business history 
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SOURCE: History.com
2/21/2020
The Food that Built America: The Kings of Burgers
Historians Marcia Chatelain and Mireya Loza are featured in the History Channel's documentary on the rise of fast food in America.
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SOURCE: Washington Post
9/20/2020
Donald Kendall, Who Built Pepsico into a Soda and Snack-Food Giant, Dies at 99
The late president of Pepsi-Cola was a leader in bringing American products to the Soviet bloc and Communist China during the cold war and was influential in pushing Richard Nixon to support the CIA's coup against democratically-elected socialist Salvador Allende in Chile.
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SOURCE: Legal History Blog
8/30/2020
Anne Fleming: Business Historians Remember
Anne Fleming is remembered as an outstanding scholar and generous colleague.
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5/3/2020
Robots Don't Catch the Coronavirus
by Alan Singer
Companies have used federal funding in previous crises for selfish, rather than public, ends. In the COVID-19 crisis some are using bailout funds to make jobs permanently disappear.
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SOURCE: New York Times
4/18/2020
As Amazon Rises, So Does the Opposition
Ms. Mitchell is 47, a historian by training. But her real role is the strategist of the demise of Amazon as we know it.
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3/27/2020
"Rogue" Manufacturing in China: Past and Present
by Eugenia Lean
As China’s economic power grows, global intellectual property might end up looking more and more like the Chinese tradition of shanzhai in the future.
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SOURCE: Harvard Business Review
3/16/2020
What Democracy’s History Tells Us About Its Future
In an email exchange hosted by the Harvard Business Review, Professor of Business Rebecca Henderson and Professor of History Jill Lepore discussed capitalism’s role in an increasingly populist world.
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SOURCE: The Atlantic
2/6/20
The Risky Dream of the Fast Food Franchise
by Marcia Chatelain
Americans have long pinned economic hopes on fast-food chains. And where there are hopes, there are scams.
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SOURCE: Tom Dispatch
11/10/19
The Greatest Scam in History
by Naomi Oreskes
Scientists working on the issue have often told me that, once upon a time, they assumed, if they did their jobs, politicians would act upon the information. That, of course, hasn’t happened. Why?
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11/3/19
Citibank: Exploiting the Past, Condemning the Future
by Alan Singer
To celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2011, Citibank published a book celebrating its history. Despite the book's heft, glossy photographs, and celebratory tone, Citibank and its forbearers definitely did not strive to make the world a better place.
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10/22/19
The Internet At 50: How the Dot-Com Bubble Burst
by Harlan Lebo
As a cautionary tale and a business school lesson about irrational investor expectations, no modern example proved better than the dot-com bubble.
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9/8/19
Beyond the Vote, The Suffragists Helped Launch Modern Business Franchising
by Jane R. Plitt
We should also acknowledge the role of the suffrage movement in supporting the launch of modern franchising begun by Martha Matilda Harper in 1891.
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5/26/19
Leadership and Mimicry: What Plutarch knew about Elizabeth Holmes
by Jeffrey Beneker
In business and in politics, philosophers and reporters tell us that no one can hide deficiencies in character forever.
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SOURCE: NY Times
5/4/19
Men Invented ‘Likability.’ Guess Who Benefits.
by Claire Bond Potter
It was pushed by Madison Avenue and preached by self-help gurus. Then it entered politics.
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SOURCE: Washington Post
4/27/19
Selling Condoms or Pet Food? An Unexpected Bible of Million-Dollar Opportunities
Since 1873, the City of New York has put out a daily paper that is essential reading for those who want to do business with the city.
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SOURCE: PBS
Accessed 4/25/19
Video of the Week: New Documentary ‘Boss’ Explores Black Business in America
The PBS film features stories from a number of African-American entrepreneurs, including several Chicagoans who played key roles in various industries, from journalist Ida B. Wells to publisher John H. Johnson.
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SOURCE: Truth Out
3/21/19
Cigarettes Are Central to the History of Corporate Power
In Cigarettes, Inc.: An Intimate History of Corporate Imperialism, author Nan Enstad reveals how the definitive moments in the expansion of corporate power took place through one of the deadliest commodities.
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SOURCE: NPR
3/20/19
Boeing Brings 100 Years Of History To Its Fight To Restore Its Reputation
Analysts expect Boeing to weather this storm. The company has certainly survived other rough patches in its century-long history.
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3/10/19
Lessons from Studying Corporate History and the Case of IBM
by James W. Cortada
And what it can teach us about the longevity of corporations.
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SOURCE: NY Times
2/24/19
Seven Black Inventors Whose Patents Helped Shape American Life
Garrett Morgan created an improved gas mask. Marie Van Brittan Brown patented a home security system. Lonnie Johnson dreamed up the Super Soaker.
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