Opening Arguments

Today's episode features a deep dive into a just-filed lawsuit by Sears against its CEO, Eddie Lampert, and certain directors, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The lawsuit alleges that Eddie & Steve managed to wreck not one but two long-standing American institutions. How? Why? And what does any of this have to do with one of the best comedies of all time, The Producers? Listen and find out! We begin, however, with a very brief Andrew Was Wrong malapropism in which he confused a journalist with a philosopher. (There's a comedy setup in there somewhere.) Then, it's time for the main segment, which breaks down the background on Mnuchin, especially how he teamed up with billionaire Eddie Lampert, and then how the two of them managed to turn less than a billion dollars into full ownership of both Kmart and Sears, each of which had eight-figure valuations at the time. And, as if that wasn't enough, you can find out how Lampert (allegedly) ripped off the public on Mnuchin's watch, all while enr