Behind the Bastards

CZM Rewind: The Last Sam Bankman-Fried Episodes (Secretly About Michael Lewis)

November 27, 2025

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  • The episode of *Behind the Bastards*, "CZM Rewind: The Last Sam Bankman-Fried Episodes (Secretly About Michael Lewis)", frames Michael Lewis's reporting on Sam Bankman-Fried as a continuation of his pattern of befriending and uncritically lionizing wealthy subjects, despite their problematic actions. 
  • Lewis's journalistic approach, which relies on access and making subjects likable, is critiqued as a liability, evidenced by his defense of the Tuohys in *The Blind Side* and his apparent belief that SBF was a misunderstood genius. 
  • The hosts suggest that Lewis's privileged background and habit of seeking 'uplifting' narratives cause him to miss or ignore glaring ethical issues, such as when he framed the SBF story as a 'story war' that his superior writing could win. 
  • Michael Lewis's book, *Going Infinite*, frames Sam Bankman-Fried's lack of focus (like playing video games during a call with Anna Wintour) as evidence of unique genius, rather than incompetence or a common generational trait. 
  • Lewis exhibits a profound ignorance of youth culture and gaming, leading him to misinterpret normal millennial/Zoomer behaviors as unique indicators of Bankman-Fried's brilliance. 
  • Lewis selectively notes Carolyn Ellison's ADHD while omitting Sam Bankman-Fried's known ADHD, reinforcing a narrative that paints Ellison as unreliable while excusing Bankman-Fried's behavior as genius-level distraction. 
  • Michael Lewis's book *Going Infinite* fails to treat obvious warning signs as such because he appears tonally taken with Sam Bankman-Fried, leading to a narrative that excuses or downplays serious issues like misogyny and fraud. 
  • Evidence from the Sam Bankman-Fried trial, including testimony about the falsified FTX insurance fund and the removal of Alameda's trading limits, directly contradicts Michael Lewis's portrayal of the events as mere misunderstandings or accounting errors. 
  • Michael Lewis's defense of Sam Bankman-Fried's slovenly appearance as a strategic choice, rather than the reality revealed in court—that Sam was obsessed with his hair as an iconic image derived from other wealthy figures—highlights Lewis's deep commitment to the 'tortured genius' narrative. 
  • The hosts conclude the episode by promoting Robert Evans' book about hot dogs, "Raw Dog," noting that many purchases are driven by the title's humor. 
  • Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to CoolerZone Media to avoid hearing advertisements, though the hosts humorously suggest imagining the ads is more fun. 
  • The episode concludes with standard production credits for *Behind the Bastards* as a CoolZone Media production, information on where to find more content, and promotion of the show's availability on YouTube. 

Segments

Podcast Opening and SBF Context
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts open the Behind the Bastards episode by referencing the SS Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy and immediately pivot to a dark, satirical hope for global nuclear detonation over Lake Superior.
  • Summary: The episode begins with advertisements before Robert Evans introduces the show’s theme by referencing the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975. Evans expresses a satirical hope that world leaders will detonate their nuclear stockpiles over Lake Superior. Guest Jamie Loftus joins the show to discuss Sam Bankman-Fried, whom Evans refers to as a ‘Bastards Pot alumni.’
Michael Lewis’s Role and SBF Access
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(00:06:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Sam Bankman-Fried actively sought Michael Lewis’s profile because Lewis’s endorsement was seen as the ultimate legitimization tool to boost FTX’s public profile among skeptical financial and political figures.
  • Summary: Robert Evans reveals that SBF messaged his inner circle about Michael Lewis profiling them in the Bahamas in February 2022, viewing Lewis as a celebrity-maker. Lewis’s reputation among finance insiders was not as a critic, but as someone who could elevate subjects to celebrity status, which aligned with FTX’s goal of spending heavily on endorsements. Carolyn Edison expressed reservations about Lewis’s presence, but SBF overruled her, stating he wanted the opposite of her instinct for staying under the radar.
Lewis’s Background and Insider Status
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(00:09:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis’s background in the New Orleans WASP aristocracy, including being trained as a carnival king, instilled in him a natural ability to navigate and gain access to elite circles, which defines his journalistic style.
  • Summary: Lewis is described as an ‘access journalist’ whose stories rely on befriending subjects and existing as a fly on the wall, a skill aided by his upbringing in New Orleans high society. He was trained to sit on a throne and was part of an exclusive club that excluded Black people and Jews, though he notably omits mentioning the club’s exclusion of women when discussing his background. His early career included working on the bond desk at Salomon Brothers after securing a job via a connection made at a banquet with the Queen Mother.
