Land of the Giants
- Episodes
- 71
- Format
- Series – listen from the start
- Latest episode
- Aug 14, 2024
About the podcast
Big tech is transforming every aspect of our world. But how, and at what cost? This season of Land of the Giants – The Disney Dilemma – focuses on Disney’s ability to weather the ups and downs of the business cycle and changing tastes and explores what has kept it successful for over 100 years. The entertainment giant has leveraged nostalgia and its intellectual property to build a beloved brand, but after an acquisition spree that included Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox, can it sustain high quality and brand loyalty on a scale that keeps it growing? Who is Disney now, and can it compete against the tech giants in a battle for our attention and dollars? From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Episodes 71
Disney is a Tech Company?
Streaming didn’t just change the way consumers watched movies and TV shows, it reconfigured how media giants operated, and how they saw themselves. If tech companies were disrupting old business models, perhaps …
Show notes
Streaming didn’t just change the way consumers watched movies and TV shows, it reconfigured how media giants operated, and how they saw themselves. If tech companies were disrupting old business models, perhaps Disney’s best move was to join the crowd.
In our final episode, we look at how streaming has fundamentally changed Disney and prepared the company for the next 100 years of entertainment.
- Hosted by Joe Adalian (@TVMoJoe)
- From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network
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Disney is Bob Iger's Company
The Walt Disney Company has been led by eight different men in its century of existence. But few would object to the idea that only three have really mattered. Walt Disney, Michael Eisner, and Bob Iger have all …
Show notes
The Walt Disney Company has been led by eight different men in its century of existence. But few would object to the idea that only three have really mattered. Walt Disney, Michael Eisner, and Bob Iger have all made lasting impacts on the company, but how these executives went out also left an important impression. Why has Disney repeatedly struggled to get succession right – for one leader to pass the torch to a new one? And what do Bob Iger’s latest missteps tell us about why it’s so hard to let it go?
- Hosted by Joe Adalian (@TVMoJoe)
- From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network
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Disney is a Cinematic Universe Company
Marvel and Star Wars are the crown jewels of Disney’s empire. They’re the highest-grossing movie franchises in history, with devoted fan bases and expansive IP universes, but right now, both are in a bit of a …
Show notes
Marvel and Star Wars are the crown jewels of Disney’s empire. They’re the highest-grossing movie franchises in history, with devoted fan bases and expansive IP universes, but right now, both are in a bit of a slump. As Disney asked for more and more content to satisfy its business needs, the creative process suffered, and these once mighty hit-making engines have slowed down. There hasn’t been a Star Wars movie in 5 years and this year, Disney’s only releasing a single Marvel movie - ‘Deadpool and Wolverine.’
How did Disney get here? What will it take to rediscover the mojo? And how can Baby Yoda and a foul-mouthed, fourth-wall breaking Marvel character help get Disney’s IP machine pumping at the box-office again?
- This episode hosted by Chris Lee (@__ChrisLee)
- From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this episode incorrectly stated that Disney acquired the Power Rangers franchise when it bought 21st Century Fox. Hasbro is the current owner of the franchise.
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Disney is an Animation Company
Disney’s soul is arguably its animation studio, which has a 100-year track record of creating iconic characters and stories, and a distinct brand centered around “once upon a time.” Not so long ago, Disney …
Show notes
Disney’s soul is arguably its animation studio, which has a 100-year track record of creating iconic characters and stories, and a distinct brand centered around “once upon a time.” Not so long ago, Disney produced films like "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King," catapulting animation into the mainstream while burnishing Disney's own brand as the premier animated film studio. But lately, those movies have felt lost and often, distinctly, "un-Disney." Recent box office flops like “Wish” are costly missteps that have a huge impact on Disney’s bottom line.
With more studios producing animated films, and Disney having acquired Pixar, it’s not always clear what’s a Disney film anymore. So what makes a film a Disney film today, and why does it matter?
