The Root of All Evil

Luke & Joe

Curious & Humble Individualists Our podcast is intended for curious, smart individuals who do not work in finance, but would like to keep informed about finance, economics, monetary & fiscal policy, and some miscellaneous topics as well. We focus on digging to the root of whatever financial scandal, debate, or news that happened in the past week, reviewing the source material with you, and then forming our own opinion. We do not claim to know everything, only that we are honest in our search for understanding. We try to have fun with it as well.

Episodes

  1. May 10

    E89 | China Subjugates its Financial System; Treasury Considers Repo Investments; Star Wars Speech

    This week we focus on a deep dive into a new (proposed) Financial Law in China that gives the CCP expansive, total control over Financial Institutions. It's shocking! We compare the US and Chinese process for passing these kinds of laws, show why this might be form over function. We cover specific Articles that grant the regulators expansive powers: things their US counterparts absolutely do not have. The proposed Law is just that, proposed. The lawmakers are asking for comments on this law, so Luke provides a few. Next, we review a new idea explored by Treasury to earn some additional income by lending its excess cash into the Repo market. This might be another example of Fiscal and Monetary Policy combining together. Finally, we conclude looking at all the Star Wars references in a John Williams speech. Enjoy! Time Stamps Topic 1) China's New Financial Order 00:00 - Darth Joe & a New Financial Order! 01:41 - China's New Financial Constitution 02:15 - US v China Public Comment Process. Form > Function? 06:03 - Article 3) Umbrella Clause (All Finance Stuff) 06:56 - Article 4) Finance Serves the CCP 07:49 - Article 12) A Digital RMB (to Dethrone the $?) & Circulation 09:26 - Article 13) Coordinating Monetary & Fiscal Policy 11:45 - Article 19) The Party embeds itself in FIs! 16:06 - Article 55) Powers of the Regulators (US v China) 18:46 - Article 56) Powers if the FI Violates a Regulation (Uh oh!) 24:17 - Article 67) Powers of Resolution 26:24 - Article 85) Powers to Ignore US Sanctions 27:23 - Article 93) Foreign Co's are Governed by this Law 28:47 - Xi's Playbook & Informing the US Administration 29:58 - Luke's Feedback, for Consideration 31:10 - How Xi is Different: Charisma or Disappear People? Topic 2 33:26 - The Treasury Considers Entering the Repo Market Topic 3 37:47 - John Williams' Star Wars Speech Sources: Our AMAZING Notes (with more sources): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UGRmigUjtkq5B41T8aBi7hqq9xcKXT1mzJIP7QkUsRo/edit?usp=sharing Death Star Canteen Skit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxX7QCll3oc About the show: Two Finance professionals talk finance news. Technical, Curious, Primary Sources, Independent. Our podcast is intended for curious, smart individuals who do not work in finance, but would like to know WTF do professionals in the space talk about (financial, economic, monetary & fiscal policy, and some miscellaneous topics as well). DISCLAIMER 1: Views presented in this podcast are those of the hosts only; they do not necessarily represent the views of current or former employers. DISCLAIMER 2: The content presented here is for informational (and hopefully, entertainment) purposes only. The content should not be considered financial advice. DISCLAIMER 3: We are not lawyers. Do not interpret any of what we say here as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, consult a professional lawyer for goodness sake.

    41 min

  2. Mar 15

    E81 | Private Credit, Debanking, Oil Prediction, A New American Bank, Bringing Mortgages Home

