New Money Review podcast
Business & Finance
About
The future of money in 30 minutes
Episodes
- We have to choose between free market capitalism and democracy
In the latest New Money Review podcast, I interview Mordecai Kurz, Joan Kenney professor of economics emeritus at Stanford University. Kurz, the author of " Private Power and Democracy's Decline ", to be published in May 2026, says that it…
- Unseen Money 16—synthetic identity fraud
In the latest episode of Unseen Money, Timur Yunusov helps Paul Amery unravel a strange real-life story involving a spoofed eBay delivery, Paul’s phone number and a photo of an Indian lady in a pink dressing gown. The story is part of a ra…
- Unseen Money 15—Why passkeys won’t take off
Tech firms and governments are pushing passkeys as a replacement for online passwords. They argue that using passkeys will help cut down on fraud, prevent account takeovers and protect against password theft. But Paul Amery and Timur Yunus…
- Unseen Money 14—the AI malware threat
Last week, Google’s threat intelligence group warned that artificial intelligence (AI) is making malware attacks more dangerous. [Malware is malicious software—programmes designed to disrupt, damage or gain unauthorised access to computer…
- The rise of techno-fascism
Some people have labelled the recent alliance between Silicon Valley and right-wing populist leaders “techno-fascism”. Is that too strong a term? No, says Jacob Silverman in the latest New Money Review podcast. “What do you call it when th…
- Unseen Money 13—Washing the proceeds in cyberspace
Long gone are the days when the Escobar family had to spend $2,500 a month on rubber bands to hold the cash they earned trading cocaine. Now, the invention of cryptocurrency has made money launderers’ life a whole lot easier—or has it? Inv…
- Unseen Money 12: Keeping hackers out of your DeFi wallet
The decentralised finance (DeFi) market is booming—but the world’s best hackers are on a constant look-out for ways to steal your crypto tokens. North Korea, which recently committed the largest theft in cryptocurrency history , is probabl…
- Unseen Money 11—a bad bird on your wire
Most scams where the victim is tricked into paying money to fraudsters originate on social media—often on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. But in the UK around one scam in five—and nearly half by the total value stolen—exploits weaknesses…
- Unseen Money 10: The UK—open for (dodgy) business
The UK’s company formation process is fast, easy and cheap. The net result of being open to almost any business is that up to half the companies on the UK’s Companies House register may have no legitimate purpose. Instead, those companies…
- Unseen Money Episode 9: Should QR codes scare us?
In the latest episode of Unseen Money, Timur Yunusov and Paul Amery talk about the role of QR codes in scams and whether these popular barcodes may lull users into a false sense of security. Also in this episode: team Trump's Yemen fiasco,…
- Unseen Money Episode 8: Blaming the victim of (card) fraud
There’s a big security loophole affecting plastic payment cards— called a replay (or pre-play) attack . Banks have known about this loophole for years. But they may still blame you, the victim, if a scammer makes use of it. In a 2022 fraud…
- Unseen Money Episode 7: The dangers of one-time passcodes (OTPs)
We all now use one-time passcodes (OTPs) to verify our identity online. In the last few weeks, I’ve personally received OTPs from Amazon, Apple, Google, the UK Driving Licence Authority, my pension provider, payments app Yotta, National Sa…
- Unseen Money 6: How the UK became fraudster heaven
The UK prides itself in being open for innovative tech firms—and companies in general—to set up business. It takes only £12—and 15-20 minutes—to create a new company online. But the laxity of the country’s system for new company formations…
- Unseen Money 5: Stealing your identity—bit by bit
Having your identity stolen is a catastrophe. You can lose your reputation, your credit rating, your money, your home or even be accused of fraud yourself . To victims, ID theft feels like a single, earth-shattering event. But it’s likely…
- Unseen Money 4: Keeping a phone thief out of your bank account
In the latest episode of Unseen Money, Timur Yunusov and I discuss how to stop a bad dream turning into a real nightmare: when a phone snatcher has your mobile device and is trying to get hold of your money as well. We cover: How a phone t…
- KGB legacy and a new scam in Russia: Unseen Money episode 3
In the latest episode of Unseen Money, we talk about the recent $4.5 million fraud committed against Ol’ga Serova , a 71-year-old former bureaucrat from Samara, Russia. We discuss: KGB legacy: how Russian scammers play on people’s long-sta…
