Engadget Podcast: How Reddit day traders blew up GameStop's stock

If you were confused about how, exactly, a bunch of Reddit finance obsessives turned the beleaguered GameStop into a white hot stock, you’re not alone. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat with Mike Futter, author of the GameDev Business Handbook and co-host of the Virtual Economy Podcast, to make sense of this surprising story. Are the online traders just doing it for the LOLs? Or are they trying to teach the financial industry a lesson? And isn’t this just another example of online memes bleeding into reality, leading to potentially disastrous consequences? We also get a bit of context from an anonymous member from the infamous R/WallStreetBets subreddit.

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

Engadget · How Reddit day traders blew up GameStop's stock

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Topics

• Stonks get real: Is the GameStop story really Reddit v. Hedge Funds? – 0:49

• Microsoft raises Xbox Live Price, backtracks – 30:35

• News shouts from around the tech world – 40:35

• Working on – 53:30

• Picks – 56:22

Links

• GameStop stock market squeeze attracts attention from Congress

• Robinhood hit with class action lawsuit after it restricts GameStop stocks

• Microsoft won’t increase Xbox Live Gold prices for new members

Video livestream

Credits
Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Cherlynn Low
Guest: Mike Futter & ????
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien