Against the Rules: The Big Short Companion

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Michael Lewis’s best-selling book The Big Short is now 15 years old. The Oscar-winning movie based on it came out a decade ago. To mark the occasion, Lewis has narrated a new audiobook of The Big Short. Here on his podcast, he and co-host Lidia Jean Kott are thinking about the legacy of the book, the movie, and the financial crisis of 2008. Michael catches up with the director of the movie, Adam McKay, as well as some of the real-life characters depicted by the likes of Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Jeremy Strong. He also calls up journalists, economists, and historians to make sense of the 2008 financial crisis and to understand how it still affects the world today. Get your copy of The Big Short audiobook, narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, Apple Books, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Location:

United States

Genres:

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Description:

Michael Lewis’s best-selling book The Big Short is now 15 years old. The Oscar-winning movie based on it came out a decade ago. To mark the occasion, Lewis has narrated a new audiobook of The Big Short. Here on his podcast, he and co-host Lidia Jean Kott are thinking about the legacy of the book, the movie, and the financial crisis of 2008. Michael catches up with the director of the movie, Adam McKay, as well as some of the real-life characters depicted by the likes of Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Jeremy Strong. He also calls up journalists, economists, and historians to make sense of the 2008 financial crisis and to understand how it still affects the world today. Get your copy of The Big Short audiobook, narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, Apple Books, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Twitter:

@pushkinpods

Language:

English

Website:

https://atrpodcast.com/

Episodes

How to Experience the Joy of Giving Right Now: A Giving Tuesday Special from The Happiness Lab

12/9/2025

According to the science, it really is better to give than receive. Donating a dollar; sharing a kind word or lending someone a hand changes lives, but can also hugely boost your happiness. So we're teaming up with other podcasts from Hidden Brain to Revisionist History to ask you to give to a charity helping some of the poorest people around. We're calling it #PodsFightPoverty. Go to givedirectly.org/happinesslab right now and give whatever you can. Even a small donation will make you feel good and have a much larger impact on the world than you thought possible. To help inspire you, this special episode examines the science of giving and shares stories of heartwarming and impactful acts of kindness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:47:42

Michael Burry Speaks

12/2/2025

Of all the characters in The Big Short, fund manager Michael Burry (depicted by Christian Bale in the movie version) seemed the least likely to grant Michael Lewis a follow-up interview. Burry was one of the first to see the subprime housing market crisis coming, and he actually helped Wall Street banks develop the credit-default swap, the instrument that allowed short sellers to make their bets against the market. Lately, Burry has been in the news again because his fund has taken short positions against tech giants Nvidia and Palantir. Now he finally sits down with Lewis as part of this series. Burry recently launched a newsletter called Cassandra Unchained. Order The Big Short audiobook, now narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:36:22

How the Financial Crisis Broke Politics

11/25/2025

To wrap up our series on The Big Short, Michael Lewis speaks with two people who represent two very different responses to the financial crisis of 2008: US Senator Elizabeth Warren, an expert in bankruptcy law who became an advisor to the Obama White House before running for higher office in Massachusetts. And Michael interviews former Trump White House advisor and right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon, who talks about how the financial crisis radicalized him. Order The Big Short audiobook, now narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:40:59

How the Financial Crisis Broke Wall Street

11/18/2025

To make sense of Wall Street’s hangover from the crash described in The Big Short, Michael Lewis calls up Matt Levine. Levine is author of the Money Stuff newsletter for Bloomberg Opinion and co-host of a podcast by the same name. He’s also a former investment banker who was working at Goldman Sachs during the market crisis of 2008. He and Lewis talk about Bitcoin, bank regulation, and new forms of risk-taking — all ways Wall Street has changed since the crisis. Order The Big Short audiobook, now narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:31:03

