On Background: The Political Spender America Deserves
During the 2022 election cycle, crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried gave as much as $40 million in political donations. That whopping sum caught the attention of campaign finance watchdogs, even before Ban...
15 Aug 202329min
On Background: Who Buys Distressed Assets?
Andy Mitchell could be called a "doctor for business." His firm, Lantern Asset Management, buys up businesses in immediate need of cash and willing to sell at bargain-basement prices. Michael Lewis ca...
11 Juli 202335min
On Background: Effective Altruism Still Has Friends
One-time crypto-currency king Sam Bankman-Fried was a big proponent of a philosophical movement known as “effective altruism,” or EA. Advocates of EA say we should use data and reason to find the best...
13 Juni 202334min
On Background: Crypto Skeptic Proven Right
If you spend any time reporting on the world of crypto currency and Bitcoin, then you’re going to run across the name Molly White. She’s a software engineer who has been called "the cryptocurrency wor...
16 Maj 202331min
On Background: A History of Bankruptcy in the US
Often when a corporation declares bankruptcy, that happens at the end of a long and difficult road. But entering bankruptcy proceedings also means setting out on a new and equally difficult road. That...
11 Apr 202333min
On Background: White-Collar Crime and Punishment
Why do people commit white-collar crimes? And how has the way we think about — and prosecute — white-collar criminals changed over time? As part of the background research for his next book, which is ...
14 Mars 202339min
On Background: Bad Actors on the Blockchain
For his next book, Michael Lewis wants to find out how investigators manage to trace the murky trail of illicit crypto. Cryptocurrency started with the dream of cash changing hands without a trace. Bu...
14 Feb 202336min
On Background from Against the Rules
Michael Lewis's next book is all about Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the crypto-currency exchange FTX, who now faces federal charges. As with all of his books, Lewis is talking with experts to get bac...
31 Jan 20232min
