Slate Money – "The Louvre Heist Affair"

October 25, 2025
Host: Felix Salmon (A) | Co-hosts: Emily Peck (B), Elizabeth Spiers (C)

Episode Overview

This week, Slate Money grapples with a dazzling story from the art world—the dramatic theft of jewels from the Louvre. Amidst ongoing global and domestic chaos, from trade wars to government shutdowns and AI debates, the crew zeroes in on the intrigue, logistics, and cultural resonance of the Louvre heist. Alongside, they explore the practical fallout of a prolonged U.S. government shutdown and the intense work culture in the AI sector. The discussion is lively, skeptical, and true to the show’s wit and curiosity.

Main Segments and Key Discussion Points

1. The Louvre Heist: “The Best and Chicest News”

Timestamps: 02:31–18:03

The Story

• Overnight news breaks: several necklaces and regal pieces (not the crown) are stolen from the Louvre in a brazen morning heist.
• The novelty and glamour captivate the hosts, who relish its cinematic potential amid a landscape of more sombre news.
  • B (03:05): “This is the best and chicest news to break in quite some time.”

Security at the Louvre

• The hosts contextualize the scale (800,000 sq ft) and challenge of securing the world’s busiest museum.
• The theft occurred during opening hours; the audacity shocks, but Felix argues it's statistically inevitable (“every so often”).
• The director of the Louvre offered to resign; resignation was not accepted, reinforcing “not much could have been done” sentiment.

The Heist Details & Cultural Fantasy

• Emily fantasizes about “dashing French thieves,” longing for a glamorous, movie-esque mood (think Ocean’s 8).
  • B (05:02): “I like to think that they’re French and, like, very dashing...”
• The real heist involved mechanical ladders, dropped jewels (including a dented crown, left behind), and swift, almost comical execution.
• The German manufacturer of the ladder used in the heist issued tongue-in-cheek ads.

Insurance and State Collections

• Felix addresses the insurability of the Louvre’s collection. With a $100B+ value, insuring it is logistically and financially impossible.
  • A (07:06): “You cannot insure the entire Louvre... conservatively $100 billion worth of art... The entire insurance capacity in London for this kind of thing is like $4 billion total.”
• The Louvre and other state museums “self-insure”—losses are statistically lower than any feasible premium.

Economics of Art Theft

• Stolen jewels from museums lack modern security marks (microscopic serial numbers), unlike those from jewelry stores—making sale marginally “easier,” but only in theory.
• However, as Elizabeth and Felix elaborate, the real-world value of national treasures tanks on the black market—breaking up and melting them destroys almost all their worth.
  • A (09:42): “You’ve destroyed probably three quarters of the value... There aren’t evil mustache-twirling billionaires who... want to parade around in an emerald necklace.”

Notable Anecdotes

• Story about the IRS trying to tax an estate on a Robert Rauschenberg artwork containing a (unsalable/federally illegal) stuffed bald eagle—a parallel for “value” of unsellable treasures.

Romanticizing Art Crime

• The “fedora guy” in a three-piece suit at the scene becomes an icon (“the platonic ideal of a French investigator”; “look up soigne in the dictionary, this guy comes up”).
• Discussion turns to the social and sentimental value of museum pieces and how their worth dramatically shifts outside the “sacred” museum context.

Hot Takes & Cultural Reflections

• Emily wonders if lax museum security signals “the demise of liberal democracies and neoliberalism.”
  • A (14:28): “The golden era of heists was much more the 60s and 70s than now... museums are much more secure.”
• Museums as tactile, irreplaceable experiences (“one of few remaining tactile places”).
• Theft can paradoxically increase fame (a la the Mona Lisa):
  • B (16:43): “Stealing things can make them more valuable. Mona Lisa was stolen and that’s how it became so famous.”

Memorable Quotes

• A (06:19): “The reason we know this was a little bit Keystone Cops... is that the prize jewel... they just kind of dropped on the way out.”
• B (12:23): “What even is the value of these jewels?... they have to be broken up... it’s almost like things in museums are worth a lot because they’re in museums.”
• A (13:13): “They’re going to take all of that and just melt it down... It is not, like, romantic and sexy.”

2. Government Shutdown: Who Feels the Pain?

Timestamps: 18:57–33:40

Real-World Impacts

• The show segues into the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, exploring tangible effects:
  • Most directly felt by federal employees and lower-income families dependent on federal programs like Head Start and, soon, SNAP.
  • Services persist for many (e.g., Social Security checks continue), but programs for vulnerable populations are at risk as the shutdown persists.
  • Air traffic controller shortages already creating travel delays.
  • The crew notes that delayed pain can obscure the issue for much of the population, until “the money really runs out.”

Data Blackouts & the Fed

• A core frustration: the Federal Reserve is “flying blind” without fresh BLS data; ADP, a major payroll processor with goldmine data, recently cut off the Fed from detailed, non-public information.
• Theories abound (client unrest, potential politicization, data privacy), but the full reasons remain murky.
  • A (25:31): “If I’m a corporate client of ADP, I’d be so happy if that made monetary policy better... I don’t understand why I’d be upset about that.”
• The only major economic report released: CPI (due to its statutory connection to Social Security COLA).

Journalists Struggle

• Without government data, economic journalists are left writing speculative “takes” rather than reporting on facts.
  • B (28:21): “Journalists... they have no data. They’re just writing takes every day. It’s hard for them.”

Notable Quotes

• A (23:03): “That would be such a Trump move to send everyone a check saying zero on it, zero. This is the fault of the Democrats.”
• A (27:59): “I am coming out here... to humbly request the powers that be at ADP to turn this information pipe back on. Because the Fed needs your data.”

3. The Demolition of the White House East Wing (Mini-Segment)

Timestamps: 30:48–33:40

• Trump demolishes the East Wing of the White House, reminiscent of his previous disregard for historic structures (e.g., Bonwit Teller Building).
  • C (38:38): “Trump just went in there with the bulldozer and said, fuck all of this.”
• Melania never used her offices there; previous First Ladies did.
• The hosts debate cultural loss and Trump’s casual approach to historical preservation.

4. Overwork in AI & the "996" Workweek

Timestamps: 36:43–50:56

The 996 Phenomenon

• “996” = 9am to 9pm, six days a week (72 hours) — popularized in China, now adopted by U.S.-based AI teams, especially in Silicon Valley.
  • The sense of urgency: AI is racing ahead, “winner-takes-all” dynamic, “do 20 years of research in two weeks.”
    • B (37:28): “US tech firms in Silicon Valley have adopted 996 as the standard mode of work... 72 hour in-person workweeks.”

Who Is (and Isn’t) Working This Hard?

• This intense grind is mostly limited to top AI researchers, not the broader workforce. The jobs are so specialized that “fungibility” doesn’t apply—if you can do it, you can make a fortune; if not, you’re out, with hundreds being fired as elite stars are given eye-watering salaries (eight or nine figures).
• Intense grind culture is nothing new to Silicon Valley but now seems amplified and more focused.
  • C (38:38): “The hustle bro culture has always been part of Silicon Valley. Maybe it’s coming back.”

Gender, Diversity, and Productivity

• Elizabeth argues this model reinforces inequality:
  • Women/caregivers are edged out by extreme in-person work requirements; return-to-office mandates exacerbate this.
    • C (40:15): “People who really are harmed... are disproportionately women... you just end up with a less diverse workplace.”
• Emily: AI’s future is being shaped by a very narrow demographic, risking generational repetition of old biases.

Is Overwork Actually Effective?

• The hosts (plainly skeptical) emphasize that true creative/innovative work needs time away from the grind—“slow productivity.”
• Felix: Sometimes, the best thoughts come in the shower, not under a deadline.
• Referencing historical precedent (financial crisis), Felix notes that major blunders have been made during sleep-deprived, hyperextended crisis management.
  • A (46:52): “After 60 hours a week, your cognitive performance drops off... Do you want people making major decisions about AI once their cognitive ability starts going negative?”

AI Paradox

• The hosts skewer the central irony: AI is “supposed to make us work less,” yet those developing it are working more than ever.
  • B (48:01): “If AI is supposed to get us to stop working, why is it making people work so much more?”

Open Call to Listeners

• Felix invites listeners to write in: Is AI making you work more or less?

Memorable Quotes

• A (39:08): “There's a bunch of VCs putting together a 'grind index'. How hard do you grind? And it's very Silicon Valley bro.”
• B (45:18): “Sometimes it comes to you while you're just, like, laying in bed... You need a little bit of time to mentally process things before you come up with something.”
• A (50:41): “Take more showers. It is how to improve your comparative advantage over the robots and smell good.”

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On missing value after a heist
  B (12:23): “Once you take them out of the context of the museum... it’s like the stuff in your grandma’s house.”
• On insurance
  A (07:06): “Let me just do the math for you here... that's $500 million a year in insurance premiums.”
• On AI Overwork
  C (46:17): “If you are the 10x engineer, after 60 hours a week, your cognitive performance really drops off.”

Humor & Memorable Tangents

• The “fedora guy” French investigator; the designers of mechanical ladders’ opportunistic self-promotion.
• Selling “designer” wasp nests as alternative houseplants for $250 (57:11), prompting stories about pests as décor and money "growing on trees.”
• Loving peanut butter as a nutritional panacea and as an allergy-shifting policy win.
• The running joke: perhaps the hosts themselves are museum-grade art thieves (17:43).

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:31 – Louvre heist news shock/overview
• 04:16 – Museum security challenges
• 08:07 – Insurance of state-owned art collections
• 11:11 – IRS and unsalable art anecdote
• 14:28 – Heist as symptom of wider societal decay?
• 16:43 – Art theft raising fame/value (Mona Lisa)
• 18:57 – Shutdown real-world effects discussion starts
• 22:07 – Programs/services impacted (Head Start, SNAP)
• 25:12 – Fed/ADP data drama
• 28:49 – CPI release and statutorily required data
• 30:48 – White House/East Wing demolition
• 36:43 – The “996” workweek and AI grind
• 45:18 – Slow productivity and creative breakthroughs

Conclusion

This episode threads deft observations and spicy banter through a tapestry of world-weary amusement, poking under the surface of splashy news and labor struggles alike. The Louvre heist is dissected as both artful crime and insurance oddity; larger themes of value, culture, and labor are frequently invoked. In the end, Slate Money leaves listeners with an appreciation for what’s lost—and gained—when priceless objects are stolen, data goes dark, or innovation demands sweat without sleep.

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