In his 20s, yet running a $50billion book, Kweku Adoboli had worked his way up the trading floor at the very point the market crashed.
His actions wiped £2.7bn from the UBS share price, prompted the resignation of their chief executive - and got him a seven-year jail sentence for fraud.
In this remarkable interview with Olly, he reveals a corporate culture of ‘wilful blindness’, explains how he fell foul of the UK’s hostile environment policy for migrants - and re-lives the moment he realised that, having taken responsibility for his actions, he would forever be known as Britain’s biggest ‘rogue trader’...
LISTEN:
If you’d like to sign the petition to stop Kweku’s proposed deportation, you can do so here.
Elsewhere this week, Ollie Peart highlights ‘anonymous work talk’ app Blind, and the trend for ‘baby sculpting’ in gross-out cake baking. He also reports back on his attempts at ‘neuro-priming’. If you have a challenge for Ollie to try in The Zeitgeist, drop us a line.
Meanwhile, down the Foxhole, Alix Fox sheds light on British attitudes to sex in the dark, and advises an HIV-positive listener about alternatives to penetration when his viral load hits detectable levels. If you have a question for Alix to answer - you can remain completely anonymous if you wish - submit it here.
The Foxhole is proudly sponsored by our friends at MyCondom.com, who provide a brilliant range of toys, contraceptives and lubes at great value prices. Use our code ‘FOXHOLE’ to get 15% off!
This week’s Lifehack comes courtesy of Kinfolk magazine’s Harriet Fitch Little, who offers up her three top tips on ‘How To Network’: stop thinking you’re sleazy, remember not to fist-pump around the room, and word your emails *very* carefully! You can hear more from Harriet on the podcast 'Friends Who Freelance', launching March 2018.
Finally, this week’s record of the week is the lovely ‘Strangest Of Ways’, by Lucy Rose. It’s out now on Communion Records:
Big thanks to Harry’s, who deliver stunning German-engineered razors to your door, and have sponsored this episode of the show. Take advantage of our SPECIAL OFFER - get a shave set worth £11.50 for just £3.95 at Harrys.com/MANN.
That's it for this week's show - it's great to be back.
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See You Next Tuesday!
Additional incidental music in this episode by David Hilowitz, by kind permission under creative commons.
