Wondery’s latest podcast venture, “Flipping The Bird: Elon vs. Twitter”, dropped on streaming platforms today. The podcast offers vivid storytelling and exclusive information on the current state of Twitter in the months following Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform. Twitter was initially founded by former CEO Jack Dorsey in 2006. Dorsey gradually lost interest in running the platform after it boomed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s workforce increased by 53% at the time, and Dorsey had become more interested in cryptocurrency. Eventually, Dorsey released a statement that read that “Twitter was ready to move on from their founders.”
What The Podcast Covers
In between humorous references to Dorsey’s infamous beard and celebrity friends, podcast host David Brown (of “Business Wars”) took listeners to the very beginning of one of the most controversial deals in tech. Following Dorsey’s decision to step down, Chief Tech Officer Parag Agrawal temporarily stepped in as CEO. Agrawal’s tenure as CEO lasted nearly a year, during which Musk was quietly buying up Twitter’s stock.
Musk, known for his luxury sustainable Tesla cars and SpaceX innovations, taking an interest in running Twitter took many by surprise. Wondery’s podcast explains exactly why the multi-billionaire tech entrepreneur took such an interest in the social giant. It all started with a text from his ex-wife actress Talulah Riley about censorship, in which she asked Musk to “buy Twitter and delete it.”
After Musk posted a poll on whether he should purchase the company or not, the decision was clear to him–he would make the move to buy the company. Little did then CEO Agrawal know that one of the most convoluted and complex deals in tech was about to take place. In its wake, a chaotic saga of blue check marks, edit buttons, ethical dilemmas and more continues to cascade.
Behind the Mic
Bloomberg Business reporter and “Flipping The Bird” consultant Kurt Wagner spoke before an audience at an exclusive listening event ahead of the show’s wide release. Wagner has closely followed the deal since its inception. On how Dorsey and Musk are different, he said that “Elon is loud and very opinionated. Jack is timid, he rarely shares his opinions and he doesn’t like to make decisions.”
On why the podcast is an important media venture to document the Twitter saga, Wagner placed the story in business history. “The future of media is at stake. Elon inspires a lot of impersonators and fans. This is gonna change the way that other people run their companies too.”
For the past few months I’ve been advising/consulting with Wondery on a podcast miniseries about Elon + Twitter. The first two episodes dropped today! It’s been fun to do something new and different – hope you’ll give it a listen!
— Kurt Wagner (@KurtWagner8) May 1, 2023
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“Flipping the Bird: Elon vs. Twitter” is available on all streaming platforms now. Advanced ad-free listening is available with Wondery+.
