Show Notes
Last week a group of Redditors from the subreddit r/WallStreetBets took on Wall Street when they collectively bought shares of the struggling video game retailer GameStop. This movement started when it was discovered that approximately 140% of GameStop shares were sold short. With the collective buying power of the millions of subscribers to the WallStreetBets subreddit, they initiated a short squeeze. By driving the price higher, those who had short positions had to buy back the stock to cover their positions, again driving the price higher. In less than two weeks, the share price went from around $20 to over $460. Amongst the people on the wrong side of this trade were Melvin Capital, a Hedge Fund that started the year with over $12 billion under management. After frantically trying to cover their position, GameStop wiped out a staggering $4.5 billion of their assets and reported a 53% loss on its investments in January. At the height of the rally, and with WallStreetBets out for blood, Robinhood, the world's most popular retail trading platform ceased trading on a number of heavily shorted assets, most notably GameStop (GME). The company claimed they were not prepared for the frenzied trading and that they lacked the capital to continue operations. However, some have suggested that the company's decision to cease trading was down to influential Wall Streeters. To better understand what has been happening over the last few weeks, and the implications on the future, I am joined by Bill Barhydt, Hester Peirce, Jaime Rogozinski, Max Keiser, Nathaniel Whittemore & Preston Pysh. - - - - - Show notes and transcription: DEF078 - Show Notes - - - - - Timestamps: Coming soon… - - - - - The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help: - Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode: iTunes Spotify Deezer Stitcher SoundCloud YouTube TuneIn - Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it). - Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. - Follow Defiance on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list. - Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p If you have any questions then please email Defiance. - - - - -
More from Defiance
In February 2012 - a year after the war in Syria had started - photographer Paul Conroy and Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin smuggled themselves into the war-ravaged Syrian city of Homs. As the first journalists on the scene, they witnessed the targeted attacks perpetrated by the Syrian government on women, children and civilian hospitals. As they were broadcasting the siege of Homs live to the world, the Syrian regime was using their satellites to locate and target them. The missile attack that followed killed both Marie and French photojournalist Rémi Ochlik and severely injured Paul. Ten years on since the start of the conflict in Syria, Paul Conroy talks to former Sunday Times journalist and colleague of Marie Colvin, Tom Pattinson, about those fateful hours in Homs. - - - - - Show notes and transcription: DEF086 - Show Notes - - - - - Timestamps: Coming soon… - - - - - The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help: - Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode: iTunes Spotify Deezer Stitcher SoundCloud YouTube TuneIn - Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it). - Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. - Follow Defiance on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list. - Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p If you have any questions then please email Defiance. - - - - -
If you could cheat death, would you? Technology has progressed at a phenomenal rate, allowing us to do things deemed impossible. In this episode, Edwina Stott takes a look at the tech, which could enable us to live forever and asks whether an eternal digital afterlife is something we really want. She speaks with Eugenia Kuyda, founder of Replika, who built a chatbot from her dead friend’s text messages; Professor Michael Graziano, who firmly believes that one day we’ll all upload our brains to a digital universe and Associate Professor Patrick Stokes, who explains why we’ll all have a digital afterlife - whether we like it, or not. - - - - - Show notes and transcription: DEF:Tech #002 - Show Notes - - - - - Timestamps: Coming soon… - - - - - The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help: - Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode: iTunes Spotify Deezer Stitcher SoundCloud YouTube TuneIn - Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it). - Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. - Follow Defiance on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list. - Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p If you have any questions then please email Defiance. - - - - -
In Everyone Loves Britney, we investigate the complex conservatorship case of Britney Spears. The series looks at her troubled past and what led to her being put under a conservatorship. We question the legality of the processes that took place, and analyse the problems within the probate court system. We speak to people who have been through conservatorships and the attorneys who want to see change. And we ask who stands to benefit from Britney's ongoing conservatorship that has cost her millions. Does Britney really need the conservatorship, or is she being held against her will? IV. Blackout Britney's father has controlled her conservatorship for 13 years, but Britney has now said she will no longer perform whilst he is in control. In this episode, we look at who has been making money from Britney's estate and whether Britney really needs the conservatorship or not. - - - - - Show notes and transcription: DEF085 - Show Notes - - - - - Timestamps: Coming soon… - - - - - The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help: - Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode: iTunes Spotify Deezer Stitcher SoundCloud YouTube TuneIn - Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it). - Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. - Follow Defiance on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list. - Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p If you have any questions then please email Defiance. - - - - -
In Everyone Loves Britney, we investigate the complex conservatorship case of Britney Spears.
In Everyone Loves Britney, we investigate the complex conservatorship case of Britney Spears.