Jacob Goldstein
Jacob Goldstein spent more than a decade as co-host of the Planet Money podcast. He's also the author of the book Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing, which the New…
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This is a special crossover episode with Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford.
John DeLorean was a top car executive – but he was too maverick to fit into the oppressive corporate culture of GM. He wanted to make a new and exciting sports car – a futuristic stainless steel marvel with distinctive gull-wing doors (which found fame in Back to the Future). He just needed someone to give him millions of dollars to get started.
The British government agreed to foot the bill, but only if DeLorean built his factory in a troubled part of Northern Ireland. The cars coming off the production line were beset with problems and sales slowed down. Company finances were also strained by DeLorean’s spendthrift ways and brazen theft. Finally, someone offered DeLorean a lifeline if only he’d come in on a cocaine deal.
Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm
The Hosts
Robert Smith
Robert Smith, co-host of the Business History podcast, is a Professor of Journalism at Columbia University and contributing host of NPR's Planet Money where he tells stories about how the…
