The Library of Mistakes

Leila Johnston and Fraser Allen are back to take you behind the scenes at the Library of Mistakes. And in this packed episode we... •Hear from theatre director and actor Liam Rees about his show The Land That Never Was. It's based on the adventures of 19th century Scottish conman Gregor MacGregor, who sold bonds on behalf of a South American country that was a figment of his imagination! •Explore...

Russell Napier enjoys a fascinating chat with Mauricio Drelichman who (together with Hans Joachim-Voth) is the author of Lending to the Borrower from Hell: Debt, Taxes, and Default in the Age of Philip II. Together, they explore how this account of the freely-defaulting 16th century King of Spain changes our perceptions of financial history. Produced by Fraser Allen. www.libraryofmistakes.com

In the first of a new thread of monthly episodes, we take you behind the scenes at the Library of Mistakes. Join us as we turn the tables on our resident interrogator Professor Russell Napier by putting the questions to him. We also interview David Clarke of Didasko, Helen Bradley of Future Asset and our librarian Helen Williams. And fear not, Russell's regular interviews with financial historians...

Russell Napier quizzes Felix Martin about his book, Money – The Unauthorised Biography. A fascinating listen for anyone interested in the true nature of money, illuminated through entertaining examples such as the Irish Bank Strike of 1970, the Argentinian Crédito and the Bristol Pound. Produced by Fraser Allen. www.libraryofmistakes.com

Lionel Barber, the former editor of the Financial Times, discusses his fascinating biography of Masayoshi Son, one of the world's least-known but most consequential investors. Regarding himself as an 'empire builder' rather than a CEO, Son was briefly the world's richest man and has ruffled many feathers on his rise from a Korean slum in Japan to the modern-day temples of power. Russell Napier ask...

Money & Promises (Seven Deals That Changed World) is Paolo Zannoni's first book and one of Russell Napier's favourite books of the year. For as well as being President of the luxury Italian fashion group Prada, Paolo is a highly experienced banker who has combined his professional expertise with a passion for exploring ledger archives to create a ground-breaking work of financial history. Prod...

"Despite being a fully paid-up member of the economist tribe for many years, I’ve concluded that most economists don’t really understand money," says David McWilliams, co-founder of Kilkenomics, (the world's first economics and comedy festival). David's new book, Money: A Story of Humanity, explains why he takes this entertainingly provocative position – and backs it up with powerful arguments. Th...

In this lively episode, Anat Admati (Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford) explains what she believes to be wrong about banking, and how it should be changed. Anat is co-author (with Martin Hellwig) of The Bankers' New Clothes, originally published in 2013, then expanded and re-published this year to encompass the era of increased regulation. Interviewer Russell Napier challenges Anat on...

Technology is transforming our societies, promising a far deeper disruption than the industrial revolutions. As a result, humanity is at a major turning point, and how we respond to the merger of technology and financialisation will decide our future. Are we heading for "enlightened communism" or "despotic feudalism"? Russell Napier quizzes Viktor Shvets on his throught-provoking book The Twilight...

Join Russell Napier for a fascinating discussion with Harold James, author of Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalisation. And unlike many of our episodes, brace yourself for a relatively optimistic conclusion! •The Library of Mistakes runs an outstanding course called the Practical History of Financial Markets. To find out more, go to: www.libraryofmistakes.com/course Produced by...

Russell Napier revisits a book that slipped out during the pandemic crisis but does, he believe, deserve considerable attention. Listen to him quizzing Tim Lee and Kevin Coldiron, two of the authors of The Rise of Carry: The Dangerous Consequences of Volatility Suppression and the New Financial Order of Decaying Growth and Recurring Crisis. •The Library of Mistakes runs an outstanding course calle...

For 40 years, Kiril Sokoloff, the founder of 13D Research & Strategy, has been picking some of the biggest turning points in financial markets. And, in 2001, he launched 'What I Learned This Week' – a must-read for anyone in the investment community. In this interview with Russell Napier, Kiril shares some of the insights he has gleaned across a long and successful career. •The Library of Mist...

