About this podcast

Join Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal in this intriguing episode of Odd Lots as they delve into the surprising world of finance before the digital age. They explore how banking, trade, and financial operations functioned without computers, telephones, or even the telegraph, a concept many find hard to imagine in today's tech-driven world.

The hosts are joined by distinguished guests Anne Murphy, a history professor at the University of Portsmouth and author of "Virtuous Bankers: A Day in the Life of the Eighteenth-Century Bank of England," and John Handel, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce. Together, they transport listeners back to the 1700s, revealing the intricate manual systems, challenges, and surprising efficiencies of the Bank of England. Discover how ledgers, quills, and dedicated clerks managed vast sums of money and complex transactions, and what these historical practices can teach us about current technological revolutions, including the rise of artificial intelligence in finance.