Episode · Dwarkesh Podcast · 2022-12-21
Books mentioned on Bethany McLean — Enron, FTX, 2008, Musk, frauds, & visionaries
This was one of my favorite episodes ever. Bethany McLean was the first reporter to question Enron’s earnings, and she has written some of the best finance books out there.
Dwarkesh Patel discussed The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and others and Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Bethany McLean discussed All the Devils Are Here by Bethany McLean and others.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
The Smartest Guys in the Room
The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind is an investigative book detailing the rise and corporate collapse of Enron.
Discussed“um which I guess raises the question of what are we doing when we're documenting and trying to learn from books like yours if somebody who is about to commit the same exact kind of thing can read that book”
Where to get it
-
Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a profound psychological novel that explores guilt, morality, and the severe consequences of moral relativism and nihilism.
Discussed“yeah speaking of people's psychology a crime and punishment underrated or overrated as a way to analyze a psychology of people like scaling and SBF”
Where to get it
-
All the Devils Are Here
All the Devils Are Here by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera is a comprehensive historical account detailing the origins and mechanics of the 2008 financial crisis.
Discussed“other than what a actually a former Goldman Sachs partner said this to me when I was working on all the devils are here and she said that Finance is supposed to be like the substrata of our world”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (6) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“we are talking about Enron which my guest today Bethany McLean uh first broke the story of and has written an amazing and detailed book about uh called the smartest guys in the room”
“and she has also written a book about the housing crisis all the devils are here a book about Fanny and Freddie Shaky Ground and a book about fracking Saudi America all of which we'll get into”
“and she has also written a book about the housing crisis all the devils are here a book about Fanny and Freddie Shaky Ground and a book about fracking Saudi America all of which we'll get into”
“and she has also written a book about the housing crisis all the devils are here a book about Fanny and Freddie Shaky Ground and a book about fracking Saudi America all of which we'll get into”
“um and I checked the index of the smartest guys in the room um and I I don't think he was mentioned in the book”
“um so I'm writing it with Joe no Sarah again who I wrote all the devils are here with and we set out to write about The Economic Consequences of the pandemic”