- This episode hosted by Bilge Ebiri (@BilgeEbiri)
- From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network
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Disney is a Theme Parks Company
These days the Walt Disney Company is mostly a theme parks company. About 70 percent of its operating income comes from its parks and other experiences like Disney Cruises. But the parks do something else: they …
Show notes
These days the Walt Disney Company is mostly a theme parks company. About 70 percent of its operating income comes from its parks and other experiences like Disney Cruises. But the parks do something else: they help the company attach itself to our emotions, memories, and identities. How can Disney continue to strengthen this relationship in an era where data - not whimsy, fantasy, or even original IP - shapes so much of how we experience the world?
- This episode hosted by Rebecca Alter (@ralter)
- From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network
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Disney is a TV Company
When you think about Disney, your first thought isn’t “cable television giant.” But Disney’s broadcast and cable television holdings, especially ESPN, helped turbocharge Disney’s growth over the last 30 years …
Show notes
When you think about Disney, your first thought isn’t “cable television giant.” But Disney’s broadcast and cable television holdings, especially ESPN, helped turbocharge Disney’s growth over the last 30 years. It was a formula that worked extremely well – until now. As more and more consumers cut the cable cord, Disney must reckon with declining assets and the hit to its bottom line.
- Hosted by Joe Adalian (@TVMoJoe)
- From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network
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The Disney Dilemma
Over the past 100 years, the Walt Disney Company has grown from a small animation studio to become one of the largest companies in the world, with an enviable history of creative and financial success. But as …
Show notes
Over the past 100 years, the Walt Disney Company has grown from a small animation studio to become one of the largest companies in the world, with an enviable history of creative and financial success. But as it's grown and acquired companies like Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, can its winning streak continue? What has Disney lost in the process of getting so big, and can it sustain its high quality and brand loyalty at this enormous scale?
From Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Episodes drop every Wednesday beginning July 10th.
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Elon Saves Humanity
In October 2022, Elon Musk made the world’s most expensive impulse purchase. His reasons for buying Twitter were murky at best, but in the story he tells now, he’s saving civilization. In the final episode of …
Show notes
In October 2022, Elon Musk made the world’s most expensive impulse purchase. His reasons for buying Twitter were murky at best, but in the story he tells now, he’s saving civilization. In the final episode of this season, we look at Twitter today, inside Elon’s fantasy. What happens when the world’s richest man buys the global town square - and announces that we are doing it all wrong?
- Hosted by Peter Kafka (@pkafka)
- Follow Land of the Giants on your favorite podcast app to get future seasons
- Follow @voxdotcom for more coverage of X/Twitter and Big Tech
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Havoc On the Platform, and Off
Twitter employees had always imagined the platform would be used for social good. Their idea was that free expression on the internet would lead to good things. But after the 2016 U.S. election, that notion …
Show notes
Twitter employees had always imagined the platform would be used for social good. Their idea was that free expression on the internet would lead to good things. But after the 2016 U.S. election, that notion would be put under stress. And Twitter would have to grapple with the question: what happens when its powerful superuser - who also happens to be the most powerful person in the world - creates havoc on the platform?
- Hosted by Peter Kafka (@pkafka)
- Be the first to hear next week's episode by following Land of the Giants on your favorite podcast app
- Follow @voxdotcom for more coverage of X/Twitter and Big Tech
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A Million Different Twitters
Twitter was created by its users, who invented features like the retweet and hashtag. These features helped create vibrant communities like Black Twitter and Comedy Twitter, but eventually, some groups …
Show notes
Twitter was created by its users, who invented features like the retweet and hashtag. These features helped create vibrant communities like Black Twitter and Comedy Twitter, but eventually, some groups exploited Twitter’s virality in order to intimidate and harass others online. In this episode: how Twitter became the best and worst place on the internet.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This episode contains descriptions of sexual harassment and of graphic threats of violence. This section begins 9 minutes after the midroll break and lasts for about 5 minutes, or approximately 35:30 through 41:20.
