Talent, Time and Money: The Curse of General Magic

2026-09-11 · 39 min · episode 37 · 7 entities

episode page audio

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→ hosted by Pushkin Industries person

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→ discusses Society & Culture concept

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Feed category: Society & Culture
→ discusses History website

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Feed category: History

Entities found in this episode

concepts 3

mentioned Society & Culture concept

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Feed category: Society & Culture
mentioned The Curse of General Magic concept

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Talent, Time and Money: The Curse of General Magic
discusses Society & Culture concept

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Feed category: Society & Culture

persons 2

mentioned Pushkin Industries person

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Feed author/publisher: Pushkin Industries
hosted by Pushkin Industries person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Pushkin Industries

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mentioned History website

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Feed category: History
discusses History website

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: History

Episode description as stored

It's 1990. A new company called General Magic is going to build its vision of the future: the smart phone. They have talent, almost unlimited cash, and a 15 year head start on the iPhone. What could go wrong? This episode was based, with permission, on David Epstein's book Inside the Box: How Constraints Make us Better . For a list of sources, see the show notes. Join our Cautionary Club to get episodes ad-free, hear bonus interviews and get an extra Cautionary Tale every month. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.