A Strange Voyage
Summary
Search Engine explores SpaceX’s historic $2 trillion IPO by tracing the stock market’s origins to the 1602 Dutch East India Company. Historian Lodwijk Betram explains how share trading emerged accidentally, while Harvard professor Mihir Desai details America’s shift from defined-benefit pensions to retail-driven 401(k)s. The episode argues that modern markets have evolved from valuation tools into attention-based gambling platforms, exemplified by meme stocks and Musk’s latest venture.
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