Episode 8 (Finale): ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN?

Economic bubbles don’t start with fraud.
They start with confidence.

In the final episode of our Japan’s Bubble Economy series, we examine how bubbles form, expand, and ultimately collapse — using Japan’s post-war rise and 1980s asset bubble as the central case study.

We break down:

• The mechanics of credit expansion
• The psychology of speculative investing
• The policy decisions of the Bank of Japan
• How intervention can postpone — but amplify — economic pain
• Why bubbles feel rational while they’re happening

Following the boom after World War II, Japan became the world’s second-largest economy — before experiencing one of the most dramatic asset price collapses in modern history.

This episode connects Japan’s bubble to broader themes in financial history:
economic cycles, central banking, investor psychology, asset inflation, and systemic risk.

If you’re interested in macroeconomics, financial crises, or understanding whether today’s markets show similar patterns, this episode brings the full series together.

Are we doing this again?

Follow the podcast for more deep dives into economic history and market behavior.