POPULARITY
In this episode's first segment, Jack discusses the tragic passing of actor Jonathan Joss. Known for his roles on King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation, Joss was the victim of a hate crime at the hands of a neighbor. Jack goes over the sequence of events leading up to Joss' death, and subsequent statements from Joss' husband, neighbor eyewitnesses, and the gunman himself. READ MORE: 'King of the Hill' Actor Had Long Feud With Neighbor Accused of Fatal Shooting 'King of the Hill' Actor's Husband Details Deadly Texas Shooting, Claims Homophobia Jonathan Joss' Killer 'Immediately' Confessed He 'Shot Him' with a Rifle, Police Report Alleges Also in this installment, Jack and Mike discuss the latest leadership dispute with the New England supermarket chain Market Basket. Echoing a similar sequence of events from 2014, Market Basket CEO Arthur T. DeMoulas is on paid administrative leave, leaving the market's future in doubt. READ MORE: ‘Hostile takeover': Market Basket board puts CEO Arthur T. Demoulas on leave Discussed elsewhere in this episode: A gameplay tech demo of The Witcher IV has been released, showcasing it running on Unreal Engine 5. A follow-up to the bizarre story out of New York City from last episode, where a man held captive over his crypto fortune is shown on camera cooking crack in an air fryer. FOLLOW and SUBSCRIBE to Hardly Focused! https://hardlyfocused.com/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On today's show, Howie will be joined by Tom Gordon and Joe Schmitt to discuss the board's attempt to remove Arthur T. Demoulas and what their plans are moving forward. Visit the Howie Carr Radio Network website to access columns, podcasts, and other exclusive content.
Back in the summer of 2014, Market Basket owners Arthur T. Demoulas and his three sisters were in a battle with their cousin for control of the company, in which customer boycotts and employee walkouts ensued. Now, this week CEO Arthur T Demoulas, two of his children and three other Market Basket executives were suspended and put on paid leave. The Market Basket board of directors said Arthur is being investigated by an independent law firm "for planning a work stoppage in retaliation for requests from the board for basic collaboration and oversight." Arthur and his allies claim, the investigation is "a farcical cover for a hostile takeover." We discussed the Market Basket feud!Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
Story of the Week (DR):Boeing strikes $1.1 billion deal with Justice Department over deadly 737 Max crashes—and must pay $445 million to victims' familiesBoeing will avoid a felony conviction by agreeing to pay over $1.1 billion, which includes a $243.6 million fine, $444.5 million to victims' families, and more than $455 million to enhance compliance, safety, and quality systems.The families were informed nearly a week after the DOJ said it had struck a tentative deal with Boeing that allows the company to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading regulators about the company's 737 Max plane before two crashes that killed 346 people.Market Basket CEO Arthur T Demoulas placed on administrative leave by board of directorsDemoulas has been placed on paid administrative leave by the company's board of directors, along with two of his children and several other executives.The board initiated an internal investigation into Demoulas' conduct, citing concerns over transparency and succession planning. Specifically, the board expressed frustration over limited access to critical company information, including budgets and plans for leadership succession, and alleged that Demoulas was planning a work stoppage. Demoulas has responded through a spokesperson, claiming he was "ousted" in what he describes as a "farcical cover for a hostile takeover." This situation echoes a similar family dispute in 2014, which led to widespread employee protests and customer boycotts in support of Demoulas. The current conflict raises questions about the company's leadership and future direction amid ongoing supermarket industry consolidationIn June 2014, CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was ousted by a board controlled by his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, amidst longstanding family disputes over company control.Customer: “If the employees think another walkout makes sense, then I'd support them. Basket ‘til the casket.Market Basket, a regional supermarket chain in New England, generates an estimated $7.3 billion in revenue. The company employs approximately 25,000 people. The revenue projection is roughly double what it was in 2014.Market Basket director: CEO Demoulas took company 'hostage'The Fake Elon government exit: A Disillusioned Musk, Distanced From Trump, Says He's Exiting Washington MMPer 18 U.S.C. § 202 (a), a Special Government Employees (SGE) is “an officer or employee . . . who is appointed to perform temporary duties, with or without compensation, for a period not to exceed 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days.”Elon Musk says he doesn't "entirely agree" with Trump administration, explains why he feels "stuck in a bind""But it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention," he said. "I'm a little stuck in a bind, where I'm like, well, I don't wanna, you know, speak up against the administration, but I … also don't wanna take responsibility for everything the administration's doing. So I'm, like, kinda stuck, you know?"Deepfake ElonFalse StartAugust 2006: “[Our] long term plan is to build a wide range of models, including affordably priced family cars … When someone buys the Tesla Roadster,” he added, “they are actually helping pay for development of the low-cost family car.”2016: Musk reiterated that, even though Tesla had not yet delivered on the 2006 promise, it still planned to build an “affordable, high-volume car.”January 2025: Musk said that—finally—Tesla would start producing the affordable model in the second half of 