Bad Bets

By The Wall Street Journal

What's Bad Bets about?

Bad Bets unravels big-business dramas that have had a big impact on our world. In Season 2, we delve into the story of Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who promised a future of zero-emission trucks but was taken down by a ragtag bunch of whistleblowers and short sellers. Season 2 is hosted by Ben Foldy.

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Bad Bets episodes:

11.11.2022
The Unraveling of Trevor Milton, Ep 6: “The Truth and the Whole Truth"
Trevor Milton assembled a high-powered legal team to defend himself against federal fraud charges. At the same time, whistleblowers and Nikola executives were ready to testify against him. In our season finale, we go inside Milton’s trial and speak to...
11.04.2022
The Unraveling of Trevor Milton, Ep 5: “Trouble for Troublemakers”
As investors and General Motors bet on Trevor Milton’s vision, the short sellers at Hindenburg Research revealed that the company he founded, Nikola, wasn’t all that it seemed. The allegation that Nikola rolled its truck down a hill for a...
10.28.2022
The Unraveling of Trevor Milton, Ep 4: “Not Appointed Us to Wrath”
After it began trading in 2020, Nikola was a hot stock—and Trevor Milton was a newly minted billionaire. But in the background, people from Trevor’s past were finding each other and sharing their experiences. In this episode, we talk to...
10.21.2022
The Unraveling of Trevor Milton, Ep 3: “Paul Echo Mango”
A jury has convicted Nikola founder Trevor Milton in his federal fraud trial. To better understand what led up to this moment, we hear from some of the engineers Nikola hired to help make Trevor’s idea of a zero-emissions semi...
10.14.2022
The Unraveling of Trevor Milton, Ep 2: “No Good Deed”
Trevor Milton had a knack for pitching people to invest in his ideas. He raised millions for his early business ventures by making big promises, often to inexperienced investors including friends and members of his church community. In this episode,...
10.07.2022
The Unraveling of Trevor Milton, Ep 1: “Hey, Buddy”
Trevor Milton sold a promise—a zero-emissions semi truck that could revolutionize the trucking industry. He also sold himself as the visionary founder capable of delivering on that promise. In this episode, we take you back to Trevor’s early years as...
09.16.2022
Introducing Bad Bets Season 2: The Unraveling of Trevor Milton
Bad Bets, a podcast series from The Wall Street Journal that unravels big-business dramas that have had a big impact on our world, is back for Season 2. This season, we delve into the story of Nikola founder Trevor Milton....
11.30.2021
Enron, Ep 8: Vigilance and Skepticism
Enron was a giant, and its collapse was historic. The company's downfall disrupted energy markets, pushing other power companies into bankruptcy. It prompted hearings by nearly a dozen congressional committees, and it inspired major legislation-the Sarbanes-Oxley Act-to improve the conduct...
11.23.2021
Enron, Ep 7: The Trial
After years spent building its "lies and choices" case, the Department of Justice's Enron Task Force took Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling to court. In this episode, the unprecedented trial that became something of a litmus test for...
11.16.2021
Enron, Ep 6: Lies and Choices
Enron CEO Ken Lay was practically the company's founding father. But when federal authorities began investigating Enron after its collapse, prosecutors had a hard time connecting Lay to anything illegal - and Lay himself insisted that he was innocent. Until:...
11.09.2021
Enron, Ep 5: The Enablers
After Enron's collapse, a congressional probe and a Department of Justice task force began investigating not just company executives - but also the auditors and banks that had enabled the company's business practices. In this episode, the groups that facilitated...
11.02.2021
Enron, Ep 4: The Downfall
The biggest problem for Enron wasn't that former CEO Jeffrey Skilling suddenly quit, or that former CFO Andy Fastow was enriching himself. It was that Enron's success was dependent on an image that was partly a facade. After Wall Street...
10.26.2021
Enron, Ep 3: The Fixer and the Whistleblowers
Enron's stock price rose astronomically in the late '90s, buoyed by investor confidence in former CEO Jeffrey Skilling-and by earnings reports that seemed to show Enron's profits growing by leaps and bounds. But as we now know, those numbers were...
10.19.2021
Enron, Ep 2: The Visionary
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was arguably the face of Enron's meteoric rise in the 1990s. He took a sleepy energy company and turned it into one of the most innovative corporations in the world. By the end, Enron had...
10.12.2021
Enron, Ep 1: Potemkin Village
In 2001, energy company Enron was at the height of its power. Then, out of the blue, CEO Jeffrey Skilling resigned-just six months after he took the reins of a company he had helped turn into an innovation machine. Why?...
10.01.2021
Introducing: Bad Bets
Introducing Bad Bets, a new podcast series from The Wall Street Journal that unravels big-business dramas that have had a big impact on our world. We begin with the Enron saga. In the 1990s, the U.S. energy company was a...