Some More News Some More News: How The Stock Market Made Money Even Faker
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Feb 4, 2026 A fast, biting tour of how stock markets and monetary systems were shaped by power and manipulation. Stories range from 17th-century share scams and John Law’s bubble to J.P. Morgan’s crisis interventions. The secretive birth and modern role of the Federal Reserve get unpacked, along with bailouts, quantitative easing, and how finance came to prioritize profits over production.
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Market Gains Mask Real Suffering
- The stock market can rise while most people get poorer because ownership is heavily concentrated at the top.
- Cody Johnston highlights that the top 1% own nearly half of the market, creating a K-shaped economy.
How Stocks Began With Empire
- The Dutch East India Company issued shares to fund colonization, starting modern stock trading.
- Cody uses this origin story to show that stock markets began with exploitation and speculation.
The Man Who Sold Imaginary Gold
- John Law hyped imaginary American mines and inflated a bubble that wrecked the French economy.
- Cody tells Law's rise and fall to illustrate early market fraud and its consequences.