1873
Episodes about this book
3 episodesThe Week: Paris under Curfew, Trump’s Gift to Putin, and a Looming Data Center Bubble
Pulitzer Prize-winning financial historian Liakit Ahmed appeared on the Prof G Markets episode to discuss his new book on the railroad crash of 1873. He and Ed examined whether the current data-center build-out parallels the railroad boom, with Ahmed arguing that the core risk—overbuilding financed by debt—mirrors conditions before the 1873 crash, and that a prisoner's-dilemma dynamic among competing tech companies makes collective restraint nearly impossible.
Liaquat Ahamed on Financial Crises, Gold, and the Lessons of 1873
The episode's central subject. Liaquat Ahamed argues that the 1873 crisis, unlike 1929, did not cause a Great Depression but instead triggered two decades of deflation and political fracture. He identifies Bismarck as the chief villain for dismantling bimetallism after the Franco-Prussian War, which he holds responsible for the deflationary spiral and its damaging distributional and political consequences. Tyler Cowen presses him on whether economic growth remained resilient despite the turmoil.
Fareed Zakaria on America’s Retreat from the World
Fareed Zakaria says he is reading "1873 by Li Akadama," describing it as being about the great global railroad boom—the closest historical parallel by share of GDP to today's AI boom. He recounts how rising interest rates, triggered by Bismarck's currency manipulation, burst that bubble and produced a prolonged depression arguably worse than the Great Depression, drawing a parallel to the current risk of monetary tightening ending the AI-driven economic expansion.
Also on The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Every book from the show*Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
All summaries are AI generated based on the original transcript.