Lessons of the Great Depression

11/11/2025

Andrew Ross Sorkin writes the business and policy newsletter DealBook for the New York Times and is co-anchor of Squawk Box on CNBC. He also has a historical bent, and has a new book out about the causes and consequences of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Sorkin speaks with Michael Lewis about how that crisis differed from the financial crash of 2008, and what we can learn by comparing the two eras. For more, check out Sorkin’s book 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History, and How it Shattered a Nation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:35:27

Lender of Last Resort

11/4/2025

When Michael Lewis wrote The Big Short, there was an extra character in the story: The Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the US, which bought up bad debt on the balance sheets of big Wall Street banks and trading firms. To better understand the Fed’s role in the financial crisis of 2008, Michael turns to UC Berkeley economics professor Emi Nakamura. And in the process, we get a master class in how currency works, and why there’s still some gold in the vaults of the Fed. For more, check out Emi Nakamura’s Macro Policy Lab. Order The Big Short audiobook, now narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:45:32

The FrontPoint Boys

10/28/2025

The Big Short is centered around the story of investment advisors who noticed something was seriously wrong with the subprime housing market starting in the early 2000s. Why did the traders at FrontPoint Partners and others bet against the herd, at great risk to their reputations and their own careers? And what happened after those bets paid off — because the market crashed? Michael Lewis catches up with some of the most memorable characters in his book to find out what being right has done to their lives. For more, check out a newsletter by Danny Moses, Vincent Daniel, and Porter Collins called WHAT ARE WE DOING? (WAWD). Order The Big Short audiobook, now narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:23:09

The Short Sellers

10/21/2025

Michael Lewis speaks with Greg Lippmann, formerly a bond trader at Deutsche Bank, made famous when he was portrayed by Ryan Gosling in the movie version of The Big Short. And Lewis catches up with Steve Eisman, the Wall Street investor who was played by actor Steve Carell. When did they each start to suspect the subprime mortgage market was rotten, and why? And how did they perceive each other in the wary days and months before the market crashed? For more, check out Steve Eisman’s podcast, The Real Eisman Playbook. Order The Big Short audiobook, now narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:22:59

Michael Lewis Interviews His Producer

10/18/2025

Against the Rules producer Lidia Jean Kott is the host of a new podcast series called The Chinatown Sting. It’s about a group of unlikely suspects at the center of a massive drug bust that took place in 1980s New York. Recently Michael spoke with LJ about her series at a coffee shop in Brooklyn called Land to Sea. You can listen to all six episodes of the “The Chinatown Sting” on Apple, Spotify, pushkin.fm/chinatown, or wherever you listen to podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:25:42

Adam McKay is Still Angry About 2008

10/14/2025

When Adam McKay decided to make a movie based on The Big Short, he was mainly known for his comedies. But he managed to get a bevy of star actors — among them Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell and Margot Robbie — to sign on and bring the intensity and arcane financial jargon of Wall Street to life. Michael Lewis sits down with McKay a decade after he made the Oscar-winning movie version of The Big Short to learn about the challenges of getting the film made — and why he’s still making movies about societal collapse. Pre-order The Big Short audiobook, now narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, Apple Books, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:36:43

The Big Short is Big Back

10/7/2025

Back in 2008, Michael Lewis started paying attention to Wall Street again, as banks and investment funds started to announce massive losses. Fifteen years ago, he published The Big Short, about a group of traders and investors who bet against a market that refused to see what was coming. Now it’s time to revisit both the book and the Oscar-winning movie based on it. The Big Short Companion series starts Oct. 14. Pre-order The Big Short audiobook, now narrated by Michael Lewis, on Audible, Spotify, pushkin.fm/bigshort or wherever you get audiobooks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:03:55

"I get in trouble when I say things like this" - Michael Lewis on Sam Bankman-Fried from Cautionary Tales

7/11/2025

Acclaimed author Michael Lewis discusses his time with Sam Bankman-Fried and why he thinks both high finance and Effective Altruism shaped the 'Crypto King's' worldview, ultimately landing him in jail. Plus, we hear about the people fighting terrorism, cave-ins and brain-eating amoeba from Michael's new book 'Who Is Government?'. For a full list of sources, see the show notes at timharford.com. Get ad-free episodes, plus an exclusive monthly bonus episode, to Cautionary Tales by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:45:57