2025.April 2025: Reuters reported that Tesla had scrapped plans for the cheap family car. Musk posted on X that “Reuters is lying (again),” eliciting the Reuters response that “[Musk] did not identify any specific inaccuracies.” A Tesla source told Reuters that instead of the long-promised cheap family car, “Elon's directive is to go all in on robotaxi.”Hyperloop HypeAugust 2013: “A new open source form of transportation that could revolutionize travel.”The Hyperloop was shuttered in 2023—but even as late as 2022, Musk was still promising that Hyperloop could go from Boston to New York City “in less than half an hour.”Driverless PioneeringSeptember 2013: “We should be able to do 90 percent of miles driven [autonomously] within three years.”Full Autonomous DrivingOctober 2015: “Tesla will have a car that can do full autonomy in about three years.”December 2015: “We're going to end up with complete autonomy … and I think we will have complete autonomy in approximately two years.”January 2016: “I think that within two years you'll be able to summon your car from across the country.”.June 2016: “I consider autonomous driving to be a basically solved problem … We're less than two years away from complete autonomy.”November 2018: “I think we'll get to full self-driving next year.”Autonomous ChargingOctober 2016: “we'll be able to do a demonstration drive of full autonomy all the way from LA to New York—from home in LA to let's say dropping you off in Time Square in New York, and then having the car go park itself—by the end of next year … without the need for a single touch, including the charger.”In April 2017: “I think we're still on track for being able to go cross-country from LA to New York by the end of the year, fully autonomous … Just software limited.”BoringApril 2017: The Boring Company was supposed to deliver an underground maze of tunnels where passengers could travel in autonomous vehicles at 150 miles per hour.The goal was to build one mile of tunnel per week: “Finally, finally, finally, there is something that I think can solve the goddamn traffic problem.”So far: the 1.7-mile LVCC Loop in Las Vegas: currently takes paying passengers between three stations in chauffeur-driven Model Y Tesla cars which slow to just 15 miles per hour when the tunnels get congested.Brain ChipsAugust 2017: First product would be on the market “in about four years.”In 2024: the first human trial subject receives a Neuralink implant (though some researchers show frustration over a lack of information about the study.)Special DeliveryNovember 2018: “Probably technically be able to [self-deliver Teslas to customers' doors] in about a year.”FSD Finally?January 2019: “When do we think it is safe for full self driving?” asks Musk on a Q4 earnings call. “Probably towards the end of this year.”Feb 2019: “We will feature complete [with] full self-driving this year … The car will be able to … take you all the way to your destination without an intervention this year. I'm certain of that. That is not a question mark.”January 2021, on an earnings call: “I'm highly confident the car will drive itself for the reliability in excess of a human this year. This is a very big deal.”December 2021: “It's looking quite likely that it will be next year,” he says.May 2023: “I mean, it does look like [full autonomy is] gonna happen this year.”One Million RobotaxisApril 2019: “We expect to have the first operating robot taxi next year with no one in them … Next year for sure, we'll have over a million robotaxis on the road.”April 2025 earnings call: Musk says that Tesla will unveil its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, next month, with up to 20 Model Y vehicles supervised remotelyLevel Five Is AliveJuly 2020: “I'm extremely confident that level 5–or essentially complete autonomy–will happen … this year … There are no fundamental challenges remaining,” he stated.December 2020: “I'm extremely confident that Tesla will have level 5 next year,” Musk tells Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer SE. How confident? “100 percent,” replies MuskMusk also tells Döpfner that a human will possibly step onto Mars by 2024.April 2025 earnings call: “We'll start to see the prosperity of autonomy take effect in a material way around the middle of next year … There will be millions of Teslas operating autonomously, fully autonomously in the second half of next year.”March 2025: Babysitting Robot Army2021: “hopefully” Tesla will be able to make about 5,000 Optimus robots this year. Musk then claimed Tesla would make “probably 50,000-ish [Optimus robots] next year.”Optimus “will be the biggest product of all time by far—nothing will even be close. It'll be 10 times bigger than the next biggest product ever made. Ultimately, I think we'll be making tens of millions of robots a year.” Mere seconds later: “Tesla would actually make “maybe 100 million robots a year.”April 2025: he told investors that production could be impacted by the restrictions on rare-earth metal exports China implemented in response to President Trump's tariffs. There's no date yet for the launch of Optimus.ESG inventor says Trump its 'best possible advert'Paul Clements-Hunt, credited with coining the term "ESG", views Trump's opposition to ESG investing as inadvertently beneficial for the movement.Clements-Hunt argues that Trump's criticisms have heightened public awareness and discourse around ESG principles, effectively serving as a "best possible advert" for ESG by bringing it into mainstream conversations.He suggests that the backlash has prompted companies and investors to more rigorously define and implement ESG strategies, moving beyond superficial commitments2025 U.S. Proxy Season: Midseason Review Finds Sharp Drop in Shareholder Resolutions on Ballot Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Penguin Poop: The Latest Tool to Fight Climate Change DRPenguin guano releases high concentrations of ammonia, which reacts with sulfur compounds in the atmosphere to form aerosols. These aerosols