Against the Rules: The Big Short Companion

How to Experience the Joy of Giving Right Now: A Giving Tuesday Special from The Happiness Lab

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

According to the science, it really is better to give than receive. Donating a dollar; sharing a kind word or lending someone a hand changes lives, bu...

Michael Burry Speaks

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Of all the characters in The Big Short, fund manager Michael Burry (depicted by Christian Bale in the movie version) seemed the least likely to grant ...

How the Financial Crisis Broke Politics

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

To wrap up our series on The Big Short, Michael Lewis speaks with two people who represent two very different responses to the financial crisis of 200...

How the Financial Crisis Broke Wall Street

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

To make sense of Wall Street’s hangover from the crash described in The Big Short, Michael Lewis calls up Matt Levine. Levine is author of the M...

Lessons of the Great Depression

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Ross Sorkin writes the business and policy newsletter DealBook for the New York Times and is co-anchor of Squawk Box on CNBC. He also has a his...

Lender of Last Resort

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Michael Lewis wrote The Big Short, there was an extra character in the story: The Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the US, which bough...

The FrontPoint Boys

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Big Short is centered around the story of investment advisors who noticed something was seriously wrong with the subprime housing market starting ...

The Short Sellers

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis speaks with Greg Lippmann, formerly a bond trader at Deutsche Bank, made famous when he was portrayed by Ryan Gosling in the movie versi...

Michael Lewis Interviews His Producer

18 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Against the Rules producer Lidia Jean Kott is the host of a new podcast series called The Chinatown Sting. It’s about a group of unlikely suspec...

Adam McKay is Still Angry About 2008

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When Adam McKay decided to make a movie based on The Big Short, he was mainly known for his comedies. But he managed to get a bevy of star actors &mda...

The Big Short is Big Back

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Back in 2008, Michael Lewis started paying attention to Wall Street again, as banks and investment funds started to announce massive losses. Fifteen y...

Sen. Richard Blumenthal on the SAFE Bet Act

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is anyone trying to regulate sports gambling on the federal level in the US? In the fall of 2024, Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal in...

Dr. Laurie Santos on Group Psychology, the Teen Brain, and Happiness

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis invites over Yale psychology professor Dr. Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab at Pushkin, for a chat about what scientific researc...

Natasha Schüll on the Antisocial Lure of Gambling

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As an anthropologist, Natasha Schüll spent more than a decade doing field work in Vegas casinos, especially among the slot machine addicts. She t...

Episode 10: “Anybody Can Win, but Everybody’s Gonna Lose”

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Perhaps you have someone in your life who’s prone to sports gambling. Michael Lewis has someone. So he comes up with a scheme to “inoculat...

Episode 9: Framing the Gambler

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis gets a glimpse of sports gambling's future by talking with writers in Great Britain and Australia, where the industry is even more entre...

Episode 8: The Integrity Landscape

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Has betting based on inside intel on games gone down since sports gambling was legalized in the US? Not really, as Michael Lewis finds out. But what's...

Michael Lewis on the Prof G Pod

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just recently, Michael Lewis was a guest on the "Prof G" podcast with Scott Galloway. He talks about the rise of sports betting and why the consequenc...

Vegas Sports Bookies on Old-School Betting

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On a visit to Las Vegas, Michael Lewis meets three old-school sports bookies. Chris Andrews, Jimmy Vaccaro, and Vinny Magliulo book bets and set odds ...

Gambler Billy Walters on the Sharp's Life

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis sits down with Billy Walters, one of the most famous sports bettors of all time. They talk about Walters' impoverished childhood in Kent...

Episode 7: Little Big Short

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As a resident of California, Michael Lewis cannot place bets on any of the online sports books at the center of this season. They’re not allowed to ...

Episode 6: VIP

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be a “very important person” in the world of online sports betting? Not necessarily what you think. We hear from recovering g...

Episode 5: The Mule

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The role has many names: “Runner,” “mover,” “betting partner,” and “mule.” As skilled sports gamblers find themselves limited on apps,...

An Interview with Ted Olson

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Constitutional lawyer and former US Solicitor Ted Olson recently died at the age of 84. Olson represented the state of New Jersey in its efforts to ov...

