Aaron Freedman
@freedaaron.bsky.social
History PhD candidate at Columbia, dissertating on the political economy of Wall Street in the 1980s
What's happening in sports betting now is an even stupider version of what happened in banking and investing in the 80s/90s: regulatory arbitrage that in theory offers better consumer prices and choices but ultimately fuels social and economic instability. www.wsj.com/finance/kals...
Kalshi’s Competitiveness Still Limited Despite Parlay Debut
Analysts say the prediction market platform’s new product is bare bones and could bring legal scrutiny, giving traditional sportsbooks an edge.
www.wsj.com
October 2, 2025 at 5:40 PM
What's happening in sports betting now is an even stupider version of what happened in banking and investing in the 80s/90s: regulatory arbitrage that in theory offers better consumer prices and choices but ultimately fuels social and economic instability. www.wsj.com/finance/kals...
Harry Braverman really did anticipate the dynamics that drive AI, the separation between conception and execution becoming so complete that no human is needed for the latter
October 2, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Harry Braverman really did anticipate the dynamics that drive AI, the separation between conception and execution becoming so complete that no human is needed for the latter
Reposted by Aaron Freedman
New #awarded #research in #bizhis
Take a look at 🧵
@hagleycenter.bsky.social @gnvbusinesshistory.bsky.social @repec-nep-his.bsky.social @businesshistory.bsky.social @womenknowhistory.bsky.social @historians.org @financialtimes.com @financewatch.bsky.social
Take a look at 🧵
@hagleycenter.bsky.social @gnvbusinesshistory.bsky.social @repec-nep-his.bsky.social @businesshistory.bsky.social @womenknowhistory.bsky.social @historians.org @financialtimes.com @financewatch.bsky.social
My dissertation project, “The Securities State: Washington, Wall Street and the Financialization of America, 1979-1992” asks how and why Wall Street become the central force in intermediating credit, savings, investment, and liquidity throughout the entire US economy
September 12, 2025 at 5:07 AM
An example of what's missing in our accounts of financialization and deregulation: an explanation of why Wall Street's #1 political priority in the 1980s is _defending_ Glass-Steagall.
September 11, 2025 at 2:31 PM
An example of what's missing in our accounts of financialization and deregulation: an explanation of why Wall Street's #1 political priority in the 1980s is _defending_ Glass-Steagall.
Thrilled to announce that I've been awarded the 2025 John E. Rovensky Fellowship in US Business and Economic History from the University of Illinois Foundation and @businesshistoryc.bsky.social!
September 10, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Thrilled to announce that I've been awarded the 2025 John E. Rovensky Fellowship in US Business and Economic History from the University of Illinois Foundation and @businesshistoryc.bsky.social!
This is insulting, he should settle for nothing less than Ambassador to Turkey
SCOOP, with Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo: Eric Adams has been offered a position at the HUD, according to a person with direct knowledge of the offer.
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
NYC Mayor Eric Adams faces a decision: A Trump administration post to drop his reelection campaign
The embattled New York City mayor was offered a HUD post, a person familiar with the talks tells POLITICO.
www.politico.com
September 3, 2025 at 7:48 PM
This is insulting, he should settle for nothing less than Ambassador to Turkey
If you're interested in a preview of my dissertation project: "Wall Street’s role isn’t just about markets...It’s about legitimacy, about how the government tries to deliver economic security without doing it directly.” global.columbia.edu/news/how-wal...
global.columbia.edu
July 31, 2025 at 4:53 PM
If you're interested in a preview of my dissertation project: "Wall Street’s role isn’t just about markets...It’s about legitimacy, about how the government tries to deliver economic security without doing it directly.” global.columbia.edu/news/how-wal...
TIL the turn to cash flow vs profits in accounting and finance really began after the collapse of Penn Central
June 5, 2025 at 6:17 PM
TIL the turn to cash flow vs profits in accounting and finance really began after the collapse of Penn Central
I think my teaching in the age of AI position is basically "wax on, wax off": forcing students to arbitrarily work without AI (ie blue books) forces them to learn valuable, lifelong skills (ie critical reasoning) that they would/could not otherwise. It's about karate, not waxing.
May 7, 2025 at 3:21 PM
I think my teaching in the age of AI position is basically "wax on, wax off": forcing students to arbitrarily work without AI (ie blue books) forces them to learn valuable, lifelong skills (ie critical reasoning) that they would/could not otherwise. It's about karate, not waxing.
It’s very illuminating that the 2008 financial crisis was driven by the collapse in asset-backed securities, the most “safe” and “real” financial assets, backed by actual cash flows (ie mortgage payments) and even physical assets (homes). The opposite of crypto, or ‘00 dot-com 1/
April 30, 2025 at 3:18 PM
It’s very illuminating that the 2008 financial crisis was driven by the collapse in asset-backed securities, the most “safe” and “real” financial assets, backed by actual cash flows (ie mortgage payments) and even physical assets (homes). The opposite of crypto, or ‘00 dot-com 1/
Anyone interested in joining a roundtable on new directions in the history of US economic thought at the S-USIH conference in Detroit this November? Feel free to share with anyone interested, email alf2212@columbia.edu
April 21, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Anyone interested in joining a roundtable on new directions in the history of US economic thought at the S-USIH conference in Detroit this November? Feel free to share with anyone interested, email alf2212@columbia.edu
Trump and Musk are unfortunately operating in the Goldilocks zone for right wing politics: cutting the administrative state as much as possible without spooking Wall Street (which depends on predictable expectations) and triggering economic chaos and a mass streets opposition
February 25, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Trump and Musk are unfortunately operating in the Goldilocks zone for right wing politics: cutting the administrative state as much as possible without spooking Wall Street (which depends on predictable expectations) and triggering economic chaos and a mass streets opposition