<description>&lt;p&gt;Priscilla Wakefield was a Quaker, writer and social reformer who believed financial security shouldn’t be reserved for the wealthy. Living in late 18th- and early 19th-century England, she founded the country’s first penny savings bank, giving working women and children a safe place to save. Victoria Bateman, author of &lt;em&gt;Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth and Power, &lt;/em&gt;tells hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth about Wakefield’s life, her ideas and how a simple concept — saving small sums — helped spark a quiet revolution in financial inclusion, with lessons for today. But that didn’t stop Wakefield from running into financial problems of her own.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Further reading:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Economica: A global history of women, wealth and power, by Victoria Bateman (2025)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reflections on the present condition of the female sex, by Priscilla Wakefield, (reprinted 2015, Cambridge University Press)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Credits: Cambridge Library Collection, National Portrait Gallery, Disruption Worthies, National Park Service, Hollinger &amp;amp; Rockey&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;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:&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2slDVpvnUYR4_x06c287Cw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;/ @ftthestoryofmoney&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producers: Lulu Smyth and Laurence Knight&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music: Breen Turner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Giuompasis&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Podcast Development: Laura Clarke&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Video editor: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.ft.com/content/98735cd5-23f0-4534-8822-c80e7b81df01" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

She set up England’s first “penny bank”, an early exercise in financial inclusion 

Priscilla Wakefield was a Quaker, writer and social reformer who believed financial security shouldn’t be reserved for the wealthy. Living in late 18th- and early 19th-century England, she founded the country’s first penny savings bank, giving working women and children a safe place to save. Victoria Bateman, author of Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth and Power, tells hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth about Wakefield’s life, her ideas and how a simple concept — saving small sums — helped spark a quiet revolution in financial inclusion, with lessons for today. But that didn’t stop Wakefield from running into financial problems of her own.&nbsp; Further reading:Economica: A global history of women, wealth and power, by Victoria Bateman (2025)Reflections on the present condition of the female sex, by Priscilla Wakefield, (reprinted 2015, Cambridge University Press) Credits: Cambridge Library Collection, National Portrait Gallery, Disruption Worthies, National Park Service, Hollinger &amp; Rockey 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:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2slDVpvnUYR4_x06c287Cw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;&nbsp;/ @ftthestoryofmoney&nbsp;&nbsp;</a> Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthProducers: Lulu Smyth and Laurence KnightExecutive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela SaragosaOriginal music: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GiuompasisPodcast Development: Laura ClarkeVideo editor: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/98735cd5-23f0-4534-8822-c80e7b81df01" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</a> <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

The 18th-century woman who made saving possible for the poor

<description>&lt;p&gt;Take 730 delegates from 44 countries, plus another 2,000 or so hangers-on. House them in a remote, dilapidated hotel with holes in the roof and broken furniture. Deliver a train wagon filled with alcohol. Throw in some Russian spies, German prisoners of war, a troupe of bombshell “secretaries” and a magician. And then have the lead protagonist, the world’s most famous economist, almost die of a heart attack. What does that give you? Only the most successful international monetary negotiation in history. This is the story of the Bretton Woods conference of 1944, as relayed by journalist and author Ed Conway to hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth. The three weeks of chaotic talks would deliver three decades of postwar peace and prosperity, and enthrone the US dollar as the global reserve currency. The discussions also nearly killed Britain’s lead negotiator, John Maynard Keynes, and would later disgrace his US counterpart, Harry Dexter White.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further reading:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Summit&lt;/em&gt;, by Ed Conway (2015)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Economic Consequences of the Peace&lt;/em&gt;, by John Maynard Keynes (1919)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;John Maynard Keynes&lt;/em&gt;, biography by Robert Skidelsky in three volumes (1983-2000)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Treasonable Doubt: The Harry Dexter White Spy Case&lt;/em&gt;, by R Bruce Craig (2004)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Credits: King’s College Cambridge, the IMF, Dreamstime, Getty Images, the Hulton Archive, Ullstein Bild, Bettmann, Shutterstock, the LIFE Picture Collection, Thomas D McAvoy, Alfred Eisenstaedt, and the Darling Archive.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;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&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt; here&lt;/a&gt;: &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Laurence Knight&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music: Breen Turner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Giuompasis&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Podcast Development: Laura Clarke&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Video editor: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Learn more at &lt;a href="http://ft.com/tsom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;ft.com/tsom&lt;/a&gt; or get in touch at &lt;a href="mailto:thestoryofmoney@ft.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;thestoryofmoney@ft.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Love listening to &lt;em&gt;FT Podcasts&lt;/em&gt;? Join us live on Saturday June 20 at our inaugural NYC FT Weekend Festival at Spring Studios. Put your questions directly to our experts, experience your favourite podcast in person, and see the FT come to life. &lt;a href="https://event-registration.ft.com/register/9c3a94ba-a95b-42de-9a27-ff90f2354807/tickets-selection?promo=FTPodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Register now&lt;/a&gt; and enjoy 10% off with code &lt;strong&gt;FTPodcast&lt;/strong&gt; — this is one Saturday you won’t want to miss.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