    Joe and Luke discuss the last few weeks of financial news as perceived by finance professionals. We got an update to the Donald Trump JP Morgan Debanking case. The JP Morgan defense issued a responses and (SCANDAL!) "admitted" to debanking Trump! Really, all they did was confirm what no one denied: they closed Trump and Trump-adjacent accounts. Luke presents his thoughts on the uphill battle before Trump. Luke made a prediction on Oil prices the morning of March 1, after the Iran strikes. He was dead wrong. We review our mistakes and learn from them. On the Korean Stock Market fallout, Luke educated himself on the dynamics of that index to help understand the Black day. He made a cartoon for that as well. Jobs report came in negative, but the Market didn't do a total sell-off. Joe explains why. Palmer Luckey opened his own bank aligned with America's interest! Super safe! Pandering to the hole left by the Silicone Valley Bank Disaster. Oh, no wait, it's just a super profitable Stablecoin bank. That's what we think that is all about. Private credit is in the news a lot. People are focusing on redemption caps, but the story is with the credit quality which, as of this writing, is starting to show cracks. People are starting to cover that as this episode goes to press. Miki Bowman, Vice Chair of Supervision at the Federal Reserve, has made it her mission to bring mortgages back onto the balance sheet at banks. Luke dives into what, exactly that means and why they left in the first place. WARNING: this one gets a little technical. 00:00 - Wifey Update 02:00 - Trump Debanking Update 04:41 - Luke's WRONG Oil Price Prediction 09:11 - Korean Stock Market Fallout & Concentration 11:30 - Jobs Report & Nuances 14:32 - New (De Novo) Bank! Erebor Bank 25:59 - Shadow Banks & Private Credit Liquidity Problems, Maybe Credit Problems 35:37 - Mortgages Move to Non-Bank Lenders, Miki work Brings them Home (to Banks) 43:55 - Sign off & Looking for Another Podcast Show Notes & Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h-z9c3tI8Zz4OXTLxOm0OIJHE_phuPyftgpY9RHZSTA/edit?usp=sharing About the show: Two Finance professionals talk finance news. Technical, Curious, Primary Sources, and Independent. Our podcast is intended for curious, smart individuals who do not work in finance, but would like to know WTF do professionals in the space talk about (financial, economic, monetary & fiscal policy, and some miscellaneous topics as well). Luke and Joe are two finance professionals who understand that, in order to combat manipulation and form an informed, individual position, details and primary sources are key. As such, we focus on digging to the root of whatever financial scandal, debate, or news that happened in the past week, reviewing the source material with you, and then forming our own opinion. We do not claim to know everything, only that we are honest in our search for understanding. We try to have fun with it as well and don't take ourselves too seriously. We heartily invite you for the ride. DISCLAIMER 1: Views presented in this podcast are those of the hosts only; they do not necessarily represent the views of current or former employers. DISCLAIMER 2: The content presented here is for informational (and hopefully, entertainment) purposes only. The content should not be considered financial advice. DISCLAIMER 3: We are not lawyers. Do not interpret any of what we say here as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, consult a professional lawyer for goodness sake.

    46 min

  3. Feb 23

    E79 | The collapse of a bank that wasn't a bank; Scotty B's Prediction; Iranian Sanctions Story

    Luke and Joe continue to advance against their ignorance in this episode. First, Luke provides six topics which he did not have time to research so that you can research them if interested. The main topic was Scott Bessent's response to a question about Iran posed at a recent Congressional hearing (early Feb, 2026). He mentioned bank, economic, and currency collapses. Sounds interesting! But what is he talking about. The bank collapse was a wild ride--nothing seemed to make sense to our Western ears. These are crazy numbers and a crazy story; so much so, that Luke questioned if this was even a "bank" in the way we use the term. On the Rial, the (unofficial) currency has depreciated to nearly completely worthless. But official rates held constant through January 7, when it broke. What happened there? On the economy, this is an old story of sanctions. Luke breaks down the story of sanctions in a single graph; from the Obama years to Trump's first (and now second) "maximum pressure" campaign, that seemed to have worked. Sorta. Time Stamps 00:00 - On this episode... Honorable Mentions this week: 01:55 - FRB Article on Future Risk 05:06 - Bessent, the IMF, & Article IV 05:25 - OpenAI Accuses DeepSeek 05:57 - Ray Dalio & Stage 5 to 6 06:28 - Kennedy & Healthcare Prices 06:55 - Public Healthcare Data and DataRepublican Main Topic: 08:22 - Scotty B Clip 1 - Questioned on Iran 09:50 - The Bank Collapse Makes no Sense 17:11 - Why News Reports Seem off 22:45 - 40% loss is INSANE 26:30 - Scotty B Clip 2 - Get out of the Rial NOW 28:00 - The Collapse of the Iranian Rian 33:31 - Scotty B Clip 3 - Sanctions 34:06 - The Story of Iranian Sanctions (in one graph) Notes & Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10rHDbn08ll8gxUBHKeoghihAM9aKmC8TSZW257kg1lM/edit?usp=sharing Stay Curious Stay Humble Keep your Own Council Find us: Substack - https://rootallevilpod.substack.com/?r=7hs5iz&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist X - https://x.com/Root_All_Evil Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6B6vqZECgl9qOoHpggHJcx?si=5467b81a14b94650 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-root-of-all-evil/id1875718682 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggLetvhRy0MHd-2H9ZGtlw Music: With Plenty Of Money And You (Remastered) - Tony Bennett, The Count Basie Orchestra DISCLAIMER 1: Views presented in this podcast are those of the hosts only; they do not necessarily represent the views of current or former employers. DISCLAIMER 2: The content presented here is for informational (and hopefully, entertainment) purposes only. The content should not be considered financial advice. DISCLAIMER 3: We are not lawyers. Do not interpret any of what we say here as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, consult a professional lawyer for goodness sake.

