The Story of Money

The economist John Kenneth Galbraith once quipped that “there can be few fields of human endeavour in which history counts for so little as in the world of finance.” This show sets out to prove the opposite. Each week, FT columnist Gillian Tett and FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth dig into the ideas, personalities and institutions that have shaped global finance. From unregulated banking in 19th-century frontier America to institutionalised debt jubilees in ancient Mesopotamia, and from the birth of credit derivatives to the great market meltdowns of the past, Robin and Gillian uncover the story of money because time and again, the same manias and mistakes resurface. Tune in and you might just understand where the next financial opportunities and disasters could be hiding.

Subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts and watch the show on YouTube.

Find out more about Gillian Tett here and Robin Wigglesworth here

Follow FT Alphaville here

Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth
Producer: Lulu Smyth
Senior Producer: Michela Tindera
Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa
Original music and sound engineering: Breen Turner
Podcast Development: Laura Clarke
Global Head of Audio: Cheryl Brumley

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For our final episode: Education start-up Byju’s quickly became the pride of India during the Covid-19 pandemic. But almost as fast as the company rose, it collapsed. The fallout has already resulted in millions of dollars’ worth of US court sanctions and allegations of witness tampering. The FT’s Mumbai bureau chief Chris Kay has been following the legal drama and examines what Byju’s demise means for India’s burgeoning technology sector.

Clips from Byju’s, US Bankruptcy Court - District of Delaware

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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Thank you for listening to Behind the Money!

You can stay in touch with host Michela Tindera on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), follow her on LinkedIn, or email her at [email protected].

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For further reading on this episode:
A fallen Indian tech star and the hunt for its missing millions
‘Screaming into a hurricane’: the fall of India’s most valuable start-up Byju’s
How a teaching app feted by Silicon Valley was left chasing the Indian dream

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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After years of fast-paced growth, private credit is facing intense scrutiny. In recent months, investors have made requests to withdraw billions of dollars from the $2tn sector’s funds. The FT’s US private equity and deals editor Antoine Gara and US investment editor Eric Platt explain how we got to this critical moment, and what may be next for this pocket of Wall Street.

Clips from Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox Business, JPMorgan, US Federal Reserve

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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For further reading:
Retail investors pull billions from private capital’s credit gold mine
Wall St underestimates private capital problems, says top credit hedge fund
Private credit’s game of footsie is getting riskier

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Follow Antoine Gara on X (@AntoineGara) and Bluesky (@antoinegara.bsky.social). Eric Platt is on X (@ericgplatt) and Bluesky (@ericgplatt.ft.com). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we are revisiting a favorite episode. The natural diamond industry is facing an existential threat: lab-grown diamonds. They are chemically and physically identical to natural stones but they are a fraction of the price. Eleanor Olcott, the FT’s China technology correspondent, travelled to the epicentre of lab-grown diamond production in the central Chinese province of Henan to see how they are made. While the FT’s natural resources editor, Leslie Hook, explores what the sale of De Beers, the natural diamond producer, could mean for the future of the sector.

This episode originally aired on September 10 2025.

Clip from Arnold Worldwide

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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For further reading (updated):
How the diamond industry lost its sparkle
The sparkle is fading in Africa’s diamond heartland
De Beers likely to be sold to consortium, Anglo chief says

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Follow Leslie Hook on X (@lesliehook) and Eleanor Olcott on X (@EleanorOlcott). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Introducing Opus Dei, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Antonia Cundy uncovers the cultural and political influence of a controversial Catholic organisation in America. Opus Dei exists to help people get closer to God, but some members say they found other agendas – and unexpected harm – entangled in that spiritual mission. The first episode of Untold: Opus Dei launches March 25.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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