Selected Archive
The Great Model Train Robbery
How did thieves steal a valuable collection of scaled-down locomotives from a train club? Why did the case go cold?
The Most Valuable Company (for Now) Is Having a Nadellaissance (co-written with Dina Bass)
Under Satya Nadella, Microsoft has more subscribers than Netflix, more cloud computing revenue than Google, and a near-trillion-dollar market cap.
A Pirate Takes New York
Margaritaville is a hit song, a chill state of mind, a multibillion-dollar marketing empire, and the new best worst attraction in Times Square.
Big Hot Sauce Wants More Hot Sauce
Spice king McCormick’s acquisitions of Frank’s RedHot and Cholula give it the edge to own “the next ketchup.”
Formula One Takes America
The posh, stodgy European sport has been transformed for the U.S. with a hit Netflix series, race car drivers on Twitch, and a Miami-meets-Vegas overhaul—and it’s working.
The Xbox Cheat
Microsoft operates a sort of digital bank, which handles millions, if not billions, of dollars each year. One of the company’s junior engineers figured out how to rob it.
Socially Distance This
Carnival executives knew they had a virus problem, but kept the party going.
Faked Alaska
Elizabeth Pierce impressed investors with hefty contracts for fiber—until they learned she was the only one who’d signed them.
Not another Yves Béhar Profile!
He helped lead a design revolution in business, but he hasn’t shared in the spoils like his rivals. As the designer himself jokes: “Whatever happened to Yves Béhar?”
Under Fire
Profits are elusive. Investors are unhappy. So what is Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos's real vision for his company's future?
Tim Apple
Trade war? Pfft. Trump? Please. Antitrust? Zuck’s prob. Revenue? Endless.
Where in the World is Larry Page? (co-written with Mark Bergen)
While Alphabet faces existential challenges, its co-founder is exercising his right to be forgotten.
The Lost Boy
After 10 years, eight SXSWs, two startups, and zero dollars in profit, will Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley ever find his way?
Hatched
Apple vet Tony Fadell didn't need to sell his startup to Google. But their combined powers might spark a design revolution.
The Chameleon of Jewelry
Ingo Wolf is trying to spark diamond demand for osmium, one of the rarest elements on the planet.
The Cruise Ship Suicides
Confined mostly to tiny cabins as the pandemic unfolded, crew members struggled to cope.
Another Glorious Day in Trump’s Manufacturing Paradise
The president has bragged about Foxconn’s factory in Wisconsin as a key trade war win. Insiders say it’s been dubious all along.
Inside Elon Musk’s Forgotten Gigafactory in Buffalo
After $750 million in subsidies and years of delays, critics say the Tesla CEO hasn’t done enough for the Gigafactory 2 solar panel factory.
“Did We Create This Monster?” How Twitter Turned Toxic
For years, the company’s zeal for free speech blinded it to safety concerns. Now it’s scrambling to make up for lost time.
Alexa, What’s Privacy? (co-written with Matt Day, Sarah Frier, and Mark Gurman)
How the world’s biggest companies got millions of people to let temps analyze some very sensitive recordings.
One of Gaming’s Most Hated Execs Is Jumping Into the Metaverse
After leaving EA a mess, Unity CEO John Riccitiello turned mobile games into a lucrative advertising wasteland. Now he’s betting his company’s future on commercializing virtual worlds.
The “Fyre Festival” of Pizza
Ishmael Osekre, a promoter with a history of alleged Facebook-fueled misdeeds, faces charges of fraud and false advertising.
The Messy Business of Reinventing Happiness
Inside Disney's radical plan to modernize its cherished theme parks.
ChatGPT’s Brain
Nvidia’s chips are powering AI and elevating the company into the $1 trillion club of Silicon Valley.
The $35 Billion Fight Over $35 Ink Cartridges (co-written with Nico Grant)
HP and Xerox, America’s onetime innovation icons, are wrestling over their biggest remaining piles of money.
Wake-Up Call
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has always tried to do right by his company, his customers, and his country. So why did Race Together go so wrong?
Bauhaus Microsoft
This fall, a billion PC users will wake up to a new desktop—Windows 8, a design revolution from the most unlikely of companies.
Swipe Right
After losing his job as CEO of Tinder, Sean Rad is back atop the controversial dating-app company. This time, will it be a better match?
Chipotle Eats Itself
Chipotle Mexican Grill was a sizzling business with a red-hot stock until an E. coli outbreak derailed its future. Can a mission-based company make gobs of money and still save the world?
Big VPN’s Trust Issues
Virtual private networks have become a cornerstone of personal security online. What are their makers really selling?
An Oral History of Apple Design (co-reported with Max Chafkin)
The greatest business story of this generation is a design tale.
The German Startup Racing Uber to Uber-ize Trucks
Freight companies have easily beaten tech companies’ efforts to get people their stuff faster. Sennder, Amazon’s European delivery partner, is trying to inch the industry forward.
Wildfires Are Getting Worse, and One Chemical Company Is Reaping the Benefits
Perimeter Solutions has rolled up all the meaningful competition for its fire suppressants and is now rolling out a preventive gel.
How Tiny Telecoms are Wiring Rural America
With help from Washington, the 120 million Americans without high-speed internet access have their best shot in a generation at getting it—so long as they’re flexible on how.
The China Model
After spending years emulating Silicon Valley, the world’s second-biggest economy is now officially charting its own course.
Warby Parker Wants to be the Warby Parker of Contacts
The company credited with creating the direct-to-consumer craze now wants to go direct-to-cornea with Scout, a line of daily contact lenses.
The Future of Retail in the Age of Amazon
As Jeff Bezos’s juggernaut continues to grow, forward-thinking competitors are finding creative ways to succeed—and be what Amazon can never be.
Tesla Raises the Roof
Tesla CEO Elon Musk's multibillion-dollar acquisition of his cousins’ sustainable-energy company, SolarCity, is totally logical—and hugely risky. Will Musk pull off another miracle?
SpaceX vs. Blue Origin
The fight to win the modern space race.
The Most Dangerous CEO in Sports
Nigel Eccles's billion-dollar fantasy sports site, FanDuel, has more than a million regular players and partnerships with big-name sports teams. But is it legal?
I Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts
Snapchat boasts 100 million daily users, has captured the rapt attention of the media and advertising worlds—and is wildly misunderstood. Here’s what everyone is missing.
Back to Square One
Jack Dorsey’s dazzling startup promised to transform the credit and finance industry with a sweeping, digitized vision of the future. After losing $100 million, has his company lost its edge?
Punk, Meet Rock
How Brian Chesky, the millennial impresario behind Airbnb, teamed up with Chip Conley, the hotel industry's last black-sheep innovator, to build the world's largest hospitality brand.
Big Shot
Solve Facebook's mobile dilemma. Make a mint on Instagram's advertising without annoying 100 million users. No problem, right?
Nike
How a culture of true believers launched a new pair of paradigm-shifting products.
Deep Inside Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Taco
From handshake deals to experiments at Home Depot, the history of Taco Bell’s disruptive faux cheese-dusted taco.
