For decades, Silicon Valley has used pizza as a testing ground for new business models. Pizzerias were the first brick-and-mortar businesses to use Bitcoin. So why hasn't big tech captured the business of pizza-making itself? Well they tried, and this is the story of how they failed.

Edited and thumbnail by Noah

Sources: https://pastebin.com/XnK6BYG4

JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE:   

www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism  

BIG THINGS ARE COMING  

66: Zume Pizza

Genius economist and con artist, or genius economist con artist? The legacy of John Law is the invention of modern financial policy, for better and for worse. Join us as we go historical, to the birth of paper money itself.

Edited and thumbnail by Noah

Sources: https://pastebin.com/kpUKLZgU

JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE:   

www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism  

BIG THINGS ARE COMING  

67: The Mississippi Company

Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault and racism.

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams, but no one seems to hear a thing.
Today we explore the strange and often controversial history of Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, better known as Katy Perry, and examine her legacy both on earth and beyond.

Edited and thumbnail by Noah

Sources: https://pastebin.com/TfTXt8UD

JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE:   

www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism  

BIG THINGS ARE COMING

68: Katy Perry

His grease stains menaced warehouse shelves from Brazil to Calcutta. He was elusive man, an oil man, whose mob ties were debated in hushed tones in New York country clubs. This is how Anthony "Tino" De Angelis swindled America to the brink of recession.

Edited and thumbnail by Noah

Sources: https://pastebin.com/ixvnrcSZ

JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE:   

www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism  

BIG THINGS ARE COMING

69: The Salad Oil Scandal

In a world where hot dogs are harder to buy, and brands drown in the muck of online retail, a hero rises from the ashes to offer predatory unsecured loans through an app. That hero's name? Klarna.

Edited and thumbnail by Noah

JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE:   

www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism  

BIG THINGS ARE COMING

Sources:

1) https://www.expressen.se/ekonomi/klarna-miljardaren-berattar-om-de-skakande-anklagelserna/
2) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-startup100/8428669/Start-Up-100-A-Z.html
3) https://owp.klarna.com/legacy/assets/sites/15/2021/05/28054804/Financial-Update-Q1-2021.pdf https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/04/as-buy-now-pay-later-startups-keep-raising-capital-a-dive-into-klarna-afterpay-and-affirms-earnings/
4) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jul/11/klarna-sees-its-value-slashed-by-85-in-latest-round-of-fundraising https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/klarnas-valuation-slumps-67-bln-with-800-mln-raise-2022-07-11/
5) https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/04/klarna-to-start-reporting-uk-customer-debts-to-credit-agencies
6) https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/nov/17/klarna-buy-now-pay-later-system-that-is-seducing-millennials
7) https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/21/klarna-used-an-ai-avatar-of-its-ceo-to-deliver-earnings-it-said/
8) https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/21/klarna-used-an-ai-avatar-of-its-ceo-to-deliver-earnings-it-said/
9 ) https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/cfpb-buy-now-pay-later-bnpl-use-debt-research-report/737285/

70: Klarna

Content warning: This episode contains a couple brief sections discussing sexual assault and rape, so listener discretion is advised.

As you stand in the 100 degree heat, finishing the last sip of your $28 water bottle, covered in mud and suffering from trench foot, the music of Limp Bizkit echoes in the distance. "Am I in hell?" You ask yourself. No, you're at Woodstock '99. And the chaos is just getting started. Today we'll explore the insane history behind one of the most infamous music festivals of all time.

Edited and thumbnail by Noah

JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE:   

www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism  

BIG THINGS ARE COMING

71: Woodstock '99

Destroyer

Hysterical

Radical dude! On this week's episode we dive in to the world of crooked IPOs, the birth of retail investing, and explore the second most famous stock market crash in recent history.

Edited and thumbnail by Noah

JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE:   

www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism  

BIG THINGS ARE COMING

Sources:

https://companiesmarketcap.com/cisco/stock-price-history/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnazfW1T-ks https://archive.org/details/digitalphoenixwh00abra


73: The Dotcom Bubble

What if there was an amusement park where management literally did not care about safety? What if the danger of dying was part of the allure? What if millions of people flocked to the park to experience a culture of lawlessness, free from the harsh rules and draconian safety precautions of most theme parks? Today we’re going to explore the history of Action Park.

Edited and thumbnail by Noah

JOIN US ON PATREON FOR EARLY EPISODE RELEASES, BONUS CONTENT, AND MORE:   

www.patreon.com/desperateactsofcapitalism  

BIG THINGS ARE COMING

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Park 

Class Action Park Directed by Seth Porges and Chris Charles Scott III, HBO Max, 2020.

Destroyer

Evan Swope

Related tracks