Boxes and Lines

In this special FILMED episode of Boxes and Lines (watch here!), Ronan and JR welcome John Palmer and Ivan Brown, who are leading IEX’s charge into the options market. They get into what makes options different from equities, explain the rise of 0DTE (zero-day-to-expiration) contracts, and talk about the unique risks market makers face in a quote-driven ecosystem. They share why now is the right time for IEX to launch an options exchange, how IEX’s Signal aims to protect stale quotes, and what makes this effort more than just a me-too market. Plus: JR's love for lazy rivers, 40 types of jelly, and Ronan’s lunchtime cocktail. Whether you're deep in the weeds or just options-curious, this episode peels back the layers of what’s going on in the market today. 

Dennis Kelleher, co-founder and CEO of Better Markets, joins Boxes and Lines for a no-holds-barred conversation on the state of financial regulation. By the end, Ronan may or may not have entered a mild fugue state.

Barry Ritholtz, founder and CIO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and host of the hit Bloomberg podcast Masters in Business, returns to Boxes and Lines to talk about his new book, How Not to Invest. Rather than presenting a traditional “how-to” manual, the book emphasizes what investors should not do, covering bad ideas, bad numbers, and bad behaviors. He joins Ronan and JR to break down everything from sketchy media advice to the famous bad trades of industry pros, why he believes market forecasts should be taken with a grain of salt, and why doing less might actually make you a better investor. 

In Part 2 of our conversation with Diana B. Henriques, the Wizard of Lies author and veteran New York Times financial journalist takes us even deeper into the world of Bernie Madoff. She shares what it was like to sit across from him in prison, unraveling the psychology behind his massive Ponzi scheme and the ways he manipulated not just his victims but everyone around him. Diana’s book became the basis for the HBO film Wizard of Lies, starring Robert De Niro as Madoff. And in an unusual twist, she played herself in the movie. What was it like to act opposite De Niro, a method actor who studied Madoff’s mannerisms with almost obsessive precision? And did stepping into Hollywood change the way she saw the man she had investigated for years? Give it a listen! 

Bernie Madoff was a market structure pioneer, a former NASDAQ chairman, and one of the most trusted names on Wall Street—bona fides that allowed him to architect the largest known Ponzi scheme in history under the noses of regulators. In this first episode of our two-part look at Madoff, Ronan and JR sit down with New York Times journalist Diana Henriques, author of The Wizard of Lies, which also inspired the HBO movie starring Robert De Niro. Diana, who was the first journalist to interview him in prison and played herself in the film, discusses Madoff’s early rise in electronic trading, the mechanics of his $65 billion Ponzi scheme, and how he kept finance’s biggest players on the hook for decades.

It’s Boxes and Lines Lite, where we break down the biggest market stories in just 10–15 minutes. This time, we’re tackling the DeepSeek disruption—the surprise AI breakthrough out of China that sent Nvidia’s stock plunging, erased $600 billion in market value, and wiped nearly $100 billion from tech billionaires’ fortunes. Ronan and JR break down why markets reacted so dramatically, how DeepSeek’s low-cost, high-performance AI models are shaking up the industry, and whether this is just another dot-com-style overreaction or a real shift in the AI arms race. 

 Dave Nadig, veteran ETF expert and self-styled “financial futurist,” returns to Boxes and Lines to look into his crystal ball and let Ronan and JR know what he sees in the cards for finance in 2025. First things first: It’s going to be a deeply weird year, Nadig predicts (there’s a reason why a telepathy podcast recently topped the charts over Joe Rogan). Beyond that, Nadig predicts we are about to enter a “corpostate,” batten down the hatches of “fortress America”  with tariffs galore and see the dawn of “Private Markets for Grandma.” He unpacked what all this means and more with the guys on our first episode of the year.

In this special episode of Boxes and Lines, Ronan and JR are answering your questions. We’re airing listener voicemails and emails, taking on everything from the future of the SEC under new leadership to the feasibility of 24-hour trading. Along the way, we brainstorm replacements for Wall Street’s iconic bull, assemble the ultimate finance industry dinner guest list, and see right through a "mystery caller’s" thinly disguised voice. Tune in for lots of insights and enough banter to keep you questioning how this podcast ever won an award. Plus, find out how you can send us your questions for a chance to be featured on a future episode.

In this episode of Boxes and Lines, Ronan and JR sit down with Rusa Goletiani, a chess champion turned FX trader at BlackRock. Rusa shares her incredible journey from learning chess as a young girl in Georgia (the country, not the state!) to fleeing her war-torn homeland with nothing but her beloved chess notebook in the early ‘90s. Hear how chess helped her escape and thrive, how it influenced her career in finance, and why she believes decision-making under pressure is the secret cause for both chess and trading. Plus, you’ll get Rusa’s thoughts on her favorite pre-game rituals, and how she coaches the next generation of players, especially girls.

AI could change how businesses operate forever – but do executives truly understand how to harness its power and uncover patterns in their data? Former KX Managing Director Conor Twomey stops by to discuss how his new venture, AI1, will help businesses make the right AI investments to capitalize on the technology. Conor also covers the finer points of building an AI prompt, what’s really going on behind “hallucinations,” and what the Christopher Nolan masterpiece “The Prestige” says about the AI revolution.