Lessons of the Great Depression

Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of the new book 1929, sits down with Michael Lewis to compare the Wall Street crash that sparked the Great Depression with the 2008 financial crisis. They explore why the two crashes unfolded so differently and what the 1930s can teach us about the limits and possibilities of financial regulation. The conversation examines how the scale of the 1929 collapse and the government’s delayed response shattered an entire nation, while the swift interventions of 2008—though messy—averted a total depression. Sorkin’s historical lens offers a fresh perspective on why we still haven’t fully learned the lessons of the past.