Financial Times & Pushkin Industries
296 episodes listed below
Markets, stress-tested in plain English.
Unhedged follows the market story behind the headline, from SpaceX hype to Iran-linked oil shocks and bond routs. Its tone is informed but restless, mixing Financial Times market judgment with enough dry humor to keep the jargon moving.
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Unhedged is a fast-moving markets conversation from the Financial Times, focused on what investors are pricing, ignoring and getting wrong. It treats finance as a living system. Headlines matter, but so do positioning, incentives, valuation math and the reflexes of traders who move before the full story is clear. Recent episodes circle the war in Iran, oil shocks, bond volatility, Big Tech weakness, possible SpaceX listing drama and the question of whether social media companies face a tobacco-style legal turn. The show does not make markets sound calm. It makes them legible. A shaky ceasefire can become a test of dip-buying psychology. A jump in oil can become a discussion of inflation, emerging-market pressure and the limits of global inventories. A government bond rout can lead into hedge fund trades, pension fund demand and the mechanics of forced exits. The tone is skeptical and lively. It enjoys a joke, but the jokes usually sharpen the point rather than replace it. Elon Musk’s valuation power, presidential market comments, gold’s safe-haven status and Microsoft’s earnings multiple all get examined through the same question: what is the market really saying? The show is especially strong on the difference between fear and price action. Investors may sound terrified while stocks remain sturdy. Bond markets may tell a different story from equities. Oil specialists may see danger that broader markets treat as temporary noise. Unhedged keeps those contradictions in view. It is not a beginner’s glossary, though it avoids the stiff formality that can make finance shows feel sealed off. The pacing is closer to a sharp newsroom argument than a classroom. Listeners get enough context to follow the move, then enough pushback to distrust the first explanation. The result is a show for people who want market commentary that can handle uncertainty without pretending to resolve it too neatly.
Made for: For listeners who follow markets, business news and macro risk, and want sharper context than headline reactions. It especially suits people who care how traders, analysts and investors behave under pressure.
What sets it apart: Unhedged pairs Financial Times market expertise with a loose, argumentative pace that makes valuation, rates and positioning feel immediate. It is strongest when prices and headlines disagree.
Katie Martin, Robert Armstrong and other markets nerds at the Financial Times explain the big ideas behind what’s happening in finance right now. Every Tuesday and Thursday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Unhedged tests dramatic market narratives against pricing, positioning and financial mechanics, with enough humor to keep the argument moving.
Unhedged turns volatile market news into a lively argument about what prices are actually saying. Katie Martin and Robert Armstrong move between explanation, challenge and dry humor, testing market narratives against mechanics such as bond positioning, oil inventories and…
Stablecoin vaults and $1.75 trillion space dreams get stress-tested before they reach your portfolio.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A sharp guide to how bond-market pain spreads beyond the hedge funds that feel it first.
Unhedged uses the pressure on UK and European government bonds after the war in and around Iran to show how a market shock can move from headlines into wider portfolio stress.
A sharp look at how presidential comments, traders, and headlines keep rattling markets.
Unhedged turns a headline driven market move into a clean argument about noise versus signal. The hosts look at how Donald Trump’s announcement about talks with Iran can move oil, stocks, and traders all at once, with algorithms and fast traders buying on the comment and selling…
A sharp read on how geopolitics turns into oil-market pressure.
Unhedged treats a geopolitical shock as a market problem, asking what the Iran conflict could mean for oil, stocks, and the price of calm. It is strongest when it moves past the headlines and into the machinery behind them, especially the Strait of Hormuz and the lag between a…
A sharp case for why stablecoins still depend on old-fashioned supervision.
This Unhedged episode treats stablecoins as a practical test of whether crypto-flavored dollars can borrow the trust of bank money without the same safeguards.
Odd questions, followed patiently down to the incentives.
Family grief, public questions, and the responsibilities of care.
Elon Musk plans to list SpaceX on the stock market at a $1.75 trillion valuation, testing investor appetite for hype and promises.
Markets react to a shaky ceasefire with Iran, driving a temporary rally as investors cling to hopes of peace.
Rob Armstrong and Hak-Yung Kim debate whether current economic conditions resemble the 1960s or 1970s, focusing on oil shocks and defense spending.
An exploration of the global energy crisis triggered by the war in Iran, its impact on various countries, and the long-term challenges of restoring supply.
This episode of Unhedged discusses whether recent legal rulings against Meta and Google signal a turning point for social media companies, akin to the tobacco industry's regulatory reckoning.
UK two-year gilt yields jumped about one percentage point, while the market flipped from Bank of England cuts to hikes.
Markets aren't taking Trump's Iran talks literally—they're hearing his desire for an exit from the war.
Unhedged asks whether markets are right or wrong about Iran, with Katie Martin and Robert Armstrong contrasting investor anxiety with stocks, bonds, and currencies that are still "kind of fine." The hosts point to the VIX moving from 15 to 29 before easing to 22, and to a Bank of America survey showing the biggest jump in cash allocation since March 2020 and a mood shift from "boom to stagflation." They argue that Brent near $102, a May 2027 contract at $77.68, and the Strait of Hormuz risk suggest traders expect the shock to fade, even as Martin runs a $200-oil scenario and its effect on U.S.
This wasn't your typical market panic - investors were doing the exact opposite of what you'd expect during a crisis.
A banking expert reveals the uncomfortable truth about what stablecoins really are.
This episode discusses the implications of Takaichi's electoral win for global markets and investors.
The hosts introduce a concept called the triangle of confusion, exploring the disconnect between negative sentiment and positive hard economic data in markets.
The hosts discuss their incorrect predictions about gold and the next Fed chair, then introduce Kevin Walsh as the nominee.
Katie Martin and Robert Armstrong discuss the weakening US dollar and its impact on global investors, along with unusual movements in the Japanese yen.
The hosts discuss the unprecedented rally in gold and silver prices in 2025 and debate whether the precious metals market is near its peak or just getting started.
Business History, a new Pushkin Industries show, hosted by Robert Smith and Jacob Goldstein, traces Warren Buffett from his 1930 birth in Omaha to a net worth of about $100 million by the late 1970s.