Following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the undoing of its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, Heather and Joanne discuss the businesspeople and money-makers who have fallen hardest throughout American history. How do we find the line between the “con man” and the capitalist? 

Heather and Joanne talk about the mid-1800s origins of the “con man,” the loss of belief in financiers during the Great Depression, and the Keating Five scandal of the late 1980s. 

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For references & supplemental materials, head to: cafe.com/now-and-then/ftx-con-men-and-the-power-of-grift/

Now & Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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