Description

Gold-rush energy meets browser wars.

In mid-1994 Silicon Graphics legend Jim Clark sits down with a 22-year-old programmer Marc Andreessen in the heart of Silicon Valley. Clark, a rebellious hardware icon trying to reinvent himself, and Andreessen, fresh off building the first web browser, bet that the browser will be the operating system to the open web.

Their new company races from zero to market share dominance, forcing Microsoft’s “tidal wave” pivot. They turn their IPO into a marketing weapon on August 5, 1995 when Netscape goes public without profits—and the stock soars—sending a blaring signal to founders, VCs, and retail investors that the internet era (and a historic boom) has begun.

Along the way, we unpack how Clark helped flip Silicon Valley’s power dynamics in favor of founders and engineers, and why Netscape’s triumph—and ultimate fate—should shape how we navigate today’s AI cycle.

Chapters

(00:18) Introduction

(01:13) The Tidal Wave Memo

(03:45) Microsoft’s Dominance in the 1990s

(06:40) The Origin Story of Netscape

(16:55) Who Was Jim Clark?

(18:34) The University of Utah as the Epicenter of Graphics Technology in the 1970s

(29:35) Jim Clark Changes the Game

(34:03) Netscape Shapes the Web

(36:31) Microsoft Responds

(38:20) The Mental Model of Dominating Operating Systems

(41:00) Why Was Netscape the Spark and Not Spyglass?

(42:17) Netscape’s IPO and the Macro Environment

(49:00) The Boom Starts

(50:25) Lessons from the Netscape Era

(52:24) Was Netscape Ultimately Successful?

References

The New New Thing by Michael Lewis (link)

Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages by Carlota Perez (link)

Marc Andreessen on Inventing The Internet Browser (link)

A run on the dollar, stagflation, and an election on the line—Part 3 wraps up the series with President Nixon’s shocking announcement to shut the gold window… a move that changed the monetary system forever and signaled the beginning of the end for the perception of gold as money. We meet John Connally, the swaggering Democratic governor of Texas who rode in the car with JFK when he was shot, and later became Nixon’s Treasury Secretary. He was the political closer tasked with averting a global monetary crisis and more importantly, securing Nixon’s re-election in 1972.

In the summer of 1971—with inflation rising, unemployment hovering near 6%, and foreign central banks suggesting they might convert dollars into gold—Connally, only months into the job, worked with Paul Volcker and others on a plan to fix the economy.

During an intense weekend at Camp David, Connally orchestrated consensus around a plan that included wage and price controls, a 10% universal tariff on imports, and most importantly, the suspension of dollar-gold conversion. These policies were sold as temporary and forced a global realignment.

At 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 15, 1971, Nixon announced the New Economic Policy to the world and kicked off a series of events that led to the monetary system we have today.

Chapters

(00:20) Connally’s 4 No’s Speech

(02:00) Gradualism & Stagflation

(04:26) Whispers of Global Monetary Crisis

(05:52) The Nixon Doctrine

(07:30) Introducing John Connally Jr.

(14:18) How Connally Gets on Nixon’s Radar

(15:47) Moving Away from Gradualism

(17:27) The Potential for a Run on the Dollar

(24:50) Camp David Economic Meetings Coordinated by Connally

(30:05) The British Allegedly Want to Redeem $3 Billion in Gold

(33:07) Policy Change Decisions at Camp David

(39:23) Nixon’s Speech Shutting Gold Window

(40:15) The Immediate Domestic Reaction of the Speech

(42:39) The Foreign Reaction to the Speech

(46:08) Smithsonian Agreement in December 1971

(47:56) By March of 1973 Bretton Woods Is Dead

(49:30) Why Did We Not Have Another Bretton Woods Agreement?

(52:10) Similarities and Differences to What’s Happening Today

References

Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy by Jeffrey E. Garten (link)

Nixon's Economy: Booms, Busts, Dollars, and Votes by Allen J. Matusow (link)

https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/

On the journey towards President Nixon’s fateful decision on August 15th, 1971 to suspend dollar-gold convertibility—a decision that would forever change the global economy—we meet William McChesney Martin Jr, the longest-serving Fed chairman in history and arguably the most consequential economic US policy maker since Alexander Hamilton.

After negotiating Fed independence as an Assistant Treasury Secretary with the 1951 Fed-Treasury Accord, President Truman appointed Martin as chairman of the Fed. For two decades, Martin fought to establish Fed independence while pursuing the long-term interests of the US—fighting inflation, defending the dollar, and facing off against five presidents.

While he navigated the demands of a booming economy at home, Martin coordinated with US allies to stabilize exchange rates and grow world trade—all while balancing the needs of Cold War military spending, allied foreign aid, and private capital outflows.

We trace the mounting pressure from the late 1950s gold spike through Vietnam-era deficits as Martin tries to hold the line with rate hikes, diplomacy, and sheer credibility among global central bankers. It’s the story of a principled broker navigating guns-and-butter politics while the world loses faith in dollar-gold convertibility—and according to his own assessment, he was almost successful too… almost.

Chapters

(00:47) Introduction

(03:33) William McChesney Martin Jr.

(09:14) The 1951 Fed-Treasury Accord

(12:42) Truman Appoints Martin as Fed Chairman

(13:34) Eisenhower Presidency Reinforces Fed Independence

(17:00) Comparing Growth & Productivity during This Period to Today

(18:41) Gold Drain and Military Spending

(22:51) Price of Gold Breaks $35/oz

(26:52) The JFK Years: More Military Spending & Tensions with France

(34:12) Bretton Woods and Inflation

(36:36) Central Bank Swap Lines

(41:05) Confrontation at LBJ’s Ranch

(44:53) The Circularity of Dollar Strength and Military Spending

(56:40) Bill Martin’s Legacy and State of the Fed as Nixon Takes Office

References

Chairman of the Fed: William McChesney Martin Jr. and the Creation of the Modern American Financial System by Robert P. Bremner

Gold, Dollars, and Power: The Politics of International Monetary Relations, 1958-1971 by Francis J. Gavin

https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/