IL53: How Bonds Quietly Built the Modern World ft. Robin Wigglesworth

IL53: How Bonds Quietly Built the Modern World ft. Robin Wigglesworth

Published: September 16, 2026

Duration: 1:03:57

Today we talk with the editor of the Financial Times’ Alphaville blog, Robin Wigglesworth. Robin is the author of A Fabulous Debt - the Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World. He tells the story of the bond market’s beginnings in Venice and how the ability to issue and trade bonds was an essential aspect of its rise to power. Robin explains why historically bond markets and democracy have gone hand-in-hand. Innovations in how bonds are structured and traded also have the ability alter market fundamentals and he explains how this happened with the US junk bond...