20: The Cascade, the Great Deleveraging’s next chapter

04/03/23 • 70 min

In the weeks since Silvergate, Signature, and Silicon Valley Banks’ respective failures, observers around the world have found ways to classify each collapse as the result of specific, isolated circumstances. But our hosts at Onward see something much different: a systemic, likely global crisis in the financial markets, playing out very close to what we projected in our November 2022 episode, “The Great Deleveraging” (https://fundrise.com/education/onward-episode-10). In a direct follow-up to that episode, join Fundrise CEO Ben Miller and co-host Cardiff Garcia for an analysis of how the recent bank crises are strong evidence that The Great Deleveraging is in full swing, along with a forecast on what is likely to happen next for the economy — a phase that Ben has deemed “The Great Cascade,” as the impacts of the liquidity crisis reverberate across multiple sectors of the market, with profound effects. There’s even an event on the horizon that Ben believes is likely to be the straw that “breaks the turtle’s back — toppling turtles, all the way down.” Listen to the episode to find out what that straw is likely to be. (And listen to the original Great Deleveraging episode (https://fundrise.com/education/onward-episode-10), if you need a refresher in turtle cosmology.)
Have questions or feedback about this episode? Drop us a note at [email protected].
Onward is hosted by Ben Miller, co-founder and CEO of Fundrise, and Cardiff Garcia, co-founder of Bazaar Audio and host of the economics-focused podcast The New Bazaar (after spending many years as the co-creator and co-host of NPR's The Indicator podcast).
Podcast production by The Podcast Consultant. Music by Seaplane Armada.
About Fundrise
With over 1 million users, Fundrise is America's largest direct-to-investor alternative asset investment platform. Since 2012, our mission has been to build a better financial system by empowering the individual. We make it easier and more efficient than ever for anyone to invest in institutional-quality private alternative assets — all at the touch of a button.
Please see the Fundrise Flagship Real Estate Fund website (http://fundriseintervalfund.com), Fundrise Income Fund website (http://fundriseincomerealestatefund.com), and Fundrise Innovation Fund website (http://fundrise.com/innovation) for more information on each fund, including each fund’s prospectus. For the publicly filed offering circulars of the Fundrise eREITs and eFunds, not all of which may be currently qualified by the SEC, please see fundrise.com/oc.
Want to see the specific properties that make up and power Fundrise portfolios? Check out our active and past projects at www.fundrise.com/assets.

Previous Episode

19: How we broke the British pound, with Rob Johnson

In the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse last week, Onward host and Fundrise CEO Ben Miller sits down for an interview with the economist and trader Rob Johnson, one of the most experienced investors in the world at the fault line of government and finance. Having served as a Managing Director of the Quantum Fund, Chief Economist of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, and currently as president of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, Rob has worked closely with policymakers across the entire political spectrum. Ben and Rob use the 1992 breaking of the British pound as a historical reference point and centerpiece for the orbit of their discussion. That event formed out of a collision of geopolitical forces, interest rate policy, and cross-institutional financial interactions, all with significant parallels to the world today. And, as Ben and Rob discuss, the pound’s collapse had implications that went far beyond a single bank or country’s ability to function — it ushered in a new era of the power and peril of global finance.
Have questions or feedback about this episode? Drop us a note at [email protected].
Onward is hosted by Ben Miller, co-founder and CEO of Fundrise, and Cardiff Garcia, co-founder of Bazaar Audio and host of the economics-focused podcast The New Bazaar (after spending many years as the co-creator and co-host of NPR's The Indicator podcast).
Podcast production by The Podcast Consultant. Music by Seaplane Armada.
About Fundrise
With over 1 million users, Fundrise is America's largest direct-to-investor alternative asset investment platform. Since 2012, our mission has been to build a better financial system by empowering the individual. We make it easier and more efficient than ever for anyone to invest in institutional-quality private alternative assets — all at the touch of a button.
Please see the Fundrise Flagship Real Estate Fund website (http://fundriseintervalfund.com), Fundrise Income Fund website (http://fundriseincomerealestatefund.com), and Fundrise Innovation Fund website (http://fundrise.com/innovation) for more information on each fund, including each fund’s prospectus. For the publicly filed offering circulars of the Fundrise eREITs and eFunds, not all of which may be currently qualified by the SEC, please see fundrise.com/oc.
Want to see the specific properties that make up and power Fundrise portfolios? Check out our active and past projects at www.fundrise.com/assets.

Next Episode

21: Bonus Episode: The fundamental nature of the universe, with Amanda Gefter

In this bonus episode, our host Ben Miller interviews a special guest, the science writer Amanda Gefter, to discuss some of the most intriguing and consistently mind-blowing ideas from her book about cutting-edge physics and cosmology, Trespassing on Einstein’s Lawn. Departing from Onward’s usual topics — the economy, what’s happening in the markets, and Fundrise — Ben asks Amanda to explore a few of the fundamental (but deeply unintuitive and surprising) ideas that underlie the architecture of quantum physics and the behavior of our universe. Over the course of their discussion, they touch on the importance of Einstein’s relativity; why “variance” is at the core of how we define "something" vs. "nothing"; the surprising nature of Hawking radiation; the balance of elegance and practicality in John Archibald Wheeler’s writings; the mechanics through which the universe may eventually "restart"; why perspective always matters; and much more. Join Ben to understand and celebrate the important ways that Amanda’s work has helped push knowledge forward, which is, ultimately, what Onward is all about.
Have questions or feedback about this episode? Drop us a note at [email protected].
Onward is hosted by Ben Miller, co-founder and CEO of Fundrise, and Cardiff Garcia, co-founder of Bazaar Audio and host of the economics-focused podcast The New Bazaar (after spending many years as the co-creator and co-host of NPR's The Indicator podcast).
Podcast production by The Podcast Consultant. Music by Seaplane Armada.
About Fundrise
With over 1 million users, Fundrise is America's largest direct-to-investor alternative asset investment platform. Since 2012, our mission has been to build a better financial system by empowering the individual. We make it easier and more efficient than ever for anyone to invest in institutional-quality private alternative assets — all at the touch of a button.
Please see the Fundrise Flagship Real Estate Fund website (http://fundriseintervalfund.com), Fundrise Income Fund website (http://fundriseincomerealestatefund.com), and Fundrise Innovation Fund website (http://fundrise.com/innovation) for more information on each fund, including each fund’s prospectus. For the publicly filed offering circulars of the Fundrise eREITs and eFunds, not all of which may be currently qualified by the SEC, please see fundrise.com/oc.
Want to see the specific properties that make up and power Fundrise portfolios? Check out our active and past projects at www.fundrise.com/assets.