Issue 46 – Checkmate, crypto
Episode Date: December 15, 2023Cheating chess-players, cursed mansions, and more defi centralization. Originally published on December 15, 2023.
Keep up with the happenings in the tech world without all the boosterism. Cryptocurrency critic, technology researcher, and software engineer Molly White publishes Citation Needed, a newsletter that features weekly explainers of developments in the cryptocurrency industry, with summaries of the latest disasters featured on her well-known project Web3 is Going Just Great. She also does deep dives into important events in the broader technology industry, with added critical context that is too often missing.
122 episodes transcribedCheating chess-players, cursed mansions, and more defi centralization. Originally published on December 15, 2023.
Rising bitcoin prices bring echoes of the crypto mania from years past, and an ambitious hacker decides to manifest a new job for themselves. Original...
Silicon Valley's "effective altruism" and "effective accelerationism" only give a thin philosophical veneer to the industry's same old impulses. Origi...
The Justice Department's interest in Binance isn't just "FUD" anymore. Originally published on November 21, 2023.
Two crypto firms emerge from bankruptcy, and a Bored Ape party turns out even worse than it sounds. Originally published on November 9, 2023.
From billions of mysterious Tethers to the apparent identity theft of Thai sex workers, many questions remain about what happened at Bankman-Fried's c...
Jurors spent less than five hours deliberating before returning the verdict. Originally published on November 2, 2023.
Bankman-Fried comes off as sullen and cagey in his cross-examination in front of the jury. Originally published on November 1, 2023.
Taking the stand before the jury for the first time, Sam Bankman-Fried recounts familiar events we've heard described by previous witnesses, but gives...
After a few other brief witnesses, it was time for the main event — or, at least, a preview of it. Originally published on October 29, 2023.
I'm taking this show on the road to hear Sam Bankman-Fried testify in person. Originally published on October 26, 2023.
Is the defense team doing as poorly as it looks, or do they have a trick up their sleeves? Originally published on October 19, 2023.
Sam Bankman-Fried's direct messages to a journalist about "unethical shit" were admitted as evidence, much to the dismay of his legal team. Originally...
The defense team finally scores a few points, and cell phone records reveal Bankman-Fried's extensive influence tour in Manhattan. Originally publishe...
Singh testified that Bankman-Fried pressured him into trying to dig FTX out of a hole he didn't even know about until the very end. Originally publish...
BlockFi's CEO testifies that the company wouldn't have loaned to Alameda Research if they had any idea what was really going on. Originally published...
Recordings of the now infamous all-hands meeting capture Caroline Ellison admitting to conspiring with Sam Bankman-Fried to misappropriate FTX custome...
"Alternate" balance sheets, bribes, Saudi financing, and a painfully intertwined personal and professional life were among the topics described by Sam...
Caroline Ellison testifies about Sam Bankman-Fried's appetite for risk, involvement in Alameda Research, and even his presidential aspirations. Origin...
The jury got a taste of code review as they examined a falsified "insurance fund" and the infamous FTX → Alameda Research "backdoor". Originally publi...