Best Mackenzie D Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 79 - Alberta Distillers Rare Batch Whisky - Olberding Brand Family 1:23:22

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24d ago1:23:22

1:23:22

In this episode, Dave talks with Chris Gajus, Creative Director at Olberding Brand Family, about the packaging for Alberta Distillers Rare Batch that his team helped bring to life. If you’re a graphic designer or creative director who loves print, packaging, or some sweet sweet embellishments, this episode is for you. Chris breaks down how they too…

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The Crypt Star Saga: Ep. 78 - Dungeon and Dragon 53:55

1M ago53:55

53:55

The crew has made a major discovery, but they lack sufficient evidence to act upon it. Hopefully they can find more evidence as they move further into the cave...By Screenwave Media

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The Crypt Star Saga: Ep. 77 - A Final Rest 2:22:57

2M ago2:22:57

2:22:57

The crew finally makes it to the Ancestor's Cave, only to find a horrific sight. Hopefully they can find clues as to what happened in this place...By Screenwave Media

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The Crypt Star Saga: Ep. 76 - Roc Bottom 1:37:41

2M ago1:37:41

1:37:41

On the way to the Ancestor Stone, the crew is ambushed by a monstrous bird! Can they make it past it, or will one of them be carried away?By Screenwave Media

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The Crypt Star Saga: Ep. 75 - Three Days Journey 1:24:44

2M ago1:24:44

1:24:44

The crew starts their arduous journey to the Savarian Ancestor Stone. To get there, they have to make a new friend...By Screenwave Media

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The Crypt Star Saga: Ep. 74 - Round Table Discussions 1:19:22

2M ago1:19:22

1:19:22

The crew finally has a meeting with the Round Table, the leaders of the Savari. Can they convince the elders to let them go with the durandium?By Screenwave Media

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The Crypt Star Saga: Ep. 73 - Forging Friendships 1:57:10

3M ago1:57:10

1:57:10

The crew has arrived on Camelor! Friendships are made as the crew meets with some new characters~By Screenwave Media

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Episode 100 - Conclusion: The Next 100 Years of Power, Money, and Control 24:34

3M ago24:34

24:34

In our final episode, we look back at the century of wealth we've explored and look forward to the century to come. We synthesize the key themes of our series: the evolution of power from industrial muscle to financial engineering to data and algorithms. We trace the recurring patterns of monopoly, disruption, scandal, and the constant, often-succe…

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Episode 99 - The Crypto Billionaires: The Boom and Bust of a New Asset Class 25:38

3M ago25:38

25:38

The rise of cryptocurrencies created a new, wild-west frontier of wealth, minting a generation of overnight, digital-native billionaires. This episode dives into the volatile world of crypto, focusing on some of its most prominent and controversial figures. We profile Changpeng Zhao ("CZ"), the founder of the world's largest crypto exchange, Binanc…

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Episode 98 - Sara Blakely and the Rise of Spanx 30:34

3M ago30:34

30:34

In the late 1990s, Sara Blakely, a fax machine salesperson, had an idea for a new kind of undergarment but only $5,000 in savings to her name. This episode tells the incredible story of how she turned that idea into Spanx, a billion-dollar global brand, without ever taking a dime of outside investment. We follow her scrappy, relentless journey as s…

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Episode 97 - MacKenzie Scott: The Philanthropist Who is Giving It All Away 31:10

3M ago31:10

31:10

In 2019, MacKenzie Scott's divorce from Jeff Bezos left her with a fortune of over $35 billion, making her one of the richest women in the world. This episode tells the story of what she did next, embarking on one of the most rapid and revolutionary philanthropic sprees in history. We explore her decision to sign the Giving Pledge and her commitmen…

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Episode 96 - Oprah Winfrey: From Talk Show Host to Media Empress 20:04

3M ago20:04

20:04

Oprah Winfrey’s story is one of the most remarkable and inspiring in modern American history. This episode chronicles her journey from a childhood of poverty and trauma to becoming the queen of daytime television and the first Black female billionaire in America. We explore the revolutionary impact of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which transformed the t…

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Episode 95 - Legacy and Lies: Is Great Wealth Ever Clean? 35:29

3M ago35:29

35:29

After ninety-four episodes exploring the lives of billionaires, we pause to ask a fundamental question: is it possible for any great fortune to be truly "clean"? This special thematic episode examines the concept of "primitive accumulation," the idea that behind every massive fortune lies a great crime, a forgotten injustice, or a hidden exploitati…

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Episode 94 - The Casino Kings: Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn 26:18

3M ago26:18

26:18

The casino industry creates billionaires who wield a unique and potent form of political power. This episode focuses on the two titans who transformed Las Vegas and Macau and used their fortunes to become kingmakers in American politics: Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn. We explore how Adelson, the founder of Las Vegas Sands, revolutionized the indus…

