Make Me Smart

Crypto goes to court


Listen Later

Hey smarties! We recorded today’s episode before historic news broke that the House of representatives voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker. We’re monitoring the story as it develops and as the House figures out what comes next.

IIt’s Day 1 of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial. Last year, The founder of FTX was charged with counts of fraud and conspiracy after his crypto exchange went under and investigators found that $8 billion in customer funds had gone missing.

Before his fall from grace, SBF had become one of the most powerful players in the industry. This has us wondering: Is crypto on trial along with Sam Bankman-Fried?

On the show today, Bloomberg’s Zeke Faux, author of “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall,” explains how the trial could play out, where crypto is today and whether it has a viable future, post-SBF.

Then, we’ll hear how companies can be held accountable for the junk they leave floating in space. And automatic enrollment in retirement savings plans has given millennials a boost in an economy where they haven’t generally had a leg up.

Later, we’ll hear from one listener on the overlap between colleges and trade schools. And another listener explains why he was wrong about music.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

      • “Who’s Rooting Hardest for a Sam Bankman-Fried Conviction? The Crypto Industry.” from The New York Times
          • “With SBF, Gisele, and Michael Lewis at Peak of Crypto Craze” from New York Magazine
              • “What Good is Crypto If Coin Prices Don’t Go Up?” from Bloomberg
                  • “The FTX trial is bigger than Sam Bankman-Fried” from The Verge
                      • “Mountain of FTX Evidence: Emails, Chat Logs, Code and a Notebook” from The New York Times
                          • “Can FTX Be Revived—Without Sam Bankman-Fried?” from Wired
                              • “Why Black investors are more likely to own crypto” from Marketplace
                                  • “FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test for Oct. 4, 2023” from FEMA
                                      • “Dish Network Hit With Historic Fine Over Space Debris” from Gizmodo
                                          • “Millennials on Better Track for Retirement Than Boomers and Gen X” from The Wall Street Journal
                                          • The countdown is on! Help us reach 2,000 donors by Friday.

                                            ...more
                                            View all episodesView all episodes
                                            Download on the App Store

                                            Make Me SmartBy Marketplace

                                            • 4.6
                                            • 4.6
                                            • 4.6
                                            • 4.6
                                            • 4.6

                                            4.6

                                            5,429 ratings


                                            More shows like Make Me Smart

                                            View all
                                            Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

                                            Freakonomics Radio

                                            32,152 Listeners

                                            Fresh Air by NPR

                                            Fresh Air

                                            38,515 Listeners

                                            Planet Money by NPR

                                            Planet Money

                                            30,809 Listeners

                                            Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

                                            Hidden Brain

                                            43,696 Listeners

                                            Marketplace by Marketplace

                                            Marketplace

                                            8,756 Listeners

                                            Marketplace Morning Report by Marketplace

                                            Marketplace Morning Report

                                            927 Listeners

                                            Marketplace All-in-One by Marketplace

                                            Marketplace All-in-One

                                            1,382 Listeners

                                            Marketplace Tech by Marketplace

                                            Marketplace Tech

                                            1,272 Listeners

                                            Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

                                            Science Friday

                                            6,417 Listeners

                                            The Uncertain Hour by Marketplace

                                            The Uncertain Hour

                                            2,179 Listeners

                                            The Daily by The New York Times

                                            The Daily

                                            112,482 Listeners

                                            Up First from NPR by NPR

                                            Up First from NPR

                                            56,742 Listeners

                                            The Indicator from Planet Money by NPR

                                            The Indicator from Planet Money

                                            9,570 Listeners

                                            Throughline by NPR

                                            Throughline

                                            16,352 Listeners

                                            This Is Uncomfortable by Marketplace

                                            This Is Uncomfortable

                                            3,571 Listeners

                                            Short Wave by NPR

                                            Short Wave

                                            6,562 Listeners

                                            Marketplace Minute by Marketplace

                                            Marketplace Minute

                                            163 Listeners

                                            Million Bazillion by Marketplace

                                            Million Bazillion

                                            2,997 Listeners

                                            How We Survive by Marketplace

                                            How We Survive

                                            1,375 Listeners

                                            Financially Inclined by Marketplace

                                            Financially Inclined

                                            92 Listeners