The Bretton Woods agreement: a tale of boozing, womanising, espionage and a heart attack

Take 730 delegates from 44 countries, plus another 2,000 or so hangers-on. House them in a remote, dilapidated hotel with holes in the roof and broken furniture. Deliver a train wagon filled with alcohol. Throw in some Russian spies, German prisoners of war, a troupe of bombshell “secretaries” and a magician. And then have the lead protagonist, the world’s most famous economist, almost die of a heart attack. What does that give you? Only the most successful international monetary negotiation in history. This is the story of the Bretton Woods conference of 1944, as relayed by journalist and author Ed Conway to hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth. The three weeks of chaotic talks would deliver three decades of postwar peace and prosperity, and enthrone the US dollar as the global reserve currency. The discussions also nearly killed Britain’s lead negotiator, John Maynard Keynes, and would later disgrace his US counterpart, Harry Dexter White. Further reading:The Summit, by Ed Conway (2015)The Economic Consequences of the Peace, by John Maynard Keynes (1919)John Maynard Keynes, biography by Robert Skidelsky in three volumes (1983-2000)Treasonable Doubt: The Harry Dexter White Spy Case, by R Bruce Craig (2004) Credits: King’s College Cambridge, the IMF, Dreamstime, Getty Images, the Hulton Archive, Ullstein Bild, Bettmann, Shutterstock, the LIFE Picture Collection, Thomas D McAvoy, Alfred Eisenstaedt, and the Darling Archive. 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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney</a> Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthProducer: Laurence KnightExecutive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela SaragosaOriginal music: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GiuompasisPodcast Development: Laura ClarkeVideo editor: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery Learn more at <a href="http://ft.com/tsom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ft.com/tsom</a> or get in touch at <a href="mailto:thestoryofmoney@ft.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thestoryofmoney@ft.com</a>. Love listening to FT Podcasts? Join us live on Saturday June 20 at our inaugural NYC FT Weekend Festival at Spring Studios. Put your questions directly to our experts, experience your favourite podcast in person, and see the FT come to life. <a href="https://event-registration.ft.com/register/9c3a94ba-a95b-42de-9a27-ff90f2354807/tickets-selection?promo=FTPodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Register now</a> and enjoy 10% off with code FTPodcast — this is one Saturday you won’t want to miss.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

The deal that put the dollar at the centre of the world

<description>&lt;p&gt;What is money? And what can a small island in Micronesia teach us about how it works? On Yap, a remote island in the western Pacific, giant calcite “Rai” stones once functioned as currency, where ownership and collective trust — rather than physical possession — defined wealth and status. In this episode of &lt;em&gt;The Story of Money&lt;/em&gt;, macroeconomist and author Felix Martin joins hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth to explore the stones of Yap, the origins of money and why the traditional “barter theory” may be a myth.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further reading: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Money: The Unauthorised Biography&lt;/em&gt; (2015) by Felix Martin&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Uap of the Carolines&lt;/em&gt; (1910) by William Henry Furness III&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;A Treatise on Money &lt;/em&gt;(1930) by John Maynard Keynes&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Island of Stone Money &lt;/em&gt;(1991) and&lt;em&gt; Money Mischief &lt;/em&gt;(1992) by Milton Friedman&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;‘Tralla La’ in &lt;em&gt;Uncle Scrooge #6&lt;/em&gt; by Carl Barks (1954)&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;His Majesty O’Keefe&lt;/em&gt; (1954) Warner Bros&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to &lt;em&gt;The Story of Money&lt;/em&gt; wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show's dedicated YouTube channel&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt; here&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Love listening to &lt;em&gt;The Story of Money&lt;/em&gt;? Join us live on Saturday, June 20 at our inaugural NYC FT Weekend Festival at Spring Studios. Put your questions directly to our experts, experience your favourite podcast in person, and see the FT come to life. &lt;a href="https://event-registration.ft.com/register/9c3a94ba-a95b-42de-9a27-ff90f2354807/tickets-selection?promo=FTPodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Register now&lt;/a&gt; and enjoy 10% off with code &lt;strong&gt;FTPodcast&lt;/strong&gt; — this is one Saturday you won’t want to miss.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Learn more at &lt;a href="http://ft.com/tsom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;ft.com/tsom&lt;/a&gt; or get in touch at &lt;a href="mailto:thestoryofmoney@ft.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;thestoryofmoney@ft.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Guest: Felix Martin&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Lulu Smyth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Senior Producers: Laurence Knight and Michela Tindera&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music: Breen Turner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Giuompasis&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Podcast Development: Laura Clarke&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;FT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl Brumley&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Video editors: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.ft.com/content/122b53cc-98b1-4cff-9051-40feb5568d07" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