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Episode 93 - The Arms Dealers: Adnan Khashoggi and Viktor Bout 38:30

3M ago38:30

38:30

While some billionaires build empires, others profit from their destruction. This episode enters the shadowy world of international arms dealing, focusing on two of its most notorious figures: Adnan Khashoggi and Viktor Bout. We first profile Khashoggi, the lavish Saudi arms dealer of the 1970s and 80s who brokered massive weapons deals between the…

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Episode 92 - Martin Shkreli: The Pharma Bro We Loved to Hate 26:51

3M ago26:51

26:51

In 2015, a smirking hedge fund manager named Martin Shkreli became the most hated man in America. This episode tells the story of the infamous "Pharma Bro," who sparked a national outrage when his company acquired the rights to a life-saving drug, Daraprim, and immediately raised its price by over 5,000%, from $13.50 to $750 a pill. We explore the …

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Episode 91 - Travis Kalanick and the Toxic Culture of Uber 36:01

3M ago36:01

36:01

Uber was one of the fastest-growing and most disruptive startups in history, a company that waged war on the taxi industry and changed how we move through cities. This episode tells the story of its co-founder and former CEO, the brilliant but deeply controversial Travis Kalanick. We explore the aggressive, "win-at-all-costs" mentality that he inst…

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Episode 90 - Elizabeth Holmes: The Blood Unicorn of Silicon Valley 20:30

3M ago20:30

20:30

Elizabeth Holmes was hailed as the "next Steve Jobs," a visionary who promised to revolutionize healthcare with a device that could run hundreds of medical tests on a single drop of blood. This episode tells the story of Theranos, the company she founded, and the massive, multi-billion-dollar fraud she perpetrated. We trace her journey as a Stanfor…

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Episode 89 - The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion 27:16

3M ago27:16

27:16

WeWork was supposed to be the future of work, a real estate company with a mission to "elevate the world's consciousness." This episode tells the story of its meteoric rise and spectacular fall, focusing on its charismatic, cult-like founder, Adam Neumann. We explore how Neumann used his messianic salesmanship to convince savvy investors, most nota…

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Episode 88 - Robert Maxwell: The Tycoon Who Robbed His Own Companies 25:05

3M ago25:05

25:05

Robert Maxwell was a larger-than-life media mogul, a former member of Parliament, and the great rival to Rupert Murdoch in the British newspaper world. This episode tells the story of the flamboyant, bullying, and deeply corrupt tycoon who built a publishing empire that included the Daily Mirror. We explore his dramatic life, from his escape from t…

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Episode 87 - Jeffrey Epstein: The Billionaire Predator's Network 34:34

3M ago34:34

34:34

Jeffrey Epstein was a man of immense wealth, but the true source of his fortune remains a mystery. This episode delves into the dark world of the financier who used his money and his powerful connections to run a vast international sex trafficking ring preying on underage girls. We investigate the origins of his wealth, his close relationship with …

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Episode 86 - The Sackler Family: The Dynasty That Built an Empire of Pain 28:53

3M ago28:53

28:53

The Sackler name was once emblazoned on the world's most prestigious museums and universities, a symbol of philanthropic grace. This episode exposes the dark secret behind that fortune: the family's private ownership of Purdue Pharma, the company that developed, deceptively marketed, and profited from the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin. We t…

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Episode 85 - Prince Alwaleed bin Talal: The Saudi Warren Buffett 35:05

3M ago35:05

35:05

For decades, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was the international face of Saudi finance, a globe-trotting investor who cultivated an image as the "Warren Buffett of the Middle East." This episode charts the rise of the flamboyant prince, who used his royal connections to build a massive investment portfolio through his company, Kingdom Holding. We explo…

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Episode 84 - The House of Saud: The World's Richest, Most Powerful Family 31:58

3M ago31:58

31:58

The House of Saud is not just a family; it is a state, a dynasty that controls the vast oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and the holy sites of Islam. This episode explores the collective, trillion-dollar fortune of the Saudi royal family, a level of wealth so immense it blurs the line between a personal and a national treasury. We trace the family's ri…

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Episode 83 - Li Ka-shing: The Hong Kong Superman 24:41

3M ago24:41

24:41

Li Ka-shing, known in Hong Kong as "Superman" for his legendary business acumen, is one of the most influential tycoons in Asia. This episode tells his classic rags-to-riches story, from his arrival in Hong Kong as a penniless refugee fleeing mainland China to his start as a plastic flower manufacturer. We trace his incredible rise as he built a sp…

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Episode 82 - Jack Ma: The Rise and Disappearance of China's Tech Icon 25:06

3M ago25:06

25:06

For years, Jack Ma was the charismatic and outspoken face of Chinese capitalism, a beloved figure who went from a humble English teacher to the founder of the e-commerce giant Alibaba. This episode chronicles the incredible rise of a man who brought the internet to China and built a business empire that rivaled Amazon. We explore his unique, perfor…

