NEW YORK – November 5, 2025 – Former Planet Money hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith are reuniting to launch "Business History." Produced by Pushkin Industries and iHeartPodcasts, the weekly series will drop new episodes on Wednesdays starting today. Listeners should expect the same entertaining economic wisdom served for everyone to understand that Goldstein and Smith have perfected over the years. Each episode will provide sharp, surprising, and a sometimes ruthless look at the people and ideas that built the economy—and the lasting impact they have on us all now.
Business History will be the first podcast from Pushkin Industries that will incorporate full video episodes from launch. Known for its cultivation of high-quality storytelling, Pushkin has successfully used video from its current library. One of Pushkin’s flagship shows, Broken Record, saw an increase of over 221% in their monthly YouTube audience after ramping up their usage of video. Now by leaning into full video episodes from launch, Pushkin plans to build off of this success, creating another platform for new audiences to find their storytelling.
The first season of Business History will feature episodes on the rise and plateau of Southwest Airlines, the murder accusation of Thomas Edison, Hitler’s contribution to the Volkswagen Beatle, and the journey of retail giant Sears from boom times to bust.
“The history of business is full of incredible, high-stakes stories. I can't believe somebody hasn't made this show already,” Goldstein noted. “We're making a show that's like Acquired, but with more history. Or like The Rest is History, but with more business. It's the show we wanted to listen to but that didn't exist.”
“I love Business History because the stories tell us so much about how our world works today,” says Smith. “Founders and investors seem to always tackle the same dilemmas: dealing with technological change, turning ideas into products, and facing personal failure. These are rich human stories with surprising, useful lessons.”
Business History is co-produced by Pushkin Industries and iHeartPodcasts. New episodes will be released each Wednesday starting November 5, 2025 on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are available. Fans can watch the full video episodes on the Business History YouTube channel here.
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ABOUT JACOB GOLDSTEIN AND ROBERT SMITH:
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 York Times called “a history of currency full of astonishing tales you might tell a friend in the pub.” Jacob’s interest in technology and the changing nature of work has led him to stories on UPS, the Luddites and the history of light. His aversion to paying retail has led him to stories on Costco, Spirit Airlines, and index funds. Before discovering podcasts, Jacob worked as a staff writer at the Wall Street Journal, the Miami Herald, and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. He has done stories for the New York Times Magazine, This American Life, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford and a master’s in journalism from Columbia.
Robert Smith is a Professor of Journalism at Columbia University and contributing host of NPR's Planet Money where he tells stories about how the global economy is affecting our lives. His work on Planet Money has been recognized with most of the major honors in audio journalism including the Peabody, duPont-Columbia, Loeb, and Edward R. Murrow awards. Smith helps train the next generation of reporters as Director of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economic and Business Journalism. Before joining Planet Money, Smith was the New York Correspondent for NPR. He was responsible for covering all the mayhem and beauty that makes it the greatest city on Earth. Smith reported on the rebuilding of Ground Zero, the stunning landing of US Air flight 1549 in the Hudson River and the dysfunctional world of New York politics.
ABOUT PUSHKIN INDUSTRIES
Pushkin Industries is dedicated to producing audio in any format that challenges listeners, encourages their curiosity, and inspires joy. Or, in other words: Good, Smart, Fun. Founded in 2018, Pushkin has produced numerous podcasts that have broken into the top 10 on the Apple Podcasts chart, including Malcolm Gladwell’s hugely successful Revisionist History, as well as Against the Rules from Michael Lewis, Paul McCartney’s A Life in Lyrics, The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos, Broken Record, Tim Harford’s Cautionary Tales, The Last Archive, Deep Cover, Lost Hills and Apple’s Best Show of 2021, A Slight Change of Plans. Pushkin’s audiobook catalog includes Steve Martin’s So Many Steves, Inside Voice by Lake Bell, the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen, Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis, Fauci and Higher Animals by Michael Specter, Heartbreak by Florence Williams, and Malcolm Gladwell’s Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon, The Bomber Mafia, and Talking to Strangers. Follow us @pushkinpods.