Show Notes
Those who do not study history may be destined to repeat it . . . and lose money. The Story of Money is a new podcast from The Financial Times exploring the past to see where the next opportunities — and disasters — may lie. Hosted by FT columnist Gillian Tett and FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth, The Story of Money explores the history of global finance through the people, ideas, events, and institutions that have shaped it. From unregulated frontier banking experiments in 19th-century America to institutionalised debt forgiveness in ancient Mesopotamia, The Story of Money traces how financial systems evolve — and why familiar patterns often repeat — offering context for everything from market cycles to emerging AI trends.
Watch episode 1: They are history’s geniuses. But were they any good at investing? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Rachman Review
A third world war may seem a distant prospect to the general public, but to world leaders, it’s very real. In recent years, In recent years, presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping along with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte have all alluded to the possibility of a global conflict. International wars are ongoing in Europe and the Middle East, while China’s designs on Taiwan are no secret. Are we sleepwalking into a third world war? Gideon discusses his new book, War is Interested in You with foreign editor Alec Russell. Clip: FT
Saturday’s missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began in February. By bringing the conflict to the heart of Saudi Arabia, Houthi rebels are hoping to inflict economic damage on the kingdom, which is in the midst of an ambitious programme to diversify away from oil. How effective has the Houthi campaign been so far? How will Saudi’s allies, including the US, Turkey and Pakistan, react to this danger? And why are the Houthis so hard to defeat? Gideon speaks to Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Clip: BBC News
Flávio Bolsonaro took a clear lead in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, and is the favourite to assume power after a run-off against the incumbent, Lula Ignacio da Silva, later this month. Will Flávio, who is the son of imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro, follow his father’s playbook, by cosying up to Trump and slashing environmental regulations – or will he follow a more moderate path? Gideon speaks to Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Brazil and fellow with the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, to find out how a Bolsonaro victory would change Brazil. They discuss Brazil’s relations with the US, China, and its Latin American neighbours: and they examine why whoever wins the Brazilian election is unlikely to have a long honeymoon period. Clips: APT
High-profile AI safety incidents, as well as warnings from industry figures about AI’s rapid progress, have stoked a new wave of fear about the future of humanity. Artificial intelligence systems are becoming more and more capable. Can we regulate this technology effectively – or is it too late to put the AI genie back in the bottle? Gideon speaks to Toby Ord, senior researcher at Oxford university’s AI Governance Institute, and author of ‘The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity.’ Clip: C-Span
More than three decades after The End of History and the Last Man made Francis Fukuyama one of the world’s best-known political thinkers, he is still correcting misconceptions about what he actually meant. In a wide-ranging conversation with host Gideon Rachman, Fukuyama revisits his original thesis and explores how resentment and the search for recognition are reshaping liberal democracy. They also discuss whether US institutions can withstand Donald Trump’s authoritarian impulses, why Fukuyama remains optimistic about American democracy, China and Russia’s quest for status, and his own intellectual journey away from neoconservatism. Cip: BBC