The Well-Read Investor

We have a real treat today—someone perfect for this program. Our guest is Aaron Anderson. He's the author of two investment books, but much more importantly to me he is a fellow member of the Investment Policy Committee here at Fisher Investments, a longtime colleague of mine, and one of the sharpest investment minds I've known. We talk about his outlook for markets, books, and the importance of communication in investing. Aaron doesn't just write well, he's an accomplished speaker, and great at creating compelling and easy to understand visual presentations. He fits the right information and message to his audience, and can explain the abstract and complex concepts as effectively to novices as to experts. You can't just be a good investor to be very successful in this industry—you have to articulate and constantly tell your clients what you're up to and why. Communication is the secret sauce that creates lasting client relationships—which is essential for great investing strategies to reach their long-term goals.

Today we have Eisner award-winning comics artist, author, and educator, Nick Sousanis in to talk about his book, Unflattening. How to explain this strange book? Well, written and drawn entirely as a comic book, Unflattening is an experiment in visual thinking using graphic art to illustrate the ways we construct knowledge. Weaving together diverse ways of seeing drawn from science, philosophy, art, literature, and mythology, the book uses the collage-like capacity of comics to show that perception is always an active process of incorporating and reevaluating different vantage points. Full of graphic innovation, Unflattening is meant to counteract the type of narrow, rigid thinking that Nick calls “flatness.” The book has received numerous awards and has been translated to many languages. Nick's work has been featured in The Paris Review, The New York Times, the LA Review of Books, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Publishers Weekly, to name a few. Nick is also just a great and humble guy who I enjoyed speaking with immensely. So let's get into it, and I'll come back with some additional commentary on what to make of this wide-ranging conversation. Enjoy!

Today we have award-winning scientist, author, educator, and film producer Sean B. Carroll with us to talk about the role of chance in biological life with his newest book, A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You. Randomness and chance of course play a role in just about everything, and especially investments. But there's wide debate about just how much of life and market results are defined by randomness and how much of those are truly within our control. The greatest scientists and philosophers of our age continue to wrestle with that issue (they always will, of course), and while we won't solve those deep life mysteries for you here, Sean's perspective on chance at the foundational level of biology—how randomness affects our very DNA—will make you think differently. This is a wide-ranging discussion about dinosaurs, viruses, DNA mutation, and so much else. Investors should pay close attention—while imperfect, analogies of markets to biological systems are well worth considering. Remember to find us on Twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram at @wellreadinvestorpod or just google the Well Read Investor to see what I'm reading, reviewing, and talking about week in and out. And as always, may all your reading profit your mind and your money.

Hello everyone today is May 12th 20-21 and welcome to another edition of the Well-Read Investor, the podcast that profits your mind and your money. I'm your host Mike Hanson. Today we're talking history—a period of history most, even universities, gloss over: The period in the West commencing after the fall of the Roman Empire and leading up, more or less, to the Renaissance: The Dark Ages. Or should I say Light Ages? We've got historian Seb Falk to tell us why the Dark Ages is a misnomer, and in fact some great innovation and technology occurred in this era, not to mention advancements in science. Seb's book, The Light Ages, is a wide-ranging history of medieval science, told through the life of one extraordinary monk, John of Westwyk. The book follows the twists and turns of John's life as a yeoman and novice, scholar and exile, crusader and astronomer—it's an engaging story and I picked up much the process. You might even think of Westwyk's spirit as similar to the aspiring stock analyst, questing for the secrets of market behavior. Seb teaches medieval history and the history of science at Cambridge University, and specializes in astronomy, navigation and mathematics from their ancient origins to modern developments. And it's this technological part of things I found most interesting—Seb calls the Astrolabe the “smartphone” of its era, as it allowed practitioners to know the date and time from anywhere, was aesthetically designed and served as a symbol of status (so much like today's iphones). And it's got a literary history—Geoffrey Chaucer, of Canterbury Tales fame, himself wrote a treatise on how to use one. Seb's book prompted me to buy an astrolabe (in fact you can get a good one for less than 50 dollars on Amazon), and I'm in the midst of learning to use it. But so much more than that—advances in astronomy, mathematics, and much else happened in the “Light” Ages, and serves as a reminder that today's technology will one day, too, be outmoded and apparently barbaric. Investors should take note, developments in how we measure the world will change how we see it, and with so much data today you can see the parallels between how our beliefs are shaped by what we can measure. Enjoy this one—Seb is a gifted speaker, writer, and storyteller, and we had a lot of fun talking. And make sure to follow us on social media on Twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram at @wellreadinvestorpod or just google the Well Read Investor to see what I'm reading, reviewing, and talking about week in and out.