- Why AI is a scammer's dream: Unseen Money part 2
Last week UK prime minister Keir Starmer said artificial intelligence could help fix potholes, teach our kids and slash the cost of public services. What he failed to mention is that AI is also a dream come true for scammers. Listen to the…
- From app fraud to card fraud: Unseen Money part 1
This is Unseen Money from New Money Review. I’m Paul Amery and I’m joined by my co-host, security researcher Timur Yunusov. Unseen money is our journey into the darker corners of digital payments. For many of us, transferring money is now…
- Why the dollar era will end slowly—then suddenly
The latest New Money Review podcast focuses on Trump, tariffs, deglobalisation and the currency markets. My guest, Mark Astley, is a former colleague, a currency and fixed income specialist who recently retired as chief executive of asset…
- The cat and mouse game of payments security
In the last decade, the way we make our payments has become more seamless, faster and cheaper. We’ve switched from signatures on paper cheques to a few swipes and a tap on a mobile phone. But with these advances have come massive new oppor…
- Default: why sovereign debt matters
When, why and how do countries go bust? That’s the topic of the latest New Money Review podcast, where I’m joined by Greg Makoff, a former physicist, banker, government advisor and now senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Makoff is…
- Capitalism on steroids
Supporters of the $10trn private equity industry say it fuels economic growth and delivers leaner, better-performing companies. One leading critic of the sector is Ludovic Phalippou, who says that the industry routinely overstates its fina…
- From the frontlines of Web3 fraud
Want to know what happens when fraud is a core component of your business model? Want to know how a business idea described as an “economic fairytale” could be valued at $300m? Want to know how an unknown cryptocurrency exchange could end…
- All things repo
In the latest New Money Review podcast, I interview Richard Comotto, a specialist in repo, the multi-trillion dollar marketplace used by large financial institutions to borrow and lend money in the short term. Richard, who started his care…
- How the Stoics saw money
The Stoic philosophers said we should manage our emotions when it comes to money and wealth. But is this a realistic goal? How can we resist the siren call of riches? How can we persevere and stay positive through tough economic times? In…
- Gaslighting for money
Almost half of the crime now committed in the UK is now fraud, most of it taking place online. But only 1% of police resources are devoted to catching the fraudsters. In the last New Money Review podcast I looked into how to bridge this al…
- The mind games of cybercrime
Cybercrime is often more than just a demonstration of hacking skills. The attacker could be motivated by money, but equally by nationalism, a search for notoriety or revenge. The victim may be random and innocent, but he/she could have bee…
- Rebuilding trust
We need a new approach to building trust in economic and monetary systems, says Ian Grigg, my guest on the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. Grigg, a computer scientist and cryptographer, is one of the pioneers of internet-ba…
- The US should issue a Fedcoin—without delay
In the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast I’m joined by someone who says we’re in the middle of a historic battle between the public and private sector over money. And it’s one the state can’t afford to lose, he argues. Our fut…
- The problem of debt
In the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast I’m delighted to welcome Satyajit Das, a former investment banker, derivatives expert and author. His book “Traders, Guns and Money”, published in 2006, remains one of the best books ev…
- Bringing AI back to earth
Excitement over the prospects for artificial intelligence (AI) has driven US stock market valuations to a historic high. Can AI technologies deliver on their promise? Or is this yet another case of irrational exuberance? In the latest New…
- How to stop scams
Against an uncertain economic backdrop, one industry is booming. Internet fraudsters are scamming more and more victims worldwide. Using increasingly sophisticated methods, they are now stealing even from the most prepared among us. But wh…
- From tax lawyer to political assassin
If you thought tax was boring, the latest New Money Review podcast will change your mind. Dan Neidle was a top corporate lawyer for 23 years—ending up as head of tax at London law firm Clifford Chance. But in 2022 he retired to set up a ne…
- When's the next crash?
