The Closer: Deals Change the World

Brazen

The Closer brings you the inside story of deals changing the world, as told by the people who know how it all went down.

Understand the human motivations behind groundbreaking business decisions, and learn dealmaking lessons through a deep dive into one deal each week, with host Aimee Keane.

The Closer is a Project Brazen production. For more thrilling storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works. From landmark business deals to international espionage and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus to and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. For the latest from Brazen delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters at brazen.fm/newsletters.

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Our Editor's Take

Behind every decision, there is a story to go along with it. The Closer: Deals Change the World is a business podcast that explores such kinds of stories. It focuses on the major deals and choices made by companies that affect the business world. These tales of corporations growing, thriving, and falling are intriguing and insightful.

Host Aimee Keane comes on to tell the stories behind landmark deals every season. This award-winning journalist has a long history on the podcast scene. She helped produce and develop the Financial Times' first narrative podcast, Behind the Money.

Each episode of The Closer focuses on the deals that changed large businesses. One examines the private equity success of PetSmart's Chewy acquisition. Another explores what happened with the troubled failings of WeWork's Project Fortitude. Companies including Heinz, Amazon, and Toys 'R' Us also get an analysis on The Closer. The show also explains the surprising reason Modelo became the top beer in the US.

The audience hears details from those close to the source. In "How Vince McMahon built an entertainment empire," for instance, Keane interviews an expert on the subject. Abraham Josephine Riesman authored the book Ringmaster, about pro wrestling mogul McMahon. Riesman tells Keane about McMahon's effect on the WWE. This episode examines how one businessman used public ire to grow his corporation.

Between the podcast's seasons, producer Ben Walsh joins Keane for "The Closer Weekly." These short episodes explore topics that are new and still developing. Fans can learn about the latest deals, mergers, and collapses as they happen. This makes the program great for anyone interested in the current business state.

This podcast is a series developed by Project Brazen. The network focuses on providing its listeners with quality journalism. The Closer: Deals Change the World continues this tradition. It focuses on the business side of journalism. This is a show that may entertain as well as inform.

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Play Trailer
Introducing The Closer: Season 3
Oct 9 2023
Introducing The Closer: Season 3
Deals change the world, and season 3 of The Closer brings you the inside story of those deals, as told by the people who know how it all went down. Each episode features the story of one deal, as host Aimee Keane talks to guests who bring insight into how and why the deal was done, and its broader impact. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.

