<description>&lt;p&gt;A &lt;em&gt;live&lt;/em&gt; mash-up between &lt;em&gt;Business History&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;and Bloomberg's &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts/series/everybodys-business"&gt;Everybody's Business&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;On platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket you can bet on just about anything - from Taylor Swift's album sales to whether President Trump will say a certain word in a speech. Many people worry about these new prediction markets, but the concept is far older than some critics might think.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We go back centuries to Papal conclaves; hear about how counting drinking toasts stood in for political polling; and learn how the US government tried using betting markets to predict terrorist attacks.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;See &lt;a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener"&gt;omnystudio.com/listener&lt;/a&gt; for privacy information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Business History

Pushkin Industries

Betting on Taylor Swift or Who'll Be Made Pope: The Past and Present of Prediction Markets

MAR 25, 202636 MIN
Business History

Betting on Taylor Swift or Who'll Be Made Pope: The Past and Present of Prediction Markets

MAR 25, 202636 MIN

Description

A live mash-up between Business History and Bloomberg's Everybody's Business. On platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket you can bet on just about anything - from Taylor Swift's album sales to whether President Trump will say a certain word in a speech. Many people worry about these new prediction markets, but the concept is far older than some critics might think.  We go back centuries to Papal conclaves; hear about how counting drinking toasts stood in for political polling; and learn how the US government tried using betting markets to predict terrorist attacks.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.