What human-sized stones on the island of Yap reveal about the true nature of money 

What is money? And what can a small island in Micronesia teach us about how it works? On Yap, a remote island in the western Pacific, giant calcite “Rai” stones once functioned as currency, where ownership and collective trust — rather than physical possession — defined wealth and status. In this episode of The Story of Money, macroeconomist and author Felix Martin joins hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth to explore the stones of Yap, the origins of money and why the traditional “barter theory” may be a myth. Further reading: Money: The Unauthorised Biography (2015) by Felix Martin&nbsp;Uap of the Carolines (1910) by William Henry Furness IIIA Treatise on Money (1930) by John Maynard Keynes&nbsp;The Island of Stone Money (1991) and Money Mischief (1992) by Milton Friedman&nbsp;&nbsp;‘Tralla La’ in Uncle Scrooge #6 by Carl Barks (1954)&nbsp;His Majesty O’Keefe (1954) Warner Bros&nbsp; To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show's dedicated YouTube channel<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.&nbsp; Love listening to The Story of Money? Join us live on Saturday, June 20 at our inaugural NYC FT Weekend Festival at Spring Studios. Put your questions directly to our experts, experience your favourite podcast in person, and see the FT come to life. <a href="https://event-registration.ft.com/register/9c3a94ba-a95b-42de-9a27-ff90f2354807/tickets-selection?promo=FTPodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Register now</a> and enjoy 10% off with code FTPodcast — this is one Saturday you won’t want to miss.&nbsp; Learn more at <a href="http://ft.com/tsom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ft.com/tsom</a> or get in touch at <a href="mailto:thestoryofmoney@ft.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thestoryofmoney@ft.com</a>. Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthGuest: Felix MartinProducer: Lulu SmythSenior Producers: Laurence Knight and Michela TinderaExecutive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela SaragosaOriginal music: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GiuompasisPodcast Development: Laura ClarkeFT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl BrumleyVideo editors: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/122b53cc-98b1-4cff-9051-40feb5568d07" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</a><hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Why money is the biggest shared hallucination in human history

<description>&lt;p&gt;In 19th-century America almost anyone could print their own money – and many did. One of the most notable figures to take this up was a man named James Brown, a charismatic conman who built a fortune producing fake banknotes. In this episode of The Story of Money, Stephen Mihm, a professor of history at the University of Georgia, introduces hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth to “the hardest working man in counterfeiting”.&amp;nbsp;They discuss the parallels between banking in the Wild West and the advent of cryptocurrencies today, and the role trust plays in all financial systems.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further reading:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A Nation of Counterfeiters: Capitalists, Con Men, and the Making of the United States, by Stephen Mihm (2007)&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Square and Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power, by Niall Ferguson (2018)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, and also follow the show's dedicated YouTube channel&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt; here&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Learn more at &lt;a href="http://ft.com/tsom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;ft.com/tsom&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Guest: Stephen Mihm&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Lulu Smyth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Senior Producer: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music: Breen Turner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Giuompasis&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Podcast Development: Laura Clarke&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;FT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl Brumley&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Video editor: Kristen Kenyon at Podcast Discovery&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8e97870d-c2c7-4255-8bbd-8f4c05fcad9d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

