Spencer Jakab is the Editor of the "Heard on the Street" column for the Wall Street Journal and the author of two books. Back in 2020, when millions of mostly young people opened brokerage accounts for the first time while sheltering from the Covid-19 pandemic, it seemed like they could do no wrong, even as some legendary investors could do no right. But that all changed after a climactic battle between the haves and have-nots during January 2021. In this surreal interview, we look back over the rise and fall of meme stocks, young and wild Robinhood traders, COVID checks and easy credit, and the Reddit revolution that wasn't.
Spencer’s new book is "The Revolution That Wasn't: GameStop, Reddit and the Fleecing of Small Investors" (
https://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Tha...), which is the topic of our conversation. Previously he wrote "Ahead of the Tape" published in 2015.