Financial markets go up and down. And they usually fall faster than they rise. But when does normal financial market turbulence tip over into a systemic collapse? How should policymakers prepare and how should they react? In the latest New…
- Why monetarism is common sense
In the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast I’m delighted to welcome Tim Congdon, an economist and leading advocate of monetarism. After a successful career in the City, Tim became founder and chair of the Institute of Internatio…
- The legal fiction that drove colonialism
We often look at colonial empires as territories gained and occupied by nation states. But across four centuries, colonialism has above all been the business of companies, says my interviewee in the latest New Money Review podcast. Philip…
- Hacking into payment systems
Tim Yunusov is hacker with a special interest in banking and payment systems. He’s also written a series of articles on hacking for New Money Review . He’s been hired by financial institutions to see if he could breach their online banking…
- AI’s shady links to cryptocurrency
In this episode I’m joined by Kyle Gibson, a senior staff researcher and writer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Open Learning initiative. I’ve been following Kyle on Twitter for years, where he has been a consistently funny…
- 2023—year of bank runs
2023 has been a year of bank runs, most notably in the US. What’s going on? And how should we invest in response? In the latest New Money Review podcast, I talk money, credit, banking and markets with Alex Gloy, founder and chief executive…
- Regulate crypto or let it burn?
Former banker Sean Tuffy tracks the impact of global financial regulation on the investment business. In recent years he’s been paying a lot of attention to cryptocurrencies, digital assets and tokenisation. In the latest New Money Review…
- Time to derail digital payments
Since the coronavirus pandemic, many of us have switched from paying by cash to paying almost exclusively by card or digital wallet. My guest on the latest New Money Review podcast is someone who argues that, contrary to the mainstream nar…
- Next year DeFi will crash
It’s been a torrid year for investors in cryptocurrency but the worst is not over, says Carol Alexander, my guest on the latest New Money Review podcast. In 2023 the crash will shift to decentralised finance (DeFi), predicts Alexander. DeF…
- When audits go wrong
An auditor verifies the accuracy of a company’s financial records. He or she is supposed to spot any material misstatements, including those due to fraud or errors. And yet in two of the largest financial frauds in history—the 2021 collaps…
- Following the money
We are living in the golden age of fraud. But we’re also in a golden age for data leaks. In the last six years we’ve seen a cascade of information from places like Panama, Switzerland and Dubai—these are countries where lawyers, accountant…
- Money meets geopolitics
There are periods in human history when money and foreign policy converge—and this is one of them, says Paul Tucker, my guest on the latest New Money Review podcast. Tucker, deputy governor of the Bank of England for several years in the a…
- Why community money could have a big future
In his 2017 book, “Before Babylon, Beyond Bitcoin”, David Birch predicted that we would all live in a world of multiple competing currencies. And communities, said Birch, would be one of the five main future issuers of money (along with fo…
- Central banks’ zero-rate folly
By keeping interest rates near zero for over a decade, central banks have created profound economic insecurity and financial fragility. That’s the argument of financial historian Edward Chancellor, guest on the latest New Money Review podc…
- Why stablecoins disrupt the financial plumbing
Two events in the last fifteen years have fundamentally altered the way the financial system operates—and neither was planned by global policymakers. The great crash of 2008 stopped banks from extending loans to counterparties without taki…
- How the internet went wrong
“Competition is for losers,” Paypal founder, early Facebook investor and bitcoin enthusiast Peter Thiel once said . But now the monopoly power of the big tech firms has outgrown even Thiel’s wildest dreams. In the latest New Money Review p…
- The worrying politics of cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency billionaires are gaining a political foothold in countries rich and poor. Their influence now extends into governments, legislatures, charities and educational establishments around the world. In the US, cryptocurrency busin…