This week we have Arnold Kling on the show to discuss his book The Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across the Political Divides. Now in its third edition, it's a short little guide to navigating ideology and tribalism in today's politics. Politics is of tremendous importance to investors—it defines the rules by which we operate, individual and company alike. So we must pay attention to politics as it has meaningful impacts to entire economic systems let alone individual industries. But when it comes to how markets move we have to leave ideology at the door. Markets do well and poorly through time with Republicans and Democrats alike in power; favoring one side or the other leads to investing mistakes. What matters ultimately is what politicians do, not what they say. There's always tons of talk about grand ideas and huge programs—but the truth is they rarely come to fruition in the way lofty rhetoric envisions on both sides. Even more, politics is a global issue for investors, not just a US one. So thinking critically about not just your own ideology, whatever that might be, but out the nature of these conflicts in general is of great usefulness. Ok, we're on Spring Break! We'll take a couple weeks off and come back to you in May with more challenging and exciting authors to make you a well-read investor. Until then, we wish you a wonderful and healthy spring, and as always, may all your reading profit your mind and your money. Take care.

This week we're discussing Leave Me Alone and I'll Make You Rich: How the Bourgeois Deal Enriched the World, with authors and professors Deirdre McCloskey and Art Carden. Since we started the podcast now more than a year ago, we've had esteemed guests from a variety of fields, but having Diedre McCloskey on is special. In my humble opinion, she's one of the best living economic historians, and a tremendous writer whose led a fascinating life. The book we're discussing today is an accessible, highly literary, and often humorous entry into her perspectives—a sort of cheat sheet version of her essential work she calls the Bourgeois Trilogy, a magisterial and highly literary set of three books aiming to explain human freedom as the driving catalyst for accelerating world prosperity in the era commencing with the Enlightenment, the industrial revolution, and beyond. And the addition of Professor Art Carden to this mix is also a treat—both are witty, amazingly well read, and forceful in their views, which can be at times controversial but always inviting of other perspectives. And on that note, if you like what you're hearing make sure to follow us on social media. We're on Twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram at @wellreadinvestorpod or just google the Well Read Investor to see what I'm reading, reviewing, and talking about week in and out.

We spoke with comedy writing legend Gene Perret about how comedy works, and a lifetime spent writing jokes for the likes of Bob Hope, Carrol Burnet and Phyllus Diller, to name just a few. But he spent a significant portion of his career writing books and teaching about comedy as well. He's on today to speak about his book, The New Comedy Writing Step by Step. Which is still considered by many to be a standard textbook for comedy writing. He's earned three Emmy Awards for his work on The Carol Burnett Show. He wrote for Bob Hope from 1969 until the performer's retirement, serving the last 15 years as his head writer.  Gene's television career includes producing Welcome Back, Kotter, Three's Company, and The Tim Conway Show. The list goes on: Mama's Family, All in the Family, Laugh-In, and many others. If you like what you're hearing make sure to follow us on social media. We're on Twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram at @wellreadinvestorpod or www.wellreadinvestor.com to see what I'm reading, reviewing, and talking about week in and out.

We've got a really fun and interesting guest this week in Tyler Maroney, a former investigative journalist who today runs his own highly successful private investigation firm. His recent book is The Modern Detective: How Corporate Intelligence is Reshaping the World, about the role private investigators play in global commerce, government accountability, and legal disputes. A Fulbright scholar, Tyler has produced films for Frontline, was a reporter for Fortune, and has written for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Our credulousness is often our downfall—I'm often amazed at what we believe about the world just from a tweet or a random story we see online. Someone like Tyler asks, “how do you know that? Can I corroborate what you claim? And who are you, this person making all these claims anyhow?” We need more of that than ever today, and that's why Tyler is on the show. And the last bit of housekeeping, if you enjoy the show follow us on social media for book reviews and so much more via twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram at @wellreadinvestorpod or just google the Well-Read Investor to see what I'm reading, reviewing, and talking about week in and out. Without further ado, here's Tyler Maroney. Enjoy!

