Brought to you by...

Dec 09 2020 73 ep. 32 mins 11.8k

Brought to you by... Podcast artwork

Surprising stories about how the biggest, household name brands affect our lives and culture — for better or worse. Host Charlie Herman finds tales of tragedy, love, strange histories, unintended consequences, and accidental success.

More information at www.businessinsider.com/household-name

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62: This was Brought to you by...

Dec 09 2020 29 mins

For the last episode of our show, you told us stories about a first love, fitting in, family trips, and how brands played an unexpected role in all of it. Plus, the team who made Brought to you by… takes a minute to say goodbye. Thank you for listening. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

61: Kellogg v. Kellogg

Dec 02 2020 40 mins

John Harvey Kellogg was a famous American physician. His brother Will was an ingenious businessman. Together, they invented flaked cereal and revolutionized American breakfast. But John Harvey and Will were bitter rivals, and they waged war over the very food that made them famous. So which Kellogg is the one whose name we remember today? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/pr

60: The Levi's That Came In From the Cold

Nov 18 2020 32 mins

At the start of the Cold War, Levi’s jeans represented everything communist governments were trying to stamp out. But Levi’s kept finding their way behind the Iron Curtain, especially into East Germany. There, people could see what they were missing just over the wall that separated them from the West. East German officials started to worry: Could a pair of pants bring down the

59: The Pepski Generation

Nov 11 2020 40 mins

In 1990, PepsiCo made a deal with the Soviet Union for submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer. It was the largest agreement ever made between an American company and the USSR. But it wasn’t Pepsi’s first deal with the Soviets. For decades, one executive had been flying to the Soviet Union to meet foreign trade ministers, politicians, and regular Russians. At the heig

58: The House That Sears Built

Nov 04 2020 24 mins

A few months ago, a listener in our Facebook group suggested we look into Sears mail-order homes for a potential episode. We loved the idea, and it turns out there’s already a fantastic story about these houses from the podcast 99% Invisible. Today, we’re sharing that episode with you. 99% Invisible is a show that explores all the thought that goes into the things around us th

57: Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba

Oct 28 2020 35 mins

Since its founding nearly 160 years ago in Cuba, one family has run Bacardi. They fought for Cuba’s freedom, fostered an artistic community in the country, and rebuilt their business after fleeing the country because of Fidel Castro. Even today, they continue the struggle for Cuban identity from abroad. It’s the history of Cuba and what it means to be Cuban, distilled into a gl

56: Pan Am in Vietnam

Oct 21 2020 35 mins

During the Vietnam War, Pan Am flew troops in and out of an active war zone on rest and recuperation trips. The flight attendants on those planes didn’t get any special training or preparation to deal with some of the horrors they would witness, and when the war was over, they didn’t receive recognition from the U.S. government. But their role left a lasting impact, even if the

Trailer: The Final Season

Oct 14 2020 1 mins

On October 21, we’re back for a final season. With episodes that take us behind the Iron Curtain, 35,000 feet over the Vietnam War, and through two Cuban revolutions, we’ll hear brands ask the question: Is politics any of our business? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Send us your "Product Misplacement" stories!

Sep 09 2020 6 mins

We’re working on a special episode for next season and want to hear about how a household name brand played a pivotal role in your life. Maybe you and your dad took a wild road trip in the family Volkswagen on your way to be dropped off at college? Did you make the heart-wrenching call to sell your Topps baseball card collection to pay for your prom dress? We want to hear about h

55: The Polaroid Revolutionary Workers Movement

Aug 12 2020 37 mins

When two employees at Polaroid discovered their company’s technology was being used by the South African government to help enforce apartheid, they protested and called for an international boycott of their employer until it withdrew from that country. It was one of the first anti-apartheid protests against a major U.S. corporation and the beginning of the broader divestment move