Episode 4: A Hard Way to Make an Easy Living

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis heads to Las Vegas to explore the way sports betting used to work, up until the day it was rapidly legalized by states around the countr...

Nate Silver on the Risky Business of Sports Betting

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the US election nears, Michael Lewis sits down with Nate Silver, co-host of the Pushkin podcast Risky Business (along with the writer, psychologist...

Marci Cottingham on the Religious Passion of Steeler Nation

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is there a difference between fandom and religion? In Pittsburgh, it can be hard to tell. Fans of the city’s football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers,...

Alison LaCroix on How History Rhymes at the Supreme Court

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It may seem like sports gambling got legalized overnight in the US. But it was in fact a winding road to get there. Michael Lewis speaks with legal hi...

Episode 3: Welcome to the Garden State

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How did we get from fantasy sports to legalized sports betting? The path is convoluted, but most of it winds through New Jersey. Michael Lewis speaks ...

Episode 2: Values of the Game

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Bradley was already famous in college as the epitome of certain American virtues: integrity, honesty, and athleticism. As an NBA star, he took th...

Episode 1: What’s Wrong with Eric?

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sports fans experience incredible highs and lows, and spend loads of money on a product over which they have no control. But for a long time, no one b...

Against the Rules: Fans

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Against the Rules is going to Vegas (by way of New Jersey!). Host Michael Lewis bets high and low to find out how Americans, and their state governmen...

Judging Sam: The Sentencing

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 c...

Judging Sam: Judging the FTX Bankruptcy

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While Sam Bankman-Fried has been on trial, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded, FTX, has been going through bankruptcy proceedings. Jonathan Lipson...

Judging Sam is Coming Back

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 conspirac...

Michael Lewis on Freakonomics Radio

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The Rise and Fall of Crypto Billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried from Talk Easy

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Enjoy this episode from another Pushkin Industries podcast, Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso. Upon taking a walk with crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, ...

Judging Sam: Millennial Frauds

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lidia Jean Kott talks to journalist Elizabeth Lopatto about what it was like to cover the trial, the similarities it shared with Elizabeth Holmes’ t...

Judging Sam: The Aftermath

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's all over. Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all seven counts. But what now? Michael Lewis, Lidia Jean Kott, and Judging Sam’s legal expert,...

Judging Sam: Guilty on all counts

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The jury, after about 4 and a half hours of deliberation, has delivered its verdict – guilty on all seven counts. Lidia Jean Kott was in the courtro...

Judging Sam: The jury's job

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this episode, our guest incorrectly stated that in the case of a hung jury, a defendant cannot be retried without...

Judging Sam: The Hail Mary That Wasn’t

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're finally in the home stretch. Today the prosecution finished their cross examination of Sam Bankman-Fried, the defense followed up with a redirec...

Judging Sam: Sam Bankman-Fried Faces Cross-Examination

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Bankman-Fried finishes direct and faces withering cross-examination by the government’s chief prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon. Michael Lewis and Li...

Judging Sam: Sam Bankman-Fried Takes The Stand

28 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The day is finally upon us: Sam Bankman-Fried takes the stand. Michael Lewis and Lidia Jean meet up after a long day in court and discuss everything t...

Judging Sam: Michael Lewis comes to court

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis finishes his book tour and joins Lidia Jean Kott in court. His timing, as usual, is impeccable. The government rests its case. And then,...

Judging Sam: After The Prosecution Rests

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After a few days off, the trial resumes tomorrow, October 26. The prosecution has said they will likely be ready to rest their case by midday. Michael...

Judging Sam: An FTX Victim Speaks Out

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Voices of the victims of Sam Bankman-Fried’s alleged crimes have been few and far between during the prosecution’s presentation of its case. On to...

Judging Sam: Week 3 is in the books

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Another week come and gone, and like everything SBF, it wasn’t without a healthy dose of drama. Lidia Jean Kott catches Michael Lewis and Jacob Gold...

Listen Now: Spellcaster - The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When nerdy gamer Sam Bankman-Fried rocketed to fame as the world’s richest 29-year-old, he pledged to donate his billions to good causes. But when S...

Judging Sam: Michael Lewis Talks Money with Matt Levine

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the show, Michael talks with Matt Levine, business columnist at Bloomberg News and author of the newsletter “Money Stuff.” Matt knows mor...

