A variety of vintage orange plastic items

The Revolutionary Past of Plastics

When plastics were first invented, they seemed to promise a utopian future.
A woman resting her head on her work desk

Is Burnout Really a Disease?

Perhaps, instead of thinking of burnout as a disease to be dealt with at the individual level, we might collectively address it as a social problem.
Interior of a drug store in the 1950s

Cold Warriors Tanked Big Pharma Regulation

Worried about the high price of prescription drugs, a senator proposed a bill that would have regulated Big Pharma -- back in the 1950s.
A woman at a table being interviewed for a job

The Only Fair Job Interview

Could taking some of the human element out of interviewing actually make the process more just?
Boxes of Cracker Jacks

The Invention of the Giveaway

The appeal of the free gift has always been, for the consumer, about the eternal dream of getting something for nothing.
Hand with Skull Shaped Pill

Why Companies Swallow Poison Pills

Faced with a potential hostile takeover, companies may deploy a dramatic shareholder rights plan, colloquially known as a "poison pill."
A trade card for Dilworth's Coffee, Philadelphia

The Racism of 19th-Century Advertisements

Illustrated advertising cards invoked ethnic stereotypes, using black women as foils in order to appeal to white consumers.
Bust of Aristotle

Business Advice from Aristotle

The philosopher’s teachings were not an absolute condemnation of the pursuit of profit.
Greta Garbo

Makeup in the Technicolor Age

When Technicolor changed the face of the film industry, it also altered the cosmetics industry, sparking the great Hollywood Powder Puff War of the 1930s.
A man sitting in an office with a computer.

The Link between Startups and Privilege

Self-made? The most successful independent ventures are often backed by legacy money or networks.