The counterfeit money boom that holds lessons for crypto today

In 19th-century America almost anyone could print their own money – and many did. One of the most notable figures to take this up was a man named James Brown, a charismatic conman who built a fortune producing fake banknotes. In this episode of The Story of Money, Stephen Mihm, a professor of history at the University of Georgia, introduces hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth to “the hardest working man in counterfeiting”.&nbsp;They discuss the parallels between banking in the Wild West and the advent of cryptocurrencies today, and the role trust plays in all financial systems.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Further reading:A Nation of Counterfeiters: Capitalists, Con Men, and the Making of the United States, by Stephen Mihm (2007)&nbsp;The Square and Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power, by Niall Ferguson (2018) To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, and also follow the show's dedicated YouTube channel<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.&nbsp; Learn more at <a href="http://ft.com/tsom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ft.com/tsom</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthGuest: Stephen MihmProducer: Lulu SmythSenior Producer: Michela Tindera and Laurence KnightExecutive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela SaragosaOriginal music: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GiuompasisPodcast Development: Laura ClarkeFT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl BrumleyVideo editor: Kristen Kenyon at Podcast Discovery <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8e97870d-c2c7-4255-8bbd-8f4c05fcad9d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</a><hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

When money went rogue: banking in 19th-century frontier America 

<description>&lt;p&gt;Every now and then a new technology comes along that changes everything – electricity, computers, potentially AI. In mid-19th-century America, that technology was the steam locomotive. It knitted the US economy together, driving the nation’s industrialisation during the Gilded Age. But along the way, it also caused one of the biggest financial crises in American history. FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth tells his co-host, FT columnist Gillian Tett, the story of the great railway bubble that ended in the Panic of 1873. It’s also the story of the spectacular rise and fall of Jay Cooke, the greatest banker of his day, who lost a fortune betting on a railroad that would eventually span the North American continent – just not in time to repay its debts. Robin and Gillian discuss what lessons the financier’s fate holds for the investors gambling on today’s AI boom.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Credits: New York Times Archive, Otto Herschan Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, Hulton Archive/Getty Images&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Further reading:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jay Cooke: Financier of the Civil War&lt;/em&gt;, by Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer (1907)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jay Cooke's gamble: the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Sioux, and the Panic of 1873&lt;/em&gt;, by M John Lubetkin (2006)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America&lt;/em&gt;, by Richard White (2012)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Pop! Why Bubbles Are Great For The Economy&lt;/em&gt;, by Daniel Gross (2007)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World&lt;/em&gt;, by Robin Wigglesworth (2026 – forthcoming)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;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&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt; here&lt;/a&gt;:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Lulu Smyth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Senior Producers: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music and sound design: Breen Turner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Giuompasis&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Podcast Development: Laura Clarke&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;FT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl Brumley&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Video editor: Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2a59a2f6-a16d-4d1a-8821-c1ec6d1ab132" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

How a truly transformative technology can still cause a financial crash

Every now and then a new technology comes along that changes everything – electricity, computers, potentially AI. In mid-19th-century America, that technology was the steam locomotive. It knitted the US economy together, driving the nation’s industrialisation during the Gilded Age. But along the way, it also caused one of the biggest financial crises in American history. FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth tells his co-host, FT columnist Gillian Tett, the story of the great railway bubble that ended in the Panic of 1873. It’s also the story of the spectacular rise and fall of Jay Cooke, the greatest banker of his day, who lost a fortune betting on a railroad that would eventually span the North American continent – just not in time to repay its debts. Robin and Gillian discuss what lessons the financier’s fate holds for the investors gambling on today’s AI boom. Credits: New York Times Archive, Otto Herschan Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, Hulton Archive/Getty Images Further reading:Jay Cooke: Financier of the Civil War, by Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer (1907)Jay Cooke's gamble: the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Sioux, and the Panic of 1873, by M John Lubetkin (2006)Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America, by Richard White (2012)Pop! Why Bubbles Are Great For The Economy, by Daniel Gross (2007)A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World, by Robin Wigglesworth (2026 – forthcoming) 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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>:&nbsp; Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthProducer: Lulu SmythSenior Producers: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight&nbsp;Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela SaragosaOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GiuompasisPodcast Development: Laura ClarkeFT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl BrumleyVideo editor: Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2a59a2f6-a16d-4d1a-8821-c1ec6d1ab132" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com</a> <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Hitting the Buffers: The 1873 railway bust that broke one of America’s greatest financiers

FT columnist Gillian Tett and FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth dig into the ideas, personalities and institutions that have shaped the history of finance. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

The Story of Money

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