The Library of Mistakes

The Library of Mistakes

Based in Edinburgh, the Library of Mistakes is a free public library designed to improve understanding of finance, one mistake at a time. In this podcast series the Library's Keeper, Professor Russell Napier, speaks to leading financial history authors around the world, with Fraser Allen & Leila Johnston presenting an additional thread of episodes called Shelf Life. Series produced by Fraser Allen.

Episodes

EP 43: Shelf Life #6 (with Iona Bain & Michael Gilmore)

September 3, 2025 • 53 mins
Personal finance is the theme of this episode as we hear from two friends of the Library of Mistakes deeply committed to making financial understanding more accessible – particularly to younger people.
Iona Bain has made her name as a supporter of millennials striving to make the most of their finances, and is the resident money expert on BBC One's Morning Live. Originally from Edinburgh, she has also taken part in a series of video...
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EP 42: The CEO (with Michael Aldous & John Turner)

August 13, 2025 • 41 mins
The CEOs of Britain's largest companies wield immense power, but we know very little about them. How did they get to the top? And how have they changed over the past 100+ years? Join Russell Napier in a fascinating conversation with Michael Aldous & John Turner, authors of The CEO: The Rise and Fall of Britain's Captains of Industry.
www.libraryofmistakes.com
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EP 41: Shelf Life #5 (with Boris Zhilin)

July 9, 2025 • 33 mins
Fraser Allen and Leila Johnston are back with a summer episode exploring life behind the scenes at the Library of Mistakes.
Looking to the northern shores of Lake Geneva, Fraser interviews Boris Zhilin, the investment expert who has established a Library of Mistakes in Lausanne. Boris tells us about his career journey from growing up in the former Soviet Union to Syrcuse University, Bear Sterns and then life in Switzerland.
Meanwhile...
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EP 40: The Irish Bank Strike (with Emma Horgan)

June 24, 2025 • 30 mins
In conversation with Emma Horgan, Russell Napier explores the Irish Bank Strike of 1966, which resulted in shopkeepers and publicans stepping in to keep the economy ticking over as unofficial bankers. What can this extraordinary episode teach us about economics, human resilience – and how we might be able to cope in the event of a huge fintech failure? Emma is the co-author of a paper on the strike, with Dr Sean Kenny and Dr Jason ...
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EP 39: Shelf Life #4 (with Ray Perman)

May 30, 2025 • 35 mins
In our latest, behind-the-scenes look at the Library of Mistakes, Leila Johnston joins author and journalist Ray Perman on the streets of Edinburgh, as they explore the Library of Mistakes walking tour, Money Talks, Money Walks. Join them to discover lots of fascinating nuggets about the financial history of Scotland's capital city. Meanwhile, Fraser Allen catches up with David Clarke and Helen Williams to find out what is coming u...
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EP 38: Meltdown – Scandal, Sleaze And The Collapse of Credit Suisse (with Duncan Mavin)

May 13, 2025 • 51 mins
Russell Napier invites Duncan Mavin back for a second appearance on the podcast – this time to discuss his recent book on Credit Suisse. Their fascinating discussion explores how decades of a rotten corporate culture dating back to WWII developed into the scandals and reputational disasters that eventually brought the Swiss bank down.
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EP 37: Shelf Life #3 (with Herman Brodie)

May 2, 2025 • 53 mins
Fraser Allen and Leila Johnston take you behind the scenes at the Library of Mistakes once more. This month we hear from the brilliant behavioural finance expert Herman Brodie, discover the colourful back story of Didasko CEO David Clarke, and find out more about the library itself with Lauren Hotson and Helen Williams.
If you have any queries about hiring the Library as a venue, simply email Lauren at facilities@libraryofmistakes.c...
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EP 36: Shelf Life #2 (with Liam Rees PLUS The Weekend of Mistakes)

March 31, 2025 • 57 mins
Leila Johnston and Fraser Allen are back to take you behind the scenes at the Library of Mistakes. And in this packed episode we...
•Hear from theatre director and actor Liam Rees about his show The Land That Never Was. It's based on the adventures of 19th century Scottish conman Gregor MacGregor, who sold bonds on behalf of a South American country that was a figment of his imagination!
•Explore what happened at the Weekend of Mista...
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EP 35: Lending To The Borrower From Hell (with Mauricio Drelichman)

March 6, 2025 • 43 mins
Russell Napier enjoys a fascinating chat with Mauricio Drelichman who (together with Hans Joachim-Voth) is the author of Lending to the Borrower from Hell: Debt, Taxes, and Default in the Age of Philip II. Together, they explore how this account of the freely-defaulting 16th century King of Spain changes our perceptions of financial history.
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EP 34: Shelf Life #1 (with Russell Napier)

