The Breakdown

A daily analysis of macroeconomics, bitcoin, geopolitics and big picture power shifts, hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw. The Breakdown is part of Blockworks.

Business
Investing
1376
Is Tesla a Stock for Suckers?
On this episode of The Breakdown Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the full story the stock markets are telling us about the economy, including: SoftBank unmasked as the “Nasdaq whale” playing the same options game with stocks as r/WallStreetBets The...
10 min
1377
8 Historical Analogies That Help Explain the Ma...
Inspired by Michael Batnik’s “,” this episode examines eight moments from history that can help us make sense of one of the most chaotic years of our lives.  Income inequality of the Gilded Age The election of 1896 The pandemic of 1918 The...
18 min
1378
DeFi Degens Are Crypto’s Suicide Squad
Today on the Brief: Traditional markets falter, led down by tech stocks Bitcoin falls under $11,000 for the first time since July Stablecoins mint $100m daily since mid-July Our main discussion is about DeFi’s “degens.” NLW talks about: The...
17 min
1379
Let Them Eat Equities! The Economic Chickens Co...
Today on the Brief: Debt will exceed U.S. GDP for the first time since 1946 SPACs in action! Decentralized exchange volume flippens centralized exchanges  Our main conversation is with Luke Gromen, founder of the Forest for the Trees consulting...
52 min
1380
Financial Postmodernism and the Great Inflation...
August has come to a close. In this recap and “best of” episode, NLW looks at the big themes that defined the month. Most notable was the discussion of inflation culminating in the Federal Reserve’s newly announced policy of average inflation...
24 min
1381
US Stock Market Cap to GDP Reaches 190%, Eclips...
Today’s episode of The Breakdown looks at the stories the stock market is trying to tell, including: New all time high in total market capitalization to GDP ratio (higher than dotcom bubble)  “No precedent for how high” valuations can...
10 min
1382
The Case for $500,000 Bitcoin
This week’s episode of Long Reads Sunday is a from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The essay looks systematically at the problems of the slate of current store-of-value assets, including the U.S. dollar, oil and gold.  The brothers argue why...
24 min
1383
The End of an Era? Why Bitcoin and MMT Won the ...
On The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the shifting sands of the global economy. He says Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole this week was an argument that an era that began in the 1970s is now closing.  At...
9 min
1384
The Anxiety Index: 4 Fear Factors Shaping the E...
Today on the Brief: Skepticism around Powell’s inflation prognostications The Tesla Stock Split Game China’s COVID-19 vaccine maker presses countries for early adoption Our main discussion: The Anxiety Index We live in an economy organized...
16 min
1385
Everything You Need to Know About Jerome Powell...
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke Thursday at the annual Jackson Hole conference convened by the Kansas City Fed, which was virtual this year due to COVID-19.  In the highly anticipated speech, Powell laid out a number of key changes to...
19 min
1386
The Battle to Get A Dictator’s Seized Millions ...
Today on the Brief  The SEC changes accredited investor rules  Fintech and crypto investor Ribbit Capital starts $350 million SPAC Previewing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech Our main conversation is with Ruben...
37 min
1387
An Unintended Consequence of Low Interest Rates...
Today’s episode of The Breakdown is an extended edition of the Brief. NLW discusses: The “COVID-19 vaccine trade” on Wall Street kicks markets higher The latest on TikTok vs. the U.S. and what it means for the U.S.-China relationship More...
16 min
1388
How Much Should We Fear Post-Crisis Debt or Inf...
Our guest today is Adam Tooze. Adam holds the Shelby Cullom Davis Chair of History at Columbia University and serves as director of its European Institute. He is known for his books “The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global...
59 min
1389
Why Are Traditional Investors So Hungry for Yie...
On today’s edition of The Breakdown’s Long Reads Sunday, our selections have to do with one of the hottest topics in central banking: yield curve control.  “” The first piece is from the St. Louis Federal Reserve and is a primer on YCC,...
17 min
1390
People Aren’t Buying the ‘Great American Recove...
Today on The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap: People aren’t buying “the Great American Recovery” Let’s stop considering the economy as one thing Dave Portnoy doesn’t care about your principles DeFi is the Wild West and saved only by the fact...
12 min
1391
Winter Is Coming: Examining the Economy's Eight...
The “” is a physics issue that deals with unpredictable futures.  In a , John Mauldin argues the economy is actually experiencing an “eight-body problem.”  On today’s episode, NLW explores each of those dimensions shaping the...
23 min
1392
The Most Pro-Bitcoin Politicians in the US
Today on the Brief: Markets react to FOMC notes Taiwan blocks China streaming services Initial jobless claims back on the rise Our main discussion is a look at the politicians on both sides of the aisle who are pro-digital currencies and,...
26 min
1393
S&P 5 vs. S&P 500: The Real Story of the Stock ...
Today, NLW debuts a new format: “10 Takes in 10(ish) Minutes.”  In this analysis, he looks at 10 takes surrounding the S&P 500’s return to positive territory on the year, including: Great American comeback Market disconnect and...
18 min
1394
How Excess Capital and Low Interest Rates Resha...
Today on the Brief: Everyone turns bullish as S&P 500 nears all-time highs Emerging market currencies are floundering  holding sentiment highest in two years Our main conversation features Race Capital’s Chris McCann. Chris was...
60 min
1395
What’s Actually Happening with Inflation Right Now
There is perhaps nothing more important or contentious in macroeconomics right now than the question of inflation.  On the one hand, there is a growing concern that rapidly growing money supply and increasing central bank balance sheets will...
23 min
1396
Is Asteroid Mining Really Our Best Argument for...
Earlier this week, the Winklevoss brothers introduced Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy to .  One of the notable parts of the recap video was a discussion of how Elon Musk was set to destroy the value of gold on Earth by mining gold from...
14 min
1397
Here Comes the Most Bizarre Bull Market Yet
On this edition of The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the strange melange of realities interacting in the new emerging bull market.  On the one hand, bitcoin has found narrative relevance and technical importance in a world of social...
16 min
1398
Fortnite vs. Apple/Google is the Internet's Fir...
Today on the Brief: Jobless claims down and retail sales up The U.S. Federal Reserve is running distributed ledger technology experiments  The end of an era, as BitMEX begins KYC Our main discussion: the big battle brewing between Epic Games...
19 min
1399
Preston Pysh on Why We’ve Entered a Fundamental...
The Investor’s Podcast Network cofounder Preston Pysh last recorded with The Breakdown on Black Thursday in March. As NLW and Pysh discussed the potential of future currency crises, smashed all the way below $4,000.  In the five months since,...
102 min
1400
#SupplyGate and the Battle to Frame Crypto’s Ne...
Today on the Brief: WSJ study finds TikTok was tracking data in a way that broke Android rules The latest Core Inflation statistics  MicroStrategy stocks pops 10% after cash to bitcoin announcement Our main discussion: What’s the Ethereum...
29 min