Acquired: Latest Episode
Newest Acquired episode: Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire (August 10, 2026). Key takeaway, summary and previous episodes from 1% Better.
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Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire
Acquired · Published · 4h 33m
Key takeaway
Before committing major time or money to a polished product, create the cheapest version that lets people experience the core story. Pixar used storyboards and story reels to test plot, dialogue, and character motivation - often through roughly eight iterations - before building expensive animation. Today, turn your next presentation, product feature, campaign, or creative project into a low-fidelity prototype; ask whether the underlying idea works without production polish, then revise the story before scaling execution.
Episode overview
Acquired traces Disney’s revival from its 1980s crisis through the Eisner-era Renaissance, the transformative acquisitions of ABC/ESPN, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, and its difficult transition to streaming. The episode argues that Disney’s enduring advantage is generational intellectual property that powers a flywheel across content, consumer products, and parks - while examining how streaming and cord-cutting have weakened the economics that once funded that flywheel.
Read the full Acquired episode summary for key insights, quotes and action items.
Previous Acquired episodes
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This page always shows the newest Acquired episode in the 1% Better library. We summarise each episode from its audio or captions within hours of release, so bookmark it to check what is new. Browse every Acquired summary and guide or all episode summaries.