Pushkin.

Hello, against the Rolls-Lessoners. My name is Jacob Goldstein, and I host a pushkin show called What's Your Problem?

I'm here today because Michael Lewis is out in the world working on a book about a guy who has been in the news a lot just this week. His name is Sam Bankman Freed.

And as it happens, I interviewed Sam Bankman Freed for my show earlier this year, and then this week I republished that interview with some updates based on the news.

I'm really looking forward to reading Michael's book about Sam when it comes out. I imagine many of you are looking forward to that book as well.

But in the meantime, I hope you find my conversation with Sam interesting.

In May of this year, I interviewed Sam Bankman Freed for this show.

Sam was a very young, very rich entrepreneur and philanthropist who ran a crypto exchange called FTX.

And then last week, in a matter of just a few days, FTX collapsed and filed for bankruptcy.

And even to say that, even to say if collapsed and filed for bankruptcy in a few days, somehow amazingly, kind of understates how fast and dramatic the fall of the company and of Sam Bankman Freed was.

Until last week, Sam Bankman Freed had this persona of being like a good guy. He wasn't shilling some ridiculous future where crypto was going to solve all our problems.

He was running a real business, an exchange for crypto traders. And all along, he said, his plan was to make as much money as possible and then give it all away.

And it seemed to be working. He was only 30 and already he'd given away hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now, the money is gone. Customers and investors may never get paid back. And federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating both Sam and FTX.

This week, as all this was happening, I listened back to my interview with Sam from May. And there are parts that I definitely find embarrassing in light of the new news.

Moments when I should have challenged him more, been more skeptical. And for that matter, my whole framing of the show seems absurd over the top.

I mean, I called the show, Sam Bankman Freed wants to save the world. Spoiler alert, he did not.

And yet, and yet, I did find the interview really interesting to listen to again in light of the news.

Some parts of it still seem true, but in a really different way. And at least one thing Sam said seems very, very prescient.

I'm Jacob Goldstein, and this is what's your problem. But today, let's be honest, it's more of a, what's my problem situation?

My problem is this. I interviewed a guy who was not at all what he seemed to be. And I didn't quite see it.

So, what we're going to do for today's show is, we're going to replay the original interview. And at a few points in the interview, I'm going to pop in now with a quick update based on everything that has happened since.

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