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Episode 81 - Mukesh Ambani: The Prince of India's Fortune 27:50

3M ago27:50

27:50

In India, one family name is synonymous with staggering wealth and political power: Ambani. This episode tells the story of Mukesh Ambani, the man who inherited his father's industrial conglomerate, Reliance Industries, and built it into a corporate behemoth that touches every aspect of Indian life. We trace the epic family feud with his brother, A…

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Episode 80 - Roman Abramovich: The Ultimate Insider 30:02

3M ago30:02

30:02

No one better represents the rise, power, and vulnerability of the Russian oligarchs than Roman Abramovich. This episode tells the story of the quiet, politically savvy operator who became one of Russia's richest and most well-known billionaires. We trace his journey from an orphan to a key player in the chaotic "aluminum wars" of the 1990s and, mo…

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Episode 79 - The Russian Oligarchs: The Robber Barons of the New Russia 29:43

3M ago29:43

29:43

In the chaotic decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union, a small group of politically connected men executed one of the greatest wealth grabs in human history. This episode tells the story of the rise of the Russian oligarchs. We explain how, under the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin, the vast industrial assets of the former Soviet s…

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Episode 78 - Ingvar Kamprad: The Paradoxical Founder of IKEA 30:31

3M ago30:31

30:31

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, was a man of profound contradictions: a billionaire who flew economy class and a visionary businessman with a dark secret. This episode tells the story of the Swedish entrepreneur who brought modern, affordable design to the masses with his flat-pack furniture empire. We explore the creation of the IKEA concept,…

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Episode 77 - Amancio Ortega: The Secretive Genius Behind Zara 31:03

3M ago31:03

31:03

Amancio Ortega, the founder of Zara, is one of the richest men in the world, yet he has almost never given an interview and is rarely photographed. This episode tells the story of the intensely private and brilliant Spanish retailer who revolutionized the fashion industry. We trace his humble beginnings as a delivery boy for a shirtmaker to the ope…

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Episode 76 - Bernard Arnault: The Wolf in Cashmere, King of Luxury 34:11

3M ago34:11

34:11

Bernard Arnault, the patriarch of the LVMH empire, is the world's leading purveyor of luxury and, often, the world's richest man. This episode delves into the story of "the wolf in cashmere," a man renowned for his refined taste and his brutally effective, American-style corporate raiding tactics. We trace his career, from his beginnings in his fam…

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Episode 75 - The Acquisition of Twitter: The Platform and the Populist 26:04

3M ago26:04

26:04

In 2022, Elon Musk executed his most chaotic and controversial move yet: the $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform Twitter. This episode provides a blow-by-blow account of the dramatic, whiplash-inducing saga, from his initial secret accumulation of shares to his hostile takeover bid, his attempt to back out of the deal, and the lega…

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Episode 74 - The Cult of the Techno-King: The Making of the Musk Myth 26:05

3M ago26:05

26:05

Elon Musk is more than just a CEO; he is a global celebrity with a legion of devoted fans and a personal brand that is arguably more powerful than his companies. This episode deconstructs the "Cult of the Techno-King," analyzing how Musk has masterfully used Twitter, showmanship, and audacious promises to build a powerful mythos around himself. We …

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Episode 73 - Betting it All: The Brink of Bankruptcy at Tesla and SpaceX 27:08

3M ago27:08

27:08

In 2008, Elon Musk’s entire empire was on the verge of complete and total collapse. This episode takes you inside the most harrowing year of Musk's life, a period when both of his audacious ventures, the electric car company Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX, were simultaneously running out of money. We chronicle the immense challenges he faced: …

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Episode 72 - The PayPal Mafia: The Billionaires Who Sprang from One Company 29:56

3M ago29:56

29:56

The 2002 sale of PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion didn't just make its founders rich; it unleashed a torrent of talent and capital that would fundamentally reshape Silicon Valley. This episode tells the story of the "PayPal Mafia," the incredible group of founders and early employees who took their winnings and went on to create a stunning number of…

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Episode 71 - Elon Musk: The Origin Story 23:20

3M ago23:20

23:20

Before he was the "Techno-King" of Tesla or the man launching rockets into space, Elon Musk was an intense and awkward kid from South Africa who taught himself to code and dreamed of changing the world. This episode delves into the often-overlooked origin story of the world's most audacious and controversial entrepreneur. We trace his difficult chi…

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Episode 70 - Reed Hastings & The Netflix Disruption 35:35

3M ago35:35

35:35

In the late 1990s, one company, Blockbuster Video, completely dominated the home entertainment market. This episode tells the story of Reed Hastings and how his upstart DVD-by-mail service, Netflix, not only defeated a giant but went on to disrupt all of Hollywood. We recount the famous, and perhaps apocryphal, story of Hastings founding the compan…

