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This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
8 Episodes 2019 - 2019
Episode 1
Money Laundering: A How to Guide
Fri, Feb 22, 201945 mins
What do you do when you have a lot of cash that wasn't exactly earned legally? Easy. You launder it. But here's the harder question: How EXACTLY do you launder it? Host Kal Penn sets out to talk to people in the know --international bankers, lawyers, investigative journalists, and money launderers themselves, to find out how the world's dirty money gets cleaned. Kal starts his journey in Miami, talking to convicted money launderer, Humberto Aguilar, about how it's done. Aguilar's expertise from the "glory days" of Miami's cocaine heyday leads Kal to the island nation of Cyprus. There, he meet a slew of characters who reveal all the ways that money laundering has played into Cyprus's economy -- but is it still going on? Kal eventually has to leave Cyprus to get the clearest answer. He travels to London to meet Panicos Demetriades, former governor of the Bank of Cyprus, who fled the country after blowing the whistle on continued money laundering in the country. Panicos reveals the ways that powerful people across the globe are continuing to launder money through secret networks -- and not just through Cyprus. Back in America, Kal gets advice from a man who has truly seen and done it all -- including money laundering, jewel smuggling, Bin-Laden hunting and working for three-letter government agencies to stop money laundering: Felix Sater. Like the Wizard of Oz, Sater reveals that the thing Kal's been looking for has been right at home in the US all along. This episode includes appearances by Joel McHale and Thomas Middleditch.
Episode 2
Are Rich People Dicks or Do Dicks Get Rich
Fri, Feb 22, 201939 mins
Let's just say it: a lot of rich people come across as dicks. But is there a reason for this pernicious stereotype? What is it about having a lot of money and a willingness to step over anyone to get more of it that seem to go together? Is there a correlation between "richness" and "dickness"? How about success in business and being a psychopath? Host Kal Penn travels to Thailand, New York, Dubai, and Los Angeles, unpacking a mystery at the very heart of capitalism: which came first: the money or the dickhead behavior? Jon Ronson, author of "The Psychopath Test" teaches Kal about the interplay of capitalism and malignant personality disorders. Kal also visits with unapologetic one percenter Gary Vaynerchuk, an American entrepreneur, in hopes of learning the secret to becoming a rich dick. Instead Gary turns Kal on to economic rent-seeking - a specific type of game-rigging dickishness where individuals and corporations create unfair competitive advantages for themselves. Kal's journey then takes him to Dubai, where he learns about rent-seeking laws that can benefit an entire population of citizens ... as well as the personal and long term damage these policies can cause. Finally, he returns to America, where a visit to Doc Johnson's sex toy assembly line teaches Kal the important distinction between being a dick and just making them. This episode includes appearances by Pete Holmes, Paul Scheer, and Sasheer Zamata.
Episode 3
The Rubber Episode
Fri, Feb 22, 201940 mins
There are a lot of ways to imagine how the world will end - but there is a real apocalyptic threat that would grind our global economy to a halt. And almost nobody is talking about it. Natural rubber is a 26 billion dollar industry. It is the backbone of the economy - crammed into everything from our clothing to medical necessities. Without it, planes can't land and trucks can't drive. Host Kal Penn traces the path of this vital commodity from trees to tires and learns about the very real threats to rubber, which could eliminate it from the planet entirely. Kal starts off in Philadelphia, where 12,000-pound monster trucks flip, fly and crash, all on giant rubber monster tires. He then travels from a disease lab in England to a desolate airplane graveyard in the Mojave Desert as he learns from experts about the formidable threats to rubber, and how immediate those threats are. From there, Kal heads to Thailand to follow the path of rubber, beginning with tapping latex at a rubber tree plantation all the way to Singapore, where he learns how it's traded, and how futures contract traders use rubber as a tool for personal enrichment. This episode features appearances by Meghan Trainor, Tone Bell, and Bobby Moynihan.
Episode 4
A.I. is the Future. Will it Keep Us Around to Enjoy It?
Fri, Feb 22, 201940 mins
Over the next 15 years, artificial intelligence is going to completely transform our economy. But who will be the winners and losers of this new industrial revolution? Host Kal Penn travels to India, New York, San Francisco, and London to find out how A.I. will make and break human fortunes, and potentially change our entire working culture. Kal starts his journey in San Francisco, where he meets A.I. advisor to the World Economic Forum, Julia Bossmann. Bossmann sets Kal straight on all the things that A.I. is not, which includes pretty much everything science fiction has told you. With the newfound knowledge of what A.I. really is, Kal travels to New York to talk to MIT research scientist, Andrew McAfee, who puts A.I. in perspective by telling him how it will bring about a new industrial revolution. From there, Kal goes to London to learn about a scary application of A.I. technology called "deepfakes," and to meet one of the world's foremost futurists, whom Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have referenced in their A.I.-led doomsday predictions. At the end of his journey, Kal is able to meet CEOs and entrepreneurs who aren't buying into the worst case scenarios, and who are creating algorithms that solve problems by having humans and A.I. work together -- including an algorithm that programs morality into self-driving cars. The episode includes appearances by Ed O'Neill, Cristela Alonzo and Missi Pyle.
