Spectacular Failures

American Public Media

Corporate crookedness. Family feuding. Hilariously half-baked decisions. Host Lauren Ober tackles some of the most spectacular business failures of all time, and what could have been done to avoid them. Some of these stories are shocking. Some are funny. Some are just downright sad. But each one will give you a totally new perspective on big business... and big failure. From American Public Media.

#12 in the Top 100 management All time chart

...more

21 Listeners

1 Comment

All episodes

Best episodes

Seasons

Top 10 Spectacular Failures Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Spectacular Failures episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Spectacular Failures for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Spectacular Failures episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Toys R Us goes bust

Spectacular Failures

08/12/19 • 36 min

No amount of nostalgia could save Toys R Us from the private equity firms that owned it.

You can follow Spectacular Failures on Twitter and Facebook using @failureshow. We're @failure_show on Instagram. Follow Lauren Ober on Twitter and Instagram at @oberandout.

Spectacular Failures is powered by you. Support the show with a donation at spectacularfailures.org/donate.

12 Listeners

6 Comments

Sqirl finds itself in a jam

Spectacular Failures

10/05/20 • 37 min

The Los Angeles restaurant Sqirl had lines down the block for brunches that featured its famous house-made jams on toast. But then a photo of discarded mold scraped from the jam, snapped by someone in the Sqirl kitchen, blew up the internet...and led to a reputation crisis Sqirl is still dealing with.

Our sponsors this week:

Bombas - Bombas.com/spectacular

Ourcrowd - Ourcrowd.com/spectacular

Sign up to receive our brand new newsletter, featuring weekly recommendations from Lauren and the rest of the team at spectacularfailures.org/newsletter.
Read the transcript of the episode at spectacularfailures.org.
You can follow Spectacular Failures on Twitter at @failureshow and like us at Facebook.com/failureshow. We're @failure_show on Instagram. Follow Lauren Ober on Twitter and Instagram at @oberandout.

6 Listeners

NYC Taxi Medallions' steep fare

Spectacular Failures

09/28/20 • 37 min

Even before Uber and Lyft pulled into town, NYC yellow cabs were having a rough ride. Reckless lending practices and inflated taxi medallion prices racked up profits for the city and debt for drivers. Then, the bubble did what bubbles do.

Our sponsors this week:

Policy Genius - policygenius.com

Betterhelp - betterhelp.com/spectacular

4 Listeners

Kodak misses its moment

Spectacular Failures

07/15/19 • 32 min

The world's largest photography company pioneers the snapshot, invents the digital camera and... declares bankruptcy.

You can follow Spectacular Failures on Twitter and Facebook using @failureshow. We're @failure_show on Instagram. Follow Lauren Ober on Twitter and Instagram at @oberandout.

Spectacular Failures is powered by you. Support the show with a donation at spectacularfailures.org/donate.

3 Listeners

Trump's big gamble on Atlantic City

Spectacular Failures

08/19/19 • 41 min

By the time the final dice were thrown, Trump's Atlantic City casino operations had gone bankrupt six times. Despite that, Trump won the long game.

You can follow Spectacular Failures on Twitter and Facebook using @failureshow. We're @failure_show on Instagram. Follow Lauren Ober on Twitter and Instagram at @oberandout.

Spectacular Failures is powered by you. Support the show with a donation at spectacularfailures.org/donate.

3 Listeners

Lincoln Savings loses it all

Spectacular Failures

08/05/19 • 37 min

Charles Keating robbed working people of their life savings and cost taxpayers billions of dollars. All under the watch of powerful politicians.

You can follow Spectacular Failures on Twitter and Facebook using @failureshow. We're @failure_show on Instagram. Follow Lauren Ober on Twitter and Instagram at @oberandout.

Spectacular Failures is powered by you. Support the show with a donation at spectacularfailures.org/donate.

3 Listeners

1 Comment

Pan Am hits major turbulence

Spectacular Failures

09/14/20 • 39 min

Pan Am made air travel cool—from chic crew uniforms to exotic locations to square-jawed flyboy pilots. But a couple of bad business deals, massive deregulation, and a devastating terrorist attack sunset the airline for good.
Our sponsors this week:

Betterhelp: betterhelp.com/spectacular
The Great Courses Plus: thegreatcoursesplus.com/spectacular

3 Listeners

1 Comment

MoviePass begins with plenty of drama

Spectacular Failures

06/24/19 • 29 min

Unlimited movie theater tickets for $9.99 a month? It sounds too good to be true and, well... it might be.

You can follow Spectacular Failures on Twitter and Facebook using @failureshow. We're @failure_show on Instagram, where you can see photos from Lauren's tour of the former Heritage USA property. Follow Lauren Ober on Twitter and Instagram at @oberandout.

Spectacular Failures is powered by you. Support the show with a donation at spectacularfailures.org/donate.

3 Listeners

Family fighting sends U-Haul on a detour

Spectacular Failures

07/22/19 • 33 min

Failed therapy sessions, fistfights in the board room and even murder accusations. U-Haul’s trip to bankruptcy will make you think twice about mixing business and family.

You can follow Spectacular Failures on Twitter and Facebook using @failureshow. We're @failure_show on Instagram. Follow Lauren Ober on Twitter and Instagram at @oberandout.

Spectacular Failures is powered by you. Support the show with a donation at spectacularfailures.org/donate.

2 Listeners

A Christian theme park plunges into scandal

Spectacular Failures

06/17/19 • 31 min

How Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s wildly popular Christian theme park was upended by fraud, scandal and lavish spending.

Spectacular Failures is powered by you. Support the show with a donation at spectacularfailures.org/donate.

2 Listeners

Show more best episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Spectacular Failures have?

Spectacular Failures currently has 25 episodes available.

What topics does Spectacular Failures cover?

The podcast is about Management, Podcasts and Business.

What is the most popular episode on Spectacular Failures?

The episode title 'Toys R Us goes bust' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Spectacular Failures?

The average episode length on Spectacular Failures is 32 minutes.

How often are episodes of Spectacular Failures released?

Episodes of Spectacular Failures are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Spectacular Failures?

The first episode of Spectacular Failures was released on May 30, 2019.

Show more FAQ

Comments

#13

@orderjackalope

Apr 15