From Business History: Thomas Edison and the Movie Murder Mystery
Part-Time Genius
iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope
4.5 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 December 2025
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We’re sharing a preview of another podcast we think you’ll enjoy, Business History. Former Planet Money hosts Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith examine the surprising stories of businesses big and small, bringing to life the greatest innovations, the boldest entrepreneurs and the craziest mavericks in the archives of commerce. They share why some company stocks soar, while other business ideas crash, and explore the ideas that shaped our economy—and the lessons behind their success and failure.
Today’s episode: Thomas Edison and the murky start to the movies. The man who invented the movie camera got on a train in France in 1890 and was never seen again.The wife of Louis Le Prince thought she knew who’d ordered her husband’s disappearance and presumed murder: Thomas Edison. Many people were simultaneously racing to develop moving pictures—had Edison decided to bump off his closest rival so he could win?
This is Part 3 of Business History’s series on Thomas Edison. For Parts 1 & 2, and to hear more from Jacob and Robert, find Business History on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.4 | Hey there, podcast listeners. |
| 0:05.8 | It's Munga, Chitigler, and today we are excited to bring you an episode from another podcast |
| 0:11.3 | that we have really been enjoying over here at Part-Time Genius. |
| 0:14.5 | It is called Business History. |
| 0:17.0 | Now, if you are a fan of this show, you know how much we love diving into hidden histories. |
| 0:22.3 | And Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith, the hosts of business history, are fellow questioners just like us. |
| 0:29.7 | And on business history, Jacob and Robert tell the surprising stories behind the inventions and the entrepreneurs that shaped our economy and the lessons we can learn from |
| 0:38.4 | those successes and failures. And this episode, you're about to hear ask a very scandalous question. |
| 0:46.5 | Did Thomas Edison murder the guy who invented the movies? |
| 0:50.6 | It is very Benoit Blanc. |
| 0:56.2 | Louis Le Prince got on a train in France during this time and was never seen again. |
| 1:01.7 | His wife thought she knew who'd ordered her husband's disappearance, the one and only |
| 1:06.9 | Edison, and she believed it was murder. |
| 1:13.3 | Now, at the time, Edison was also racing to develop moving pictures. Did he decide to bump off one of his closest rivals so he could win? It is a |
| 1:18.7 | very murky story of who deserves credit for making movie magic, and we hope that you enjoy it. |
| 1:26.2 | And if you do dig this tale, you can find more stories |
| 1:29.5 | of founders, business success, and spectacular failures on business history. It is all available |
| 1:35.7 | on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. Okay, hope you enjoy. |
| 1:56.9 | Robert Smith, we're starting this one with a little true crime. |
| 1:58.0 | Oh, I love it. |
... |
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