We have a truly special guest for you today in Randall Wallace. He's the Oscar nominated author of the screenplay for the film Braveheart, but you'll also know him from huge blockbuster films like We were Soldiers, Pearl Harbor, and Secretariat, to name a few. We're talking today about his book “Living the Braveheart Life: Finding the Courage to Follow Your Heart”. This is about building the kind of character that I hope for everyone I work with, that I hope for my children and family, and what I personally aspire to. As always, if you enjoy the show follow us on social media for book reviews and so much more, via twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram at @wellreadinvestorpod or just google the Well-Read Investor to see what I'm reading, reviewing, and talking about each and every week. Enjoy!

Today Mike speaks with Professor Aswath Damodaran about his book, Narrative and Numbers: The Value of Stories in Business. Aswath is a professor of finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University and his career-spanning work on valuation, portfolio management and corporate finance cut across numerous books and popular lectures online, and his research has appeared in many prestigious academic journals including the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis and the Journal of Financial Economics. This conversation couldn't be more timely given all the hoopla around Gamestop and the like. Stories are driving the prices of those high flying stocks—narratives about what's happening and why are at the core of all this mess. In fact, that's always in some sense true with investing, but this is a very stark example. Follow us on social media for book reviews and so much more. We cut away the fluff and tell you whether a book is worth pursuing to further your investing knowledge with irreverent insights and practical analysis. Follow us on twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram at @wellreadinvestorpod for or just google the Well-Read Investor to see what I'm reading, reviewing, and talking about week in and out.

Today our guest is Professor William Goetzmann, here to talk about his book Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible. Will is the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies and Faculty Director of the International Center for Finance at the Yale School of Management.  I think of him as sort of an economic archeologist and polymath whose past work includes stock market predictability, alternative investing, factor investing, behavioral finance and the art market to name a few. Professor Goetzmann has written and co-authored a number of books, two of my personal favorites in addition to our conversation today are The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations that Created Modern Capital Markets and The Great Mirror of Folly: Finance, Culture and the Crash of 1720 –both of which he contributed to and edited. You can follow him on twitter @Wgoetzmann. Lastly, if you're enjoying our show, we think you'll dig our book reviews. We've got book recommendations with insights and summaries designed specifically for investors to take you beyond the podcast and enhance your reading all year round. Follow us on twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram at @wellreadinvestorpod for all the latest or just google the Well-Read Investor and you'll find our home site for all Well Read content. Now, here's our conversation with Professor Will Goetzmann. Enjoy!

For this very special year end episode, we flipped the script. Mike sits down with Naj Srinivas, host of the Fisher Investments Market Insights podcast to talk about how the Well Read Investor works, and the literary life in general. I've known Naj for many years (you might recognize him from one of Fisher Investments' frequently aired national TV ads), and we have a blast talking about strategies for more effective reading, how to select books, and a handful of other crazy topics including why you should learn about heroic mythology and why you shouldn't worry about “remembering” everything you read (which is a waste of time). We're throwing the kitchen sink at you're here with bonus content from that discussion that gets even further into the wonky world of literary life. If you want to read more, and more effectively, listen up! Enjoy!

Today we have Dr. Paul Morland to discuss his book, The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World. Paul is associate research fellow at Birkbeck College, at the University of London, a business consultant, and a renowned authority on demography. The Human Tide is available widely on amazon and other online venues. Demographics are a timely topic right now given the global pandemic still gripping the world. Demographic trends unfold at what you'd call a “glacial” rate—very slowly, over generations. And that fact has led many to ignore the topic for investing. We've even said on this program stock markets really don't price in events more than about 30 months into the future. So why look at Demographics at all? Think of it as a baseline awareness issue—a contextual issue. Not knowing the story of demographics can very much lead you to false assumptions about here and now. And that's why we've brought Paul on to discuss. For a topic that unfolds in far longer stretches than it takes paint to dry, Paul is an energetic and lively thinker with great insights. We hope you enjoy!