February 27, 2025 • 64 mins
In the first of a new thread of monthly episodes, we take you behind the scenes at the Library of Mistakes. Join us as we turn the tables on our resident interrogator Professor Russell Napier by putting the questions to him. We also interview David Clarke of Didasko, Helen Bradley of Future Asset and our librarian Helen Williams. And fear not, Russell's regular interviews with financial historians will also continue here as normal.
...
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EP 33: Money – The Unauthorised Biography (with Felix Martin)

February 13, 2025 • 41 mins
Russell Napier quizzes Felix Martin about his book, Money – The Unauthorised Biography. A fascinating listen for anyone interested in the true nature of money, illuminated through entertaining examples such as the Irish Bank Strike of 1970, the Argentinian Crédito and the Bristol Pound.
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EP 32: Gambling Man (with Lionel Barber)

November 28, 2024 • 38 mins
Lionel Barber, the former editor of the Financial Times, discusses his fascinating biography of Masayoshi Son, one of the world's least-known but most consequential investors. Regarding himself as an 'empire builder' rather than a CEO, Son was briefly the world's richest man and has ruffled many feathers on his rise from a Korean slum in Japan to the modern-day temples of power. Russell Napier asks the questions.

•The Library of Mis...
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EP 31: Money & Promises (Paolo Zannoni)

November 7, 2024 • 44 mins
Money & Promises (Seven Deals That Changed World) is Paolo Zannoni's first book and one of Russell Napier's favourite books of the year. For as well as being President of the luxury Italian fashion group Prada, Paolo is a highly experienced banker who has combined his professional expertise with a passion for exploring ledger archives to create a ground-breaking work of financial history.

•The Library of Mistakes runs an outstan...
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EP 30: Money – A Story of Humanity (with David McWilliams)

October 8, 2024 • 33 mins
"Despite being a fully paid-up member of the economist tribe for many years, I’ve concluded that most economists don’t really understand money," says David McWilliams, co-founder of Kilkenomics, (the world's first economics and comedy festival). David's new book, Money: A Story of Humanity, explains why he takes this entertainingly provocative position – and backs it up with powerful arguments. The book has received many plaudits. ...
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EP 29: The Bankers' New Clothes (with Anat Admati)

September 19, 2024 • 40 mins
In this lively episode, Anat Admati (Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford) explains what she believes to be wrong about banking, and how it should be changed. Anat is co-author (with Martin Hellwig) of The Bankers' New Clothes, originally published in 2013, then expanded and re-published this year to encompass the era of increased regulation. Interviewer Russell Napier challenges Anat on some of her opinions, and Anat cha...
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EP 28: The Twilight Before The Storm (with Viktor Shvets)

September 5, 2024 • 47 mins
Technology is transforming our societies, promising a far deeper disruption than the industrial revolutions. As a result, humanity is at a major turning point, and how we respond to the merger of technology and financialisation will decide our future. Are we heading for "enlightened communism" or "despotic feudalism"? Russell Napier quizzes Viktor Shvets on his throught-provoking book The Twilight Before The Storm.

•The Library of M...
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EP 27: Seven Crashes (with Harold James)

July 8, 2024 • 41 mins
Join Russell Napier for a fascinating discussion with Harold James, author of Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalisation. And unlike many of our episodes, brace yourself for a relatively optimistic conclusion!

•The Library of Mistakes runs an outstanding course called the Practical History of Financial Markets. To find out more, go to: www.libraryofmistakes.com/course
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EP 26: The Rise Of Carry (with Tim Lee & Kevin Coldiron)

June 18, 2024 • 43 mins
Russell Napier revisits a book that slipped out during the pandemic crisis but does, he believe, deserve considerable attention. Listen to him quizzing Tim Lee and Kevin Coldiron, two of the authors of The Rise of Carry: The Dangerous Consequences of Volatility Suppression and the New Financial Order of Decaying Growth and Recurring Crisis.

•The Library of Mistakes runs an outstanding course called the Practical History of Financial...
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EP 25: What I Learned This Week (with Kiril Sokoloff)

April 22, 2024 • 38 mins
For 40 years, Kiril Sokoloff, the founder of 13D Research & Strategy, has been picking some of the biggest turning points in financial markets. And, in 2001, he launched 'What I Learned This Week' – a must-read for anyone in the investment community. In this interview with Russell Napier, Kiril shares some of the insights he has gleaned across a long and successful career.

•The Library of Mistakes runs an outstanding course call...
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EP 24: Investing in US Financial History (with Mark J Higgins)

March 22, 2024 • 46 mins
Russell Napier and Mark J Higgins explore some of the lessons to be learned from Mark's latest book, Investing in US Financial History: Understanding the Past to Forecast the Future. The book opens with Alexander Hamilton’s financial programmes of 1790 and ends with the Federal Reserve’s battle with inflation in 2023 – and Russell welcomes the valuable way in which it fills a void in our understanding of American financial history.

...
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