Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci The Crash That Shook Wall Street — And The Lessons We Keep Ignoring - Andrew Ross Sorkin
12 snips
Nov 4, 2025 
Andrew Ross Sorkin, an award-winning journalist and bestselling author, dives into the 1929 Wall Street crash and its lessons for today. He explores the characters and speculative behaviors behind the boom and bust, along with the policy failures of Herbert Hoover. Sorkin discusses the ingredients that can lead to financial crashes, such as leverage and lack of transparency. The conversation highlights modern risks like corporate debt and crypto volatility, while reflecting on how the crash spurred significant institutional changes in America.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Leverage Is The Match That Lights Crashes
- Leverage is the perennial match that lights market crashes, especially margin loans in 1929 and subprime in 2008.
- Euphoria plus poor transparency and manipulation compounds the risk into systemic collapse.
Crash Was Slow And Policy-Made Worse
- The 1929 event unfolded as a slow-motion collapse with many black days and wide economic spillovers.
- Policy mistakes after the crash turned a market collapse into a prolonged Depression.
Hoover's Delay Deepened The Crisis
- Herbert Hoover resisted decisive banking rescues and clung to policies that worsened the downturn.
- Hoover's pride and doctrinaire views delayed actions that could have saved banks.
