Business Books & Co. [S5E9] Apple: The First 50 Years with David Pogue
Apr 14, 2026
David Pogue, prolific tech writer and CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, discusses his New York Times bestselling history of Apple. He explores archival research, securing interviews at Apple Park, and the company’s pivotal moments from the Mac team’s creative culture to Jobs’ dramatic return. Conversations cover Apple’s acquisition strategy, the Newton’s surprising legacy, and Tim Cook’s quieter era.
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Jobs Was A Visionary Backed By Creative Engineers
- Pogue emphasizes that early Macintosh success depended on unseen creative engineers and designers like Bill Atkinson, Andy Hertzfeld, and Susan Kare who shaped icons, fonts, and interface.
- Jobs provided taste and vision while those young artistic engineers executed the product details.
Apple's Early CEO Turnover Revealed A Leadership Vacuum
- Apple went through serial CEO failures until Steve Jobs; several CEOs were fired because the company lacked steady leadership and governance.
- Pogue notes Apple did not have a CEO who wasn't fired until Steve Jobs' return.
John Sculley Made Strategic Bets That Saved Apple
- John Sculley is underappreciated: his initiatives like the Newton and early ARM investment indirectly enabled Apple's later survival and Next acquisition.
- Sculley's Newton investment secured ARM's low-power chips, later monetized and crucial to Apple's future.
