# Two Crises, Lasting Impact: How 1929 and 2008 Still Shape Finance With Andrew Ross Sorkin Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMddhuKhCx8 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/mMddhuKhCx8 Generated: 2026-01-29T17:02:32.395+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Andrew Ross Sorkin details his rigorous early morning television schedule, his unplanned journey into journalism fueled by an early entrepreneurial spirit and fascination with finance, and the extensive archival research required to write his book on the 1929 crash, revealing that key aspects of the Glass-Steagall Act originated from bankers trying to undermine competitors like J.P. Morgan. **Key Points:** - Andrew Ross Sorkin wakes around 4:25 or 4:30 AM for his 6 AM East Coast TV show and aims to be asleep by 9 or 9:30 PM, sometimes using melatonin to adjust his sleep schedule. - Sorkin started his career covering the internet in 1995 after an editor at the New York Times mistook him for a college graduate; he was initially interested in business and entrepreneurship, having started a sports magazine at age 15. - He founded DealBook by going straight to the inboxes of financial professionals because he felt the Times' coverage was being overlooked, growing the list from an estimated 30,000 target audience to over a million readers daily. - Sorkin wrote "Too Big to Fail" after his wife told him the events of the 2008 financial crisis weekend, particularly Lehman's bankruptcy, felt "like a book," not just a movie. - Research for his 1929 book involved finding granular details across dozens of archives, culminating in obtaining the previously unreleased New York Federal Reserve Board minutes, which acted as a "treasure map" for further investigation. - John Raskob, the contemporary equivalent of Elon Musk, pioneered customer financing at GM in 1919, fundamentally changing American culture around credit, and also advocated for a five-day work week to boost consumerism. - Carter Glass, often compared to Elizabeth Warren in his time, sponsored the Glass-Steagall bill, but Sorkin discovered that the specific separation of commercial and investment banking was physically written by a banker aiming to undermine J.P. Morgan, with Roosevelt's explicit help. **Context:** The interview features John Harley hosting Andrew Ross Sorkin, co-host of CNBC's Squawk Box and founder of the New York Times' DealBook, on the Capitalism and Freedom podcast. The conversation centers on Sorkin's demanding professional schedule, his path into financial journalism, and the deep historical context and character-driven narratives he uncovered while writing books about the 1929 stock market collapse and the 2008 financial crisis, drawing parallels between the two eras. ## Detailed Analysis Andrew Ross Sorkin maintains an exceptionally disciplined schedule to host his early morning financial news show, waking before 4:30 AM and aiming for an early bedtime, which he likens to the discipline of figures like Tom Stossel. Sorkin never intended to be a journalist, initially pursuing business after starting a sports magazine at 15, but he fell in love with journalism because following the money explained politics, sports, and business. He launched DealBook as an email newsletter to deliver competitive business coverage directly to the inboxes of financial leaders, vastly exceeding initial audience expectations. Reflecting on crises, Sorkin wrote "Too Big to Fail" after the 2008 events felt momentous, and later tackled 1929 because he couldn't find a narrative-driven book equivalent to "Barbarians at the Gate" for that period; he ultimately succeeded by locating the diaries of Thomas Lamont, a JP Morgan executive, and securing the long-withheld New York Fed board minutes. Sorkin highlights John Raskob as a pivotal, fascinating character who introduced consumer credit and pushed for a five-day work week, and reveals a complex political history behind Glass-Steagall, noting that Rockefeller interests actively lobbied Roosevelt to separate investment and commercial banking specifically to hurt J.P. Morgan's dominance. ### Sorkin's Professional Routine - Wakes around 4:25 AM for 6 AM show - Sleeps by 9:30 PM ideally - Uses melatonin sometimes to adjust - Describes makeup application as being "as quickly as humanly possible." ### Journalism Origins and DealBook - Never intended to be a writer; started a magazine at 15 - Fell in love with finance because "if you could follow the money, it explained everything" - Created DealBook to bypass traditional print readership barriers, growing it to over a million readers. ### Writing 'Too Big to Fail' (2008) - Inspired after working the intense weekend of Lehman bankruptcy and Bank of America buying Merrill Lynch - Wife suggested the events were "like a book" - Faced a race against other journalists covering the crisis. ### Researching the 1929 Crisis - Sought a narrative book like 'Barbarians at the Gate' for 1929 events - Found the key source material in Thomas Lamont's diaries at Harvard's Baker Library - Successfully petitioned the NY Fed to release board minutes from 1929-1933, despite initial redaction attempts. ### Key Figures in 1929 - John Raskob, called the Elon Musk of his era, introduced customer financing at GM and advocated for a five-day work week to foster consumerism - Evangelene Adams, an astrologer in Carnegie Hall, had 100,000 newsletter subscribers whose stock advice bankers followed. ### Policy Lessons and Glass-Steagall - The Great Depression resulted not just from the 1929 crash but from subsequent policy choices like the Smoot-Hawley tariffs and the Fed sitting on its hands - The election of Roosevelt over Hoover in 1932 was pivotally decided by Prohibition, not just the economy - The separation of banking in Glass-Steagall was engineered partly by Rockefeller interests (via Chase Bank) to competitively damage J.P. Morgan, with Roosevelt's explicit support.