- This episode hosted by Peter Kafka (@pkafka) and Lauren Goode (@laurengoode)
- Be the first to hear next week's episode by following Land of the Giants on your favorite podcast app
- Follow @voxdotcom for more coverage of X/Twitter and Big Tech
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What We All Got Wrong About Twitter
Twitter began life as an accident. In the beginning, even its founders weren’t sure what it was: the internet’s town square, a real-time information source, or the next Facebook, maybe? Twitter's power has …
Show notes
Twitter began life as an accident. In the beginning, even its founders weren’t sure what it was: the internet’s town square, a real-time information source, or the next Facebook, maybe? Twitter's power has always been misunderstood -- by its leaders, by its users, and lately, by the world's richest person.
- Hosted by Peter Kafka (@pkafka)
- Be the first to hear next week's episode by following Land of the Giants on your favorite podcast app
- Follow @voxdotcom for more coverage of X/Twitter and Big Tech
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The Twitter Fantasy
A year ago, in what was essentially the world’s most expensive impulse purchase, Elon Musk bought Twitter. That made him Twitter’s most important user. But he’s certainly not the only one to fall for its spell …
Show notes
A year ago, in what was essentially the world’s most expensive impulse purchase, Elon Musk bought Twitter. That made him Twitter’s most important user. But he’s certainly not the only one to fall for its spell - a spell that promises attention, connection, and power. This season will explore why Twitter’s cultural and political influence far exceeds its size, and how its biggest users shaped it, for better and worse.
Hosted by Vox senior correspondent Peter Kafka. Episodes drop every Wednesday beginning October 25th.
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The Global Race for EV Adoption
Tesla has spurred the EV revolution around the world, most notably in China. So why is the US so far behind on EV adoption, when it's the birthplace of Tesla? What went wrong here? Learn more about your ad …
Show notes
Tesla has spurred the EV revolution around the world, most notably in China. So why is the US so far behind on EV adoption, when it's the birthplace of Tesla? What went wrong here?
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The Self-Driving Experiment
Seven years ago, Elon Musk stood on stage and said he “would consider autonomous driving to be basically a solved problem.” He also said Teslas could “drive with greater safety than a person right now.” That …
Show notes
Seven years ago, Elon Musk stood on stage and said he “would consider autonomous driving to be basically a solved problem.” He also said Teslas could “drive with greater safety than a person right now.” That statement wasn’t true. But Musk has continued making this claim. Meanwhile, several other companies have made major strides on autonomous driving. Can Tesla catch up?
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The Human Cost of Ultra Hardcore
“Please prepare yourself for a level of intensity that is greater than anything most of you have ever experienced before,” Elon Musk once wrote in an email to employees at Tesla. The subject line, “ultra …
Show notes
“Please prepare yourself for a level of intensity that is greater than anything most of you have ever experienced before,” Elon Musk once wrote in an email to employees at Tesla. The subject line, “ultra hardcore,” also operates as an edict - go hard or go anywhere else. But this “ultra hardcore” philosophy has led to injuries, scandals and lawsuits. Are the costs of “ultra hardcore” worth it?
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Tesla vs. The Competition
A few years ago Tesla owned roughly 80% of the EV market. But now, the company’s share is down to 60%. And some projections whittle it down even further - to just 18% - by 2026. It appears the competition has …
Show notes
A few years ago Tesla owned roughly 80% of the EV market. But now, the company’s share is down to 60%. And some projections whittle it down even further - to just 18% - by 2026. It appears the competition has caught up… or has it?
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How Tesla Became the Elon Musk Co.
Not many people can name the original founders of Tesla. So how did two guys who wanted to build an electric car create a company synonymous with Elon Musk? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit …
Show notes
Not many people can name the original founders of Tesla. So how did two guys who wanted to build an electric car create a company synonymous with Elon Musk?
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The Electric Car Goes Mainstream
Before Teslas were everywhere, they were playthings for the rich and famous. Building its first affordable car made Tesla a breakout success, but it nearly bankrupted the company. This is the story of how the …
Show notes
Before Teslas were everywhere, they were playthings for the rich and famous. Building its first affordable car made Tesla a breakout success, but it nearly bankrupted the company. This is the story of how the Model 3 changed Tesla and the entire auto industry.
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‘The Tesla Shock Wave’ Has Arrived
About a decade ago, Tesla did something extraordinary: it started making electric cars people actually wanted to drive. They were fast. They were high-tech, and eventually, Tesla reset the future of cars. Now …
Show notes
About a decade ago, Tesla did something extraordinary: it started making electric cars people actually wanted to drive. They were fast. They were high-tech, and eventually, Tesla reset the future of cars.
Now, with the entire industry racing to go electric, can Tesla continue to lead the charge against the best carmakers in the world?
‘The Tesla Shock Wave’ arrives July 26th.
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AI to IRL: The Future of Dating
Looking ahead, where is dating headed? Is it leaning into artificial intelligence or dating chat bots? Or is it unplugging and trying to meet people the old-fashioned way – in real life? And with Gen Z …
Show notes
Looking ahead, where is dating headed? Is it leaning into artificial intelligence or dating chat bots? Or is it unplugging and trying to meet people the old-fashioned way – in real life? And with Gen Z skeptical of dating apps, will tech continue to manage the dating experience?
- Hosted by Sangeeta Singh Kurtz (@sangeetaskurtz) and Lakshmi Rengarajan (@Shmi_So_Far)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @TheCut and @verge on Twitter
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Can Niche Dating Apps Save Us?
Welcome to the wide world of niche dating apps. There's an app for almost every group -- Muslims, vegans, the kink community, cat lovers, farmers, rock climbers, and many more. All aimed at helping specific …
Show notes
Welcome to the wide world of niche dating apps. There's an app for almost every group -- Muslims, vegans, the kink community, cat lovers, farmers, rock climbers, and many more. All aimed at helping specific communities find "their people." But do these apps work, and are they sustainable as a business?
- Hosted by Sangeeta Singh Kurtz (@sangeetaskurtz) and Lakshmi Rengarajan (@Shmi_So_Far)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @TheCut and @verge on Twitter
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Bumble, the Girlboss of Dating Apps
Bumble is the second most downloaded dating app in the U.S., behind Tinder. Dubbed the "feminist dating app," the "anti-Tinder" was designed to make dating feel better, safer, and less creepy for women. But …
Show notes
Bumble is the second most downloaded dating app in the U.S., behind Tinder. Dubbed the "feminist dating app," the "anti-Tinder" was designed to make dating feel better, safer, and less creepy for women. But does Bumble deliver on its promise? In today's episode, the story of how Bumble came to rival the power of Tinder and Match Group by harnessing the brand power of feminism.
- Hosted by Sangeeta Singh Kurtz (@sangeetaskurtz) and Lakshmi Rengarajan (@Shmi_So_Far)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @TheCut and @verge on Twitter
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The Secret Algorithms That Control Your Love Life
Dating app execs don’t like to explain how their matchmaking algorithms work– they’ll claim it’s too hard to explain, or that they just can’t talk about it, Fight Club style. But critics say that if daters …
Show notes
Dating app execs don’t like to explain how their matchmaking algorithms work– they’ll claim it’s too hard to explain, or that they just can’t talk about it, Fight Club style. But critics say that if daters really knew how basic the algorithms are, they might not put so much blind faith into them. In this episode, we dive into just how these algorithms work and speak with daters trying to hack the code that controls their love lives.
- Hosted by Sangeeta Singh Kurtz (@sangeetaskurtz) and Lakshmi Rengarajan (@Shmi_So_Far)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @TheCut and @verge on Twitter
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The Hidden Hand Behind Your Swipes
Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, The League. If you’ve ever wondered why using these different dating apps feels similar, it may be because they’re all owned by Match Group, the company that helped start online dating …
Show notes
Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, The League. If you’ve ever wondered why using these different dating apps feels similar, it may be because they’re all owned by Match Group, the company that helped start online dating in the 90s, and now owns two-thirds of the dating app market. Today, Match is a dating app conglomerate with millions of users and over 45 brands around the world. That’s billions of dollars worth of swipes and subscriptions. But does paying for what Match Group calls “superpowers” — things like Hinge’s ‘roses’ and Tinder’s ‘super likes’ — get users any closer to connecting with real-life people?
