Is Money the Root of All Evil?

Is money really the root of all evil? This episode starts with the famous misquote everyone gets wrong, then asks the better question: what actually happens when piling up money becomes the entire point of a life, a company, or a society?We open with the true story of Jack Whittaker, the West Virginia man whose $315 million Powerball win in 2002 unraveled into theft, tragedy, and loss within a few short years. We close with Chuck Feeney, the billionaire who spent decades secretly giving away nearly his entire $8 billion fortune before he died in 2023 with almost nothing left, on purpose.In between: wealth redistribution, universal basic income (with real pilot results from Finland, Kenya, and Stockton), gift economies, financial activism, ethical banking, corporate accountability, and what it actually means to consume less and live simply.Money isn't evil. But left unchecked, it concentrates, and concentrated money reliably curdles into greed, corruption, and inequality. This episode is the toolkit for keeping money a servant, not a master.