The surprising origins of Southwest Airlines with Jacob Goldstein
TED Business
TED
4.0 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 1 June 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this special TED Business episode, Modupe is in conversation with Jacob Goldstein, reporter and co-host of the Business History podcast, to dig into the origin story ofSouthwest Airlines. From debunking the airline's founding myth, about a triangular route sketched on a napkin to discussing why Southwest chose to only fly Boeing 737s, Jacob shares the decisions that made Southwest stand out from its competitors—and why healthy egos might make for better business.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On this show, we're always talking about new ideas. |
| 0:03.5 | What's happening right now? |
| 0:05.5 | How are people grappling with the present? |
| 0:07.4 | But what about diving into the past? |
| 0:10.3 | Listeners, we're breaking the format for today's episode to bring you something special. |
| 0:16.1 | An interview with reporter Jacob Goldstein, co-host of the Business History Podcast. |
| 0:21.7 | In each episode of the show, Jacob asks, |
| 0:24.9 | What lessons can we learn from breaking down the unexpected history of some of our most |
| 0:29.9 | recognizable businesses? |
| 0:31.6 | The answers may surprise you. |
| 0:36.9 | I'm Madhuacanola. |
| 0:38.9 | This is Ted Business, a podcast from TED. |
| 0:42.2 | Today, Jacob joins the show to tell us all about the history of Southwest Airlines. |
| 0:48.9 | Airlines are one of the most notoriously fickle industries. |
| 0:52.9 | Just look at recent headlines about Spirit Airlines |
| 0:55.3 | shutting down for good. Time and time again, we see that to thrive in this industry, |
| 1:01.9 | you have to be willing to change, adapt, grow, and these are things we can all learn from. |
| 1:08.6 | Now, for a time, Southwest was one of the most successful airlines in the |
| 1:13.2 | business. They did things their own way, the Texas way, and that was working well until it wasn't. |
| 1:20.6 | In this conversation, Jacob and I tackled the question, how do you know when it's time to change? |
| 1:26.9 | And what happens if you don't? |
| 1:28.8 | But first, a quick break. |
... |
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