Learning

  • Episode #67 – Investment Masters Class with John Garrett

    n today's episode I talk with John Garrett, investment manager at MA Financial and the author of the popular blog, Investment Master Class. John talks about how being a successful investor requires continuous learning, and how the practice of writing has helped him become a better investor.

  • Episode #66 – Decoding Greatness with Ron Friedman

    My guest today is Ron Friedman, author of Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success. In this episode Ron applies the principles of reverse engineering to creative fields like writing and investing. We talk about how to study people who are the best in the world at what they do by breaking down what it is they’re doing that is contributing to their success, and then then working backward to figure out how they did it

  • Episode #63 – Designing Your Life with Bill Burnett (replay)

    Today’s guest is a former designer from Apple who is now the Executive Director of the Stanford Design Program, and he teaches a hugely popular course at Stanford called Designing Your Life. His name is Bill Burnett and he’s the co-author of the book,Designing Your Life, How to Build a Well-Lived Joyful Life. Bill has taken the principles of design that he learned at Apple and he helps people apply them to design their life.

  • Episode #62 – Robert Cialdini on Influence

    My guest this week is Robert Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and author of the New York Times best-selling book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

    Professor Cialdini's book has had an enormous impact on those of us in the Value Investing community. In fact, when Charlie Munger read the book he was so impressed, and he benefited so much from the principles in the book, he personally reached out to Cialdini to express his appreciation, and being Charlie, he went above and beyond. I ask Cialdini to tell the story about his interaction with Munger early in the interview and you wont want to miss it.

  • Episode #56 – How to Think Like Shakespeare with Scott Newstok

    My guest this week is Scott Newstok, professor at Rhodes College and author of How to Think like Shakespeare: Lessons from a Renaissance Education. Scott’s book is ultimately about the craft of thinking and how to improve it. 

    In our conversation we address a very interesting question. How is it that Shakespeare, and his renaissance contemporaries were able to produce such incredible works? What was their education like and what can we learn from studying it? We also discuss what we've lost in education today and how we might begin to recover it.

  • Episode 54 – Berkshire Hathaway Letter to Shareholders with Jake Taylor

    The topic of this week’s episode is Warren Buffett’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. My guest is Jake Taylor, the Chief Executive Officer of Farnam Street Investments. Jake has been a previous guest on The Good Life as part of the Decision-Making Mastermind Group. Jake breaks down Warren Buffett's latest Letter to Berkshire Shareholders and helps us understand what we can learn. Jake is an incredibly knowledgeable investor, and he follows Berkshire carefully, so he's familiar with the company and he brings unique insight into interpreting Buffett's letter and his message to the investing community.

  • Episode 53 – In Praise of Walking with Shane O’Mara

    The topic of this week’s episode is walking, and my guest is Shane O’Mara, author of In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration. Shane is a professor of Experimental Brain Research at Trinity College Dublin and he’s an expert on the physical, psychological and social benefits of walking. We talk about why walking is the trait that makes us “uniquely human” and what that means for us personally. And given that walking is the fundamental way we experience the world, Shane guides us on how to get more walking in our day and more benefit from each walk.

  • Episode 30 – The Latticework with Blas Moros

    My guest on today’s show is Blas Moros, a talented writer and the creator of a very popular blog called The Rabbit Hole, where he provides book summaries, essays, and other […]

  • Episode 12 – 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die with James Mustich

    On today’s show, I talk with James Mustich, the author of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List.  Mustich has curated one of the most comprehensive and significant […]

  • Episode 11 – The Odyssey with Daniel Mendelsohn

    On today’s show, I talk with Daniel Mendelsohn, Professor of Classics at Bard College and the author of “An Odyssey: A Father, a son and an Epic.”  Mendelsohn has a […]