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Those who do not study history may be destined to repeat it. . . and lose money.
The Story of Money is a new podcast from The Financial Times that examines the past to see where the next opportunities – and disasters – might lie.
Presented by FT columnist Gillian Tett and FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth, The Story of Money examines the history of global finance through the people, ideas, events and institutions that shaped it.
From unregulated experiments in cross-border banking in 19th-century America to institutionalized debt cancellation in ancient Mesopotamia, The Story of Money traces how financial systems evolve—and why familiar patterns often repeat—and provides context for everything from market cycles to emerging AI trends.
Watch episode 1: They are the geniuses of history. But were they good at investing?
Watch Episode 2: How Ancient Mesopotamians Solved Runaway Debt
Watch the video trailer:
The podcast taps into the FT’s global newsroom and 138-year history of reporting, combining analysis, storytelling and insight with contributions from a cast of FT journalists and expert guests.
From April 22, new episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays.
Watch, listen and subscribe for free YouTube, Apple podcasts, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.
The Story of Money joins the FT’s network of podcasts including the FT News Briefing, Unhedged, The Economics Show with Soumaya Keynes, Political Fix, Tech Tonic, The Rachman Review and Hot Money.
About our hosts
Gillian’s previous roles include US Editor-in-Chief for the FT, Capital Markets Editor; deputy Lex editor, bureau chief in Tokyo and reporter in Russia and Brussels. She has won Columnist of the Year (2014), Journalist of the Year (2009) and Business Journalist of the Year (2008) at the British Press Awards and three SABEW awards.
She is the author of four books, including Fool’s goldthe inside story of the 2008 financial crisis.
Robin Wigglesworth is editor of Alphaville, the FT’s financial blog.
Based in Oslo, Norway, he leads a team of three other writers in London and New York who delve into everything deeply nerdy or downright delightful they encounter in markets, business or the global economy.
Previously, Robin was the FT’s global financial correspondent, US markets editor, deputy head of fastFT, capital markets correspondent and Gulf correspondent.
He joined the FT in 2008 from Bloomberg News, where he covered the Scandinavian economy.
He is the author of Trillionsa book about the past, present and future of passive investing, and A fantastic debt, a history of the bond market.
