S1 01: The Biggest Small Town in the World

In the 1980s, blue collar kids started making millions at Chicago’s commodities exchanges. This century-old boys' club was one of the best-kept secrets in the world until the FBI showed up and tried to end the party. The FBI investigation put the exchanges on front pages everywhere, but when the Feds packed up, business went back to usual—like they’d never been there. Thirty years later, former-trader-turned-Hollywood exec Anjay Nagpal thinks there's something strange about this case. He taps his Chicago connections and after a few calls, he's already poking holes in the government's long-accepted narrative of the investigation. Notes: You can find episode transcripts and more on our website at https://www.entropymedia.art/brokers-bagmen-moles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices