The Story of Money

Credit cards are a part of everyday life, consumer debt is widespread and access to credit has helped make America a worldwide economic force. But where did it all begin?According to legend, in 1940s New York when businessman Frank McNamara was out for lunch with his associates. He forgot his wallet, and resolved to create a new way to pay. What emerged was the ‘Diners Card’. A few decades and a disastrous experiment later, this morphed into the credit card we know today.Hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth discuss the invention of the credit card, consider a crazy scheme dubbed the ‘Fresno drop’, and reflect on how the flexible friend revolutionised the way we pay - and built a trillion dollar mountain of debt.Further reading: A Piece of the Action (1994) by Joe Nocera. Follow Joe Nocera on X @opinion_joeWashington Post article by Joe Nocera: ‘The Day The Credit Card was Born’: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/1994/11/04/the-day-the-credit-card-was-born/d42da27b-0437-4a67-b753-bf9b440ad6dc/‘How Credit Cards changed the way we spend’ by Tim Harford: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41916711For more on the history of credit, check out our past episode ‘Why money is the biggest shared hallucination in human history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFM_JqnJVogTo enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHosts: Gillian Tett & Robin WigglesworthProducer: Lulu SmythSenior producer: Michela TinderaExecutive producer: Kate FordOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerVideo editor: Michael SalibaPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo PhillipsSpecial thanks to Elizabeth Marcus.Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.comRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com

For 80 years, a currency created by France has remained in use across large parts of west and central Africa - even decades after the countries there gained independence. But is the CFA franc, as it’s called, a tool of economic stability, or a colonial relic that has allowed France to maintain its grip on its former colonies?Senegalese economist Ndongo Samba Sylla joins Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth to uncover the controversial history of the CFA franc, asking whether monetary independence is the missing piece of the post-colonial puzzle and whether former colonial powers can ever truly relinquish control. Who does the CFA franc really serve: African economies, their political elites, or France?To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHosts: Gillian Tett & Robin WigglesworthSenior producer: Laurence KnightExecutive producer: Kate FordOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerVideo editor: Michael SalibaPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo PhillipsLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hundreds of years ago, across Europe - from Germany to Scandinavia, France to Britain - tens of thousands of mostly women were executed, accused of being witches. The persecution reached its height in the 16th and 17th centuries. But why? And could economics help explain the hysteria?Hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth are joined by Brown University economist Emily Oster, whose research explores whether colder temperatures during the Little Ice Age led to economic hardship and an increased number of witch trials. They discuss how Oster used historical weather and witch trial data to investigate the connection, how evolving economic data changes our perceptions of history and what Europe's witch hunts reveal about scapegoating.Further reading:Witchcraft, Weather and Economic Growth in Renaissance Europe, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, by Emily OsterWitch Trials, The Economic Journal, by Peter T. Leeson and Jacob W. RussMalleus Maleficarum, by Heinrich KramerTo enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHosts: Gillian Tett & Robin WigglesworthProducer: Lulu SmythSenior producer: Michela TinderaExecutive producer: Kate FordOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerVideo editor: Michael SalibaPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo PhillipsLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The French Revolution was a bloody fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. But it was also a battle over money.In part two of our series on the French Revolution, host Robin Wigglesworth tackles the transformation of France’s monetary system with Rebecca Spang, historian and author of Stuff and Money in the Time of the French Revolution.As the country descended into war, political turmoil and the Reign of Terror, the experiment with the currency known as the Assignat became increasingly troubled. Robin and Rebecca examine why trust in money matters. Plus, did the revolution’s economic turmoil pave the way for Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to power?Further reading:Stuff and Money in the Time of the French Revolution by Rebecca L SpangTo enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHosts: Robin WigglesworthSenior producer: Michela TinderaExecutive producer: Kate FordOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerVideo editor: Michael SalibaPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo PhillipsLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The French Revolution was a bloody fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. But it was also a battle over money.In part 1 of our series on the French Revolution, host Robin Wigglesworth explores the revolution’s economic origins with Rebecca Spang, historian and author of Stuff and Money in the Time of the French Revolution. They look at the time of the ‘ancien régime’ and the reign of King Louis XVI, to the storming of the Bastille and the development of a controversial new currency called, at different times, both a “saviour of France” and a “poison".Further reading:Stuff and Money in the Time of the French Revolution by Rebecca L. SpangVote for us! The Story of Money has been nominated for a Signal Award in the Money & Finance category. It’s a Listener Choice award, which means we need your help. Vote for us to win here. We appreciate your support!To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHost: Robin WigglesworthSenior Producer: Michela TinderaExecutive producer: Kate FordOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerVideo editor: Michael SalibaPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo PhillipsLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The first world war was one of the deadliest conflicts the world has ever seen. And when the US entered the war in 1917, it faced a massive financial challenge: how to pay for its contribution? Enter Treasury Secretary William McAdoo who launches the groundbreaking Liberty Loan Programme and - alongside an unprecedented national propaganda campaign featuring silent film stars like Charlie Chaplin, Girl Scouts, even a captured German submarine in Central Park - encourages thousands of Americans to ‘buy a bond’ as part of their patriotic duty.But did it work? And what was the longtime impact? Hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth discuss how this campaign raised over $21 billion - the equivalent of around $9 trillion today - and in doing so, birthed the modern US Treasury market and transformed America into a nation of investors.Further reading: A Fabulous Debt: How Bonds Made the Modern World by Robin WigglesworthTo enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthSenior Producer: Michela TinderaExecutive producer: Kate FordOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineer: Gregory BobillotVideo editor: Michael SalibaPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo PhillipsLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The US Treasury market - the world's largest government bond market - is worth about $32tn today, making it the largest pile of debt accumulated in history. But its roots lie in medieval Venice, a bloody military disaster and a leader who was forced to raise a loan to fund a war against the Byzantine Empire.What followed was a catastrophe involving pestilence, defeat and the brutal murder of the Doge, or leader, himself on the streets of Venice. But out of this crisis emerges a financial tool that transformed global capitalism: a tradable loan that offered transparency, accountability and formed the foundations of the modern bond market.In a special live recording from New York, Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth dive into the origins of the world’s first tradable bond. Plus, why bonds remain the ultimate check on government power today and what 12th-century Venice can teach us about current market turmoil.Further reading: A Fabulous Debt: How Bonds Made the Modern World by Robin WigglesworthTo enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthSenior Producer: Michela TinderaExecutive Producer: Kate FordVideo Producer: Michael SalibaOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GioumpasisPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT Global Head of Audio: Flo PhillipsRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com