Lewis’s Pattern of Uncritical Coverage
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(00:37:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis exhibits a pattern of writing about subjects in a way that inadvertently glamorizes them or their industries, leading to unintended PR for the very people he might intend to criticize, as seen with Liars Poker and The Big Short.
  • Summary: Lewis’s Wall Street depictions in Liars Poker are noted for being glamorous despite the cursing, similar to how The Big Short was embraced by the finance crowd it criticized. Lewis admits he struggles to end narratives on unhappy notes and actively connects his subjects to PR managers for speaking tours, acknowledging his work functions as PR. He abandoned a biography of George Soros and a book on New Orleans because honesty might have hurt relationships with powerful people, including his parents.
The Blind Side Controversy
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(00:42:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Lewis’s coverage of Michael Oher in The Blind Side prioritized the perspective of the wealthy white adoptive family (the Tuohys), whom Lewis knew from school, over Oher’s own voice, framing the Tuohys’ actions as ingenious system-gaming.
  • Summary: The Blind Side narrative focused on the Tuohys coaching Michael Oher through academic loopholes to secure an NFL contract, which Lewis treated as ingenious rather than problematic. Lewis relied almost exclusively on the words of others to tell Oher’s story because he could not identify with Oher’s background, focusing instead on the Tuohys, who were his longtime classmates. Lewis recently defended the Tuohys against Oher’s lawsuit by suggesting Oher’s claims were the result of CTE from football injuries.
Anna Wintour Call Anecdote
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(01:00:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis portrays Sam Bankman-Fried playing a video game during a high-stakes call with Anna Wintour as evidence of his genius, while the hosts interpret it as extreme unprofessionalism and a lack of support structure.
  • Summary: Sam Bankman-Fried was on a call with Anna Wintour regarding funding the Met Gala while playing the game Storybook Brawl. Lewis noted Bankman-Fried minimized Wintour’s window when she spoke, only bringing it up when he needed to talk. The hosts suggest this behavior, framed by Lewis as unique, is actually a common distraction habit among younger generations, but applied here to a multi-million dollar negotiation.
ADHD and Genius Framing
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(01:04:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis frames Sam Bankman-Fried’s inability to focus as a sign of a brain too big for mundane tasks, ignoring the context of his diagnosed ADHD.
  • Summary: Lewis compares Bankman-Fried’s gaming addiction to Sherlock Holmes’s need for heroin, suggesting his mind is too vast for simple attention. The hosts point out that acknowledging Bankman-Fried’s ADHD would provide an alternative, non-genius explanation for his behavior. Lewis’s framing mirrors how doting parents describe a child’s distraction, suggesting a fundamental lack of critical distance in his reporting.
Contrasting ADHD Treatment
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(01:15:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis explicitly mentions Carolyn Ellison’s ADHD in a critical context while omitting Sam Bankman-Fried’s known ADHD, suggesting bias in how he treats male versus female subjects.
  • Summary: Lewis quotes a therapist noting Ellison’s focus shifted from her ADHD to her fixation on Sam Bankman-Fried, implying she was hysterical or unreliable. The hosts note that Sam’s ADHD is public record, including his family seeking medication for him. Omitting this context for Sam allows Lewis to maintain the narrative of the misunderstood genius, while highlighting it for Ellison supports a narrative of emotional instability.
Ignorance of Gaming Culture
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(01:17:25)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis’s description of Magic: The Gathering reveals a fundamental ignorance of gaming history, leading him to incorrectly claim it was the first game allowing asymmetric starting equipment.
  • Summary: Lewis describes Magic: The Gathering as revolutionary because it allowed players to start with different equipment, a concept he claims was new. The hosts counter that decades of war games and strategy games preceded Magic, indicating Lewis failed to research the subject matter he uses to define Bankman-Fried’s genius. Lewis also frames Bankman-Fried’s preference for chaotic games over chess as intellectual superiority.
Disdain for Humanities and Ageism
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(01:21:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Sam Bankman-Fried’s dismissal of Shakespeare based on statistical probability reflects a failure to grasp the cultural and linguistic importance of the humanities, likely due to his parents prioritizing math over well-rounded education.
  • Summary: Bankman-Fried argued Shakespeare couldn’t be the best author because billions of people have lived since his time, a calculation Lewis presents without critical context. The hosts argue this shows a lack of basic humanities education, as Shakespeare’s importance lies in his linguistic contributions to English. This ties into Bankman-Fried’s belief that useful thought ceases after age 40-45, justifying his high-stakes gambling now.
CFO Role Contradiction
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(01:39:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Sam Bankman-Fried told Michael Lewis a CFO was useless because he knew where the money was, directly contradicting his later legal defense that he was incompetent and didn’t know where the money was.