Judging Sam: Nishad Singh Takes the Stand

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It was supposed to be a quiet Monday in court, but it turned out to be everything but. Nishad Singh, a former top executive at FTX, and a close person...

Judging Sam: Week 2 Catch-up with Michael Lewis

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Week 2 of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial is in the books. The prosecution has called witnesses, including star witness Caroline Ellison, and the defense ...

Judging Sam: Ellison Testimony Wraps Up

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Caroline Ellison, former co-CEO of Alameda Research and Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, spent 3 days on the stand this week. Ellison recently ple...

Judging Sam: Caroline Ellison Takes The Stand

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Caroline Ellison, former co-CEO of Alameda Research and Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, takes the stand and has a lot to say. Ellison recently pl...

Judging Sam: Catching up with Michael Lewis

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Week 1 of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial is in the books. The jury is seated, opening statements have been given, and witnesses are taking the stand. Lid...

Judging Sam: Opening Statements

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

SBF’s trial has been on for three days, and a lot has happened: jury selection, opening statements, and the first witnesses. Pushkin co-founder Jaco...

Judging Sam: Jury Selection

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried got underway yesterday in the Southern District of New York. First order of business? Empanelling a jury...

Judging Sam: The Case Against SBF

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Bankman-Fried's trial starts today in the formidable Southern District of New York, with Judge Lewis A. Kaplan presiding. If convicted, the former...

Judging Sam: Going Infinite – Jacob Weisberg interviews Michael Lewis

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the past year and a half, journalist Michael Lewis has been following crypto entrepreneur and former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried. The resulting b...

Judging Sam: The Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Just a year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was heralded as a wunderkind, a genius, a crypto innovator, a major philanthropist and political donor. He was wort...

On Background: Preparing for Sam Bankman-Fried's Trial

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto firm FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged with fraud and conspiracy. His trial is supposed to begin in Octobe...

The Sudden Celebrity of Sir John Knight from Revisionist History

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the battles over gun rights, a shadowy English nobleman from the 17th century has unexpectedly taken center stage. Who was he? What did he do that ...

On Background: The Political Spender America Deserves

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

During the 2022 election cycle, crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried gave as much as $40 million in political donations. That whopping sum caught the attent...

On Background: Who Buys Distressed Assets?

11 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Andy Mitchell could be called a "doctor for business." His firm, Lantern Asset Management, buys up businesses in immediate need of cash and willing to...

On Background: Effective Altruism Still Has Friends

13 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One-time crypto-currency king Sam Bankman-Fried was a big proponent of a philosophical movement known as “effective altruism,” or EA. Advocates of...

On Background: Crypto Skeptic Proven Right

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you spend any time reporting on the world of crypto currency and Bitcoin, then you’re going to run across the name Molly White. She’s a softwar...

On Background: A History of Bankruptcy in the US

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Often when a corporation declares bankruptcy, that happens at the end of a long and difficult road. But entering bankruptcy proceedings also means set...

On Background: White-Collar Crime and Punishment

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why do people commit white-collar crimes? And how has the way we think about — and prosecute — white-collar criminals changed over time? As part o...

On Background: Bad Actors on the Blockchain

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For his next book, Michael Lewis wants to find out how investigators manage to trace the murky trail of illicit crypto. Cryptocurrency started with th...

On Background from Against the Rules

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis's next book is all about Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the crypto-currency exchange FTX, who now faces federal charges. As with all of h...

Episode 7: The Person Who Knows

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The United States had a pandemic plan. But when a pandemic came, we hesitated to follow it. The country was hobbled by argument and doubt. Much of tha...

Episode 6: The Overconfidence Game

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In which several people, including Rebecca Solnit, Katty Kay, and Maria Konnikova, help Michael understand the not-so-secret power of men to offer the...

Episode 5: The Sanchez Problem

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There’s one kind of expert whose role is enshrined in law: that of the expert witness, who’s called on to bolster one side of a case. But ...

Episode 4: Respect the Polygon

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Experts know more now than ever before. And we’re more critical of them than ever before, too. But one kind of expert really gets us riled up: the t...