How do you tell if an economy is actually working? Most economics classes point to controlled inflation, steady growth, or low unemployment - but what if the level of financial fraud is the real hidden indicator?Robin Wigglesworth and Gillian Tett talk to Dan Davies, financial historian and author of Lying for Money, to hear about some of the wildest and most shocking frauds in history. From 'the great salad oil swindle,' which almost brought down American Express to a fake gold mine in Borneo that ended with a mysterious fall from a helicopter. Together they explore how trust drives modern economies - and how fraudsters continuously exploit it.Further reading: Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World by Dan DaviesTo enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthSenior Producer: Michela TinderaExecutive producers: Kate Ford and Manuela SaragosaVideo producer: Michael SalibaOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GioumpasisPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo PhillipsLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.comRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Long before Silicon Valley, the grandson of a 15th Century German peasant named Jakob Fugger built a mining and banking empire that dwarfed today’s tech titans, accumulating a fortune estimated at $4 trillion in today’s terms. Richer than the Medici, Rockefeller or Elon Musk, he was the ultimate financial mastermind who bought imperial elections, legalised interest-bearing loans, and inadvertently sparked the Protestant Reformation.In this episode, hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth are joined by historian and author Greg Steinmetz to unpack the saga of history's ultimate balance-sheet nerd. From pioneering wire-transfer systems and building the world’s first social housing project to bankrolling popes and Holy Roman emperors, they explore how Fugger weaponised capital, shaped modern finance, and redefined the relationship between money and power.Further reading: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger by Greg SteinmetzTo enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoneyHosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthProducer: Lulu SmythExecutive producers: Kate Ford and Manuela SaragosaOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GioumpasisVideo editor: Michael SalibaPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo PhillipsLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.comRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com