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 Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged with various financial crimes. Michael Lewis talks to Jordan Libowitz of the Campaign for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) to understand the complex world of campaign finance law. And we hear why SBF, in confessing his dark-money deeds, may be a game changer. (NOTE: after this episode was recorded, federal prosecutors announced they were dropping a campaign finance charge against Bankman-Fried.)
Go to atrpodcast.com to submit a question for Michael to answer in an upcoming episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Background: The Political Spender America Deserves

From Michael Lewis and Against The Rules comes a special series – Judging Sam: The Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. Judging Sam will follow the daily courtroom drama as the former FTX CEO is tried for financial crimes, with expert commentary from author and Against the Rules host Michael Lewis, reporter and Against the Rules producer Lidia Jean Kott, finance journalist and What’s Your Problem host Jacob Goldstein, as well as legal experts and journalists who cover cryptocurrency and the law.
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Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy. Michael Lewis and Lidia Jean Kott were there in court. They talk about what happened with Judging Sam’s legal expert, Rebecca Mermelstein, a former federal prosecutor and partner at O'Melveny and Myers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judging Sam: The Sentencing

While Sam Bankman-Fried has been on trial, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded, FTX, has been going through bankruptcy proceedings. Jonathan Lipson, a professor at Temple Law School, tells Michael Lewis that he believes the proceedings have highlighted problems with the US bankruptcy system. 
Jonathan Lipson’s research paper “FTX’d: Conflicting Public and Private Interests in Chapter 11” is forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review. You can read a draft here. 
You can listen to our previous interview about the FTX bankruptcy with Jonathan’s co-author, David Skeel, here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judging Sam: Judging the FTX Bankruptcy

This fall we covered the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. He was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy and could face decades in prison. Now, we are covering his sentencing. Check here for those episodes starting the week of March 25th. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judging Sam is Coming Back

The Happiness Lab’s Dr. Laurie Santos brings together other Pushkin hosts to mark the International Day of Happiness. Revisionist History’s Malcolm Gladwell talks about the benefits of the misery of running in a Canadian winter. Dr. Maya Shankar from A Slight Change of Plans talks about quieting her mental chatter. And Cautionary Tales host Tim Harford surprises everyone with the happiness lessons to be learned from a colonoscopy.
Hear more of The Happiness Lab HERE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pushkin Hosts Celebrate World Happiness Day

Enjoy this episode of Freakonomics Radio, where Michael Lewis sat down with Stephen Dubner to discuss his book “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon.”

Description from the original episode:
Lewis got incredible access to Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire behind the spectacular FTX fraud. His book is a bestseller, but some critics say he went too easy on S.B.F. Lewis tells us why the critics are wrong — and what it’s like to watch your book get turned into a courtroom drama. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Background: The Political Spender America Deserves

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