Business Longreads
From the disappointment in the Obama technology failures to investor Dan Loeb’s secrets, The Daily Beast brings you best in business journalism from the past week.
How the iPod President Crashed: Obama’s Broken Technology Promise
Ezra Klein – Bloomberg Businessweek
With overwhelming support of millenials and technologically archaic opponents in 2008 and 2012, President Barack Obama and his team have long been considered tech-savvy Democrats. That tech know-how was supposed to extend from campaigns into modernizing the federal government and increasing its effectiveness. However, as the recent Obamacare rollout debacle showed, those predictions may have been overly sanguine.
Fire Eaters: The Search for the Hottest Chili
Lauren Collins – The New Yorker
One town’s attempt to close a local sriracha plant aside, chili peppers over the past few decades have become increasingly popular. Hillary Clinton used them in the campaign to keep up stamina, Olympians use them as stimulants, and millions worldwide douse their food in its popular hot sauce. Interestingly, in addition to becoming more popular, the peppers are becoming insanely hot.
Dan Loeb’s Skeletons: Did He Hit a Young Cuban Kid in a 2002 Car Accident?
William D. Cohan – Vanity Fair
Activist investor and billionaire Dan Loeb is well known for his truculent “poison pen” letters to CEO's of companies he wants to disrupt. After compiling a war chest, he has made a name for himself in recent years by going after big companies like Yahoo, Sony, and Sotheby’s. But, the hotshot billionaire may have some secrets of his own.
The Largest Online Public University in the World
Nick Anderson – Washington Post Magazine
In an incredibly competitive region for universities, and without an established sports franchise to gain notoriety, University of Maryland, University College looked for a way to make a name for itself – and found one in the national security industry. Now, with programs sponsored by well-known entities like the National Security Agency, UMUC has made itself into one of the nation’s premier cybersecurity education centers.
The 4,567th and Final Comeback of Keith Olbermann
Michael Hainey – GQ
In more ways than one, Keith Olbermann has been a large presence on television over the past couple of decades. Now, as he is in the midst of his umpteenth comeback (once again at ESPN) there are many (some might say only) doubts that he can pull it off.