<description>&lt;p&gt;In the mid-1990s, Albania appeared to be a nation on the rise. Emerging from decades of isolation and communist rule, people poured their savings into investment schemes that promised extraordinary returns. But many of those schemes were little more than giant Ponzi scams. When they collapsed in early 1997, millions of people lost everything. The financial meltdown triggered mass protests and armed uprisings. The government lost control of large parts of the country and Albania teetered on the edge of civil war. In this episode, we revisit one of the most dramatic financial disasters of the post-cold war era. Host Robin Wigglesworth speaks to Ortenca Aliaj, the FT’s banking editor who was a child in Albania during the crisis, about what it was like to live through the chaos, how the schemes captured an entire nation and what the collapse reveals about the dangerous mix of financial speculation, weak institutions and public trust.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Further reading:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Shock Doctrine, &lt;/em&gt;Naomi Klein&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Credits: Getty Images&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;Host: Robin Wigglesworth&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Producer: Laurence Knight&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Executive Producer: Manuela Saragosa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music: Breen Turner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis&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 &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;&lt;a href="https://www.ft.com/content/199b6c9f-fe1a-402f-9ea1-c77ea8cba334" 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>

1997 was the country’s year of financial horror

In the mid-1990s, Albania appeared to be a nation on the rise. Emerging from decades of isolation and communist rule, people poured their savings into investment schemes that promised extraordinary returns. But many of those schemes were little more than giant Ponzi scams. When they collapsed in early 1997, millions of people lost everything. The financial meltdown triggered mass protests and armed uprisings. The government lost control of large parts of the country and Albania teetered on the edge of civil war. In this episode, we revisit one of the most dramatic financial disasters of the post-cold war era. Host Robin Wigglesworth speaks to Ortenca Aliaj, the FT’s banking editor who was a child in Albania during the crisis, about what it was like to live through the chaos, how the schemes captured an entire nation and what the collapse reveals about the dangerous mix of financial speculation, weak institutions and public trust. Further reading:The Shock Doctrine, Naomi KleinCredits: Getty Images 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> Host: Robin WigglesworthProducer: Laurence KnightExecutive Producer: Manuela SaragosaOriginal music: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GioumpasisPodcast Development: Laura ClarkeVideo editor: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at <a href="mailto:thestoryofmoney@ft.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thestoryofmoney@ft.com</a>. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/199b6c9f-fe1a-402f-9ea1-c77ea8cba334" 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 financial scams that brought Albania to the brink of war

<description>&lt;p&gt;Today, when people hear the name Richard Nixon, they probably think of Watergate. Few remember another one of his most controversial acts – his suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold. The “Nixon Shock” as it became known was a quintessentially America First policy, which shattered the postwar global monetary order. But the US president was far more concerned about juicing the US economy and winning re-election than he was about upsetting America’s closest allies. In this second episode about Nixon’s pivotal decision, Professor Jeffrey Garten tells the story of its aftermath, while hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth explore the parallels with the present-day America First presidency.&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;Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy&lt;/em&gt;, by Jeffrey E Garten (2021)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Gold and the dollar crisis&lt;/em&gt;, by Robert Triffin (1960)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Our Dollar, Your Problem&lt;/em&gt;, by Kenneth Rogoff (2025)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Credits: Getty Images, Associated Press, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library&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 Producer: Manuela Saragosa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music: Breen Turner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis&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 &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;&lt;a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c147cc53-1e6f-426e-b6ef-4e8ab062a812" 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>

US to the world: “It’s our dollar, but it’s your problem.”

Today, when people hear the name Richard Nixon, they probably think of Watergate. Few remember another one of his most controversial acts – his suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold. The “Nixon Shock” as it became known was a quintessentially America First policy, which shattered the postwar global monetary order. But the US president was far more concerned about juicing the US economy and winning re-election than he was about upsetting America’s closest allies. In this second episode about Nixon’s pivotal decision, Professor Jeffrey Garten tells the story of its aftermath, while hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth explore the parallels with the present-day America First presidency. Further reading:Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy, by Jeffrey E Garten (2021)Gold and the dollar crisis, by Robert Triffin (1960)Our Dollar, Your Problem, by Kenneth Rogoff (2025) Credits: Getty Images, Associated Press, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library 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 Producer: Manuela SaragosaOriginal music: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GioumpasisPodcast Development: Laura ClarkeVideo editor: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast Discovery Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at <a href="mailto:thestoryofmoney@ft.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thestoryofmoney@ft.com</a>. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c147cc53-1e6f-426e-b6ef-4e8ab062a812" 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 Nixon put America first and took the dollar off gold 

<description>&lt;p&gt;A century ago, when depositors lost confidence in a bank, they’d rush to withdraw their cash. In 1971, US president Richard Milhous Nixon faced a similar dilemma. But his problem wasn’t ordinary citizens fearing for their savings. Instead, it was America’s closest allies who were nervously eyeing the dwindling supply of gold in Fort Knox at a time when the dollar’s value was tied to gold and allies’ currencies were in turn tied to the dollar. And just like a beleaguered bank manager of yore, Nixon chose to shut America’s doors to further withdrawals. His decision threatened to pull the plug on the entire international monetary system established at Bretton Woods in 1944. It was so unexpected and outrageous, it became known as the “Nixon Shock”. In the first of two episodes on the topic, hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth get the story from economist and ex-financier Jeffrey Garten – a man with a CV so long that he once even worked for the Nixon administration himself.&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;Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy&lt;/em&gt;, by Jeffrey E Garten (2021)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Gold and the dollar crisis&lt;/em&gt;, by Robert Triffin (1960)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Credits: Getty Images, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library&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 Producer: Manuela Saragosa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music: Breen Turner&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis&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/8e989e89-8f56-4d38-bbef-1f098250945f" 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>

All the gold in Fort Knox wasn’t enough to save the US dollar

A century ago, when depositors lost confidence in a bank, they’d rush to withdraw their cash. In 1971, US president Richard Milhous Nixon faced a similar dilemma. But his problem wasn’t ordinary citizens fearing for their savings. Instead, it was America’s closest allies who were nervously eyeing the dwindling supply of gold in Fort Knox at a time when the dollar’s value was tied to gold and allies’ currencies were in turn tied to the dollar. And just like a beleaguered bank manager of yore, Nixon chose to shut America’s doors to further withdrawals. His decision threatened to pull the plug on the entire international monetary system established at Bretton Woods in 1944. It was so unexpected and outrageous, it became known as the “Nixon Shock”. In the first of two episodes on the topic, hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth get the story from economist and ex-financier Jeffrey Garten – a man with a CV so long that he once even worked for the Nixon administration himself. Further reading:Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy, by Jeffrey E Garten (2021)Gold and the dollar crisis, by Robert Triffin (1960) Credits: Getty Images, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library 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 Producer: Manuela SaragosaOriginal music: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GioumpasisPodcast 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/8e989e89-8f56-4d38-bbef-1f098250945f" 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 Richard Nixon torpedoed the global monetary system

<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

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.

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