Our guest today is Chris Arnade, author of the best seller Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America. A Florida native, Chris was one of the first quants on Wall Street and spent 20 years as a trader before becoming disenchanted in finance’s role in the 2008 Great Financial Crisis, leading him to walk through the South Bronx and all over areas of the country that he describes as “left behind.”

Chris has a way of putting the current bipolarization in the US into words as well as anyone I’ve come across. We talk about our country’s focus on quantifiable things like GDP and efficiency and lack of focus on intangible things like community, connection and religion. We also touch on the role of McDonald’s in the country, why you may need to change what you think of McDonald’s, and what he thinks is behind the mistrust of authority and others.

Our local co-hosts today are Chris Cannon, CFA, and Colby Donovan, both of which are board members of CFA Orlando. Please enjoy the episode. 

Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL

Resources:

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Paperback by Matthew Desmond

Walking America: Orlando by Chris Arnade