Spencer Jakab: What Financial Media Won’t Tell You About Market Hype

In this week’s episode of The Blunt Dollar, I’m joined by Spencer Jakab, renowned investment columnist at The Wall Street Journal, author of "Heads I Win, Tails I Win" and "The Revolution That Wasn’t", and the voice behind the widely read "Markets AM" newsletter. Before journalism, Spencer was a top-ranked equity analyst and head of EM research at Credit Suisse. He’s been on both sides of the machine, and now writes to explain why smart investors still make dumb mistakes.

This conversation is a candid dive into the craft of financial storytelling, the psychology of market manias, and what it means to be a journalist in an age of information overload.

We get into:

📈 Spencer’s unusual path from emerging markets research to *WSJ* columnist

📚 The GameStop saga, what it revealed about retail behavior, and why conspiracies still persist

🧠 Why intelligence alone won’t make you a good investor (and what might)

🗞️ How financial journalism is adapting to AI, social media noise, and collapsing attention spans

🧵 The newsletter flywheel: how Spencer writes daily for half a million readers without losing his voice

If you’re into behavioral finance, media skepticism, and finance without the fluff, this one’s for you.

Oh, and if you haven't already... subscribe to The Blunt Dollar for more raw and honest finance conversations.

New episodes drop every other week! Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

And last, but not least, don't forget to follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ignacio-ramirez-moreno-cfa/

Enjoy the episode!

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Listeners should consult a qualified financial professional before making any financial decisions.