Patrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined by Byrne Hobart to discuss Byrne’s vantage point as writer of The Diff, a tech and finance newsletter. Byrne explains the toxicity of the 30-year mortgage, the dynamics of the finance newsletter ecosystem, how rationalist epistemics can be applied to hedge funds, and the joy of learning about an industry from scratch.
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Full transcript here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/episodes/writing-history-byrne-hobart/
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Sponsor: This podcast is sponsored by Check, the leading payroll infrastructure provider and pioneer of embedded payroll. Check makes it easy for any SaaS platform to build a payroll business, and already powers 60+ popular platforms. Head to checkhq.com/complex and tell them patio11 sent you.
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Links:
Referenced:
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Twitter:
@patio11
@byrnehobart
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(00:25) The 30-year mortgage is an intrinsically toxic product
(04:46) Young households are the socially optimal holders of equities risk
(10:19) The structure of private equity returns
(14:18) Sponsor: Check
(15:32) Meta-analysis of the finance newsletter space
(19:54) Byrne’s aspirations for The Diff
(25:01) The origins of names
(27:19) The epistemics of a hedge fund
(34:26) Venture capital vs hedge funds
(38:13) Understanding scrapers
(41:20) How to learn about an industry from scratch
(45:37) The business of online travel agencies
(49:21) Wrap
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Complex Systems is part of the Turpentine podcast network.