Episodes

Inside Florida’s home insurance meltdown
Dec 18 2023
Inside Florida’s home insurance meltdown
Florida owns a massive property insurance company that’s been gobbling up policies while rates rise and some private insurers leave the state. A deal struck by the state legislature last year aims to fix this insurance market meltdown. To understand what’s happening – and what’s being done to fix it – we talked to former State Senator Jeff Brandes and insurance industry expert Mark Friedlander. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
How Modelo became America’s #1 beer. And it’s not what you might think.
Dec 11 2023
How Modelo became America’s #1 beer. And it’s not what you might think.
Last summer, a Mexican beer overtook the longtime favorite Bud Light as America’s best-selling beer. It happened amid a customer boycott against Bud Light for a marketing campaign featuring transgender social media personality Dylan Mulvaney. But the story of how Modelo knocked Bud Light from its perch is about much more than a marketing u-turn. It’s an antitrust tale that includes the Department of Justice, and one lawyer in particular, along with a once little-known wine and spirits company from upstate New York. Featuring Ina Verstl, a Munich-based journalist who covers the global beer industry. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
ABC and ESPN made Disney into an entertainment powerhouse. It’s now at a crossroads.
Dec 4 2023
ABC and ESPN made Disney into an entertainment powerhouse. It’s now at a crossroads.
The Disney we know today came about in a series of game-changing deals led by CEO Bob Iger. But before the entertainment juggernaut bought properties like Pixar and Marvel, Disney, and former CEO Michael Eisner, inked an $19 billion deal for Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. The acquisition kick-started Disney’s transformation from a theme park and animated film business to one of the largest companies in the world. In this episode, media journalist Anna Nicolaou tells us why Iger is now faced with potentially having to sell some of the very assets that fueled his growth spree. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
The fight to lead the world’s largest hedge fund
Nov 27 2023
The fight to lead the world’s largest hedge fund
Ray Dalio founded the firm that became the world’s largest hedge fund more than 40 years ago. For years, he promised to retire. Rob Copeland, author of The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend, takes us inside the fight to succeed him – a negotiation that lasted almost two decades – exposing Bridgewater’s bizarre culture and Dalio’s leadership failures. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
The Failed Deal that Led to WeWork’s Downfall
Nov 20 2023
The Failed Deal that Led to WeWork’s Downfall
Once a “unicorn”, WeWork has filed for bankruptcy. The co-working company was once valued at $47 billion, but it’s had a rocky few years, including a failed IPO (it later went public through a special purpose acquisition company) and was battered by the pandemic. But what set WeWork on this falling-from-grace path can be traced back to a failed deal between co-founder Adam Neumann and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son at the end of 2018. This is the story of Project Fortitude. This episode originally aired on February 13, 2023. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
How Occidental Petroleum beat an oil giant in a high stakes acquisition
Nov 13 2023
How Occidental Petroleum beat an oil giant in a high stakes acquisition
Back in 2019, an unlikely deal took Wall Street and the oil industry by surprise. Occidental Petroleum, commonly called Oxy, acquired Anadarko for $38 billion, beating out oil supermajor Chevron. But before the company triumphed, CEO Vicki Hollub chased Anadarko for nearly two years in pursuit of further expanding Oxy’s footprint in the Permian Basin. Hear how Hollub stunned the oil world and closed the deal in the eleventh hour. Featuring Jordan Blum, Editorial Director for Hart Energy. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
The inside story of how Google went public
Nov 6 2023
The inside story of how Google went public
Google’s path to going public was rather untraditional from the start. The IPO included secret meetings at Denny’s, an infamous Playboy interview and something known as a “dirty” Dutch Auction. The listing ruffled feathers on Wall Street, and set new precedents for tech companies making their market debuts. Featuring Lise Buyer, partner and founder of Class V Group and one of the architects of Google’s IPO. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
How 90s cool kid Marc Jacobs changed the fashion business
Oct 30 2023
How 90s cool kid Marc Jacobs changed the fashion business
When luxury behemoth LVMH tapped Marc Jacobs to lead Louis Vuitton back in 1997, it also acquired the designer’s eponymous label. Hear how the double deal set a new precedent in the industry and helped usher in the era of celebrity and pop culture within the world of high fashion. Featuring Lauren Sherman, fashion journalist for Puck and writer of the Line Sheet newsletter. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
How one policy wonk convinced the Biden Administration to get into the oil trading business
Oct 23 2023
How one policy wonk convinced the Biden Administration to get into the oil trading business
Fearing an energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a little-known policy wonk convinced the Biden Administration to help drive down oil prices by using the US’s government emergency supply of oil in a radical new way. Featuring Skanda Amarnath (@IrvingSwisher), Executive Director of the think tank, Employ America. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
How Walmart bought Jet.com and went up against Amazon
Oct 16 2023
How Walmart bought Jet.com and went up against Amazon
