Current journalism on Sam Bankman-Fried
October 4, 2023 12:19 PM Subscribe
I’m fascinated by the whole Sam Bankman-Fried/FTX saga and his trial started today. Who all should I be reading for coverage?
I’m a subscriber to Matt Levine’s newsletter and I look forward to him writing more about it, and I’ve been reading the live blog on the New York Times website of the trial so far today. What other journalists/bloggers should I be reading/following on social media for more commentary/analysis?
I’m a subscriber to Matt Levine’s newsletter and I look forward to him writing more about it, and I’ve been reading the live blog on the New York Times website of the trial so far today. What other journalists/bloggers should I be reading/following on social media for more commentary/analysis?
Seconding Molly White. Also Amy Castor and David Gerard, once they're done with a break during a move as I understand it.
posted by foxfirefey at 12:28 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by foxfirefey at 12:28 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
The recent episode of Search Engine asked "Where did the eight billion dollars go?" and I found it to be a useful overview of what happened and what might happen next. PJ Vogt, the host, previously did a podcast series on crypto.
posted by coffeecat at 1:07 PM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by coffeecat at 1:07 PM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
2nding molly white. She's so good!
you didn't ask for this but on the long-form end of things, i listened to the michael lewis audiobook on a road trip yesterday and it's full of jaw dropping details, but also reads like SBF PR.
Zeke Faux, investigative reporter for Bloomberg wrote a book called Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. i think
i might listen to that one next.
what can i say, i too am rivited by this soap opera.
posted by wowenthusiast at 1:16 PM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
you didn't ask for this but on the long-form end of things, i listened to the michael lewis audiobook on a road trip yesterday and it's full of jaw dropping details, but also reads like SBF PR.
Zeke Faux, investigative reporter for Bloomberg wrote a book called Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall. i think
i might listen to that one next.
what can i say, i too am rivited by this soap opera.
posted by wowenthusiast at 1:16 PM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
Just to connect two previous answers, the Search Engine episode that coffeecat links to is an in-depth interview with Zeke Faux, who wowenthusiast mentions. It's a really interesting episode!
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:20 PM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:20 PM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
I like Lewis' earlier work but I think he got a little too close to SBF on this one. I'd avoid the new book unless you are looking to read everything and anything.
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:43 PM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:43 PM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
I agree with your comment about Lewis’ treatment of SBF. Bloomberg had a very cranky article (disapproval) about the 250-page bio, and I was surprised that Apple purchased to rights, for a future biopic.
But it’s there if you want to read a different point of view.
posted by seawallrunner at 4:12 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
But it’s there if you want to read a different point of view.
posted by seawallrunner at 4:12 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Here’s a journalist doing a blow by blow of today’s court stuff: https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1709642281932722477
posted by foxfirefey at 7:26 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by foxfirefey at 7:26 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
Matt Levine has been indispensible on SBF. The Bloomberg page I linked has a paywall after so many visits, but if you sign up for his newsletter, you get his column every day for free.
If you want to go way into the rabbit hole, there was an incredible moment in April 2022 when Matt Levine interviewed SBF on the Odd Lots podcast and SBF basically accidentally admitted that he was running a giant Ponzi. The key moment is around 21 minutes into the tape, when SBF starts talking about a "magic box." Levine listens to the magic box stuff and basically outright says that SBF is describing a Ponzi. And SBF is basically just laughing. It's not an exaggeration to say that this interview led directly to SBF's/FTX's collapse six months later - people (including the very influential Levine) could not believe that SBF just blithely described a giant Ponzi. In retrospect, the "magic box" and "x token" that he was describing was the same as all of the "Samcoins" like FTT that he created that supposedly made up billions of dollars of value backing FTX.
If nothing else, listening to SBF talk for an hour on that podcast will give you a sense of the firehose of bullshit and charismatic reality distortion that SBF was able to deploy to great effect.
Levine came back on the podcast in late 2022 after the FTX collapse to explain the collapse and reflect on the crazy April 2022 interview.
