1 :01x01 - From Bullion to Bubbles

Part 1 of a four part series begins with host Niall shows us how today's currency is rooted in trust instead of the value of the metal in which it is made from. This lesson can be traced back 500 years to the Spanish conquistadors in Bolivia who caused the value of silver to drop inadvertently by mining too much. Plus, how the system of lending and credit began in Venice; and recalls an early speculative boom-bust cycle which was called "the Mississippi Bubble."

2 :01x02 - Bonds of War

An exploration of the intertwined history of money and war, including how Britain's war against Napoleon was financed by the Rothschild family; the Confederacy's use of cotton diplomacy with Britain; the Duke of Buckingham's financial ruin; and the 1914 assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

3 :01x03 - Risky Business

The role of risk involved in the insurance world. Includes the inability to cover the payouts due from the catastrophe caused by hurricane Katrina; the origin of the insurance industry; how Japan transformed into a welfare state and it's consequences in the present day; Chile departure from the welfare state model in the 1970's; the derivatives market, and the extraordinary wealth it has led to as well as the implosion of such firms as AIG.

4 :01x04 - Planet Finance