The Closer: Deals Change the World

JP Morgan Chase thought it owned 54 metric tonnes of nickel, the most highly valued base metal. The bank had reason to believe this nickel was stored in bags at a warehouse in Rotterdam. It turns out these bags are, instead, full of stones. Ben and Aimee discuss the case of JP Morgan's missing nickel and how this story is just the latest drama in the nickel trade.

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Financial Times journalist Tabby Kinder was one of the first to report on weaknesses at Silicon Valley Bank. In this episode of The Closer, she breaks down the bank's swift collapse and tells us what it's been like covering the story as it unfolds. Read Tabby's reporting at ft.com/tabby-kinder

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David Bowie: ground-breaking musician; artistic shape-shifter; style icon; and ... savvy financial player? We dive into “Bowie Bonds” with the man who created them and unpack their impact on the music business.

For ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes with our Closers, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/thecloser

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When Brazilian private investment firm 3G took over Kraft and Heinz, they thought they had a perfect plan. The Closer digs into where it went wrong and who got hurt. It's the story of Ketchup, the evolution of capitalism and the limits of any single successful business strategy.

For ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes with our Closers, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/thecloser

To sign up for The Closer newsletter and to read more from our team, go to TheCloser.FM.

A scrappy startup wanted to help people sort their medications, and in the process took on some of the titans of Big Pharma, and won. But that success made it a target for a tech behemoth obsessed with new customers - Amazon.

For ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes with our Closers, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/thecloser

To sign up for The Closer newsletter and to read more from our team, go to TheCloser.FM.

An exec at the center of Whatsapp’s $19 billion sale explains how the deal finally came together and the dispiriting conflict that roiled the companies after the deal closed. We go inside the story of Facebook’s biggest acquisition.

For ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes with our Closers, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/thecloser

To sign up for The Closer newsletter and to read more from our team, go to TheCloser.FM.

WeWork’s failed IPO was a stunning failure that played out in daily – at times, hourly – headlines around the world. But before that disaster there was another deal that fell through in private, putting WeWork and its founder Adam Neumann on course for eventual public humiliation. This is the story of Project Fortitude.

For ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes with our Closers, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/thecloser 

To sign up for The Closer newsletter and to read more from our team, go to TheCloser.FM.

The 2013 merger between American Airlines and US Airways created the world’s largest airline. But it also marked the ascent of one of the American labor movement’s most visible faces.

For ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes with our Closers, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/thecloser 

To sign up for The Closer newsletter and to read more from our team, go to TheCloser.FM.

The inside story of the deals that changed the world, as told by the people who know how it all went down. The Closer, out now.

For ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes with our Closers, subscribe to Project Brazen's channel on the Apple Podcasts app. You can try the subscription free for 7 days by going to apple.co/thecloser 

Landmark deals can change everything. They can transform how we live. They can alter the course of the economy. The Closer asks: Who made these deals, and why?

Hosted by Aimee Keane, an award-winning financial journalist, each episode features a deal that made an impact on our lives, and hears from the people who know the inside story of those deals.

This show has a thesis: deals are not only the emotional center of the business world, but the building blocks of the world around us. Behind every one of them are tales of failure, betrayal, high stakes, risks - and especially, big personalities. Basically, everything you’d want in a good drama.

From Project Brazen and PRX, this is The Closer, out now.