  • Summary: Bankman-Fried dismissed the need for a CFO, claiming he tracked the money, yet Lewis never pressed him on this contradiction after FTX collapsed. Lewis instead directs his criticism toward John Ray III, the liquidator, for not appreciating Bankman-Fried’s ‘magical world.’ FTX’s financial tracking was reportedly so poor they used QuickBooks for multi-billion dollar accounting.
Imagining the SBF Movie
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(01:55:47)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts speculate Michael Lewis might be crafting an inevitable Sam Bankman-Fried movie tailored for a mainstream audience.
  • Summary: The hosts humorously suggest a movie adaptation of Sam Bankman-Fried’s story, perhaps imagining him solving math problems through real-world games. They joke about casting choices, specifically mentioning Paul Mezcow or Timothy Chalamet taking on a Christian Bale-esque physical transformation for the role. The discussion highlights the perceived absurdity of turning the complex fraud into light entertainment.
Lewis Misses Icarus Tonal Arc
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(01:57:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis possesses the ingredients for a modern Icarus story but fails to structure his book Going Infinite by treating obvious warning signs as significant narrative elements.
  • Summary: An anecdote about Sam Bankman-Fried being told to stop playing Storybook Brawl during the FTX collapse illustrates the tonal failure in Lewis’s narrative. The hosts argue that Lewis scatters warning signs without giving them the weight necessary for catharsis. Lewis seems too taken with the subject matter to frame the events as a clear story of hubris and fall.
Misogyny and Lewis’s Excuses
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(01:58:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis overlooks Sam Bankman-Fried’s disregard for competent women, excusing his behavior toward Carolyn Ellison as stemming from depression or genius rather than misogyny.
  • Summary: Lewis reprints letters from Sam to Carolyn that paint him poorly, including a list titled ‘Arguments Against’ dating her, citing his lack of a soul and fake empathy. The hosts criticize Lewis for being cynical about Carolyn while offering excuses for Sam’s functional inability with people in his life, such as funding another female-led exchange he tried to date. This pattern mirrors historical excuses made for other tech figures like Mark Zuckerberg.
Deconstructing Effective Altruism Language
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(02:01:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Sam Bankman-Fried’s use of terms like ‘priors’ and ’expected value’ is merely dressing up selfishness in sophisticated language, as demonstrated by his transactional view of relationships.
  • Summary: Lewis reports on Sam using Bayesian mathematics terms like ‘priors,’ which the hosts equate to pre-existing biases that sound smarter than they are. Sam’s calculation of ’expected value’ in dating meant his perceived value of Carolyn plummeted immediately after sex, a behavior the hosts dismiss as common for guys in their 20s, not unique genius. This reveals a pattern where Sam frames self-serving actions as purely mathematical decisions.
Genius vs. Incompetence Defense
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(02:03:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense mechanism relies on a binary: either he is a super genius beyond comprehension, or he simply doesn’t care, masking the reality that he is full of shit.
  • Summary: The hosts note that when challenged, Sam defaults to claiming incomprehensible genius or dismissing concerns as irrelevant, avoiding accountability for massive failures. This mirrors the ‘I’m using QuickBooks because I don’t give a fuck’ defense seen in other contexts. The reality is that this dichotomy is a smokescreen for incompetence and deceit.
Lewis’s Financial Misrepresentation
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(02:07:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis fails to grasp the severity of the FTX fraud in Going Infinite, incorrectly suggesting that recovered assets mean the situation is largely resolved, which is factually inaccurate regarding the missing billions.
  • Summary: Lewis quotes John Ray reporting $7 billion recovered out of a $9.3 billion shortfall, implying things are mostly fine, but this ignores the $1.5 to $2 billion still unaccounted for. Furthermore, the 90% return figure only applies to recovered funds, not total customer deposits, meaning customers face significant losses due to market changes and delays. Lewis’s need to believe Sam is a genius forces him to frame the massive theft as a mere misunderstanding.
The Falsified Insurance Fund Code
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(02:21:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Code analysis revealed that the FTX insurance fund balance displayed publicly was entirely falsified by a random calculation ordered by Sam Bankman-Fried to deceive customers.
  • Summary: FTX programmer Gary Wang testified that the public balance for the insurance fund was fake, not pulling from external data sources. The code snippet showed the amount was calculated by multiplying daily trading volume by a random number around 7,500, then dividing by a billion. This deliberate fabrication was intended to assure customers that FTX was crash-proof and fully reserved, which was a lie.
Gambling Addiction vs. Calculated Fraud
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(02:27:43)
  • Key Takeaway: Sam Bankman-Fried’s removal of Alameda’s trading collateral limit, increasing it to $65 billion, suggests a gambling addict’s behavior, but the systematic deception points toward calculated fraud.
