on the toilet 53:00 - Good News: Meta on trial Links: Resources for problem gambling The Wager That Betting Can Change the World The CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket Are Betting On the Most Hated Experiment in Business They quit their day jobs to bet on current events. A look inside the prediction market mania Polymarket shouldn't allow people to profit by betting on the L.A. firestorm On Polymarket, 'privileged' users made millions betting on war strikes and diplomatic strategy. What did they know beforehand? America's financial markets are ready for a golden age Email our good news correspondant with tips: [email protected] Good News: Social media companies face legal reckoning over mental health harms to children

Palantir - a new custom hellscape or same sh*t different toilet? Has Silicon Valley gone completely red-pilled or was technofacism in the valley's DNA all along? Adam and Becca trace the cookie crumbs from a pioneering mid-century nobel prize winning white supremacist to the post-9/11 origins of Palantir and ultimately meet CEO Alex Karp. Lately, he's been hitting the eject button on his own brain and twisting himself into pretzels both physically and metaphorically to justify his belief that he personally should be rich and successful! Toronto Copy Editing (Use code OLD-F for 10% off!) Join us on Patreon Watch on YouTube Pictures on Substack Advertise on the Corporate Gossip Podcast Submit a good news story by email to our good news correspondent [email protected] Links: Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump's Arms How a racist genius created Silicon Valley by being a terrible boss Headed for technofascism': the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley Unlocking Secrets, if Not Its Own Value Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans 'ELITE': The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid Palantir CEO Alex Karp Recorded a Video About ICE for His Employees Alex Karp Goes to War CEO of Palantir Says He Spends a Large Amount of Time Talking to Nazis. Tech Workers Coalition Central Ohio businesses form mutual aid network to help families impacted by ICE Minnesota Mutual Aid Fund Instagram of Columbus Mutual Aid Fund: @corazonhilado Immigration and Mutual Aid Resources

We'll be back with season 7 on February 13th! This Patreon episode is free for all (no paywall) in solidarity with the National Strike on January 31st. If you like what you hear, please consider joining us on Patreon. It seems that for every person energized to activism this year, there's another three ready to shit on their efforts (it's not organized enough! it's not widespread enough! You'll never make a difference!). They're wrong. We're going to prove it by getting on our mumus and night caps and becoming the ghosts of general strikes past. We take you with us to the Minneapolis General Strike of 1934 (05:50), the Bahamas General Strike of 1958 (16:00), and the NYC Hard Hat Riot of 1970 (27:30). Three events that are essential to understanding where we are today. Hopefully when we deposit you back to the present, you feel jacked up on history and ready to rip in 2026. Then, we'll wash it all down with an investigation into Larry Ellison and the biggest AI deal of 2025 (37:00). Was it a shrewd business move? Or a foolish plot by an old man desperate to conquer his inner demons before he croaks? Links: Watch on YouTube Advertise on the Corporate Gossip Podcast Pictures from the episode Join me in Albany on Feb 25 Q1 Book Club: Little Bosses Everywhere Minneapolis: Labor then and now: 90 years after the Minneapolis Teamsters' strikes Minneapolis Teamsters Strike Documentary Part 1 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike Documentary Part 2 The Citizens Alliance of Minneapolis Bahamas: 60th Anniversary of The General Strike: 19 Days That Changed The Bahamas The 1958 General Strike and the Making of the Modern Bahamas – Bahama Pundit The Bahamas: Bad News for the Boys Hard Hat Riots: The riot that started the culture wars Watch Hard Hat Riot | American Experience - PBS The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich Larry Ellison: TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes TikTok users say they are being censored after change to U.S. ownership Oracle, OpenAI Sign $300 Billion Cloud Deal Larry Ellison Is More Interesting Than Ever at 81 The Billionaire, His Mystery Wife and College Football's Wildest Recruiting Saga Big Tech tax breaks could've funded benefits for millions, Senator Warren finds

Thank you for listening to another season of the podcast! We'll be back in February with new episodes. Got suggestions / thoughts / feedback? Email [email protected] For bonus episodes, book club, and the aftershow, join us on Patreon Advertise with us Watch on YouTube Trigger warning: suicide, drug use, overdose Tony Hsieh had a life other entrepreneurs dreamed of. He was the wealthy CEO of a wildly successful ecommerce company with a legion of devoted customers and employees, currently on a bus tour to spread the gospel of his unique management style. But under the surface, cracks were starting to show, and Tony was falling into a severe drug and alcohol addiction. Years after his death that bus tour was a clear turning point in Tony's story, but for those around him at the time, it was just Tony being Tony. They had no clue how much darker things could get. See pictures from today's episode on Substack Thank you to our episode sponsors: New York Interventionist Goodword Email our good news correspondant with tips: [email protected] Timestamps: 2:00 - Intro / show notes 6:00 - Zappos / Tony Hshei story 1:20:00 - Good News & Adam breaks a chair Links: Wonderboy (Book) Internal Memo: Zappos is offering severance to employees who aren't all in with Holacracy How Tony Hsieh Tried to Single-Handedly Transform Downtown Las Vegas The Rise and Fall of the Management Visionary Behind Zappos The Death of Zappos's Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior Amazon Changes at Zappos Slowly Dismantle Tony Hsieh's Legacy 'Money's a powerful motivator,' Friends, documents detail Las Vegas entrepreneur Tony Hsieh's final months alive Spinato's Employees Get a "Slice of the Pie" as Spinato Family Transitions 49% of Company Ownership to Eligible Employees Iconic Cincinnati company Graeter's to become partially employee-owned