facilitate cloud formation, potentially cooling the Earth's surface and preserving Antarctic ice. MM: State Comptroller votes to prioritize fiduciary duty for proxy votingState Comptroller Elise Nieshalla, Indiana Deferred Compensation CommitteeThe new policy, Bowyer Research Proxy Voting Guidelines , provides a voting framework solely focused on shareholder value.Live case study in whether Bowyer votes against directors! Remember when Strive said they voted anti-woke, and really they just voted against women? Now we'll find out if Bowyer uses Free Float data secretly or if they just vote against brown peopleMM: Volkswagen executives get prison time in 'Dieselgate' scandalAssholiest of the Week (MM): Tesla investors demand Musk work 40-hour week at EV maker as 'crisis' buildsJack Dorsey, Twitter's Eccentric CEO, Could Be Looking For A Job SoonElliott is concerned that Dorsey hasn't focused enough on Twitter, because he is also chief executive of payments company Square. The hedge fund is pushing for a CEO whose sole job is running Twitter.CEOsWells Fargo's Scharf Says CEOs Are WorriedCEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024 as stock prices and profits soaredMore money!Activist Investor Accuses Penn CEO Of Using Company Jet As 'Personal Uber,' Citing Losses And Barstool DebaclePerks!Anthropic CEO warns AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobsEven more money!CEO Jensen Huang to Sell $800 Million of Nvidia StockEven more more money!UnitedHealth Group faces lawsuit claiming it used ex-employees' 401(k) funds to defray its own costs DRThe vote on the board is MondayThe company offered the Executive Chair and former CEO Stephen Hemsley $60m in non-performance based options at the near nadir of the stock price, vesting in 3 years, that we estimate will equal roughly $170m in value if the stock price returns to where it was just 6 months agoHe is the highest influence director even BEFORE Witty quit in disgrace - he's likely to have as much as 40% influence when we remove WittyThe company is under investigation for defrauding Medicare, they had an executive assassinated, they have effectively denied coverage for thousands of customers, and now they were stealing from their own employees… and you can vote them outHalf brained idea:James G. Davis, Jr. Announces Retirement from American Woodmark Board of DirectorsHe's 65 years old, been there for 23 years, decides to step downHow about this - make boards a LIFETIME position, no votesWouldn't investors actually pay attention if every director was “elected” just ONCE? They could be like the supreme court and serve until they die or retireHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Musk's SpaceX town in Texas warns residents they may lose right to ‘continue using' their propertyDR: 9 of the most out there things Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei just said about AIOn when he thinks the world will see the first billion-dollar company with one employee.“2026”MM: Nearly Half of Young People Wish the Internet Had Never Been InventedWho Won the Week?DR: Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg: DOJ looks the other way a week after Boeing secured a record-breaking $96 billion order from Qatar Airways during Donald Trump's trip.MM: Grok: Marjorie Taylor Greene beefs with Elon Musk's AI chatbot: 'The judgement seat belongs to GOD'PredictionsDR: RFK Jr. discovers Trump Poop is more effective than 93% of the American Federation of Teachers unionMM: Vince McMahon sex trafficking case co-defendant John Laurinaitis agrees to help accuser - 100% chance he's pardoned. ONE. HUNDRED.
Today:Ambassador Nicholas Burns was the United States' top diplomat in China under the Biden administration. He discusses Trump's tariffs, and international diplomacy writ large.Then we get listener reaction to news that another family feud is brewing at Market Basket, more than a decade after CEO Arthur T DeMoulas garnered massive community support in the last brouhaha over his business model and shareholder profit.
Market Basket's Board of Directors has (once again) put CEO Arthur T. Demoulas on the sidelines..... Sue and Kendra are having flashbacks to the 2014 boycott...
During the Summer of 2014, customers and employees of Market Basket boycotted the company, demanding that the board of trustees reinstate Arthur T. Demoulas, the beloved president and CEO of the grocery store chain. This week, we tell the story of that protest, which is a good reminder that the people sitting around a boardroom table aren’t the only ones who own a company.
Daniel Korschun, Associate Professor of Marketing at Drexel, joins hosts Nick Ashburn and Sandi Hunt to discuss the story of the New England grocer, Market Basket, and how customers, suppliers, and employees successfully rallied together to boycott the boards decision to fire CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, and how this protest theory still applies to current social impact issues on Dollars and Change. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Zeynep Ton examines the case of Market Basket, its high-road business practices, and the worker protests that brought about the reinstatement of beloved CEO, Arthur T. Demoulas.
Daniel Korschun is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business and the author of "We Are Market Basket." In this interview, we discuss how the uniqueness of a business was due to the unique leadership of Arthur T. Demoulas and how reciprocal loyalty made for a successful business and a revolutionary act of followership.
Why aren't more politicians aren't embracing Market Basket employees' push to reinstate Arthur T. Demoulas as CEO? Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's dismissal of corruption in the Probation Department draws a rebuke from two Boston City Councilors. Also, does anyone really care who the Kennedys want to see get the Democratic nomination for president in 2016? The Scrum kicks it all around from the parking lot of the Somerville Market Basket.