Episode 3: Field of Ignorance

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The right kind of expert, at the right time, can change everything. While working as a security guard at a pork-and-beans cannery in Kansas, Bill Jame...

Episode 1: Six Levels Down

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Athenahealth was just another healthcare provider facing the biggest problem US doctors face: not treating patients, but getting insurance companies t...

Episode 2: The Art of the Untold Story

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why can’t we see the experts right in front of us, even when they're saving our lives? Maybe it's because the specialized knowledge of many experts ...

Against the Rules Season 3: The Ballad of Expertise

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In “Against the Rules,” journalist and bestselling author Michael Lewis takes a searing look at what’s happened to fairness—in financial marke...

Other People’s Money: George Saunders on the Value of Failure

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After the surprise success of Liar’s Poker, publishers urged Michael Lewis to try his hand at fiction. It was a bad idea. But even award-winning fic...

Other People’s Money: Ira Glass on Finding Your Voice

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis did not rest long on his laurels after publishing Liar’s Poker. In the 1990s, he hit the presidential campaign trail, writing a series...

Other People’s Money: Anne Clarke Wolff on the Wages of Sexism

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Liar’s Poker is set on a Wall Street where women were the last hired and first fired — and that was probably the least of their worries. Is Wall S...

Other People’s Money: Dash Riprock and the Human Piranha Revealed

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Liar’s Poker describes many of the mentors Michael Lewis had at the investment bank Salomon Brothers. He chose to keep some of their identities secr...

Other People’s Money: Jacob Goldstein and the Bonds of Wall Street

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time in more than 30 years, Michael Lewis has re-read Liar’s Poker. That experience brought up a lot of questions — especially, why ...

Introducing Other People's Money: A Liar's Poker Companion

26 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis published his first book, Liar's Poker, in 1989. It’s about his time as a bond salesman on Wall Street — and it was a runaway best s...

Live Interview 5/19/21: Michael Lewis and Geraldine Brooks

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks interviews Michael Lewis about his new book “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story.” They also discu...

The Premonition

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special bonus episode of Against the Rules, Michael Lewis reads a chapter from his new book about the pandemic, The Premonition —available n...

Aim Higher

16 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Can everyone be coached — or are some people beyond help?The transformative power of coaching is put to the test as Michael enlists a coach to help ...

The Unfair Coach

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Back when coaching didn’t do very much, it didn’t matter who got it and who didn’t. But coaching is clearly getting better and better, and sprea...

The Data Coach

02 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We explore the quantitative, scientific, and data-driven new frontier of coaching.  Major League baseball is undergoing a coaching revolution from ol...

The Coach Effect

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Colleges today talk a big game about valuing diversity — so why are so many of them failing to retain first-generation students? We meet a homeless ...

The Coach in Your Head

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Just about anyone today can call themselves a coach. Michael traces this trend back to its source and finds out that the secret to effective coaching ...

Don't Be Good – Be Great

12 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Michael revisits his high school days in New Orleans to tell the story of Billy Fitzgerald, the baseball coach who changed his life; and makes the cas...

Against the Rules Presents: Michael Lewis in Conversation with Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Lewis interviews the Co-Founders of Pushkin Industries, Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg, as part of Dell Technologies Small Business Podfe...

The Invisible Coach

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Credit card companies are making billions of dollars off of people who don’t understand the rules of the money game. Can a good coach help level the...

Introducing Against the Rules Season 2

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist and bestselling author Michael Lewis (Liar's Poker, Moneyball) takes a searing look at what’s happened to fairness. It feels like there's...

Bonus Against the Rules: Help in a Crisis

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While working on the next season of Against the Rules coming later this spring, Michael Lewis has had some conversations that we didn’t want to hold...

Against the Rules Presents: Cautionary Tales

15 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A new show from Pushkin Industries: Cautionary Tales. We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable life lessons, but these Cauti...

Live Episode: Michael Lewis and Malcolm Gladwell

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Around the launch of Against the Rules, Michael spoke with his friend and co-producer, the author Malcolm Gladwell, at the 92Y in New York. Hear them ...

The Magic Shoebox

14 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Where is a millisecond worth a million dollars? The New York Stock Exchange.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.c...

Baby Judge School

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Judges now want us to know they’re human. But maybe we’d be better off if we didn’t know. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ihear...