Even for those who’ve by no means taken a puff from a vape in your life, you already know about Juul. On the firm’s peak in 2018, its e-cigarette was one of the crucial recognizable client gadgets on the planet, and Juul Labs was price $38 billion. Just some quick years later, after being squeezed by authorities regulators and prohibition-minded anti-tobacco advocates, Juul’s valuation plummeted and its market share vaporized.
The story of Juul—and its 1000’s of imitators—is printed in Backfired: The Vaping Wars, a brand new nine-part podcast from Prologue Tasks. The present traces the historical past of e-cigarettes, nicotine vaporizers, and artificial nicotine by following the paths of Juul and its 1000’s of opponents because the vape firms achieve public acceptance, combat for market share, and butt heads with authorities businesses. It’s an interesting journey stuffed with new reporting, so even for those who’ve learn and listened to the whole lot about Juul and vaping, you’ll hear some surprising new info on this sequence.
This week on Gadget Lab, we speak with Backfired’s hosts, Arielle Pardes and Leon Neyfakh.
Present Notes
Backfired is an Audible authentic, so go to audible.com/backfired to hear. Additionally try Louise Matsakis’ story concerning the subsequent era of cheap, illegal vapes coming from China.
Suggestions
Arielle recommends Timeshifter’s Jet Lag App. Leon recommends the Yoto Player for getting children into podcasts. Lauren recommends The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray. Mike recommends Subpar Pool, a sport by Holedown creator Martin Jonasson.
Arielle Pardes could be discovered on social media @pardesoteric. Leon Neyfakh is @leoncrawl. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the primary hotline at @GadgetLab. The present is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
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