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Episode 69 - Jack Dorsey: The Divided Mind Behind Twitter and Square 26:47

3M ago26:47

26:47

Jack Dorsey is one of Silicon Valley’s most enigmatic and unconventional figures, a man who served as the CEO of two billion-dollar public companies—Twitter and Square—at the same time. This episode explores the divided mind of a founder with a passion for both the chaotic, 140-character world of social media and the structured, elegant world of fi…

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Episode 68 - The WhatsApp Founders: The Billion-Dollar Exit and the Betrayal 16:53

3M ago16:53

16:53

The founders of WhatsApp, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, were on a mission: to create a simple, secure, and ad-free messaging service. This episode tells the story of two fiercely private engineers who built a global communication tool used by billions. We explore their deep commitment to user privacy, a principle born from Koum’s experience growing up …

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Episode 67 - The Instagram Story: How Kevin Systrom Sold a Revolution for a Billion Dollars 24:56

3M ago24:56

24:56

In 2012, a small photo-sharing app with just 13 employees and no revenue was acquired by Facebook for a stunning $1 billion. This episode tells the story of Instagram and its co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. We trace the app's creation, from its origins as a clunky check-in app called Burbn to the simple, elegant, filter-based photo app…

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Episode 66 - The Facebook Dilemma: Connection vs. Corruption 31:29

3M ago31:29

31:29

Facebook's stated mission was to make the world more open and connected. But what if that very connection could be weaponized? This episode delves into the series of scandals that shattered Facebook's utopian image and exposed the dark underbelly of social media. We provide an inside look at the Cambridge Analytica scandal, revealing how the person…

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Episode 65 - Mark Zuckerberg: The Accidental Billionaire 31:29

3M ago31:29

31:29

It started in a Harvard dorm room as a way to rank the attractiveness of fellow students. This episode tells the origin story of Mark Zuckerberg and his creation, Facebook, the social network that would rewire human connection for a billion people. We trace the chaotic early days of the company, from its contentious founding, which led to high-prof…

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Episode 64 - Google's Double-Edged Sword: "Don't Be Evil" 23:14

3M ago23:14

23:14

How did a company founded on the principle of "Don't Be Evil" become one of the most powerful surveillance machines ever created? This episode investigates the darker side of Google's dominance, exploring how its business model—offering free services in exchange for harvesting vast amounts of personal data to sell targeted advertising—created a hos…

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Episode 63 - Larry Page & Sergey Brin: Organizing the World's Information 27:22

3M ago27:22

27:22

The mission was simple, utopian, and impossibly ambitious: to organize all the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. This episode travels back to the campus of Stanford University in the late 1990s to tell the story of two brilliant graduate students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and their creation, Google. We explore th…

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Episode 62 - The Everything Store's Shadow: Labor, Power, and Monopoly 29:56

3M ago29:56

29:56

Amazon's promise of low prices and fast delivery has a hidden cost. This episode goes inside the vast operational empire of Jeff Bezos to expose the dark side of its relentless efficiency. We investigate the grueling, heavily surveilled working conditions inside Amazon's warehouses, where employees are pushed to meet punishing quotas tracked by alg…

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Episode 61 - Jeff Bezos: The Relentless Vision of Amazon 29:29

3M ago29:29

29:29

In 1994, Jeff Bezos, a successful Wall Street executive, read a statistic about the internet's explosive growth and decided to quit his job to sell books online from his garage. This episode tells the origin story of Amazon and the man whose relentless, long-term vision would create "The Everything Store." We explore Bezos’s foundational philosophy…

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Episode 60 - Steve Ballmer: From Microsoft CEO to the NBA's Loudest Owner 19:16

3M ago19:16

19:16

In 2000, Bill Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft and handed the reins to his most trusted and energetic lieutenant, his old Harvard friend Steve Ballmer. This episode examines the tumultuous 14-year tenure of Microsoft's second CEO, a period of immense financial success but also monumental strategic failures. We explore Ballmer’s famously bomba…

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Episode 59 - Paul Allen: The Other Microsoft Billionaire 24:49

3M ago24:49

24:49

Every legendary partnership has a less famous partner, and at Microsoft, that was Paul Allen. This episode tells the often-overlooked story of the co-founder of Microsoft, the quiet visionary who was instrumental in the company's creation but whose legacy is far more complex than just a sidekick to Bill Gates. We explore Allen's crucial role in the…

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Episode 58 - Andy Grove and the Rise of Intel 18:40

3M ago18:40

18:40

The software ran on Microsoft Windows, the design was inspired by Apple, but the power came from one place: Intel. This episode tells the story of Andy Grove, the brilliant, driven, and famously paranoid CEO who turned Intel into a microprocessor powerhouse that dominated its industry more completely than almost any company in history. We explore G…