What can a warehouse store tell us about community?
At UC San Diego, the Costco Club has become one of the campus’ most recognizable student organizations, bringing people together through shopping trips, a rotisserie chicken tradition and a shared appreciation of Costco.
As graduating club president Jacob Hoang prepares for his final Costco run in the role, we examine the company’s surprising history, its roots in San Diego and the loyalty it inspires among customers. From retail innovation to college friendships, this episode looks at how a wholesale warehouse became the center of an unlikely community and what that says about the people who gather around it.
We join the students on a Costco run, moving from samples to snacks — and even an unexpected sauna along the way.
Guests:
- Jacob Hoang, outgoing UCSD Costco Club president
- Molly Fischer, staff writer at The New Yorker
Sources:
- Can the Golden Age of Costco Last? (Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 2025)
- How Costco Hacked the American Shopping Psyche (Ben Ryder Howe, The New York Times, 2024)
- Top 100 Retailers 2025 List (National Retail Federation)
- Costco's New CEO Started Out As A Forklift Driver Making $3 An Hour (Danielle Harling, Delish, 2024)
- Did Costco Founder Say 'I Will Kill You' to CEO Who Wanted To Raise Hot Dog Prices? (Alex Kasprak, Snopes, 2021)
- Say no to the changing corporate culture at Costco (Costco Teamsters Union)
- Costco to raise hourly pay for most US store workers to over $30 (Reuters, 2025)
- Welcome to Costco, I Love You: Idiocracy 10 Years Later (Clint Worthington, Consequence, 2016)
- Costco 2025 Annual Report
- Costco CEO shares the job that ‘really developed my leadership skills’—even though he only did it for a year (Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 2025)
- McDonald’s CEO History (Tyler Muse, History Oasis, 2025)
- Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there (Preston Fore, Fortune, 2026)
- Jim Sinegal (University of Portland)
- Costco Wholesale Corporation Annual Report On Form 10-K For The Fiscal Year Ended September 1, 2024
From KPBS Public Media, The Finest is a podcast about the people, art and movements redefining culture in San Diego. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, Pandora, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Have feedback or a story idea? We'd love to hear from you. Email us at thefinest@kpbs.org and let us know what you think.