In 'The Department', philosophy professor Neil Weber's life is turned upside-down when college student Lucia Vanotti disappears. Neil, struggling with his own personal and professional crises, finds new purpose in investigating Lucia's disappearance. The novel explores the dual perspectives of Lucia and Neil as they descend into obsession, delusion, and the dangerous terrain of memory, revealing the traumas that drive their behaviors. The story unfolds across campus classrooms, sex dens, and backwoods hideaways, exposing the hidden lives of Neil's closest friends and colleagues.
In this book, Burton G. Malkiel argues that stock market prices are essentially random and unpredictable, aligning with the efficient market hypothesis. He discusses historical financial bubbles, the futility of trying to beat the market through technical or fundamental analysis, and the importance of a diversified portfolio. The book also covers various investing techniques and theories, including modern portfolio theory, and advises investors to adopt a long-term, disciplined approach to investing.
The book challenges the common perception that millionaires live in affluent neighborhoods and instead shows that many wealthy individuals live modestly in middle-class and blue-collar areas. The authors identify seven common traits among these millionaires, including being dedicated to a vision, making appropriate career decisions, valuing financial security over social standing, and efficiently spending time and money. The book also distinguishes between 'Under Accumulators of Wealth' (UAWs) and 'Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth' (PAWs), emphasizing the differences in their spending and saving habits.
Walter Scheidel's "The Great Leveler" examines the historical relationship between violence and inequality. The book argues that significant reductions in inequality have almost always been preceded by large-scale violent events. Scheidel identifies four key factors—mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and pandemics—as the primary drivers of wealth redistribution. He analyzes various historical periods, demonstrating how these catastrophic events have reshaped societal structures and wealth distribution. The book challenges conventional wisdom about economic development and inequality, suggesting that peaceful progress alone is insufficient to address deep-seated economic disparities.
In this book, Philip E. Tetlock evaluates the predictive abilities of experts by analyzing 27,451 verifiable predictions made by 284 world-renowned experts over more than 20 years. He finds that expert predictions are often no better than random guesses and identifies two types of thinkers: 'hedgehogs,' who are confident in their single, overarching idea, and 'foxes,' who are more eclectic and adaptable. Tetlock argues that foxes are generally more accurate in their predictions due to their ability to consider multiple perspectives and adapt to new information. The book also explores how the media often favors hedgehogs for their confident and decisive statements, despite their lower accuracy.
In 'Devil Take the Hindmost,' Edward Chancellor traces the origins of the speculative spirit back to ancient Rome and chronicles its revival in the modern world. The book covers various financial bubbles and crashes, including the tulip scandal of 1630s Holland, the South Sea Bubble of 1720, the railway mania of the 19th century, the crash of 1929, and more recent events like the dotcom bubble and the Japanese bubble economy. Chancellor explores how human psychology and financial practices have led to repeated cycles of speculation and financial instability over the centuries.
This book provides an authoritative account of a century of investment returns in sixteen countries, including the U.S., U.K., Japan, France, Germany, and others. The authors present a clear and consistent analysis of total returns, including reinvested income, and address issues such as survivorship bias and the long-term equity risk premium. The book is essential reading for investment professionals, financial economists, and investors, offering insights into the broader tendencies of equity markets over the long term.
In this book, Allan Roth and his eight-year-old son Kevin discuss straightforward approaches to sound investing. The book teaches readers how to create a diversified portfolio with low costs, debunk financial myths, and build long-term wealth with less risk. It covers topics such as portfolio design, tax optimization, and increasing returns regardless of market direction.
This book provides a roadmap for young people to turn their income into lasting financial security. It covers key principles of saving, investing, and managing money, including the power of compound growth, diversification strategies, and how to avoid common psychological pitfalls in investing. Bernstein advocates for allocating a portion of income to investments like index funds from an early age and explains how to assemble a diversified portfolio. The book is designed to be a quick read, offering simple yet effective advice on long-term financial planning[1][3][4].
This book is a comprehensive and humorous guide to the sexual practices of various creatures in the natural world. Written in the style of a sex-advice column, it addresses bizarre sex lives through letters to Dr. Tatiana, who explains the evolutionary biology behind these practices. The book covers topics such as sexual selection, necrophilia, bestiality, and other unusual sexual behaviors, making it both entertaining and informative.
In Episode 60, we welcome the great William (Bill) Bernstein.
Bill starts by giving us some background on how he evolved from medicine to finance. In short, faced with his own retirement, he knew he had to learn to invest. So he studied, which shaped own thoughts on the matter, which led to him writing investing books, which resulted in interest from the press and retail investors, which steered him into money management.
After this background info, Meb jumps in, using one of Bill's books "If You Can" as a framework. Meb chose this as it starts with a quote Meb loves: "Would you believe me if I told you that there's an investment strategy that a seven-year-old could understand, will take you fifteen minutes of work per year, outperform 90 percent of financial professionals in the long run, and make you a millionaire over time?"
The challenge is the "If" in the title. Of course, there are several hurdles to "if" which Meb uses as the backbone of the interview.
Hurdle 1: "People spend too much money." Bill gives us his thoughts on how it's very hard for a large portion of the population to save. We live in a consumerist, debt-ridden culture that makes savings challenging. Meb and Bill discuss debt, the "latte theory," and the stat about how roughly half of the population couldn't get their hands on $500 for an emergency.
Hurdle 2: "You need an adequate understanding of what finance is all about." Bill talks about the Gordon Equation, and how investors need an understanding of what they can realistically expect from stocks and bonds - in essence, you really need to understand the risks.
Hurdle 3: "Learning the basics of financial and market history." Meb asks which market our current one resembles most from the past. Bill tells us it's a bit of a blend of two periods. This leads to a good discussion on how higher returns are more likely to be coming from emerging markets than the U.S.
Hurdle 4: "Overcoming your biggest enemy - the face in the mirror." It's pretty common knowledge we're not wired to be good investors. So Meb asks the simple question why? And are there any hacks for overcoming it? Or must we all learn the hard way?
Hurdle 5: "Recognize the monsters that populate the financial industry." Basically, watch out for all the financial leeches who exist to separate you from your money. Bill tells us a great story about being on hold with a big brokerage, and the "financial porn" to which he was subjected as he waited.
There's way more in this episode: Bill's thoughts on robos... What Bill thinks about any strategy that moves away from market cap weighting (Bill thinks "smart beta" is basically "smart marketing")... How buying a home really may not be a great investment after all... Cryptocurrencies... and even Meb's "secret weapon" of investing.
All this and more in Episode 60.
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The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing 
