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b'Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook are just a few of today\\u2019s business pioneers who have succeeded in disrupting older existing business models, and whose motives and methods are constantly scrutinized by the government. They, in fact, resemble the robber barons of the 19th century.


Today\'s guest is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik, author of the book "Iron Empires." He explores the aftermath of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad\\u2014how the country\\u2019s new railroad network expanded and was consolidated over the next four decades, and the incredible impact this had on the nation.

Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, J. Pierpont Morgan, and Edward H. Harriman are the men responsible for driving the country into the twentieth century and almost derailing our nation\\u2019s economy and society in the process. Additionally, the railway tycoons are responsible for creating the big business playbook that today\\u2019s big tech business leaders still use.

Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook are just a few of today\\u2019s business pioneers who have succeeded in disrupting an existing business model and whose motives and methods are constantly scrutinized by the government, much like the robber barons back in the day.'