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Society & CultureNewsPolitics

CTRL+Z: Rewritten

Kevin Perez-Allen

On a computer, Control Z is the undo button. When you press it, whatever you just typed gets reversed and allows you to make a different decision. What if you could press Control Z on some of the biggest decisions in history?

Every episode, we take a real decision by a real person, rewind it, and build the alternate timeline from scratch. What happens to the country, or the company or society, when the person in the room picks the other door?

  • Sony turned down Marvel's entire character catalog for $25 million.
  • Reagan fired 13,000 air traffic controllers instead of negotiating.
  • NBC almost killed Seinfeld after one episode.
  • King Edward VIII nearly kept the British throne three years before World War Two.

What happens if they go the other way?

Politics, business, sports, history, and pop culture.

New episodes weekly.

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  • 21 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 30 min
  • English

Episodes 21

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  • S1 · E5
    April 28 · 24 min

    Rod Thorn Hits CTRL+Z

    In April of 1979, the Chicago Bulls had a coin flip against the Los Angeles Lakers for the first pick in the NBA Draft. The Bulls' marketing department had run a fan vote on what to call. Heads won. Bulls GM Rod Thorn, who'd called tails his entire life, looked down at the marketing handout and said heads. The coin came up tails. The Lakers got Magic Johnson. The NBA you know was built on what came next. He almost called tails. This week we hit Control Z on the coin flip that built the modern NBA, and follow what happens when one man trusts his gut. Showtime, the Bulls dynasty, Phil Jackson, all of it changes.

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Showing 21–21 of 21 episodes