Podbit · Planet Money
General Magic had rock-star engineers, a bunny named Bowser, an in-house film crew, and employees sleeping at their desks. Everyone could work on any idea they wanted. Their bosses never said no. It felt like the ultimate creative sandbox — and that was exactly the problem.
Where this was said
At 8:08 · chapter starts 6:30
The episode takes a commercial break with sponsor reads for Whole Foods Market (summer cookout products), Schwab's new Teen Investor Account, and Capella University's FlexPath degree program. These three advertisements bracket the transition from Tony Fadell's personal origin story into the broader portrait of General Magic as a company.
General Magic's investor syndicate included Apple, AT&T, Motorola, Sony, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, and Philips — a constellation of tech and telecom giants that also constrained the company's direction.
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