This is an updated and unlocked version of an episode that was earlier published exclusively on Patreon. Join now and enjoy FOUR extra episodes a month for as little as $5! Ty Haney is back at Outdoor voices, the cult athleisure brand she founded. Can she successfully suck us all into her time machine back to 2014? Or will this company's death rattle be loud enough to convince the brand's private equity investors to put OV out of its misery. Today, Adam and Becca try to figure out how the once beloved brand got so weird and shitty and how Ty Haney fell off the top of the Abby Lee Miller girl boss pyramid. All pics can be found on Substack Watch on Youtube Email our good news correspondant with tips: [email protected] Advertise on the Corporate Gossip Podcast Links: Outdoor Voices Became A Staple For Millennial Cool Girls Thanks To Its Chill Aesthetic. Employees Say They Were Drowning. Outdoor Voices Founder Ty Haney Has Moved On. Mostly. Three years after her dramatic exit as CEO, she still has some things she'd like to say. How Outdoor Voices, a Start-Up Darling, Imploded Ty Haney is Elon Musk's Reply Guy Outdoor Voices founder Ty Haney accused of defrauding investors in $3M energy drink deal

The demon living inside Les Wexner's head brings us into the Victoria's Secret gremlin lair! Adam and Becca go back to the early 2000s to tell the story of the rise and fall of this retail behemoth and the corporate crooks who drove it into the ground. CW: Sexual Assault, Suicide Join us on Patreon for bonus episodes and the aftershow Pics from this episode on Substack Watch on YouTube Thanks to our sponsor, Manager Method. Use code GOSSIP for 10% off! Visit the Pullman National Historical Park Email our good news correspondant with tips: [email protected] Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro & Ed Razek's creep club 16:30 - The toxic culture inside Victoria's Secret 25:00 - Les Wexner's childhood & mommy issues 42:00 - Jack Fucking Welch shows up!!! The fall of Victoria's Secret Links: Selling Sexy: Victoria's Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon 'Angels' in Hell: The Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria's Secret The Mogul and the Monster: Inside Jeffrey Epstein's Decades-Long Relationship With His Biggest Client

Listen to the full episode on Patreon. Join today at the Murdoch's Mates level and get FOUR bonus epiosdes every month plus the Corporate Gossip Book Club and group chat! On a chilly October night, I like to cuddle up with a good ponzi scheme. It's my comfort fraud Links: 'Do You Believe I'm a Scam? Haha' Tai Lopez became YouTube famous promising men they too could own a Lamborghini. Then came the alleged Ponzi scheme. Tai Lopez's RadioShack Ponzi Scheme Read the SEC complaint This Clown Is Still Around its always the guy you suspect the most

Please Rate and Review this Podcast!! CW: Suicide, Sexual Assault Join the Patreon for the aftershow and tons of bonus content No game developer would even think to create a dungeon troll as sinister as Bobby Kotick. Bobby's life is a video game where gobbling up cash is the mission and when it comes to retribution there is no side quest too small! When the WSJ drops a bombshell report about years of sexual harassment and toxic culture at Activsion Blizard, will Bobby Kotick finally run out of lives? Or will he respawn in the form of a trash goblin who gets bonus points for punching down? Thanks to our sponsor Borough House Creative Advertise on the Corporate Gossip Podcast Watch on YouTube Time Stamps: 00:00 - Background on Activision Blizzard 09:30 - Bobby Kotick meets Daddy Wynnbucks and becomes an adopted nepo baby, starts game publisher Activision and develops expert level skill in suing people less rich than him 29:30 - Blizzard origin story, early reports of sexual harassment 51:00 - Activision Blizzard merger, Bobby Kotick turns the company into the Triangle Shirtwaist factory while board members look the other way 56:00 - Bobby Kotick completes the CEO right of passage - bending over for the CCP! 60:00 - The lights come on and everyone realizes Bobby Kotick is a little dungeon troll Note: Activision Blizzard denied any wrongdoing, and the settlement confirms California Civil Rights Department (CRD) could not substantiate those claims. As part of the settlement, the CRD withdrew the claims related to harassment from its complaint. Links: Play Nice (book) 'Scorched earth' and big profits: How embattled gaming titan Bobby Kotick outlasts his opponents At Blizzard, groping, free-flowing booze and fear of retaliation tainted 'magical' workplace Blizzard Sets Off Backlash for Penalizing Hearthstone Gamer in Hong Kong Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Knew for Years About Sexual-Misconduct Allegations at Videogame Giant A group of Activision workers say their C.E.O. should step down. Parents Say Sexual Harassment at Activision Blizzard Led to Their Daughter's Suicide

Listen to the full episode on Patreon. Join today at the Murdoch's Mates level and get FOUR bonus epiosdes every month plus the Corporate Gossip Book Club and group chat! In this episode: Brian Niccol TRIES HIS HARDEST to get us to like Starbucks again as he tries to escape the living ghost of Howard Shultz. I also went to the Charlie Javice Sentencing yesterday - my report starts at 48:15. 7 YEARS!!! I was shocked - I was certain she'd be sentenced to no more than 5. Links: Starbucks is closing more stores and laying off 900 workers Starbucks CEO's turnaround isn't happening fast enough for Wall Street Howard Schultz says he is a big fan of Brian Niccol's 'brilliant' Starbucks revival strategy Starbucks enters the protein wars with test of new drink option Starbucks to use AI to track inventory, free up baristas to connect Starbucks seeks to slash million-dollar store upgrade costs Write to Starbucks Corporate: https://customerservice.starbucks.com/sbux Starbucks Customer Contact Center: 1 (800) 782-7282 Charlie Javice Sentenced to 85 Months in Prison for Fraud