Make Me Smart

The downsides of SPACs


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SPACs have been all the hotness on Wall Street this year. These special purpose acquisition companies help businesses sell shares to the public faster than the traditional IPO process and bypass some of the regulatory hurdles. But one listener wants to know, what can go wrong when you “SPAC it”? We’ll explain the upsides and downsides of SPACs. Plus, we’ll answer your questions about who’s making money on disinformation, China verus Big Tech and why canning lids are so hard to find right now.

Here’s everything we talked about:

  • Our episode on SPACS
  • “Bill Ackman’s SPAC Gets Sued” from The New York Times
  • “Why is China targeting its own internet companies?” from “Marketplace Tech”
  • “China Wants Manufacturing — Not the Internet — to Lead the Economy” from The Wall Street Journal
  • “Disinformation for Hire, a Shadow Industry, Is Quietly Booming” from The New York Times
  • “The Most Influential Spreader of Coronavirus Misinformation Online” from The New York Times
  • Our episode with disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz
  • “Local canners in a pickle over ongoing canning-lid shortage” from Inforum
  • “Shortage of Canning Lids Proves Costly” from The New York Times archives
  • Read the transcript here.

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