  • Summary: Gary Wang confirmed Sam directed him to repeatedly increase Alameda’s credit limit to prevent trade placement issues, escalating from a few million to $65 billion. While this mirrors a Vegas gambler taking out loans, the concurrent actions—hiding customer funds and lying about the insurance fund—confirm intent to defraud. The hosts interpret this as the worst endgame for a Neopets user who grew up on capitalism and random gambling.
SBF’s Presidential Ambitions
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(02:30:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Carolyn Ellison revealed Sam Bankman-Fried confided in her that he believed he had a 5% chance of becoming President of the United States.
  • Summary: Sam’s massive spending on advertising and celebrity endorsements was interpreted as a gamble on his own ascension to political power, not just business growth. The hosts note that while the ambition sounds ridiculous, it is plausible given the charisma-driven nature of politics, which Sam lacked, relying instead on spending money to buy influence. This ambition was funded by illegally gambling with depositor money.
Lewis’s Defense of SBF’s Lies
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(02:41:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Lewis explicitly stated in his podcast that Sam Bankman-Fried’s evasive ‘word salad’ answers during cross-examination were more engaging and potentially better than the actual truth.
  • Summary: Lewis praised Sam’s ability to start answers substantively before jumping to interesting but irrelevant points, making the listener forget the original question. This exchange reveals Lewis prefers Sam’s obfuscation to direct answers, suggesting he values the narrative over factual accuracy. The hosts find it wild that a journalist would suggest the subject knows better questions to answer than the interviewer.
Book Promotion and Humor
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(02:52:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Robert Evans’ book, “Raw Dog,” about hot dogs, derives significant sales from the humor associated with its title.
  • Summary: The hosts promote Robert Evans’ book, “Raw Dog,” noting that approximately 60% of purchases are attributed to the funny title alone. They explicitly avoid making further jokes about the title to prevent trouble. The segment transitions into discussing CoolerZone media subscriptions.
Ad Avoidance and Media Subscription
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(02:53:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Subscribing to CoolerZone Media allows listeners to bypass advertisements, although the hosts suggest imagining the ads can be more entertaining.
  • Summary: Listeners have the option to purchase a CoolerZone Media subscription to avoid hearing ads or continue listening to them. The hosts joke that once everyone subscribes, they might secure a lucrative ad deal with a company like Lockheed Martin. This would supposedly allow Robert to fulfill his dream of living inside a grenade.
Show Credits and Availability
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(02:54:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Behind the Bastards is a CoolZone Media production releasing new episodes every Wednesday and Friday, and is now available on YouTube.
  • Summary: Behind the Bastards is confirmed as a production of CoolZone Media, accessible via their website, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. New episodes are released twice weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays. The official YouTube channel is youtube.com/slash at behind the bastards.
Airtasker Advertisement
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(02:54:25)
  • Key Takeaway: Airtasker is promoted as a service for completing hectic holiday tasks, including unique requests like hiring someone to dress as Santa for a dog’s photo shoot.
  • Summary: Airtasker is recommended for managing hectic holiday tasks such as decorating and gift wrapping. Users can download the app or visit airtasker.com to get anything done. The service is positioned as the starting point to achieving one’s best self.
NordicTrack and iFit Promotion
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(02:54:41)
  • Key Takeaway: NordicTrack, the number one treadmill brand in the U.S., offers Black Friday savings and utilizes iFit trainers to make workouts feel like exploring new locations.
  • Summary: NordicTrack equipment features smooth, quiet operation and large screens that enhance the workout experience by simulating travel to locations like Peru or Paris via iFit trainers. Consumers are directed to NordicTrack.com for Black Friday savings to begin their next workout adventure.
South by Southwest Event Details
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(02:55:11)
  • Key Takeaway: South by Southwest (SXSW) is merging innovation, film/TV, and music events to run concurrently in Austin from March 12th through 18th.
  • Summary: SXSW is hosting its innovation, film/TV, and music components simultaneously across Austin between March 12th and 18th. Attendees can experience bold storytelling and groundbreaking ideas where creative worlds collide. Registration for the event is available at sxsw.com/slash iHeart.
Simon Plus Rewards Program
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(02:55:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Simon Plus offers shoppers cash back, exclusive offers, and surprises when purchasing gifts at Simon Malls, Premium Outlets, or on shopsimon.com.
  • Summary: The Simon Plus program rewards users simply for shopping at Simon properties or their website during the holiday season. Benefits include receiving cash back at favorite stores. Listeners can join the rewards program today by visiting simonplus.com.