Merryn Talks Money: John Law, The Gambler Who Invented Modern Money (Part 1)
Odd Lots26 Des 2025

Merryn Talks Money: John Law, The Gambler Who Invented Modern Money (Part 1)

Hello Odd Lots listeners! As we take a break for the holidays we'd like to take a moment and bring you an episode by one of our sister shows here at Bloomberg Podcasts, Merryn Talks Money.

In this special two-part series, John Stepek and Merryn Somerset Webb tell the extraordinary story of John Law: a fugitive Scots gambler who became the most powerful financier in France and helped invent the modern monetary system. From murder and exile to paper money, banking revolutions and spectacular collapse, Law’s life reveals why today’s financial system works the way it does—and why it sometimes blows up. It’s history, scandal and monetary theory rolled into one irresistible tale.

We used a range of sources for this podcast but two key books to read if you'd like to find out more are:
John Law: A Scottish Adventurer of the Eighteenth Century (2018), by James Buchan
John Law: Economic Theorist and Policy-Maker (1997), by Antoin Murphy

Like this episode? Listen and Subscribe to the Merryn Talks Money podcast on Apple, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts

Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(1191)

The Big Macro Force That's Been Driving Stocks Higher for Years

The Big Macro Force That's Been Driving Stocks Higher for Years

Stocks have gone up over the years because corporate earnings continue to grow. That part is straightforward. But in addition to rising stock prices, we've also seen rising stock market valuations. Fo...

11 Apr 36min

How Shipping Insurance Really Works During a War

How Shipping Insurance Really Works During a War

When the conflict with Iran started, some of the first headlines we saw had to do with shipping insurance. Marine insurers were said to be canceling war risk coverage for vessels going through the Str...

10 Apr 53min

Thomas Peterffy on Interactive Brokers' Plan to Professionalize Prediction Markets

Thomas Peterffy on Interactive Brokers' Plan to Professionalize Prediction Markets

Right now, when you think about prediction markets, you basically think about two main companies: Polymarket and Kalshi. And then when you think of what's being traded on those platforms, there's a wh...

9 Apr 50min

Search Engine Presents: Are you a good driver?

Search Engine Presents: Are you a good driver?

The story of how a secret project at Google led to driverless cars on American roads. And, an answer to the question: are the robots actually safer drivers than we are? Find Part 2: “The Trial of the ...

8 Apr 1h 8min

Gina Raimondo on How European Industry Is Getting Crushed

Gina Raimondo on How European Industry Is Getting Crushed

The relationship between the US and Europe is deteriorating along both security and economic dimensions. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs, while also being sharply critical of NATO allies....

6 Apr 45min

Scott Bok Explains What Investment Bankers Actually Do All Day

Scott Bok Explains What Investment Bankers Actually Do All Day

There's obviously a lot of talk these days about AI and possible destruction of white collar jobs. Intuitively bankers might be expected to be victims of this. But before we can answer whether AI can ...

3 Apr 54min

This Is How to Tell if Writing Was Made by AI

This Is How to Tell if Writing Was Made by AI

When you consider the fact that many people don't know how and where to place a comma, it's safe to say that AI is already better than most people at writing. It's clean copy. It can be surprisingly p...

2 Apr 48min

Javier Blas on Why Oil Could Go Much, Much Higher

Javier Blas on Why Oil Could Go Much, Much Higher

Oil has shot up by a lot since the start of war with Iran. But it could still get much worse. So far, the massive disruption (due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz) has been cushioned by the draw...

1 Apr 41min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
pengepodden-2
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
utbytte
pengesnakk
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
liberal-halvtime
rss-sunn-okonomi
lederpodden
rss-pa-konto
rss-investering-gjort-enkelt
rss-markedspuls-2