    46 min

  4. Feb 8

    E76 | Kevin Warsh, Potential Regime Shfit at the Fed, and Dollar Credibility

    We break down the surprise nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair. Are we witnessing a shift in tone at the Fed — or something more structural? Separately, we discuss two other developing stories: • Renewed government shutdown brinkmanship in Washington • Rumors of potential yen intervention and questions around the strong dollar policy While a short shutdown may have limited operational impact, repeated brinkmanship may call institutional credibility into question. At the same time, reports that the BoJ may be preparing to intervene in FX markets may serve to amplify this result. Local signs of stress in the monetary system? Or isolated headlines?

    25 min

  5. Feb 8

    E77 | Credit Card Competition, RMB Reserve Currency, Inflation by Household

    The Credit Card Competition Act will not help the affordability issue; Xi Jinping wants the RMB to be the Global Reserve Currency, but has a long ways to go; and a new study shows that households experienced inflation in very different ways.

    42 min

  6. Feb 1

    E75 | Japan Interest Spike, 1929 Book Review, Union Baggage, and the Billionaire Tax Act

    Lots of interesting happenings this past week. Joe and Luke follow up on E68 and discuss the recent spike in Japanese Government Bonds on the back of PM's announcement to lower consumption taxes. Luke finished reading the recent pop-finance book from Sorkin, 1929, and offers a recap and review of the book. In preparation for the root dive discussion on the proposed 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, Luke tells his Union story from his time at Columbia in 2018. Finally, we dive deep into the most controversial parts of the Billionaire Tax Act, citing specific language throughout. We also highlight a few areas that might be deemed as unconstitutional. Lots of interesting happenings this past week. Joe and Luke follow up on E68 and discuss the recent spike in Japanese Government Bonds on the back of PM's announcement to lower consumption taxes. Luke finished reading the recent pop-finance book from Sorkin, 1929, and offers a recap and review of the book. In preparation for the root dive discussion on the proposed 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, Luke tells his Union story from his time at Columbia in 2018. Finally, we dive deep into the most controversial parts of the Billionaire Tax Act, citing specific language throughout. We also highlight a few areas that might be deemed as unconstitutional. Time Stamps: 00:00 - Luke's Lesson, Joe's Knee Jerk 01:10 - Japanese Debt Interest Spike 07:25 - Review and Discussion of 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin (NO SPOILERS) 19:56 - Honorable Mentions (Goldman Sells, Shutdown Avoided, Scotty B at Davos) 22:28 - My Union Baggage from Columbia 2018 (I'm against) 32:20 - Union Overview, Tactics and what's Shocking to me 37:34 - Billy Tax Act (with receipts!) Show Notes with Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eCy_rKNDb--qILqxw3JYX62grZvHbiVYkIBZfAhno20/edit?usp=sharing Music: With Plenty Of Money And You (Remastered) - Tony Bennett, The Count Basie Orchestra DISCLAIMER 1: Views presented in this podcast are those of the hosts only; they do not necessarily represent the views of current or former employers. DISCLAIMER 2: The content presented here is for informational (and hopefully, entertainment) purposes only. The content should not be considered financial advice. DISCLAIMER 3: We are not lawyers. Do not interpret any of what we say here as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, consult a professional lawyer for goodness sake.

    53 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

Curious & Humble Individualists Our podcast is intended for curious, smart individuals who do not work in finance, but would like to keep informed about finance, economics, monetary & fiscal policy, and some miscellaneous topics as well. We focus on digging to the root of whatever financial scandal, debate, or news that happened in the past week, reviewing the source material with you, and then forming our own opinion. We do not claim to know everything, only that we are honest in our search for understanding. We try to have fun with it as well.

Information

  • Creator
    Luke & Joe
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Luke & Joe
  • Show Website
    The Root of All Evil