Podcast Update (2019)

I listen to tons of podcasts…tons!  I turn off the music and turn on the brain!  Listening to really, really smart people talk about things I want to learn about for a long, long time forces dumb, dumb Deano to get a little bit smarter.

Generally, when I’m listening to a podcast I’m not just casually listening.  I have a spreadsheet (imagine that) and I’m taking notes. I listen mostly to interviews with smart people (or people talking about smart people) in hopes that some of it will rub off on me.  So far…not working…but I’ll keep trying.

In addition to listening to podcasts and trying to suck in as much knowledge from smart people as I can, I also follow many/most of these guys on Twitter.  The #fintwit community is a very neat little sub-community on Twitter.  I don’t watch the news and I don’t read newspapers.  Everything I ever need to know I get from people who I believe are wise on Twitter.  I am careful to not let my own confirmation bias seep into this equation.  Some of my ‘best friends’ seem to be on Twitter because I hear from them every single day and talk to many of them most days.  This is weird because many of them don’t even know who I am (or that I exist)?!?  Regardless, I have some really smart ‘friends’.  They say that in five years what you look like will be determined by the people you spend your time with and the books you read.  I spend my time with people way smarter than me.  So, I guess that tells you where I’m headed!  NOT!

Some of my favorites (that I still actively listen to) FORCE RANKED:

• Warren Buffett Partnership & Berkshire Hathaway Letters – The original podcast!  Warren’s early partnership letters and early Berkshire letters are chocked full of all kinds of things an investor needs to know.  I’ve not read them all (yet) but I treat these just like a podcast.  I read a yearly letter and take notes just like I would a podcast.  If podcasting was a thing back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, I bet Warren would have had a great one!
• Superinvestors And The Art Of Worldly Wisdom – This is Jesse Felder’s podcast.  I’ve heard him on all kinds of podcasts over the years and always align closely with his thoughts on investing.  He doesn’t do a podcast of his own very often, but he has excellent guest and they have great interviews almost every time.  My favorite investing podcast…no question!
• We Study Billionaires (The Investor’s Podcast) – This podcast is a mix of a few things that I enjoy.  They read books about successful people (or self-help books) and then discuss them.  I find those episodes to be less helpful/enjoyable.  I don’t even want to be a billionaire (or to have to make the sacrifices required to work toward that path).  Good thing…because…not going to happen anyway.  They also talk about investing a lot (since most of the books they review are related to investing/investors).  I get a ton out of these discussions.  They have great guest on their podcast that talk about all different types of investing.  Some of my favorite episodes they do are their quarterly investment mastermind discussions.  On these episodes they have several guests.  Each quest discusses a stock pick they bring for that quarter.  Then they all discuss it together.  It is interesting to hear different perspectives on a single investment.  The entire podcast tilts towards value investing (which is how I tilt as well).  There is enough different content that it doesn’t feed directly into my confirmation bias and continues to keep me thinking/learning.  This is my favorite ongoing podcast (and I’m still working my way back through all the old ones)!
• MacroVoices – I think macro is hard to 1) understand and 2) get right enough to make a call related to your investments.  That said, I think the macro environment is worth understanding and it is interesting to keep up with.  Erik and Patrick do a great podcast.  This is my one-stop-shop for all things macro related each week.  They have great guests and they do a great job of interviewing them in lengthy interviews.  They are in the process of adding shorter more frequent interviews with some of their regular guests.  I find these useful/interesting to keep up with events that are happening on the macro front.
• RealVision – These guys used to do a podcast but now have built a subscription video service that they call the Netflix of finance.  I don’t subscribe to it but when they put some of their interviews up on their free YouTube channel, I watch them.  These are regularly some of the best things I’ve consumed.  The videos are well done but more importantly, the guests they get are fascinating.  The hosts themselves are also great to listen to (since they get to talk to a lot of super-smart guys constantly).
• The Acquirer’s Podcast – This is a newer podcast.  I like Tobey, the host, a lot and I like the concept behind his Acquirer’s Multiple a lot.  The jury is still out on whether I like this podcast enough to keep it in my main rotation.  Time will tell.
• Focused Compound – These guys are generally small-cap/value investors and they are students of the value investing principles.  It is not my favorite podcasts but the things they discuss are often interesting and thought-provoking.
• HedgeEye Real Conversations – I don’t listen to everything these guys put out, but I find a lot of the things they discuss to be interesting.  They generally don’t put out a ton of free content since they are a paid subscription service.  But they do put out updates semi-regularly and their thinking seems to be good to consider.
• Meb Faber Show – I read a good deal of Meb’s work and will listen to his podcast depending on the guest he has on it.  I’ve been introduced to concepts and guests that I normally would not have happened to find without listening to this podcast.
• Rich Dad Radio Show – I’ll listen to this from time to time.  Guy Kiyosaki will have a good guest on at times, but he is such a horrible interviewer/host that it is almost unbearable to listen to.  I only listen to episodes where the topic is investing (and wouldn’t think of listening to half of his episodes).  I agree with a lot of Guy’s teachings but not all of them.

