In this livestream, recorded on September 25, 2025, we review how the forces of money, trust, technology, and climate change have evolved and interacted to impact the economy and asset class returns over the past six years. We also answered member questions on a variety of topics, including the money supply, mortgage-backed securities, private equity, and the public stock market, among others. … [Read more...]
533: How To Better Navigate Money, Time, Risk, and Uncertainty with Carl Richards
David converses with renowned illustrator and financial philosopher Carl Richards on the abstraction of money, attentional capital, distinguishing risk from uncertainty, and the importance of taking microactions. Show Notes Behavior Gap Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in 97 Simple Sketches by Carl Richards Episode Sponsors Asset Camp Money for the Rest of Us Plus Related Episodes 496: Are You Taking Enough Aspirational Risk? 394: How to Get Better at Risk … [Read more...]
462: Now Should You Buy a Bitcoin ETF?
We explore reasons for buying Bitcoin using one of the new Bitcoin ETFs. We also consider the risks. Topics covered include: Why the SEC finally decided to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs What are the fees and structure of these new Bitcoin ETFs How Bitcoin is similar and different from the fiat money system Where Bitcoin fits in an investment portfolio Show Notes Statement on the Approval of Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products by Chair Gary Gensler—SEC Coinbase … [Read more...]
392: What Is Money and How to Use It
David and his son Camden hold a conversation about money, its attributes, how it's created, and how money differs from investments. Topics covered include: How our earliest money memories impact our views on money The difference between public and private money What are the two primary attributes of money Why money should be accepted with no questions asked How some countries use more cash than others How money differs from investing Why private money can be … [Read more...]
387: Why Most Money Fails
How you should approach money given most of it either collapses or loses its purchasing power due to inflation. Topics covered include: How a supposedly safe savings app collapsed, wiping out users' savings Why algorithmic stablecoins keep failing and why they are not black swans What it takes for money to be successful How money differs from investments Show Notes Intellabridge Power Women: Maria Eagleton, Mastercard-incubated Blockchain Company, is setting An … [Read more...]
316: Paper, Rocks, or Digits—What Makes the Best Money
What are the elements of a successful monetary system. Source: Bartek.cieslak at Polish Wikipedia. Edited and captioned. Topics covered include: The stone currency of Yap The fiat currency of ancient China Why money requires trust, accounting, and tokens Why too much money can lead to inflation and too little to deflation Why the best money is useless other than as money Show Notes The island of stone money : Uap of the Carolines by William Henry … [Read more...]
308: Coins and Cash: Shortages, Hoarding, and Threats
What is the cause of the current U.S. coin shortage and when have there been other shortages. Why is there a push to get rid of both the penny and the hundred dollar bill. Topics covered include: How many coins does the U.S. Mint produce each year and why hasn't it been enough to avert a coin shortage in 2020.How the U.S. coin shortage in the early 1960s differs from today.How much profit does the U.S. Mint make producing coins even though it loses money minting both pennies and … [Read more...]
300: Ray Dalio and the Changing World Order
What are the forces that lead to the rise and fall of nations. Why does the U.S. appear to be in decline and what investors can do to prepare. Photo by TechCrunch (CC BY 2.0) Text and overlay added. Topics covered include: An overview of Ray Dalio and Bridgewater Associates' investment process Why human productivity is the most powerful force for creating wealth. Additional forces that contribute to nations increasing in power and wealth. Why being the reserve currency is an … [Read more...]
285: Money is Debt
Money can be used to purchase things now or saved to purchase things later. If individuals want to save their money to purchase things in the not too distant future, they can invest in what are known as cash equivalents. These include savings accounts at banks or money market mutual funds. Cash equivalents pay a little bit of interest while also having price stability in that the value of deposits varies little from day-to-day. Money Is Debt Backed By Debt Gary Gorton, Professor of … [Read more...]
281: Four Forces That Will Shape The Next Decade
This decade that is coming to a close has been rewarding for investors. The 2010s were marked by a slow but prolonged economic recovery following the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 and 2009. The U.S. began the decade with an unemployment rate of 10%. Now it is 3.5%. The current U.S. economic expansion is the longest in U.S. history. Stock and Bond Return Expectations Against that backdrop, global stock markets as measured by the MSCI All Country World Index in U.S. dollar terms … [Read more...]