Merryn Talks Money: John Law, The Gambler Who Invented Modern Money (Part 1)
December 26, 2025
AI Summary
5 min read🎙️ The Voices & The Context
- The Format: This special holiday episode from Bloomberg's Marin Talks Money podcast uses a dramatic narrative storytelling format to unpack the early life of 18th-century economic pioneer John Law, connecting his personal scandals and innovations directly to the origins of modern fiat currency and banking systems. Engaging historical recounting.
- The Format: A narrative story told by hosts.
- The Key Players:
- If Just Hosts: Marin Somerset Webb and John Stepek deliver dynamic chemistry through witty banter and shared fascination, blending scandalous anecdotes with economic analysis while bantering on John Law's reckless ambition as the core topic.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:46) **Odd Lots Holiday Special Intro**
- 2 (03:46) **Series Intro: John Law's Monumental Impact on Money**
- 3 (05:34) **Chapter I: Early Life in Edinburgh (1671-1692)**
- 4 (10:43) **Move to London and Rise as Dandy (1692-1694)**
- 5 (12:35) **Pivotal Duel and Murder Charge (April 1694)**
- 6 (16:01) **Imprisonment, Politics, and Escape (1694)**
- 7 (22:51) **Chapter III: On the Lam – Europe Wanderings and Idea Refinement (1695-1715)**
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Hello Odd Lots listeners! As we take a break for the holidays we'd like to take a moment and bring you an episode by one of our sister shows here at Bloomberg Podcasts, Merryn Talks Money.
In this special two-part series, John Stepek and Merryn Somerset Webb tell the extraordinary story of John Law: a fugitive Scots gambler who became the most powerful financier in France and helped invent the modern monetary system. From murder and exile to paper money, banking revolutions and spectacular collapse, Law’s life reveals why today’s financial system works the way it does—and why it sometimes blows up. It’s history, scandal and monetary theory rolled into one irresistible tale.
We used a range of sources for this podcast but two key books to read if you'd like to find out more are:
John Law: A Scottish Adventurer of the Eighteenth Century (2018), by James Buchan
John Law: Economic Theorist and Policy-Maker (1997), by Antoin Murphy
Like this episode? Listen and Subscribe to the Merryn Talks Money podcast on Apple, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts
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