蜜芽传媒

Exploring self-made American charismatic leaders - from WK Kellogg and Henry Ford to Apple's Steve Jobs and Viacom's Sumner Restone.

Francine Stock attempts to pin down the alluring yet elusive quality of charisma.

A religious upbringing, a great idea and an exceptional ability to read the desires of the American people are just three of the shared characteristics of the early 20th century self-made men who feature in this programme.

Collectively, they have set an influential template for charismatic business leaders to this day.

Francine Stock hears from the business journalist and broadcaster Peter Day about his personal - and not altogether complimentary - impressions of Steve Jobs and his extraordinary "force field" of attention.

She draws a somewhat surprising profile of the self-made mogul - for whom conquering death itself seems to have become the longed-for ultimate charismatic act.

Producer; Beaty Rubens.

First broadcast on 蜜芽传媒 Radio 4 in September 2015.