Why money is the biggest shared hallucination in human history

What is money? And what can a small island in Micronesia teach us about how it works? On Yap, a remote island in the western Pacific, giant calcite “Rai” stones once functioned as currency, where ownership and collective trust — rather than physical possession — defined wealth and status. In this episode of The Story of Money, macroeconomist and author Felix Martin joins hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth to explore the stones of Yap, the origins of money and why the traditional “barter theory” may be a myth.Further reading: Money: The Unauthorised Biography (2015) by Felix Martin Uap of the Carolines (1910) by William Henry Furness IIIA Treatise on Money (1930) by John Maynard Keynes The Island of Stone Money (1991) and Money Mischief (1992) by Milton Friedman  ‘Tralla La’ in Uncle Scrooge #6 by Carl Barks (1954) His Majesty O’Keefe (1954) Warner Bros To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show's dedicated YouTube channel here. Love listening to The Story of Money? Join us live on Saturday, June 20 at our inaugural NYC FT Weekend Festival at Spring Studios. Put your questions directly to our experts, experience your favourite podcast in person, and see the FT come to life. Register now and enjoy 10% off with code FTPodcast — this is one Saturday you won’t want to miss. Learn more at ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthGuest: Felix MartinProducer: Lulu SmythSenior Producers: Laurence Knight and Michela TinderaExecutive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela SaragosaOriginal music: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GiuompasisPodcast Development: Laura ClarkeFT Global Head of Audio: Cheryl BrumleyVideo editors: Kristen Kenyon and Josh Divney at Podcast DiscoveryRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.