Bethany McLean — Enron, FTX, 2008, Musk, frauds, & visionaries

This was one of my favorite episodes ever. Bethany McLean broke the Enron story & has written some of the best finance books out there. We discuss: * The astounding similarities between Enron & FTX, * How visionaries are just frauds who succeed, * What caused 2008, and whether we are headed for a new crisis, * Why there’s too many venture capitalists and not enough short sellers, * And why history keeps repeating itself. 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 * Transcript: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/bethany-mclean * Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3FLCuRk * Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3v7djDN McLean is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair (see her articles here) and the author of The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron, All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis, Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World, Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 00:00:00 - Intro 00:04:37 - Is Fraud Over? 00:11:22 - Shortage of Shortsellers 00:19:03 - Elon Musk - Fraud or Visionary? 00:23:00 - Intelligence, Fake Deals, & Culture 00:33:40 - Rewarding Leaders for Long Term Thinking 00:37:00 - FTX Mafia? 00:40:17 - Is Finance Too Big? 00:44:09 - 2008 Collapse, Fannie & Freddie 00:49:25 - The Big Picture 01:00:12 - Frackers Vindicated? 01:03:40 - Rating Agencies 01:07:05 - Lawyers Getting Rich Off Fraud 01:15:09 - Are Some People Fundamentally Deceptive? 01:19:25 - Advice for Big Picture Thinkers