Panic with Friends - Howard Lindzon Ben Hunt of Epsilon Theory on Rational Optimism and Countering a Coordinated Attack in Narrative on the United States (EP.252)
Ben Hunt of Epsilon Theory is back on Panic for a record-breaking sixth time! He may be the smartest guy I know, which is why I keep having him on. He’s just an explainer – the way he explains things very easily – and I like complex things explained simply. Ben is a former Professor, a beekeeper, and a market lover. He’s the co-founder and CIO of Epsilon Theory, where he writes outstanding essays about narratives in the market – backed up by data. I wanted to catch up with him to weigh in on my themes for the next 10 years in an America that’s becoming what I call the Rich, Angry, Degenerate economy. There are a lot of narratives to talk about; Ben was unfortunately right on the one that was inflation. And we get into the latest narrative around the U.S. dollar. You’re really going to learn a lot. Enjoy!
Guest - Ben Hunt, Co-Founder and Partner at Second Foundation Partners, Author and Co-Founder at Epsilon Theory
howardlindzon.com, epsilontheory.com
Twitter: @howardlindzon, @epsilontheory, @PanicwFriends, @knutjensen
#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance
Show Notes:
- Introduction (00:42)
- Welcome back Ben (07:05)
- Gold as a metaphor for the economy (08:32)
- GFC was different (09:49)
- “Fiat” news (10:50)
- Rational optimism (14:24)
- The Peter Thiel Industrial Complex (18:19)
- Rich Man, Angry Man, Degenerate Man Economy (23:07)
- We’re treated as a cog in a powerful machine (27:09)
- The inflation narrative (27:59)
- The de-dollarization narrative (31:06)
- Who’s Chamath? (35:36)
- Internet trolls (37:37)
- Generative AI (38:30)
- Astroturf campaigns (40:25)
- Why ‘they’ create chaos (41:27)
- Ruthless pursuit of creativity (43:37)
- European companies (45:59)
- Time to get back to work (47:04)
- Intersection of narratives and markets (48:38)
- Wrapping up (52:08)
- Closing thoughts (53:16)