The story of Jet.com, its founder Marc Lore, and how the startup helped retail giant Walmart sharpen its ecommerce edge against Amazon. Featuring Jason Del Rey, author of Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart and the battle for our wallets. For more from The Closer and to subscribe to our newsletter, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
Introducing The Closer: Season 3
Oct 9 2023
Introducing The Closer: Season 3
Deals change the world, and season 3 of The Closer brings you the inside story of those deals, as told by the people who know how it all went down. Each episode features the story of one deal, as host Aimee Keane talks to guests who bring insight into how and why the deal was done, and its broader impact. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
Introducing The Negotiators podcast
Oct 2 2023
Introducing The Negotiators podcast
There’s a new season of The Closer coming soon — but before it does, we have a special episode to share from our friends over at The Negotiators podcast. Last season, we talked to Jeffrey Kessler, the lawyer who represented the US Women's National Team in their equal pay lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation. He said one of the main obstacles was bad leadership. Until it changed. Today, Cindy Parlow Cohn is president of the federation. After taking up the leadership role, she worked across from Kessler in grueling negotiations to make gender parity a reality for the women's and men's national teams. She spoke with our friends at The Negotiators, which is a podcast collaboration between Doha debates and Foreign Policy. For more episodes, search for The Negotiators wherever you listen to podcasts.
We want to hear from you!
Sep 22 2023
We want to hear from you!
Season 3 of The Closer is coming very soon — and we want to know what you want to hear this season, and why? It can be a specific deal, or it can be something broad, like a takeover by an underdog, or a question, like: what’s the strangest thing a CEO has said at a closing dinner? You give us a prompt or a challenge and we’ll see if we can find that story for you. Send us a voice memo now to hello@thecloser.fm and we just might include it in the show! www.thecloser.fm
S2 E6: How Vince McMahon built an entertainment empire
Jul 17 2023
S2 E6: How Vince McMahon built an entertainment empire
Vince McMahon took over his father’s regional wrestling business in the 1980s, and made it into an international media and entertainment juggernaut valued at billions of dollars. This is the story of how McMahon cleverly bulldozed competitors, acquired rivals and capitalized on the public’s hatred of his tactics, as told by writer Abraham Josephine Riesman. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
S2 E5: Inside The Private Equity Deal-Machine That’s Buying Apartments
Jul 10 2023
S2 E5: Inside The Private Equity Deal-Machine That’s Buying Apartments
The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, has quietly built a deal-making machine that's gobbling up apartments in desirable and gentrifying neighborhoods. A real estate broker working at the center of these deals takes us inside the machine as we explore the trends driving this big bet on scarce, expensive housing. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
S2 E4: Airbnb's pandemic turnaround
Jul 3 2023
S2 E4: Airbnb's pandemic turnaround
In early 2020, the home-sharing platform was poised to make a splashy debut on the public markets later that year. But within just a few weeks, coronavirus brought travel - and Airbnb business - to a halt. Journalist Liz Hoffman takes us inside the financing that saved the Silicon Valley darling and became one of the defining Wall Street deals of the pandemic. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
S2 E3: PetSmart & Chewy: A private equity turnaround story
Jun 26 2023
S2 E3: PetSmart & Chewy: A private equity turnaround story
When private equity-backed PetSmart bought Chewy.com for more than $3bn in 2017, people thought the retailer was doomed. Within just a few years, though, it was one of the most successful private equity turnarounds in history thanks to an executive who stuck to his guns. Reporter Miriam Gottfried takes us inside the transformation. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
S2 E2: Who Killed Toys R Us?
Jun 19 2023
S2 E2: Who Killed Toys R Us?
We take you inside the final days of Toys R Us with Lauren Hirsch, the reporter who first revealed the iconic company’s impending bankruptcy, and explain what drove the company out of business. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
S2 E1: How the US Women’s Soccer Team scored their victory for equal pay
Jun 12 2023
S2 E1: How the US Women’s Soccer Team scored their victory for equal pay
The US Women's National Soccer Team is among the most decorated teams in the game but, until recently, was paid a fraction of what the men took home. When the players decided to take up the fight for equal pay, they turned to sports attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who built a career out of representing some of the most high-profile athletes in labor disputes with professional leagues. He takes us inside the team’s strategy and reveals how they got the deal done. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.
Introducing The Closer: Season 2
Jun 5 2023
Introducing The Closer: Season 2
From Project Brazen and PRX, this is season 2 of The Closer, out now. The Closer returns with six dramatic new stories of groundbreaking deals. An epic fight from soccer's biggest stars, a private equity redemption story, the end of a toy empire, and so much more. For more, visit www.thecloser.fm. The Closer is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for The Closer and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts.  For more fearless storytelling visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds.