HBO’s ‘Industry’ Creators on Banking Culture, Risk, Fraud and Short Selling

In this special edition of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Miriam Gottfried and WSJ banking reporter Alexander Saeedy go inside the high-stakes world of HBO’s financial television drama “Industry.” They are joined by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, former bankers turned co-creators of the show, to unpack how real-world market dynamics inspire the series.

Down and Kay reflect on their early careers at Morgan Stanley and Rothschild, and explain why season 4 shifts away from the fictional trading floor of Pierpoint to the new frontiers of fintech, short selling and media.

The group compares the financial series’ plotlines to real-world reporting on 100-hour workweeks and the mental health toll on junior bankers. They also take a look at the gamification of finance—from meme stocks to Polymarket—how a new generation is redefining risk, and the "cult of personality" driving financial fraud.

Later, the creators weigh in on a hypothetical "cutthroat" trade: How would the show’s characters Harper Stern and Eric Tao play the Venezuela reopening trade?

Polymarket has a data partnership with Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones.

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where we cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com.

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Episoder(129)

How AI Spending Is Fueling the Economy Overall

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Miriam Gottfried and Telis Demos dig into the shifting sentiment away from AI stocks and the pivot into consumer sectors. Are we heading into...

9 Aug 35min

Why Oil Prices Could Hit a Breaking Point by Year End

In this episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos is joined by guest co-host and Wall Street Journal reporter David Uberti to break down the Federal Reserve’s latest moves, and what oil’s...

2 Aug 34min

The Buried $150B Bet Inside the Top 20 U.S. Stocks

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, host Telis Demos and guest host Spencer Jakab, the Wall Street Journal’s investing columnist and writer of the Markets A.M. newsletter, are joined by ...

26 Jul 32min

How This $150B+ Wall Street Strategy Could Lower Your Taxes

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Miriam Gottfried and Telis Demos are joined by Brent Sullivan, founder of Tax Alpha Insider, to dive into a hot, over $150 billion investing ...

19 Jul 34min

Are Corporate Earnings in a Bubble? This Quarter Is a Test

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Miriam Gottfried and Telis Demos preview earnings from Taiwan’s flagship chip maker, TSMC. They also break down why this coming week’s earnin...

12 Jul 37min

Can Hot Consumer Companies Like Oura and Whoop Make Good IPOs?

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Miriam Gottfried and Telis Demos dig into this past week’s tech selloff and how the market’s volatility reflected serious questions about spe...

28 Jun 39min

How Big Tech’s Financials Obscure the True Cost of the AI Buildout

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, host Telis Demos and Heard on the Street columnist Jonathan Weil sit down with Kevin Koharki, principal at CAE Consulting and professor at Purdue Univ...

21 Jun 28min

The Hidden Risks of Buying Into Mega-IPOs Like SpaceX

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Miriam Gottfried and Telis Demos break down the historic launch of SpaceX, the biggest initial public offering ever, which priced at $135 a s...

14 Jun 33min