Episode 5
Counterfeiting Kills Economies (And Helps Them Too)
Fri, Feb 22, 201945 mins
Fakes siphon off billions of dollars a year from the global economy. It's their uncanny ability to effectively imitate the real thing that gives them their power. They can undermine multimillion dollar brands ... destroy trust in governments ... and pay for some really, really, bad crimes. So who guards currency from counterfeiters and the disasters they can trigger? Host Kal Penn gets access to the Secret Service's restricted labs and heads to a neuroscientist's headquarters to learn how currency brands are protected. He also travels to India where an effort to curb counterfeiting declared over 85% of the cash in circulation worthless. Beyond counterfeit cash, there's a worldwide market of things that aren't what they seem. Meeting with a counterfeit hunter in Hong Kong, Kal sees how some fakes, like clothing and bags, erode brands while fake medicine and electrical outlets cost lives. Then there's the even more secretive world where counterfeits are being used as the crime of choice to fund terror. Yet somehow, counterfeits and knockoffs are also helping the economy. Meeting with drone, fashion and entertainment experts, Kal examines all the complex ways that knockoffs inspire crucial innovation. This episode features appearances by Ed Helms, Rob Corddry, and Patton Oswalt.
Episode 6
The Death Episode
Fri, Feb 22, 201943 mins
What does it cost you to die? Host Kal Penn travels to Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany, Malaysia, LA and New York, meeting with workers and experts in the "death economy," to learn how money changes hands between the people who decide what your life is worth -- both before and after it's over. While on this death journey, Kal meets barnacle divers who regularly risk their lives harvesting sea creatures eaten as a delicacy, explores the secrets of an ATF agent operating undercover as a mob hitman, and visits a 14th century church, famous for its enormous "human bone chandelier." Kal also gets wrapped in a death shroud, courtesy of an LA mortician with very progressive views on how the dead should be treated, explores how US style funerals have been exported to Malaysia, and visits a peculiar graveyard in Germany, catering to die-hard football fans. Rounding out his journey are a former New York judge and power pop drummer who enlightens Kal on how lawsuits provide big payouts when someone dies, and a wrongful death attorney specializing in holding corporations and the government responsible for actions that lead to deaths. The episode features appearances by Zach Galifianakis, Colin Hanks, and Rashida Jones.
Episode 7
Is Money Bullshit?
Fri, Feb 22, 201942 mins
What IS money, really? We spend our lives trying to get it, but what has inspired such divine faith in a piece of paper? Is it intrinsically valuable or is it all a big lie? The secret behind money is the big mystery at the center of the global economy, and host Kal Penn is setting off to unravel currency itself. Kal meets Rick and Jane Austin, a couple of grandparents and preparedness experts who don't believe in money. So much so, they've made a decision to live without it. Rick and Jane believe that one day soon, an economic apocalypse will hit the planet creating a kill-or-be-killed society of cannibals. Their advice: If you don't want to get eaten by the flesh-eating hordes, you'd better grow your own food -- the only real currency. If surviving on homemade goat cheese is not your thing, then what about trying to live without money, but with other people? Kal visits a barter market in Spain to witness a cashless community in action, and has an economic misadventure with Melissa (it's not what you think). Or what about hoarding gold instead of stuffing your mattress with Benjamins? Kal visits a vault filled with the shiny stuff and learns all about how US currency was once backed by the gold standard until the US government declared that a dollar has value "by fiat" -- basically Uncle Sam's version of, "Because I said so." And then there is cryptocurrency. If you are looking for money that doesn't rely on banks or governments, you can go to the internet for a completely decentralized financial system. Kal seeks to understand the borderless world of mined money from the Crypto Castle in San Francisco, a bitcoin mine in Prague, a crypto-coin creator, and an early adapter whose fortune lies buried deep in a public dump in Wales. This episode includes appearances by Rob Riggle.
Episode 8
A Global Corruption Tour
Fri, Feb 22, 201941 mins
Why is that people in power so often use that power for personal gain? Host Kal Penn explores the wide range of corruption -- from petty bribery to grand corruption -- and how it can cripple entire economies. Traveling from San Francisco to Prague, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, and Singapore, Kal witnesses the various ways governments and individuals are fighting to keep their countries corruption-free. Kal begins his journey at UC Berkeley, where former US Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, gives him a crash course in corruption. From there, he travels to India, where petty bribery is part of everyday life. Back in New York, Kal talks to New Yorker journalist Adam Davidson about how you know when corruption goes beyond a few bad apples and has infected the larger system. Interested in getting a front-row seat to corruption in the wild, Kal takes a "CorrupTour" in Prague, and then meets with a spokesman for Transparency International, the world's foremost anti-corruption agency, to hear about the uphill fight against corruption. The next part of Kal's journey is a tale of two countries -- Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia was recently rocked by its biggest corruption scandal ever. In the aftermath of a historic election, which forced the corrupt government out -- Kal talks to activists and politicians about how corruption on a grand scale hurt Malaysia's economy and trickled down to the pockets of the populace. From there, he travels to Singapore, which has a squeaky clean reputation, mostly based on a zero tolerance policy for corruption. Kal talks to government officials and a local about how Singapore adopted these hard-core policies, and whether it's possible to eradicate corruption entirely. Kal ends his journey back in India, where a former economic advisor to the country lays out a simple but radical approach to stopping corruption: legalize it. This episode includes appearances by Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Jason Sudeikis.