Whatever Happened to Pizza at McDonald's

Brian comments on the trailer for The Founder, a story about Ray Kroc and his purchase of McDonald’s. Brian questions the lack of pizza in the trailer. Brian runs into an Internet problem and asks listeners to pause and wait for his WiFi to reconnect. Brian ultimately gives up on his internet and expresses hope that the film will address the question of what happened to pizza at McDonald’s. The ep...

Brian calls a McDonald’s location in Australia to ask if Australian locations ever served pizza. The employee directs Brian to the Australian website for answers. Brian calls a McDonald’s in France, asks the employee in French if they have pizza, and is hung up on. Brian calls a location in the U.K. and discovers that they sold pizza 15-20 years ago and is advised to call corporate for more inform...

Brian discusses Reddit threads on which people wonder what happened to pizza at McDonald’s. Brian describes a post containing a picture of pizza purchased at the McDonald’s location in Pomeroy, Ohio. The title contains misinformation about the Pomeroy location being the only remaining location to serve pizza, but Brian is willing to overlook the mistake in search of comments that can explain why t...

Brian calls Crossroads 24 Hour Prayer Line to put in a prayer request about a crisis in his work life. Brian expresses concern that most support lines are busy due to the recent election results. The support line’s representative, Herald, tells Brian that people are calling on behalf of “God’s candidate,” who he believes to be Donald Trump. Herald refers Brian to John Paul Jackson and Dr. Wallnau’...

Brian calls a McDonald’s location and discovers that they sell pizza before getting disconnected and deciding the employee was giving him a “facetious” answer. The second location says they do not sell pizza, prompting Brian to ask if the employee voted for Trump. The employee hangs up. The third call is nearly identical to the second. Brian’s next call reaches a frustrated employee who informs hi...

Brian introduces the subpodcast, “Do You Remember That?” by delving into the history of McDonald’s Pizza. Brian discusses dramatic increases in profits and menu additions over the years, including salads and breakfast items. Brian discusses the rise in popularity of pizza chains in the 1980s, specifically Pizza Hut. In the mid-80s, McDonald’s added pizza to their menus by the name of “McDonald’s P...

Brian calls for legal advice and requests an attorney that has no previous cases for or against McDonald’s. Brian is disconnected, calls back, and requests that the representative does not hang up on him. Jessica lets Brian know that there are no attorneys who can take on his case but gives him the phone number for the Los Angeles Bar Association. Brian calls the LA Bar Association, but the office...

Brian offers legal protection to whistleblowers, saying he is not required to reveal their identities. Brian admits that he cannot confirm Lamont’s identity and recalls being scammed by Monroe Boswell. Brian expresses his frustration that the majority of McDonald’s employees claim to have no knowledge of McDonald’s pizza. A franchise owner that serves pizza at his McDonalds’ locations has ignored...

Brian starts by advising listeners that the following episode may be disturbing. Brian receives an email from Lamont claiming to have information on why McDonald’s stopped selling pizza. Lamont claims to be a former employee let go on a medical discharge, running across the country. Lamont claims that the people who shut down McDonald’s pizza are not who they claim to be and have ties to the milit...

Brian calls McDonald’s customer service to ask why they stopped selling pizza, and the representative gives Brian the number for the general service line. Brian calls, asks about McDonald’s pizza, and the representative says she will pass along his request to bring back McDonald’s pizza. Brian responds that he never actually got to try the pizza, but is interested in trying it. Brian explains that...

Brian calls an investigation firm to ask if they can investigate why McDonald’s stopped selling pizza and is hung up on. He calls a second private investigator, George, who says he will call McDonald’s and look for historical records for $100 per hour. Brian asks him to do it for $20 and George says no. Brian starts searching for historical records and finds an article on McPizza. The article clai...

Brian encourages listeners to sign his Change.org petition for Panoply to host “Whatever Happened to Pizza at McDonald’s?” in an official capacity. Brian goes back to calling McDonald’s. The first employee thinks McDonald’s pizza is a great idea and tells Brian he has not experienced any pressure from corporate to not sell pizza. The second McDonald’s answers and says they sell pizza and pasta fro...

Brian Thompson addresses the email he received from Ava Lubell, General Counsel at the Slate Group (Panoply’s parent company). Ava Lubell asks Thompson to confirm his formal affiliation with the Panoply Network or remove the logo and stop claiming to be part of the network. Brian explains the misunderstanding in his response to Lubell, claiming that he received correspondence from Mark Panoply mon...

Brian recaps the previous episode and gets in touch with the office of Greg Mills. The employee tells Brian about the location’s annual fight with corporate to keep pizza on the menu. Brian lets her know that he is an investigative journalist looking for answers about McDonald’s pizza. The employee discusses not being able to disclose certain information about McDonald’s, but affirms that no one h...

Brian calls Brad who reached out on Twitter with information about McDonald’s pizza but reaches his voicemail and decides to call more McDonalds’ locations. The first location repeatedly mishears Brian. When the employee finally hears Brian, he does not recall a time when McDonald’s sold pizza and hangs up. The second location serves pizza but cannot tell Brian why other locations do not and encou...

Brian calls a McDonald’s location and is hung up on. When he calls back to ask if someone told the employee not to disclose information about McDonald’s pizza, the employee responds that she does not “have time for this.” Brian calls a second location, and Ashley encourages Brian to search McDonald’s pizza online. Brian goes to McDonalds.com and finds no results. Brian introduces the podcast’s Twi...

Brian Thompson calls McDonald’s to ask if they remember when they had pizza. The first McDonald's location hangs up on him. The manager at the second location does not remember a time when McDonalds sold pizza. Brian says his podcast is part of the Panoply network.