Preview: Into the Scatterbrained Minds of Team Revisionist History

4/10/2025

Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell's podcast about the overlooked and misunderstood, returns with investigations on everything from PAW Patrol to the secret behind English muffins to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Plus much, much more. Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin.fm: pushkin.fm/plus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:02:43

The Harms of Eating Alone: An International Day of Happiness Special from The Happiness Lab

3/20/2025

For the International Day of Happiness, we're sharing a special episode from The Happiness Lab. It's a chance to talk about happiness and what we can all do to be happier. March 20th also sees the release of the World Happiness Report. A big finding of 2025's report is that more of us are dining alone—and that's bad news. The report's editor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve shares the stark figures showing that shared meals are in decline, while Dr. Anne Fischel of The Family Dinner Project gives tips on how to dine better with friends, families and colleagues. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:36:41

Sen. Richard Blumenthal on the SAFE Bet Act

2/11/2025

Is anyone trying to regulate sports gambling on the federal level in the US? In the fall of 2024, Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced a bill with New York Congressman Paul Tonko. The SAFE Bet would restrict sports gambling ads and would help fund more gambling addiction treatment, among other things. Blumenthal speaks with Michael Lewis about why he sees sports gambling as a public health disaster in the making. Further reading: Blumenthal’s press release on the SAFE Bet Act. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:29:58

Dr. Laurie Santos on Group Psychology, the Teen Brain, and Happiness

2/4/2025

Michael Lewis invites over Yale psychology professor Dr. Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab at Pushkin, for a chat about what scientific research has to tell us about sports fandom, teenagers, and gambling. You can sign up for The Happiness Lab newsletter here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:29:54

Natasha Schüll on the Antisocial Lure of Gambling

1/28/2025

As an anthropologist, Natasha Schüll spent more than a decade doing field work in Vegas casinos, especially among the slot machine addicts. She tells Michael Lewis why many of those who play slots actually hate to win. And she talks about how the digital overhaul of Vegas has made all forms of gambling, including sports gambling, more like slots. For further reading: Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by Natasha Schüll. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:30:40

Episode 10: “Anybody Can Win, but Everybody’s Gonna Lose”

1/21/2025

Perhaps you have someone in your life who’s prone to sports gambling. Michael Lewis has someone. So he comes up with a scheme to “innoculate” his 17-year-old son against the lure of placing bets online. All the while, Lewis tries to craft the perfect “master class” for would-be gamblers to understand the dangers of what they might be getting themselves into. Here's his reading list: The Logic of Sports Betting by Matt Davidow and Ed Miller Stephen Pinker’s Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:46:26

Episode 9: Framing the Gambler

1/14/2025

Michael Lewis gets a glimpse of sports gambling's future by talking with writers in Great Britain and Australia, where the industry is even more entrenched. But the US has its own peculiar history of failing to regulate dangerously addictive new products, and blaming the users instead. Especially when powerful industry advocates are able to pay scientists to sow doubt and delay the day of reckoning. For further reading: Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of our World by Dan Davies Crikey’s coverage on sports gambling in Australia: Punted Patrick Radden Keefe’s Empire of Pain: The Story of the Sackler Family and Purdue Pharma Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:29:51

Episode 8: The Integrity Landscape

1/7/2025

Has betting based on inside intel on games gone down since sports gambling was legalized in the US? Not really, as Michael Lewis finds out. But what's gone up is misery for athletes. We hear from Atlanta Hawks forward Larry Nance, Jr. about the rage, threats and wheedling that pro athletes now endure. The NCAA, former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, is trying to protect student athletes on campus, while their friends all bet on them, often underaged. Overall, the “integrity landscape” for US sports looks more and more pot-holed by the day. For further reading: NCAA sports wagering survey See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Duration:00:38:06