We are delighted to have Gregory Zuckerman, a long-time journalist for the Wall Street Journal on the show to discuss his book: The Man Who Solved the Market, the often-dramatic story of how Jim Simons and a group of unlikely mathematicians applied their skillsets to become some of the most successful investors of all time. Simons is a “quant”, which means his strategies use purely data to invest—they don't read the news, or even look at company earnings much, they just do what their formulas tell them to do. This type of approach is of special interest these days as quants are not only all the rage, but many are finding that data alone is not a panacea for successful investing. All of this is just a part of what makes Jim Simons so interesting. He and his strategies have always been shrouded in mystery, and Wall Street insiders have always wanted a look in to Simmons's mind and approach. Greg Zuckerman, who is a 20-year veteran at The Wall Street Journal and three-time winner of the Gerald Loeb award, actually got Simons to open up enough to tell the tale. You can learn more about Greg at gregoryzuckerman.com find him on twitter @Gzuckerman.

We're so excited to have Annie Duke on the program to discuss two of her books, Thinking in Bets, a big national bestseller 2018, and her just released How to Decide: Simple Tools for making better choices. Annie is a poker world champion with more than $4 million in tournament winnings since retiring in 2012. Prior to that, she studied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and these days she is an author, corporate speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space. Annie is on the program because we're fascinated by those who can take theoretical ideas and actually apply them in the field of human behavior. Lots of amateur investors fancy themselves poker stars, and they lose money at the table the same way they do in markets: with a lack of introspection and overconfidence. Annie is different: she took the psychology of her studies and truly applied it to become a champion. The discipline that requires, let alone the skill, are things every serious investor should strive toward. More broadly though, we should listen to Annie because decisions are pretty much all you have control of in your life. You should study your decisions, why you make them, and how you can continually improve them. Decision quality over a lifetime plays a huge role in your quality of life, it's that simple.  You can follow Annie on Twitter @AnnieDuke or read more about her on her website AnnieDuke.com Enjoy!

Today we have Diana Henriques on the program to discuss her book, A First-Class Catastrophe: The Road to Black Monday, the Worst Day in Wall Street History. Diana is a financial journalist with really too many major awards to mention, spanning a decades long career covering some of the most impactful stories of the era—including Enron and Long-Term Capital Management. She's the author of several books, but most will recognize her mega bestseller, The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust, which eventually went on to become an HBO miniseries starring Robert DeNiro. We wanted Diana on because there really hasn't been a good book about what caused the crash of ‘87, but her easy to follow narrative fills the void. Our conversation ended up ranging well beyond all that, though. Diana is delightful and just full of knowledge and experience, there is so much here to learn. You can find Diana on Twitter @dianabhenriques or her website dianabhenriques.com. Enjoy!

Today we speak with Douglas McCormick, co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm HCI Equity Partners and the author of Family Inc.: Using Business Principles to Maximize Your Family's Wealth. Doug's had a tremendous career in finance and investing, and you'd be interested to know he's a Westpoint graduate and served as Captain in the Army's 25th infantry. He uses his expertise to empower others with financial literacy skills with an emphasis on the veteran community. And that's why he's on our program. Financial literacy is a very important topic—basic education in this area can make the difference in long-term success for a family. We don't teach each other practical finance, it's nearly impossible to find it in school curriculum. Everyone should know how interest works: for mortgages, credit cards, and especially the high costs of education. And that's only one side of it: to simply know the power of compounding and the value of saving just a little bit consistently early on in life is often the difference between a comfortable retirement and not. Doug's book can be challenging—he writes it without condescending to the reader, using real economic and financial principles, yet aimed directly at the family. I urge you—with your children, your grandchildren and with yourselves, because it's never too late to learn—to educate yourself about how money works. Enjoy this episode, and if you know someone who could benefit from it, make sure you share.

Today we have Laurence B. Siegel on the program to discuss his book, Fewer, Richer, Greener: Prospects for Humanity in an age of abundance. Mr. Siegel, Larry, is a graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, author of more than 200 articles and monographs on investing and related topics, and has won many awards including the Graham and Dodd Award for excellence in research and financial writing. He was the director of research for the investment division of the Ford Foundation, and an establishing member of Ibbotson Associates, which finance wonks will know for their data services. He's currently the Gary P. Brinson director of research at the CFA Institute Research Foundation.  Larry's seen a lot over his career and it's one of the reasons we wanted to speak with him. You can learn more about him at Larrysiegel.org, and buy Fewer, Richer, Greener on Amazon. WRI is on twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram @wellreadinvestorpod

