Top Podcasts of the Week

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

Today we have Luke Gromen on the weakness in the global financial system, Sara Menker on the global ag markets’ response to the Russia invasion of Ukraine, and Silicon Valley vet Adam Nash on his mission to help people give to charity.

Investing

  • ***Must Listen*** The Grant Williams Podcast: Luke Gromen — FULL EPISODE. Luke Gromen is the publisher of “Forest For The Trees”. In this episode, he walks through the role of the dollar and how the recent sanctions placed on Russia have revealed weaknesses in the global financial system. He shares how the US Fed’s decisions since Volcker snapped inflation have shaped whether the US prioritized the global financial system or their own financial system. Then he shares the implications for commodities, stocks, bonds, and currencies going forward. It’s an episode you’ll want to listen to a few times. [March 12, 2022–80 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Website Link

“Push came to shove and Volcker had faced the same decision that Bernanke later would in ’08. And that decision was, do I manage the dollar for the good of the world as a reserve currency? or do I manage the dollar for the good of America, and let it keep inflating. And Volcker managed the dollar for the good of the world. He put the US economy into severe austerity, severe recession.”

  • Top Traders Unplugged: VOL11: The Anatomy of a Trade ft. Alex Gurevich. Alex Gurevich is the founder of HonTe Investments and author of “The Trades of March 2020: A Shield against Uncertainty.” In this episode, he explains his process for building a balanced portfolio, the intricacies of trading options, and how he handles the stress of volatile markets. He also shares his playbook for the Ukranian crisis (oil could collapse to $40 and rates could go back to zero). [March 16, 2022–61 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Website Link

  • Acquired; Altimeter (with Brad Gerstner). Today, public and private markets continue to converge as investors focus on investing in the best companies, regardless of their stage. Enter Brad Gerstner, who started doing this himself a decade ago with investments in companies like Snowflake, Facebook, Roblox, and Plaid. In this episode, he walks through his career, the launch and evolution of Altimeter, and changes he’d make in an effort to improve American capitalism and narrow the wealth and income gap.  [March 15, 2022–113 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Website Link

  • Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman: Rapid Response: How global markets are reacting to Russia’s war on Ukraine, w/Sara Menker, CEO of Gro Intelligence. Menker is the CEO of Gro Intelligence, a data research firm with deep insights on global supply and demand on agriculture and how it relates to the global economy. In an obviously timely episode, she shares what she’s seeing as a result of supply and demand shocks from COVID, and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She also explains how fragile the system is today, why Russia’s trade with China is important to understand, and how all of this impacts the Middle East. [March 12, 2022–21 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google

Russia and Ukraine combined: produce 14% of global wheat, account for almost 30% of total global wheat exports, contribute almost 20% of global corn exports and supply 76% of global sunflower oil.

  • We Study Billionaires — The Investor’s Podcast Network: RWH002: Investing Wisely in an Uncertain World w/ Howard Marks. In this episode with legendary investor Howard Marks, he touches on the importance of critical thinking, exemplified by recently changing his views on Bitcoin, the difficulties of investing in a period of high inflation, and why he remains bullish on China despite the recent decline of Chinese stocks. [March 15, 2022–69 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Website Link

“So everything that you can do in investing is a two edged sword. If you concentrate and you’re right, you’ll make more money. If you concentrate and you’re wrong, you’ll lose more money. If you lever up and you’re right, you’ll make more money. If you lever up and you’re wrong, you’ll lose more money.”

The Meb Faber Show

  • #398 — Adam Nash, Daffy — Why This Prominent Silicon Valley Operator & Investor Wants To Make Charitable Giving A Habit. Adam Nash is a prominent Silicon Valley operator and investor who has turned his attention to philanthropy with his newest venture, Daffy, a not-for-profit community built around a new, modern platform for giving. Adam starts off by giving an overview of Daffy, which supports over 1.5 million charities, schools, and faith-based organizations through low-cost, donor-advised funds. Adam shares how working at or advising companies in the past has impacted how he’s built Daffy, whether it’s the social aspect of LinkedIn, the automation of Wealthfront, or growth strategy of Acorns. Visit daffy.org/meb/invite and get $25 to give to your favorite charity. [March 14, 2022–52 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Website Link

  • #399 — Mary Childs, NPR’s Planet Money — Bond King Bill Gross. Mary Childs is the co-host for NPR’s Planet Money podcast and author of “The Bong King”, which shares how PIMCO and Bill Gross changed finance forever. The episode begins with some of her favorite stories from Planet Money, like why a publicly traded deli in New Jersey was worth $100 million, how Citibank accidentally paid out $900 million, and why you’re giving your boss a loan without realizing it. Then they dive into her new book, which took seven years to complete and garnered rumors that she was paid $10 million to not publish it! She walks through the history of PIMCO and Bill Gross, and the irony of a bond manager becoming famous. [March 16, 2022–46 minutes] iTunes Podcast | Spotify | Google | Website Link

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Darren Palmer (Chief of Battery EV’s, Ford):

David Friedberg (Founder & CEO, The Production Board):

Lenny Rachitsky (Angel Investor):

Good investing,Meb Fabertheideafarm.com