Acquired
Editorial pickHosted by Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal
5-hour deep dives on the companies that defined modern technology.
Editorial take
The only podcast where 4-hour episodes feel short. Ben and David's research depth on each company is genuinely without peer, they read every shareholder letter, dig through court filings, and synthesize stories that academic business writing can't keep up with. The format is exhausting and rewarding in equal measure. If you want 'morning commute' length, this isn't your show; this is for the long flight, the road trip, the slow Saturday.
Last hand-checked 2026-05-09.
Listen if you …
- you treat company history as professional reading, not entertainment
- you can commit 4–5 hours to a single show without skipping
- you want primary-source-grade narrative, not breezy CEO interviews
Skip if you …
- you only have 30-minute commute slots, episodes are 4-5 hours
- you want recent news / current events, this is historical reconstruction
If you only listen to one
Holds up as the single best long-form explainer of why semiconductors matter geopolitically. Sets the standard for the 'Acquired episode' format.
About the show
Acquired is what happens when two former operators decide to write the canonical history of consequential tech companies, one company at a time, in 4-5 hour episodes.
The research model is the differentiator: every episode is a synthesis of shareholder letters, founder biographies, court filings, and direct interviews. The narrative arcs, the AMD v Intel saga, the Sony Walkman, TSMC's rise, are the kind of business writing you'd expect from a long-form magazine, not a podcast.
Notable guests
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Jensen Huang
- Brian Chesky
- Charlie Munger
Pairs with
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