Russell Napier and Mark J Higgins explore some of the lessons to be learned from Mark's latest book, Investing in US Financial History: Understanding the Past to Forecast the Future. The book opens with Alexander Hamilton’s financial programmes of 1790 and ends with the Federal Reserve’s battle with inflation in 2023 – and Russell welcomes the valuable way in which it fills a void in our understan...

In an appetising taster of our Weekend of Mistakes at Hay Castle on 1-3 March 2024, Russell Napier is joined by the authors of Boom And Bust, William Quinn & John D. Turner, to discuss their fascinating global history of financial bubbles. William will also be joining Russell at Hay Castle for a session called The Madness Of Crowds. If you're accessing this podcast before 1 March 2024, there m...

Welcome to this special episode – a lecture by Professor Deirdre McCloskey recorded at the University of Edinburgh. With great humour and wisdom, Professor McCloskey discusses Humanomics, her attempt to eradicate (or at least reduce) the role of mathematics in economics. She also explores the Market Mind Hypothesis, a new approach to the understanding of the market, the mind and the rational econo...

Financial historian and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng discusses War And Gold, his 500-year review of 'empires, adventures and debt'. In conversation with Russell Napier, he also looks back on the fallout from the 'fiscal statement' of September 2022 and the power of the bond markets. (The Library of Mistakes runs an outstanding course called the Practical History of Financial M...

Welcome to a special, extended episode recorded live at the Library of Mistakes on 15 November 2023. Cognitive economist and investment 'pracademic' Patrick Schotanus discusses his important new book The Market Mind Hypothesis, with an introduction from Russell Napier. Drawing on the thinking of Adam Smith, The Market Mind Hypothesis touches on key issues in economics, investing, and cognitive sci...

Stephen Clapham joins Russell Napier to discuss the clues and warnings that are often hiding in plain sight within the pages of a company's accounts – and yet are all too often missed by investors and journalists. Steve is the author of The Smart Money Method, and the creator of the Behind The Balance Sheet podcast and the popular online training course of the same name. Join us for an entertainin...

Hear the authors of the Millionaires' Factory reveal the inside of story of how Macquarie Bank became a global giant – a fascinating tale which also reflects the profound changes to have taken place across the financial world since 1974. Joyce and Chris are interviewed by Russell Napier, Keeper of the Library of Mistakes, who explores how the story of this institution illuminates issues that affec...

Welcome to a special bonus episode, in which we hear a live talk from Simon Clark recorded at the Library of Mistakes on 20 September 2023. Together with Will Louch, Simon is co-author of The Key Man, a fascinating exposé of Arif Naqvi, the disgraced founder of the Dubai-based Abraaj Group. Naqvi was arrested in 2019 on charges of money laundering and misappropriating hundreds of millions of dolla...

With a skull and crossbones on the cover, and the title of Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America , Brendan Ballou's debut book pulls no punches over the perceived greed and ineptitude of many of America's private equity firms – and the damage they are causing to the economy and society. All the more surprising then that the author is neither a journalist or a retired lawman but very mu...

Want to learn about monetary policy without interest rates, and how we may be going back to the future? These questions, and many more, are explored as Russell Napier meets up with Eric Monnet, former senior economist at the Banque de France and now Professor of Economic History at the Paris School of Economics. Eric takes us on a journey through the evolution of central banks and credit policy, b...

Marko Papic, author of Geopolitical Alpha, joins our Keeper Russell Napier to discuss his investment framework for predicting the future. In a world where geopolitical tensions are ever more influential, Marko is one of the few people with an investment background writing about the impact we can expect them to have. And as someone who grew up in Yugoslavia as it descended into war, and lived throu...

Michael Howell, legendary market strategist, author and founder of CrossBorder Capital, joins our Keeper Russell Napier to discuss global liquidity. Join us for a thought-provoking episode that seasoned investors and knowledgable market observers will enjoy getting their teeth stuck into. Produced by Fraser Allen. www.libraryofmistakes.com For more information on the Advanced Valuation in Financia...

Robin Wigglesworth, the FT journalist and author of Trillions, joins us from Oslo to discuss the revolutionists who invented index funds, and the consequent threats to capitalism posed by the spread of passive investing. Produced by Fraser Allen. www.libraryofmistakes.com For more information on the Advanced Valuation in Financial Markets course mentioned by Russell, please see www.didaskoeducatio...