The Wolves of Fraud Street: Crypto’s Enron Era With Ben McKenzie

Actor-turned-crypto-whistleblower Ben McKenzie joins Rick Wilson for a brutal, no-bullshit takedown of the crypto industry just as Congress barrels toward two major crypto bills hitting the floor this week on Capitol Hill. From meme coins and “decentralized finance” scams to billion-dollar rugpulls, political bribery, and money laundering dressed up in Patagonia vests and TED Talk jargon, Rick and Ben break down how crypto became the preferred playground for grifters, oligarchs, libertarian weirdos, and every guy who says “bro” before pitching financial collapse. They unpack why Washington suddenly wants to legitimize the casino after years of fraud, who’s cashing in, and why the American taxpayer always seems to end up holding the empty bag while crypto bros flee to Dubai. It’s the great Ponzi scheme of our time — powered by hype, corruption, influencer cults, and vibes-based economics — and the wheels may finally be coming off in public.
•
•
•
•
•
Ben McKenzie is on X @@ben_mckenzie. His movie, ‘Everyone is Lying to You for Money,’ is playing now in select theaters. His best-selling book, ‘Easy Money,’ is out now, wherever fine books are sold.

Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.

Visit www.quince.com/lincoln for free shipping + 365-day returns. #ad

Build credit fast and get your first month for just a dollar at getkikoff.com/lincolnproject today. Thanks to Kikoff for sponsoring us! #ad

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(600)

THE DAY AFTER: BRIAN TYLER COHEN HANDS DEMS THE PLAYBOOK TO CRUSH MAGA IN 2026 💥📘🔥

STOP DOOMSCROLLING AND PRESS PLAY. This week we get our hands on THE PLAYBOOK. Brian Tyler Cohen — the #1 New York Times bestselling menace behind Shameless — is back with a brand-new battle plan, THE...

5 Elo 32min

They Tried To Stay Polite. I Wouldn’t Let Them.

This week’s EITR comes to you from LP’s trip across the pond. Rick reports back from a week of speaking in the UK — on America’s declining standing abroad, the rise of authoritarian populism, and the ...

1 Elo 32min

How Democrats Actually Win It All Back by 2028

Everybody's got a hot take on how American democracy is dying. Almost nobody has an actual plan to save it. This week, Rick Wilson sits down with Ben Wikler — the former Wisconsin Democratic Party cha...

29 Heinä 50min

Somebody's Losing Their Seat + He Doesn't Know It Yet

While Washington burns, there are people out there actually doing the unglamorous work of winning elections — and this week Rick Wilson brings you two of them. First up: Josh Turek, running for Senate...

21 Heinä 53min

Trump Could Not Stand Up. Blanche Could Not Shut Up.

Two acts, one circus. Part one: Trump shuffled out last night, grabbed the podium like it was the only thing keeping him upright, and delivered a low-energy, incoherent rerun of his greatest 2020 grie...

17 Heinä 37min

Dominion Conspiracies, Jared Polis’ Capitulating, & My Pillow Guy’s Endorsement: The Tina Peters’ Commutation Starter Package

Here's a sentence that should stop you cold: a Democratic governor just cut loose one of the most notorious election criminals in the country — because Donald Trump told him to. Tina Peters, the Color...

14 Heinä 35min

Send in the Clown: Trump Does NATO

Trump flew to Ankara for the NATO summit and turned it into an open-mic disaster. In two days he threatened to bomb Iran again, screamed at Europe for blocking his Greenland obsession, called Spain "a...

10 Heinä 28min

Erin Brockovich: Big Tech Is Draining Your Town Dry for AI

Somewhere near you, Big Tech is quietly bolting together a windowless box the size of a stadium — and it's thirsty as hell. The AI gold rush has unleashed a wave of massive data centers that swallow s...

7 Heinä 39min