The Story of Money

Long before modern economics, rulers such as Hammurabi in ancient Mesopotamia grappled with a political problem that still haunts our economies today: when people’s debts grow faster than their ability to repay them, the entire economic system can start to crack. Hammurabi adopted a radical solution: cancel debts entirely. Amanda H Podany, professor emeritus of history at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a research affiliate at New York University, tells The Story of Money hosts, FT columnist Gillian Tett and FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth, what these debt jubilees say about how the ancient Mesopotamian economy worked and what it might teach us about debt today.

To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here.

Learn more at ft.com/tsom

Want more?

Check out Dr Podany’s book, Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East

Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth
Producer: Lulu Smyth
Senior Producers: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight
Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa
Original music and sound engineering: Breen Turner
Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis
Podcast Development: Laura Clarke
FT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl Brumley
Video editor: Kristen Kenton at Podcast Discovery

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does scientific, artistic or political brilliance translate into investing success? It’s a topical question with hedge funds today accused of sucking talent away from the rest of the economy. So, the FT’s Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth sat down with reporter Toby Nangle, who has dug into the archives to assess the investment portfolios of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, John Maynard Keynes and other widely regarded geniuses of the past. What Toby found may surprise you, as will the historical wildcard he’s unearthed.

To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here.

Learn more at ft.com/tsom

Want more?
Read Toby’s full FT article here.
Toby’s sources:
On Churchill: https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-More-Champagne-Churchill-Money/dp/1784081817
On J.M.W. Turner:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5718586
On John Maynard Keynes:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2023011
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2287262
On Einstein:
https://einstein-website.de/en/what-happened-to-the-nobel-prize-money/#:~:text=By%20May%201924%2C%20Mileva%20had,visible%20result%20of%20my%20musings%E2%80%9D.
On Jane Austen:
https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions-online/vol36no1/toran/

Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth
Guest: Toby Nangle
Producer: Lulu Smyth
Senior Producers: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight
Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa
Original music: Breen Turner
Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Giuompasis
Podcast Development: Laura Clarke
FT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl Brumley
Video editor: Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The economist John Kenneth Galbraith once quipped that “there can be few fields of human endeavour in which history counts for so little as in the world of finance.” This show sets out to prove the opposite. Each week, FT columnist Gillian Tett and FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth dig into the ideas, personalities and institutions that have shaped global finance. From unregulated banking in 19th-century frontier America to institutionalised debt jubilees in ancient Mesopotamia, and from the birth of credit derivatives to the great market meltdowns of the past, Robin and Gillian uncover the story of money because time and again, the same manias and mistakes resurface. Tune in and you might just understand where the next financial opportunities and disasters could be hiding.

Subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts and watch the show on YouTube.

Learn more about the show at ft.com/tsom, and find out more about Gillian Tett here and Robin Wigglesworth here

Follow FT Alphaville here

Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth
Producer: Lulu Smyth
Senior Producer: Michela Tindera
Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa
Original music and sound engineering: Breen Turner
Podcast Development: Laura Clarke
Global Head of Audio: Cheryl Brumley
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our final episode: Education start-up Byju’s quickly became the pride of India during the Covid-19 pandemic. But almost as fast as the company rose, it collapsed. The fallout has already resulted in millions of dollars’ worth of US court sanctions and allegations of witness tampering. The FT’s Mumbai bureau chief Chris Kay has been following the legal drama and examines what Byju’s demise means for India’s burgeoning technology sector.

Clips from Byju’s, US Bankruptcy Court - District of Delaware

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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Thank you for listening to Behind the Money!

You can stay in touch with host Michela Tindera on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), follow her on LinkedIn, or email her at [email protected].

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For further reading on this episode:
A fallen Indian tech star and the hunt for its missing millions
‘Screaming into a hurricane’: the fall of India’s most valuable start-up Byju’s
How a teaching app feted by Silicon Valley was left chasing the Indian dream

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After years of fast-paced growth, private credit is facing intense scrutiny. In recent months, investors have made requests to withdraw billions of dollars from the $2tn sector’s funds. The FT’s US private equity and deals editor Antoine Gara and US investment editor Eric Platt explain how we got to this critical moment, and what may be next for this pocket of Wall Street.

Clips from Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox Business, JPMorgan, US Federal Reserve

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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For further reading:
Retail investors pull billions from private capital’s credit gold mine
Wall St underestimates private capital problems, says top credit hedge fund
Private credit’s game of footsie is getting riskier

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Follow Antoine Gara on X (@AntoineGara) and Bluesky (@antoinegara.bsky.social). Eric Platt is on X (@ericgplatt) and Bluesky (@ericgplatt.ft.com). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.