All of the Odd Lots podcasts are available through any podcast app, but I can't find good ways to link to the episodes here other than through youtube.
posted by Mid at 8:29 PM on October 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
If you want to go way into the rabbit hole, there was an incredible moment in April 2022 when Matt Levine interviewed SBF on the Odd Lots podcast and SBF basically accidentally admitted that he was running a giant Ponzi. The key moment is around 21 minutes into the tape, when SBF starts talking about a "magic box." Levine listens to the magic box stuff and basically outright says that SBF is describing a Ponzi. And SBF is basically just laughing. It's not an exaggeration to say that this interview led directly to SBF's/FTX's collapse six months later - people (including the very influential Levine) could not believe that SBF just blithely described a giant Ponzi. In retrospect, the "magic box" and "x token" that he was describing was the same as all of the "Samcoins" like FTT that he created that supposedly made up billions of dollars of value backing FTX.
If nothing else, listening to SBF talk for an hour on that podcast will give you a sense of the firehose of bullshit and charismatic reality distortion that SBF was able to deploy to great effect.
Levine came back on the podcast in late 2022 after the FTX collapse to explain the collapse and reflect on the crazy April 2022 interview.
All of the Odd Lots podcasts are available through any podcast app, but I can't find good ways to link to the episodes here other than through youtube.
posted by Mid at 8:29 PM on October 4, 2023 [4 favorites]
Oh no I clearly didn't read your post carefully enough - you already read Levine - but hopefully the podcast stuff is interesting to you or others!
posted by Mid at 8:34 PM on October 4, 2023
posted by Mid at 8:34 PM on October 4, 2023
60 Minutes aired a segment about SBF on Sunday.
posted by abraxasaxarba at 10:39 PM on October 4, 2023
posted by abraxasaxarba at 10:39 PM on October 4, 2023
It's worth reading this Grauniad piece [ungated] to get a fuller perspective on Michael Lewis and his book. I just finished it and found it ... lacking, but the profile at least shows that Lewis is aware of what he did, and the knows risks inherent in "getting too close to the subject." That said, Going Infinite definitely reads like PR though, as well as amicus curiae for the defense.
posted by chavenet at 2:51 AM on October 5, 2023
posted by chavenet at 2:51 AM on October 5, 2023
I just finished reading Number Goes Up by Zeke Faux (there's a discussion link on FanFare) and liked it a lot. SBF and FTX is a big part of the second half.
posted by chbrooks at 8:37 AM on October 5, 2023
posted by chbrooks at 8:37 AM on October 5, 2023
Today Paris Marx posted an episode of Tech Won’t Save Us talking with Jacob Silverman about SBF/FTX.
posted by xueexueg at 1:49 PM on October 5, 2023
posted by xueexueg at 1:49 PM on October 5, 2023
Yikes Martin Shkrelli is also liveblogging the trial on twitter
posted by wowenthusiast at 2:27 PM on October 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by wowenthusiast at 2:27 PM on October 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think the Lewis book is fine. Sure, people want it to be Interview with World's Greatest Monster but that... is never the Lewis shtick? Every single one of his books (except the Covid one, I guess) could have been written from the perspective that the people he's writing about are Total Shits, in some cases people have written that book about those same people.
The difference here is that the subject got caught and he got caught *before* the book came out but it's tonally exactly the same as Lewis other books, exactly. Just in those other cases, his book is the only / by far the most influential document about what happened whereas here we're all already primed to hear about Sam the great criminal demon-lord so the tone is jarring.
posted by atrazine at 2:32 PM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
The difference here is that the subject got caught and he got caught *before* the book came out but it's tonally exactly the same as Lewis other books, exactly. Just in those other cases, his book is the only / by far the most influential document about what happened whereas here we're all already primed to hear about Sam the great criminal demon-lord so the tone is jarring.
posted by atrazine at 2:32 PM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by mskyle at 12:24 PM on October 4, 2023 [8 favorites]