- Hosted by Sangeeta Singh Kurtz (@sangeetaskurtz) and Lakshmi Rengarajan (@Shmi_So_Far)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @TheCut and @verge on Twitter
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Tinder Changed the Game
When Tinder launched in 2012, it changed dating culture and our expectations around dating forever by leveraging the iPhone and gamifying the dating experience. But did the rise of dating apps make finding …
Show notes
When Tinder launched in 2012, it changed dating culture and our expectations around dating forever by leveraging the iPhone and gamifying the dating experience. But did the rise of dating apps make finding romance easier or harder, and what are the consequences of playing a game that never ends?
- Hosted by Sangeeta Singh Kurtz (@sangeetaskurtz) and Lakshmi Rengarajan (@Shmi_So_Far)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @TheCut and @verge on Twitter
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Dating Games
This season, The Verge and New York Magazine's The Cut trace the evolution of the multi-billion dollar dating app industry. Through conversations with industry leaders, experts, and users, hosts Sangeeta Singh …
Show notes
This season, The Verge and New York Magazine's The Cut trace the evolution of the multi-billion dollar dating app industry. Through conversations with industry leaders, experts, and users, hosts Sangeeta Singh Kurtz and Lakshmi Rengarajan explore the modern dating landscape forged by companies like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge, and their impact on our hopes for connection. Looking at the past decade of dating, we're asking the question: are the goals of dating app companies aligned with our romantic aspirations? New episodes begin Wednesday, January 11th.
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Zuckerberg's Biggest Bet
Mark Zuckerberg has a vision for the future -- that in a few years, we’ll be living our digital lives in a blend of augmented and virtual reality. The metaverse. To pursue that vision, Zuckerberg’s renamed his …
Show notes
Mark Zuckerberg has a vision for the future -- that in a few years, we’ll be living our digital lives in a blend of augmented and virtual reality. The metaverse. To pursue that vision, Zuckerberg’s renamed his entire company and invested billions of dollars in a bid to make Meta the leader of the next tech platform. In our season finale: what are the chances his bet pays off, and why it would give Meta more power than ever.
- Hosted by Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Heath (@alexeheath)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear our next season by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @recode and @verge for more coverage of Meta and Big Tech
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It's A WhatsApp World
Meta’s most expensive acquisition ever and one of the most used communication apps in the world: WhatsApp. With over 2 billion users, WhatsApp is embedded in the social, economic, and political infrastructure …
Show notes
Meta’s most expensive acquisition ever and one of the most used communication apps in the world: WhatsApp. With over 2 billion users, WhatsApp is embedded in the social, economic, and political infrastructure of countries across the globe. For better and worse. The story of WhatsApp’s incredible power, as told through its largest market: India.
NOTE: There are descriptions of graphic acts of violence in this episode. If you want to skip these descriptions, the section begins at 20:45 and ends at 22:05.
- Hosted by Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Heath (@alexeheath)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @recode and @verge for more coverage of Meta and Big Tech
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Facebook's Plan To Be Cool Again
Facebook defined an era of social media built on our connections, our social lives. We’re watching that era come to a close. Now, your main feeds of both Facebook and Instagram will use AI to start increasingly …
Show notes
Facebook defined an era of social media built on our connections, our social lives. We’re watching that era come to a close. Now, your main feeds of both Facebook and Instagram will use AI to start increasingly recommending content from people you don't follow. Kind of like another major app you may have heard of – TikTok.
- Hosted by Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Heath (@alexeheath)
- Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by hitting the plus sign in your favorite podcast app
- Follow @recode and @verge for more coverage of Meta and Big Tech
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The Facebook Election
Facebook used to brag about how its tools helped politicians swing elections. Now, the platform’s relationship to politics is much more complicated. Today: the story of how one politician again and again forced …
Show notes
Facebook used to brag about how its tools helped politicians swing elections. Now, the platform’s relationship to politics is much more complicated. Today: the story of how one politician again and again forced Zuckerberg to confront his own role in democracy.
- This episode hosted by Alex Heath (@alexeheath)
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These are the latest 60 of 71 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.
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