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For this very special year end episode, we flipped the script. Mike sits down with Naj Srinivas, host of the Fisher Investments Market Insights podcast to talk about how the Well Read Investor works, and the literary life in general. I’ve known Naj for many years (you might recognize him from one of Fisher Investments’ frequently aired national TV ads), and we have a blast talking about strategies for more effective reading, how to select books, and a handful of other crazy topics including why you should learn about heroic mythology and why you shouldn’t worry about “remembering” everything you read (which is a waste of time). We’re throwing the kitchen sink at you’re here with bonus content from that discussion that gets even further into the wonky world of literary life. If you want to read more, and more effectively, listen up! Enjoy!

Today we have Dr. Paul Morland to discuss his book, The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World. Paul is associate research fellow at Birkbeck College, at the University of London, a business consultant, and a renowned authority on demography. The Human Tide is available widely on amazon and other online venues. Demographics are a timely topic right now given the global pandemic still gripping the world. Demographic trends unfold at what you’d call a “glacial” rate—very slowly, over generations. And that fact has led many to ignore the topic for investing. We’ve even said on this program stock markets really don’t price in events more than about 30 months into the future. So why look at Demographics at all? Think of it as a baseline awareness issue—a contextual issue. Not knowing the story of demographics can very much lead you to false assumptions about here and now. And that’s why we’ve brought Paul on to discuss. For a topic that unfolds in far longer stretches than it takes paint to dry, Paul is an energetic and lively thinker with great insights. We hope you enjoy!

We are delighted to have Gregory Zuckerman, a long-time journalist for the Wall Street Journal on the show to discuss his book: The Man Who Solved the Market, the often-dramatic story of how Jim Simons and a group of unlikely mathematicians applied their skillsets to become some of the most successful investors of all time. Simons is a “quant”, which means his strategies use purely data to invest—they don’t read the news, or even look at company earnings much, they just do what their formulas tell them to do. This type of approach is of special interest these days as quants are not only all the rage, but many are finding that data alone is not a panacea for successful investing. All of this is just a part of what makes Jim Simons so interesting. He and his strategies have always been shrouded in mystery, and Wall Street insiders have always wanted a look in to Simmons’s mind and approach. Greg Zuckerman, who is a 20-year veteran at The Wall Street Journal and three-time winner of the Gerald Loeb award, actually got Simons to open up enough to tell the tale. You can learn more about Greg at gregoryzuckerman.com find him on twitter @Gzuckerman.

We’re so excited to have Annie Duke on the program to discuss two of her books, Thinking in Bets, a big national bestseller 2018, and her just released How to Decide: Simple Tools for making better choices. Annie is a poker world champion with more than $4 million in tournament winnings since retiring in 2012. Prior to that, she studied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and these days she is an author, corporate speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space. Annie is on the program because we’re fascinated by those who can take theoretical ideas and actually apply them in the field of human behavior. Lots of amateur investors fancy themselves poker stars, and they lose money at the table the same way they do in markets: with a lack of introspection and overconfidence. Annie is different: she took the psychology of her studies and truly applied it to become a champion. The discipline that requires, let alone the skill, are things every serious investor should strive toward. More broadly though, we should listen to Annie because decisions are pretty much all you have control of in your life. You should study your decisions, why you make them, and how you can continually improve them. Decision quality over a lifetime plays a huge role in your quality of life, it’s that simple.  You can follow Annie on Twitter @AnnieDuke or read more about her on her website AnnieDuke.com Enjoy!

Today we have Diana Henriques on the program to discuss her book, A First-Class Catastrophe: The Road to Black Monday, the Worst Day in Wall Street History. Diana is a financial journalist with really too many major awards to mention, spanning a decades long career covering some of the most impactful stories of the era—including Enron and Long-Term Capital Management. She’s the author of several books, but most will recognize her mega bestseller, The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust, which eventually went on to become an HBO miniseries starring Robert DeNiro. We wanted Diana on because there really hasn’t been a good book about what caused the crash of ‘87, but her easy to follow narrative fills the void. Our conversation ended up ranging well beyond all that, though. Diana is delightful and just full of knowledge and experience, there is so much here to learn. You can find Diana on Twitter @dianabhenriques or her website dianabhenriques.com. Enjoy!

Today we speak with Douglas McCormick, co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm HCI Equity Partners and the author of Family Inc.: Using Business Principles to Maximize Your Family’s Wealth. Doug’s had a tremendous career in finance and investing, and you’d be interested to know he’s a Westpoint graduate and served as Captain in the Army’s 25th infantry. He uses his expertise to empower others with financial literacy skills with an emphasis on the veteran community. And that’s why he’s on our program. Financial literacy is a very important topic—basic education in this area can make the difference in long-term success for a family. We don’t teach each other practical finance, it’s nearly impossible to find it in school curriculum. Everyone should know how interest works: for mortgages, credit cards, and especially the high costs of education. And that’s only one side of it: to simply know the power of compounding and the value of saving just a little bit consistently early on in life is often the difference between a comfortable retirement and not. Doug’s book can be challenging—he writes it without condescending to the reader, using real economic and financial principles, yet aimed directly at the family. I urge you—with your children, your grandchildren and with yourselves, because it’s never too late to learn—to educate yourself about how money works. Enjoy this episode, and if you know someone who could benefit from it, make sure you share.

