SPEAKER_04: Reboot your credit card with Apple Card. It gives you unlimited daily cash back that can earn 4.15% annual percentage yield when you open a savings account. A high yield, low effort way to grow your money with no fees. Apply for Apple Card now in the Wallet app on iPhone to start earning and growing your daily cash with savings today. Apple Card subject to credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility. Savings accounts by Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Member FDIC, terms apply.
SPEAKER_06: Sick of paying $100 for groceries and getting nothing but eggs, orange juice, and a paper bag? Then download the Drop app. Drop lets you earn points with your everyday shopping and redeem them for gift cards. Want a free dinner with those groceries? Drop it. How about daily lattes? Drop it. So download Drop today and get $5 just for signing up. Use invite code GETDROP777.
SPEAKER_03: You and your dog are close, like watch each other go to the bathroom close, but you could be even closer with Bark Super Chewer. Every month, Super Chewer brings dogs and their humans together with tough toys and meaty treats. Sign up now at superchewer.com slash iHeart.
SPEAKER_02: Hi, it's Jenny. We're currently gearing up for season three of Encyclopedia Wamanica. In the meantime, we're mixing things up, bringing back some of our favorite episodes in many week-long-ish themes. Our current theme is Troublemakers. Stay tuned for a brand new season coming in September. Thanks for listening. This month of Encyclopedia Wamanica is brought to you by Macy's. Macy's is celebrating Black history throughout February and year round by embracing and honoring the diversity of Black people and culture. You can donate to charities that uplift Black youth and shop from a range of Black-owned businesses at macy's.com slash honors. It's just one way Macy's is committed to infusing inclusivity in everything they do.
SPEAKER_06: ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] Oil is where you find it, and the search for oil is never-ending. Constant. It spans the globe.
SPEAKER_02: Hello. From Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. Today's story is about a daring journalist who challenged one of the most powerful tycoons in modern history. We're talking about Ida Tarbell. Ida Minerva Tarbell was born in a log cabin in Hatch Hollow, Pennsylvania in 1857. Her mother, Esther Ann McCullough, was a teacher, and her father, Franklin Summer Tarbell, was a teacher-turned-oil man. The Pennsylvania oil rush began soon after Ida's birth, changing the local economy and her family's fortune. Her father built wooden oil storage tanks. In 1860, when Ida's family moved to Titusville, Pennsylvania, Franklin switched to oil production and refining. Ida later wrote about that time period. She said the surrounding area had been developed into an organized industry which was now believed to have a splendid future. Then suddenly, this gay, prosperous town received a blow between the eyes. At the age of 14, Ida witnessed the disastrous effects of what would later be called the Cleveland Massacre. Small oil businessmen in Ohio and western Pennsylvania, like her father, faced an impossible choice, to sell their businesses to the Standard Oil Company, owned by the clever John D. Rockefeller, or attempt to compete and likely go bankrupt. The Standard Oil Company secretly worked with railroads to hike up the price of shipping for independent oil businessmen like Ida's father, while maintaining cheaper shipping costs for Standard Oil. By the end of this scheme, Rockefeller owned 85% of the local refineries. Though still a teenager, Ida was deeply marked by this oil war, and it would come to define her legacy almost 30 years later. When she was 19 years old, Ida went to Allegheny College to study biology. After graduating as the only woman in her class, she became a teacher, but Ida soon realized she preferred writing. She worked at a teaching publication in Pennsylvania, where she developed her voice and style. Then, at the age of 34, Ida moved to Paris. She freelanced for American publications before meeting Samuel Sidney McClure. He was looking for writers for his new publication, the monthly McClure's Magazine. There, Ida wrote a long and well-received series on Napoleon Bonaparte, followed by an immensely popular 20-part series on Abraham Lincoln. It doubled the magazine's circulation and landed her a book deal. A few years later, in 1900, a more urgent topic demanded Ida's attention. The Progressive Era had begun, a period of intense social and political reform in the United States. Ida helped usher in the field of investigative journalism as a muckraker, a term for journalists who sought to expose corrupt individuals and institutions, but the support of McClure's Magazine, Ida set her sights on the Standard Oil Company. Ida's father warned Ida not to antagonize Rockefeller, but Ida pressed on. For almost two years, she dove into volumes of public records, court testimony, government reports, and newspapers. She also relied on an important source from within Standard Oil. One of the first people she interviewed was a man who'd worked alongside her father as an independent oil man in Pennsylvania, Henry H. Rogers. After the Cleveland Massacre, Rogers worked for Rockefeller and helped build Standard Oil into one of the largest multinational corporations in the world. Rogers, who thought Ida was working on a positive spin about the company's rise, actually approached Ida to share his experience. When Ida came to Rogers' home for the interview, he was remarkably honest. He even gave her access to some internal documents. Ida had an analytical mind and the patience necessary to gather an immense amount of research. In the end, she painted a mind-boggling picture of Rockefeller's rise and the methods behind it. Ida's detailed expose of Rockefeller's unethical tactics was an instant hit. The series grew to 19 installments, published over the course of two years. Though she did not condemn capitalism itself, she denounced the Standard Oil Company's strategy. Ida wrote this about Rockefeller. Our national life is on every side distinctly poorer, uglier, meaner for the kind of influence he exercises. Public fury led to the breakup of Standard Oil. In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the company was violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Standard Oil was broken into 34 separate companies, including what's now known as ExxonMobil and Chevron today. Even after the breakup, Rockefeller continued to enjoy a life of ridiculous wealth. Ida's series, The History of the Standard Oil Company, became a book. In 1999, it was listed as number five on a list of the top 100 works of 20th century American journalism. Her work was a landmark in the history of investigative reporting. On January 6th, 1944, Ida Tarbell died from pneumonia. She was 86 years old. All month, we're talking about journalists. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our newsletter, Womanica Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopedia Womanica. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: AT&T and Verizon lure you in with their best phone offers, only to lock you into a three-year phone contract, not at T-Mobile. Now, with T-Mobile's best Go 5G plans, upgrade when you want. Every year or every two, you decide. Visit T-Mobile.com to take charge of your upgrades.
SPEAKER_01: Your home is important.
SPEAKER_07: It's where you raise your family and your biggest financial investment. For your home improvement projects, visit iHeart.dibella.us for your roofing, siding, window and bath renovations. In your community, there's a local Dibella team. Visit iHeart.dibella.us for your free no obligation quote. It's easy, there's no payments until 2024 on approved credit. Over 15,000 satisfied customers on Google had a five-star experience with Dibella. For your home improvement projects, check out the award-winning pros at iHeart.dibella.us, where quality begins at home.
SPEAKER_05: A busy airport may not be the best way to ease into vacation mode, but when you're an American Express Platinum card member, the vacation starts in the Centurion Lounge.
SPEAKER_04: Hi, welcome to the Centurion Lounge. Mm, what smells so good?
SPEAKER_05: Must be one of the chef's local specialties. And as you sit back and relax, you think to yourself, what'll be on the menu for your Miami layover? See how to elevate your travel experiences at americanexpress.com slash with AMX. Don't live life without it, terms apply.