Some of my favorites (that I no longer listen to) FORCE RANKED:

• S-Town – I rarely ever listen to anything like this (as it borders on fiction).  This is a story about a guy that lives in ‘Shittown’ as he describes it.  It is a very interesting investigation and there is so much to wrap your mind around that it was worth every second of time spent on it.  I highly recommend it (even though it is well outside of my normal rotation).
• TED Radio Hour – This was where my podcast journey started.  I decided that I needed to stop listening to music and listen to something that might benefit me a little more intellectually (ie make this redneck smarter).  I tried public/talk radio but the topics they discussed I had almost no interest in.  I started listening to TED Radio Hour and it was perfect.  I listened to smart people talking about topics that were very interesting.  I listened to all the episodes back in history.  I stopped listening to it not because it wasn’t extremely interesting but because I wanted to focus more on learning more about investing.  But if you want to learn about new things that you are probably not thinking about TED Radio Hour is a great podcast.
• How I Built This – I’m an entrepreneur.  I literally/physically cannot work in a big company and must be involved with a start-up in some shape or form at all times in my career to be happy.  This podcast talks with founders of successful companies as they tell their story.  It is interesting and very fun to hear these stories.  I enjoy listening to it, but I just don’t have time to fit it in anymore.  Too busy doing my own thing.  The stories were interesting, but I wasn’t really learning anything from them.
• Revisionist History – This is not something I’d normally listen to, but it was an interesting and thought-provoking little series that didn’t take a ton of time to listen to all episodes.  The concept is an interesting one and an important one to consider as you make decisions and take in information.
• Planet Money – This podcast is put out by NPR and I listened to it early on while listening to TED Radio Hour.  I listened to all the episodes back in history.  It was always interesting and very well done.  I stopped listening to it for the same reason I stopped listening to the TED Radio Hour podcasts.  I wanted to focus more on learning about investing.
• Peter Schiff – This guy is a LEGEND.  I tend to agree with almost everything he says most of the time.  I feel like he has way too much common sense for most people.  I don’t listen to him often because his podcasts are long, and he basically says the same thing every time.  It is also what he has been saying for the past decade.  I think he is right (or will wind up being right) but not worth spending an hour+ a week to hear the sermon.  He also talks politics (and although I agree with his views mostly) I don’t give two cares about politics.  If something interesting pops up or is happening, I’ll tune in.
• Animal Spirits – Meh.  I like these two guys but if you follow them (and the people they follow) on Twitter you can basically get what they talk about on here.  I didn’t really learn anything new listening to their podcasts.  It wound up being more entertainment…ain’t nobody got time for that!

Others that I’ve listened to and removed from my regular rotation now are GuruFocus, Adventures In Finance, Disciplined Investor, Invest Like The Best.  Some I stopped listening to because they no longer exist, or I listened to them all.  Others I just no longer find interesting and moved on to bigger and better things.

8/30/2019