Look around you: the medicine in your cabinet, the food on your shelf, the phone in your hand – each exists because of a deal you’ve probably never heard of. Deals are the invisible engines of everyday life, quietly influencing what we consume and rely on. Yet these behind-the-scenes agreements often register only as a dollar figure in headlines, their human drama stripped away in the retelling.
Billion-dollar stakes and thousands of jobs might hinge on a single negotiation, yet the outcome often turns on something less quantifiable – ego, ambition, fear. In truth, psychology often trumps spreadsheets when the pressure is on. A deal that looks perfect on paper might collapse when personalities clash, while an off-the-cuff gamble by a bold CEO can change an industry’s trajectory. Ultimately, deals are about people as much as they are about data and dollars.
In early 2023, The Closer launched as a podcast hosted by award-winning financial journalist Aimee Keane, aiming to shine a light on these pivotal moments one deal at a time. Each episode traced a landmark transaction from its boardroom origin through its aftershocks, revealing how top-level business decisions quietly shape daily life. The stories were told by insiders who lived them, revealing the emotions and turning points omitted from press releases.
Along the way, we uncovered untold twists behind famous headlines. One standout case unearthed a failed SoftBank lifeline – a “deal before the deal” – that sealed WeWork’s fate; another revealed how David Bowie’s pioneering “Bowie Bonds” reinvented how artists raise money. From Silicon Valley boardrooms to recording studio backrooms, The Closer shows that the real intrigue lies in the backstory – in the personalities and moments hidden behind spreadsheet models and official statements.
Now, The Closer enters a new chapter. The podcast relaunches in Fall 2025, and what began as an audio series has grown into a newsletter and is set to become much more – all continuing the mission to dissect the deals that shape our world. In the pages ahead, we’ll explore transformative deals at their extremes – from chaos to genius, from disaster to reinvention – to understand not just how they were struck, but why they mattered. It’s an ongoing journey through the high-stakes realm of deals, aiming to elevate the conversation around power and deal-making. So let’s pull back the curtain and begin exploring the deals changing the world.
This is not your average business podcast: complex stories are made easy-to-follow, and the show is conversational and narrative-driven.
Project Brazen is a global journalism studio and production company specializing in ambitious fact-based narratives. They deliver thrilling stories via podcasts, books, documentaries, television shows and films. The company was founded in Singapore in 2021 by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, former colleagues at the Wall Street Journal and co-authors of Billion Dollar Whale.
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