Dominique Olivier
Klarna: a canary in the American debt coal mine
When lunch needs a payment plan, something’s gone sideways. Klarna’s rollercoaster ride through the American dream is a cautionary tale with extra guac. All is not well in America, as Dominique Olivier explains.
Dominique Olivier
Red Bull: the thing with wings
With over two-thirds of the energy drink market in a vice grip, Red Bull isn’t just a beverage - it’s the undisputed overlord of its category. But what does any of this have to do with death-defying stunts, football teams and the youngest Formula 1 driver in history? Welcome to perhaps the best example of lifestyle marketing in the world.
Dominique Olivier
The court of public opinion: does it matter?
Public backlash may be loud, but it appears as though capitalism has noise-cancelling headphones. Using SeaWorld and Duolingo as examples, Dominique Olivier examines whether the bark of social media outrage has any bite.
Dominique Olivier
Sony’s stuck in a Spider-Man spiral
Sony, once a post-war electronics wunderkind best known for pioneering devices like the Walkman and the Trinitron TV, now finds itself tangled in a web of its own making - one spun not from copper wire or silicon wafers, but from red spandex and Hollywood contracts. Dominique Olivier explains the complicated IP ownership around Spider-Man.
Dominique Olivier
Now is a great time to question our Chinese bias
A wave of TikToks from Chinese factory owners is reshaping how we think about where the things we buy come from. By casually revealing that many brandnamed products are made in Chinese factories, these videos are forcing a reckoning with a deeper bias: our enduring discomfort with the words “Made in China”.
Dominique Olivier
The IVF pioneer that the world (almost) forgot
Science doesn’t just progress in laboratories. It unfolds in the margins, shaped by the people, politics, and institutions around it. The story of IVF, when told in full, reminds us that breakthroughs are often born twice: once in the petri dish, and again in the public imagination. Dominique Olivier explains how IVF was really developed.
Dominique Olivier
Colombia has a cocaine hippo problem
Ecosystems are like very complicated Jenga towers: one wrong move, and suddenly you’ve got starlings in New York, hippos in Colombia, and scientists frantically trying to put the pieces back together. Dominique Olivier tells the story of Pablo Escobar's hippos.
Dominique Olivier
Raising the ghost of Smoot-Hawley
We can't guess where the tariffs and trade war will end up. Instead, we can just revisit the historical parallel. As the saying goes: history doesn’t always repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Dominique Olivier tells the story of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.
Dominique Olivier
Adolescence: why do some things go viral?
There’s a temptation to treat virality like a shot in the dark. But virality isn’t an accident - it’s chemistry. And when it works, it works for a reason: a potent mix of psychology, social contagion, and cultural timing. Dominique Olivier uses Adolescence as a perfect example.
Dominique Olivier
Hot take: chillies and the human desire for suffering
Curry. Con carne. Arrabbiata. Peri-peri. In almost every corner of this world, you’ll find a dish that’s been given the signature bite of the chilli pepper. As strong as they are small, these pungent peppers have achieved the culinary equivalent of world domination, when all they really wanted to do was to get us to stop eating them. Dominique Olivier explains.
Dominique Olivier
Temu Teslas no more: how China won the EV race
In case you've been living under a rock, the Chinese vehicle onslaught is causing massive disruption in the automotive sector. It's even more severe in the EV world, something we aren't exposed to in South Africa. Dominique Olivier explains how China did it.