Today we have Laurence B. Siegel on the program to discuss his book, Fewer, Richer, Greener: Prospects for Humanity in an age of abundance. Mr. Siegel, Larry, is a graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, author of more than 200 articles and monographs on investing and related topics, and has won many awards including the Graham and Dodd Award for excellence in research and financial writing. He was the director of research for the investment division of the Ford Foundation, and an establishing member of Ibbotson Associates, which finance wonks will know for their data services. He’s currently the Gary P. Brinson director of research at the CFA Institute Research Foundation.  Larry’s seen a lot over his career and it’s one of the reasons we wanted to speak with him. You can learn more about him at Larrysiegel.org, and buy Fewer, Richer, Greener on Amazon. WRI is on twitter @wellreadpod and Instagram @wellreadinvestorpod

Today Mike speaks with Amity Shlaes about her most recent bestseller, Great Society: A New History. The title reflects the era of American politics where President Lyndon Baines Johnson pursued a set of social policies designed to help the underprivileged called “the Great Society” - a time in so many ways applicable to now, and they talk about the ways today is similar and different. Amity has four New York Times bestsellers including The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, and Amity’s book Coolidge, and a full-length biography of President Calvin Coolidge. National Review called the Forgotten Man "the finest history of the Great Depression ever written." The Economist made Coolidge an editor's choice for 2013. But many readers know Miss Shlaes from the Wall Street Journal, where she served on the editorial board among many other duties, and her syndicated columns for years appeared in the Financial Times and Bloomberg. Currently Amity’s work appears in Forbes and in National Review.  You can learn more about Amity and her work at Amityshlaes.com or follow her on Twitter @amityshlaes. For more of The Well-Read Investor, follow us on Twitter @wellreadpod or Instagram @wellreadinvestor. If you have any questions, want to be on the show, or want to tell us what you think – send us an email! wellreadinvestor@fi.com.

In Episode 5 we are thrilled to have Pulitzer Prize winning Historian Professor John Lewis Gaddis to discuss his most recent book, On Grand Strategy, and much else over his prolific career. John Gaddis is the Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University, where he teaches courses on the Cold War, grand strategy, biography, and historical methods with particular interest in the classics – like Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which he has his Freshman class read every semester. He’s probably best known though for his work on the Cold War, and has been hailed as the "Dean of Cold War Historians" by The New York Times. Professor Gaddis has received multiple awards for his teaching, as well as the National Humanities Medal, and the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for his biography of George Kennan. You can read more about John on Yale’s website: https://history.yale.edu/people/john-gaddis , follow him on Twitter @Gaddeese, or buy any of his books on Amazon.

In Episode 4 Host, Michael Hanson speaks with noted economist and professor Dr. W. Brian Arthur on the show, discussing his book Complexity and the Economy. With a list of accomplishments too long to list—the 1990 Schumpeter Prize in Economics among them—Dr. Arthur’s wide-ranging career spans numerous books and publications, over a decade teaching at Stanford, and currently he’s an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute and a Visiting Researcher at the System Sciences Lab, at the Palo Alto Research Center for technology. He’s not only a deep thinker, he’s been a great ambassador. Part of that is the warmth and regard for real people in Dr. Arthur’s work, you’ll notice throughout the interview. You can read more about Dr. W Brian Arthur at http://tuvalu.santafe.edu/~wbarthur/, and you can find his book Complexity and The Economy on Amazon.

In Episode 3 we continue our mini-theme on Artificial Intelligence with award-winning economist and professor Joshua Gans, speaking about his book Prediction Machines: the simple economics of Artificial Intelligence, co-written with professors, Ajay Agrawal and Avi Goldfarb. This is an expansive career that features several books, numerous publications and awards. Aside from all the books and accolades, we think you'll find professor Gans, not only a great mind, but a gregarious one as well. This interview was conducted just before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world. On that note, you may want to check out professor Gans newest, short, but thoughtful and very timely book, Economics In the age of COVID-19 published by the MIT press, available on digital and audio. For more information on Josh or his books, visit https://www.joshuagans.com. He’s also on Twitter @joshgans.

Mike's guest for Episode 2 is Professor Melanie Mitchell, speaking about all things Artificial Intelligence. Melanie is the Davis Professor of Complexity at the Santa Fe Institute and Professor of Computer Science at Portland State University. Mike focuses on her latest book, Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans. They talk about separating artificial intelligence hype from reality, how AI is used in investing today, and even get into the nature of general intelligence and the uses of analogical thinking. You can find more on Melanie, and her book "Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans" at https://melaniemitchell.me and on twitter @MelMitchell1 .

A wide-ranging discussion with Professor Meir Statman. Meir is the Glenn Klimek Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University, he’s won numerous awards and accolades for his work, and his most recent book is “Behavioral Finance: The Second Generation,” published by the CFA Institute. This discussion broadens across Meir’s career, with particular emphasis on his popular book, “Finance for Normal People”. For more on Meir, visit www.meirstatman.com or follow him on twitter at @meirstatman

Reading the books every investor should read, so you don’t have to. Host, Mike Hanson, Senior Vice President of Research at Fisher Investments (and chronic bibliophile) cuts through today’s information deluge with authors of some of the most influential books in their field. From artificial intelligence with Melanie Mitchell, to behavioral finance with Meir Statman; Mike breaks down complicated concepts that impact the choices investors’ make, to help every investor become a Well-Read investor.fin