Only seven American companies have ever been worth a trillion dollars. Some came from garages. Others were started in college dorm rooms. Nvidia was born in a Denny's. WSJ's Asa Fitch on how the explosion of AI helped the chip maker become one of the most valuable companies in the world.  Further Reading: - The $1 Trillion Company That Started at Denny’s  - The AI Boom Runs on Chips, but It Can’t Get Enough  - How AI Is Catapulting Nvidia Toward the $1 Trillion Club  Further Listening: - America’s Answer to the Chip Shortage  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, Disney and Comcast have been locked in a battle over Hulu. Now, the streamer’s co-owners are trying to bring an end to their uneasy marriage. WSJ’s Jessica Toonkel unpacks the years of wrangling and the looming deal that could leave Disney with full ownership of Hulu.   Further Reading: - Inside Disney and Comcast’s Fight Over the Future of Hulu  Further Listening: - Does the Future of Streaming Look More Like Cable?  - The Disney Boss Who Wouldn’t Let It Go  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past four years, Jay Gajavelli built a real-estate empire using funds from small investors who wanted to make passive income. Last year, Gajavelli’s company owned more than 7,000 apartments in the Houston area. Now he’s at the center of one of the biggest commercial real-estate blowups in years. WSJ’s Will Parker details what happened and what it says about the housing market going forward. Further Reading: - A Housing Bust Comes for Thousands of Small-Time Investors  Further Listening: - How High Will Interest Rates Go?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re off today, but we still have an episode for you!  Hidden records show that thousands of senior executive branch employees owned stocks in companies whose fates were affected by their employers’ actions. WSJ’s Brody Mullins and Rebecca Ballhaus take us inside the nearly year-long Wall Street Journal investigation. This episode originally aired in October 2022.  Further Reading: -Government Officials Invest in Companies Their Agencies Oversee  -131 Federal Judges Broke the Law by Hearing Cases Where They Had a Financial Interest  -Congressional Staffers Gain From Trading in Stocks  Further Listening: -The Federal Law that 138 Judges have broken  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Kellie Castillo needed a place to live, she ended up at Wood Street, one of the largest homeless encampments in California. State authorities have spent the past several months shutting Wood Street down, leaving people like Kellie to figure out what’s next. WSJ’s Christine Mai-Duc describes what’s behind the state’s decision and what it means for the unhoused in California. Further Reading: - California Gov. Newsom Updates Plan to Fight State’s Homelessness Problem  - California’s Homelessness Problem Pits Gov. Gavin Newsom Against Mayors  Further Listening: - Checking Out of Hotel 166  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices