Top Podcasts of the Week

Below is our “Top Podcast” list with our curator, Colby Donovan!

Today we have an episode on the company building the first commercial space station, a masterclass on inflation, and why personal finance can be summed up on an index card.Investing

• The Contrarian Investor Podcast: When Investors Become Gamblers — And Why It’s Happening Now. William Silber is the author of The Power of Nothing to Lose: The Hail Mary Effect in Politics, War, and Business, which is about the idea that individuals, including investors, can become reckless gamblers if they have nothing to lose. He applies the idea to what we’ve seen in the retail market today with excessive options trading and explains the parallels to a bold General who’s willing to risk everything for fame and prestige. He finishes with some broad thoughts on the market today and why he advises investors to reduce risk and ensure their portfolio is properly diversified. [August 17, 2021–47 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

“I view buying out of the money call options on meme stocks as a substitute for the lottery.”

• People I (Mostly) Admire: 40. Harold Pollack on Why Managing Your Money Is as Easy as Taking Out the Garbage. Pollack is a professor at the University of Chicago and is known for his index card with nine rules of personal finance. The episode begins with this and touches on some of his rules, and then Steve Levitt pushes back on some and says people pay too much for financial advice. Then they turn to Professor Pollack’s work at the Chicago Crime Lab researching how to help those in-need before they have a criminal issue and why he believes implementing social services on the front end may provide a big benefit. [August 13, 2021–39 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

• We Study Billionaires: TIP370: Inflation Masterclass w/ Cullen Roche. Cullen Roche is the founder of Orcam Financial Group and joins the episode to discuss all things inflation. He shares his own framework for how he thinks about inflation, then pushes back on the idea that an increase in money supply automatically leads to inflation. He touches on the Fed’s definition of transitory, the importance of fiscal policy on future expectation, and what he’s seen perform well over time in an inflationary environment. [August 14, 2021–77 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

“The real money printing is done by the Treasury.”

The Meb Faber Show

• #340 — Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space — The Only Thing I Know How To Do Is Build And Operate A Space Station. Michael Suffredini is the CEO and co-founder of Axiom Space, which is building the world’s first internationally available commercial space station. Mike starts by sharing what it was like to run the International Space Station. Then he shares what led him start Axiom Space and undertake the task of building the first commercial space station. He walks us through the business model of a commercial space station and what he believes to be Axiom’s competitive advantage when competing with China and Russia. Then he talks about the space economy, including the potential benefits for pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and even 3-D organ printing. At the end of the episode, Mike talks about Axiom’s recent $130 million Series B funding and whether or not an IPO may be in store in the future. [August 16, 2021–55 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

• #341 — Lyle Fitterer, Baird Asset Management — You Could Even Argue They’re Better Credits Than The Federal Government. Lyle Fitterer is a portfolio manager for Baird Asset Management, where he runs a $1.8 billion municipal bond fund. Lyle begins with an overview of the muni bond market and the benefits of tax-exempt income for investors. Then we hear how Lyle went on the offensive when the COVID drawdown occurred last year. Finally, Lyle walks through some of the different factors affecting the muni market right now, including state and local budgets, expectations for higher taxes, an infrastructure bill, and interest rates. [August 18, 2021–61 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Breaker | Website Link

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Fran Kinniry (Global Head of Private Investments, Vanguard Group):

1. Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

2. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

3. The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis

4. Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases by Daniel Kahneman, Paul Slovic, and Amos Tversky

Angela Strange (General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz):

1. More More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places

Greg Becker (CEO, Silicon Valley Bank):

1. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

2. The Pacific War: 1941–1945 by John Costello

3. 2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis

Good investing,Meb Fabertheideafarm.com