That's how Bill Mann describes the importance of the oil & gas industry in Russia. (0:20) As we take stock of where we are at this moment, Bill discusses: - Ripple effects for European countries - Whether seizing property of Western companies would spell the end of foreign investment in Russia - Why Energy Secretary Granholm's recent comments give him hope - Rising raw material costs affecting companies like McDonald's and Domino's Pizza - The J Curve (12:15) If Russia provides just 3% of America's oil supply then why have gas prices spiked? Ricky Mulvey talks with Nick Sciple to get some context. Stocks discussed: MCD, SBUX, KO, DPZ Host: Chris Hill Guests: Bill Mann, Nick Sciple Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hour-long event gave Apple the chance to highlight multiple upgrades to their devices, but some were more noteworthy than others. (0:20) Tim Beyers discusses: - How the new iPhone SE indicates Apple's unwillingness to cede market share to anyone - Pricing the Max Studio desktop for a small consumer base - The "super chip" powering the Max Studio - Live sports being added to Apple+ - Netflix taking a "never say never" approach to ads on their platform (13:00) Rickey Mulvey moderates a "bull vs. bear" debate between Matt Frankel and Jason Moser over Block (aka, the company formerly known as Square). Stocks discussed: AAPL, DELL, NFLX, DIS, SQ, UA Host: Chris Hill Guests: Tim Beyers, Jason Moser, Matt Frankel Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Rick Engdahl, Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this day in 2002, The Motley Fool launched its first subscription service: Stock Advisor. To celebrate we're not breaking out champagne and cake. Instead, we've gathered three members from our investing team (Andy Cross, Asit Sharma, Emily Flippen) to share some of the most important lessons learned over the past two decades, including: - The idea that sometimes the best place for new money is a stock you already own - Importance of diversification - Putting money into the stock market on a regular basis - The challenge (and payoff) of letting your winners run Stocks discussed: SFIX, LMND, NFLX, CWBHF, BBY Host: Chris Hill Guests: Andy Cross, Asit Sharma, Emily Flippen Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Rick Engdahl, Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before you buy that stock, have you thought about why you're buying it? It can help (in part, for future reference) to go through the process of writing out your investment thesis. (0:25) Jason Moser discusses: - Recognizing short-term catalysts - Why home improvement is "one of the most obvious long-term trends out there" - Travel and return-to-work being two trends worth watching (15:45) Using language-learning app Duolingo as an example Alicia Alfiere shares key questions to ask when writing an investment thesis, including: - What are its competitive advantages? - Who's running the company? - Will broader trends help or hurt? Stocks discussed: BKNG, HD, LOW, MSFT, DUOL Host: Chris Hill Guest: Jason Moser, Alicia Alfiere Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Motley Fool co-founder and CEO Tom Gardner interviews Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, an enterprise software and business intelligence company. Saylor has put billions of his company’s money into Bitcoin and hundreds-of-millions of his personal wealth into the cryptocurrency. They discuss: - Bitcoin as a hedge against an increasing money supply - Environmental implications of mining cryptocurrency - The security of Bitcoin’s network Additional Resources: What Is Bitcoin? Should You Invest? - https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/financials/cryptocurrency-stocks/bitcoin/ Investing in Bitcoin ETFs - https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/financials/cryptocurrency-stocks/bitcoin-etfs/ Hosts: Tom Gardner, Chris Hill Guest: Michael Saylor Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buying any stock starts with an idea, but where do you find them? Consider this a starting spot for investors. John Rotonti talks with fellow Motley Fool analysts Auri Hughes and Yasser El-Shimy in a discussion about finding stock ideas and what to look for once you've found them. They discuss: - Using 3rd-party research tools to discover new companies. - What to look for in investor letters and 10-Ks - The utility of “cloning” versus using stock screeners Stocks discussed: KKR, AMZN, KIND, SNAP, FTCH, ETSY Additional resource: How to Find Investment Ideas - https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/stocks/where-find-investment-ideas/ Hosts: John Rotonti Guests: Yasser El-Shimy, Auri Hughes Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Tim Sparks, Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 700,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in February. The biggest gains were in the leisure and hospitality industries. Apple, Alphabet, and other Silicon Valley companies announced plans for returning to their offices. (0:30) Jason Moser and Emily Flippen discuss employers taking an "omnichannel" approach with their employees, as well as: - Target's stellar results - Costco's mixed quarter - Salesforce focusing on Slack (instead of more big acquisitions) - Disney's plan to launch an ad-supported tier for Disney+ - The latest from Sweetgreen, Domino's Pizza, Best Buy, Elastic, and Zoom Video (31:00) Emily and Jason answer a listener's question about whether to sell index funds in order to buy more stocks, and share two stocks on their radar: Bilibili and Accenture. Stocks discussed: AAPL, GOOG, GOOGL, CRM, TWTR, TGT, COST, SG, DPZ, BBY, ESTC, DIS, NFLX, ZM, CAN, BILI You'll find 15 stocks and 5 ETFs in our free Investing Starter Kit:  http://fool.com/StarterKit Investing questions? Email podcasts@fool.com Host: Chris Hill Guests: Emily Flippen, Jason Moser Engineer: Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We’re not stock pickers, we’re business pickers.” Warren Buffett’s most recent letter reminded investors of the discipline he and his investing team at Berkshire-Hathaway apply to their work each day. And while there’s nearly $150 billion in cash on the balance sheet, Buffett still hasn’t pulled out his famed “elephant gun” just yet. (0:25) John Rotonti discusses: - His top takeaway from the letter - Buffett’s praise for Apple CEO Tim Cook - The case for Berkshire-Hathaway buying semiconductor design company Arm Limited (13:00) Dylan Lewis and Jason Hall discuss two unexpected companies that are winning due to higher inflation. Stocks discussed: BRK, AAPL, NVDA, F, GM, TSLA, MA, BIP, SBUX Host: Chris Hill Guest: John Rotonti, Dylan Lewis, Jason Hall Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between President Biden's State of the Union address and Fed Chair Jay Powell testifying before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, there are multiple investing-related stories coming out of Washington, DC. (0:25) Bill Mann discusses: - The current state of play for the oil & gas industry - Why investors should be looking at exploration and production companies - How the stock market has already priced in the first interest rate hike of 2022 - The increasing lure of businesses with great free cash flow and the ability to raise prices. (13:00) Jason Moser and Matt Frankel share allocation advice for a down market. Stocks discussed: OXY, GOOG, GOOGL, AAPL, BRK, RHP, PYPL, SQ Host: Chris Hill Guest: Bill Mann, Jason Moser, Matt Frankel Engineer: Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest results from Zoom Video seem like as good a reason as any to check in on the state of "pandemic stocks". As we've witnessed repeatedly throughout investing history, some businesses are more sustainable than others. (0:25) Tim Beyers discusses: - Zoom's continued customer growth and gross margins - CEO Eric Yuan's steady approach to offering guidance - Why he believes DocuSign and DoorDash have staying power. - Ritch Allison retiring as CEO of Domino's Pizza and handing the keys to the corner office to COO Russell Weiner. - Pizza preferences! (15:30) Alison Southwick and Robert "Bro" Brokamp talk with Matt Argersinger about the ins and outs of being a landlord at a time when real estate is still hot. Stocks discussed: ZM, DOCU, PTON, DASH, DPZ, ABNB Our email address is podcasts@fool.com Host: Chris Hill Guests: Tim Beyers, Alison Southwick, Robert Brokamp, Matt Argersinger Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Rick Engdahl, Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices