Running a wine business in Napoleonic France wasn't easy. Constant wars meant naval blockades stopped you exporting your wares and invading armies might loot your cellars. But it was even harder for women - who were forbidden to run companies.

None of this stopped Barbe-Nicole Clicquot. When her husband died, she used a loophole that allowed widows to be entrepreneurs. Naming her Champagne brand after herself - Veuve Clicquot - the "Widow Clicquot" pioneered innovations in production and marketing that transformed the entire industry.

Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kings and emperors spent fortunes pursuing the secret of eternal youth - but now it's tech billionaires who want to live forever and are funding research into scientific (and not-so-scientific) ways to beat aging and death.

Kara Swisher (host of CNN's new series Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever) joins Jacob and Robert to discuss the longevity business - from ancient China, via yoghurt enemas and blood swaps, to the latests developments in DNA editing. We also find out how Kara wants to die.

Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1980s, Lloyds of London insured satellites, rock singers' voices and the legs of sports stars. Everyone was having fun and making money - but disaster was just around the corner.

Lloyds had always operated on the principle of unlimited liability - so the people backing up the insurance policies were expected to pay over all their assets if required. That hardly ever happened - until a series of huge claims hit Lloyds and the insurers suddenly faced huge bills that threatened to destroy the whole operation and the wider economy.

Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.