u/ege3

This is an incredible story about the "Senator from Wall Street," Chuck Schumer, being confronted by journalist Sam Husseini for supporting genocide in Gaza.

Ben Cohen, one half of the eponymous duo behind Ben & Jerry’s, has spent almost five decades arguing that businesses can make a profit and do good at the same time. Lately, he spends most of his time arguing that the brand carrying his own name has abandoned that idea entirely under its new ownership. 

Cohen accuses the Magnum Ice Cream Co., the owner of Ben & Jerry’s, which was formed from a demerger with Unilever in 2025, of gutting the company’s independent board and starving its philanthropic arm. He’s launched a public campaign called “Free Ben & Jerry’s” that is pushing Magnum to sell the brand to more socially minded investors instead. It has so far gathered more than 200,000 signatures. 

“We’re trying to keep Ben & Jerry’s soul alive,” Cohen tells Fortune. He claims Magnum is the wrong steward and risks damaging the brand’s long-term value. “They ain’t got no soul,” he adds. “The only mission these guys have is profit.” 

It’s a characteristically bold gambit for the 75-year-old who has been arrested for civil disobedience multiple times—including at a recent Senate hearing—and speaks openly about his views on U.S. foreign policy and the use of economic and military leverage, positions he acknowledges most public companies steer clear of entirely.  

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]:  https://fortune.com/2026/08/07/they-aint-got-no-soul-how-ben-jerrys-co-founder-became-his-own-companys-biggest-critic/?utm_source=reddit/

This is what Magnum does to an ice cream brand when it doesn’t have an independent board to defend it.

Two friends start an ice cream company in a renovated gas station.

Today, would that story even be possible?

Or has the economy become too concentrated for values-driven businesses like that to emerge?

[removed]

Ben Cohen on Instagram: "Magnum has worked with many celebrity ambassadors, including A-listers like u/Charli_xcx and u/Bellahadid. Both have used their platforms to bring attention to issues they care about, but now their images are helping sell a brand that has silenced Ben & Jerry’s for trying to do the same thing. Here’s how you can help: Flood their social comments with #BoycottMagnum and #freebenandjerrys We are asking these influential celebrities to use their massive platforms to ask Magnum one simple question: Why are you destroying an ice cream company for having a conscience?"

What's the one question you'd want answered?

Ben & Jerry's is often cited as an example of a company trying to balance profit and purpose.

What other companies belong on the list?

Who actually lives up to their values?

New article out in the Rolling Cone -- If Jochanan or Magnum has approached you about a Class I seat on the Ben & Jerry’s Board — speak to Ben and Jerry and read the legally binding merger agreement (linked below) before you answer.

The Rolling Cone

A lot of people say consumer activism doesn't matter.

Others say it's one of the few tools ordinary people have.

Have you ever stopped buying a product because of a company's actions?

Did it matter?

If Ben and Jerry were running the company, how do you think they would have responded to Trump's relentless attack on the Constitution?