Today Mike speaks with Amity Shlaes about her most recent bestseller, Great Society: A New History. The title reflects the era of American politics where President Lyndon Baines Johnson pursued a set of social policies designed to help the underprivileged called “the Great Society” - a time in so many ways applicable to now, and they talk about the ways today is similar and different. Amity has four New York Times bestsellers including The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, and Amity's book Coolidge, and a full-length biography of President Calvin Coolidge. National Review called the Forgotten Man "the finest history of the Great Depression ever written." The Economist made Coolidge an editor's choice for 2013. But many readers know Miss Shlaes from the Wall Street Journal, where she served on the editorial board among many other duties, and her syndicated columns for years appeared in the Financial Times and Bloomberg. Currently Amity's work appears in Forbes and in National Review.  You can learn more about Amity and her work at Amityshlaes.com or follow her on Twitter @amityshlaes. For more of The Well-Read Investor, follow us on Twitter @wellreadpod or Instagram @wellreadinvestor. If you have any questions, want to be on the show, or want to tell us what you think – send us an email! wellreadinvestor@fi.com.

In Episode 5 we are thrilled to have Pulitzer Prize winning Historian Professor John Lewis Gaddis to discuss his most recent book, On Grand Strategy, and much else over his prolific career. John Gaddis is the Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University, where he teaches courses on the Cold War, grand strategy, biography, and historical methods with particular interest in the classics – like Tolstoy's War and Peace, which he has his Freshman class read every semester. He's probably best known though for his work on the Cold War, and has been hailed as the "Dean of Cold War Historians" by The New York Times. Professor Gaddis has received multiple awards for his teaching, as well as the National Humanities Medal, and the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for his biography of George Kennan. You can read more about John on Yale's website: https://history.yale.edu/people/john-gaddis , follow him on Twitter @Gaddeese, or buy any of his books on Amazon.

In Episode 4 Host, Michael Hanson speaks with noted economist and professor Dr. W. Brian Arthur on the show, discussing his book Complexity and the Economy. With a list of accomplishments too long to list—the 1990 Schumpeter Prize in Economics among them—Dr. Arthur's wide-ranging career spans numerous books and publications, over a decade teaching at Stanford, and currently he's an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and a Visiting Researcher at the System Sciences Lab, at the Palo Alto Research Center for technology. He's not only a deep thinker, he's been a great ambassador. Part of that is the warmth and regard for real people in Dr. Arthur's work, you'll notice throughout the interview. You can read more about Dr. W Brian Arthur at http://tuvalu.santafe.edu/~wbarthur/, and you can find his book Complexity and The Economy on Amazon.

In Episode 3 we continue our mini-theme on Artificial Intelligence with award-winning economist and professor Joshua Gans, speaking about his book Prediction Machines: the simple economics of Artificial Intelligence, co-written with professors, Ajay Agrawal and Avi Goldfarb. This is an expansive career that features several books, numerous publications and awards. Aside from all the books and accolades, we think you'll find professor Gans, not only a great mind, but a gregarious one as well. This interview was conducted just before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world. On that note, you may want to check out professor Gans newest, short, but thoughtful and very timely book, Economics In the age of COVID-19 published by the MIT press, available on digital and audio. For more information on Josh or his books, visit https://www.joshuagans.com. He's also on Twitter @joshgans.

Mike's guest for Episode 2 is Professor Melanie Mitchell, speaking about all things Artificial Intelligence. Melanie is the Davis Professor of Complexity at the Santa Fe Institute and Professor of Computer Science at Portland State University. Mike focuses on her latest book, Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans. They talk about separating artificial intelligence hype from reality, how AI is used in investing today, and even get into the nature of general intelligence and the uses of analogical thinking. You can find more on Melanie, and her book "Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans" at https://melaniemitchell.me and on twitter @MelMitchell1 .

A wide-ranging discussion with Professor Meir Statman. Meir is the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University, he's won numerous awards and accolades for his work, and his most recent book is “Behavioral Finance: The Second Generation,” published by the CFA Institute. This discussion broadens across Meir's career, with particular emphasis on his popular book, “Finance for Normal People”. For more on Meir, visit www.meirstatman.com or follow him on twitter at @meirstatman

Reading the books every investor should read, so you don't have to. Host, Mike Hanson, Senior Vice President of Research at Fisher Investments (and chronic bibliophile) cuts through today's information deluge with authors of some of the most influential books in their field. From artificial intelligence with Melanie Mitchell, to behavioral finance with Meir Statman; Mike breaks down complicated concepts that impact the choices investors' make, to help every investor become a Well-Read investor.fin