75 episodes

From Michael Lewis and Against The Rules comes a special series – Judging Sam: The Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. Judging Sam will follow the daily courtroom drama as the former FTX CEO is tried for financial crimes, with expert commentary from author and Against the Rules host Michael Lewis, reporter and Against the Rules producer Lidia Jean Kott, finance journalist and What’s Your Problem host Jacob Goldstein, as well as legal experts and journalists who cover cryptocurrency and the law.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Against the Rules with Michael Lewis: The Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried Pushkin

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.4 • 9.3K Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
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From Michael Lewis and Against The Rules comes a special series – Judging Sam: The Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. Judging Sam will follow the daily courtroom drama as the former FTX CEO is tried for financial crimes, with expert commentary from author and Against the Rules host Michael Lewis, reporter and Against the Rules producer Lidia Jean Kott, finance journalist and What’s Your Problem host Jacob Goldstein, as well as legal experts and journalists who cover cryptocurrency and the law.

iHeartMedia is the exclusive podcast partner of Pushkin Industries.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Judging Sam: Going Infinite – Jacob Weisberg interviews Michael Lewis

    Judging Sam: Going Infinite – Jacob Weisberg interviews Michael Lewis

    For the past year and a half, journalist Michael Lewis has been following crypto entrepreneur and former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried. The resulting book, "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon", is out October 3. When Michael started his reporting, SBF was heralded as a wunderkind, a genius, a crypto innovator, a major philanthropist and political donor. Now, Sam Bankman-Fried is standing trial on multiple charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and misusing billions of dollars of customer funds. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Michael was there – with unprecedented access – to see it all happen. In this episode, Pushkin's Jacob Weisberg interviews Michael about how he chose Sam as his book subject, what he thought the book was going to be about, and when he sensed things were going to come crashing down for Sam and FTX.

    This conversation was recorded on September 13.

    Questions for Michael? Submit them by clicking the link in our show notes or visiting atrpodcast.com

    To listen to all of our coverage ad-free, sign up for Pushkin plus on the Against The Rules show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 33 min
    Judging Sam: The Case Against SBF

    Judging Sam: The Case Against SBF

    Sam Bankman-Fried's trial starts today in the formidable Southern District of New York, with Judge Lewis A. Kaplan presiding. If convicted, the former multi-billionaire and CEO of crypto exchange FTX could spend the rest of his life behind bars. In this episode, Michael talks with court reporter and producer Lidia Jean Kott and former Southern District of New York prosecutor Rebecca Mermelstein, now a defense attorney with O'Melveny and Myers, about the charges against Sam and what we might expect as the trial gets underway. Questions for Michael? Submit them by clicking the link in our show notes or visiting atrpodcast.comThis conversation was recorded on September 26th.To listen to all of our coverage ad-free, sign up for Pushkin plus on the Against The Rules show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 30 min
    Judging Sam: Jury Selection

    Judging Sam: Jury Selection

    The trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried got underway yesterday in the Southern District of New York. First order of business? Empanelling a jury. Reporter Lidia Jean Kott was there. To get more insight into how jury selection works, Lidia Jean sat down with trial consultant Ellen Leggett.

    Their episode was recorded on October 2 at 6pm ET, with an update after court on October 3.

    Questions for Michael? Submit them by clicking the link in our show notes or visiting atrpodcast.com

    To listen to all of our coverage ad-free, sign up for Pushkin plus on the Against The Rules show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 31 min
    Judging Sam: Opening Statements

    Judging Sam: Opening Statements

    SBF’s trial has been on for three days, and a lot has happened: jury selection, opening statements, and the first witnesses. Pushkin co-founder Jacob Weisberg sits down with reporter Lidia Jean Kott and Rebecca Mermelstein, a partner at the law firm O’Melveny and Myers, to talk about what’s happened in court so far.

    This conversation was recorded on October 5 at 3 pm ET.

    Questions for Michael? Submit them by clicking the link in our show notes or visiting atrpodcast.com

    To listen to all of our coverage ad-free, sign up for Pushkin plus on the Against The Rules show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 23 min
    Judging Sam: Catching up with Michael Lewis

    Judging Sam: Catching up with Michael Lewis

    Week 1 of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial is in the books. The jury is seated, opening statements have been given, and witnesses are taking the stand. Lidia Jean has been in court, and Michael has been on book tour. In this episode they catch each other up. Michael wants to know what it’s like inside the courtroom, and Lidia Jean is curious about what new information Michael is learning.

    This conversation was recorded on October 7. 

    Questions for Michael? Submit them by clicking the link in our show notes or visiting atrpodcast.com

    To listen to all of our coverage ad-free, sign up for Pushkin plus on the Against The Rules show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 21 min
    Judging Sam: Caroline Ellison Takes The Stand

    Judging Sam: Caroline Ellison Takes The Stand

    Caroline Ellison, former co-CEO of Alameda Research and Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, takes the stand and has a lot to say. Ellison recently pled guilty to financial fraud, and is cooperating with the prosecution. In this episode Lidia Jean Kott discusses what came up on Day 1 of Caroline’s testimony with Jacob Goldstein, financial reporter and author of the book Money. 

    This conversation was recorded in the evening on October 10. 

    Questions for Michael? Submit them by clicking the link in our show notes or visiting atrpodcast.com

    To access bonus episodes, and to listen to all of our coverage ad-free, sign up for Pushkin plus on the Against The Rules show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 16 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
9.3K Ratings

9.3K Ratings

Three ducks in a trench coat ,

Fantastic work by Lidia Jean

This review is specifically about Season 4, Judging Sam. It’s unfortunate that Lidia Jean is only credited as “court reporter” because honestly she did a fantastic job covering the trial, conveying both the facts but also the sentiment and nuance of the proceedings. They should have just made her the host and let her run with it. The weakest episodes were actually when Michael Lewis was in court, in which he took a “no facts, just vibes” approach to reporting.

mindgraveyard ,

Nosedive

I once loved this podcast. Michael Lewis and the team did a great job for three seasons. This fourth however is pretty much unlistenable. A decent portion of the blame falls on the new reporter whose voice is a challenge and writing weak, but also the overall composition of the whole season feels sloppy. Seems like Pushkin’s more focused on commercials than content these days.

GracieEsq ,

Voice is a intolerable

Ms Kott has a voice that I find intolerable - I simply cannot listen to her.

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