
1 plays · Sep 16, 2026
Today we talk with the editor of the Financial Times’ Alphaville blog, Robin Wigglesworth. Robin is the author of A Fabulous Debt - the Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World. He tells the story of the bond market’s beginnings in Venice and how the ability to issue and trade bonds was an essential aspect of its rise to power. Robin explains why historically bond markets and democracy have gone hand-in-hand. Innovations in how bonds are structured and traded also have the ability alter market fundamentals and he explains how this happened with the US junk bond market pioneered by Michael Milken. We talk about likely future innovations and finish with a discussion of current bond market turmoil and the implications for both the Fed and Treasury.
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Episode TimeStamps:
00:00 - How junk bonds changed the market
00:56 - Introducing Robin Wigglesworth and A Fabulous Debt
03:39 - Why ignorance can actually help you understand history
07:50 - How Venice accidentally invented the bond market
12:55 - How bonds helped strengthen democracy an
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1:15:351 plays · Sep 19, 2026