The Cost of Conflict

March 20, 2021

Likely all of us registered, perhaps out of our peripheral vision, that Chinese and Americans sat down last week at a hotel in Anchorage, Alaska and that there was a “clash” and “posturing.”

In this month’s Things I Didn’t Learn in School podcasts, I share two conversations with men who have each had remarkable and quite different journeys. Pierre-Yves Bonnet was born in France and has lived in the US, Mexico, Spain and China. A key moment in his life came when his father insisted he learn two foreign languages. Roger Johnson was raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut, lacked the daily presence of a father, served time as a young man and went on to found an organization that helps get ex-cons and others on their feet and also became an involved father and minister. In both conversations, the relative impact of a father’s presence or absence is a thread. Click on their names above to listen or go to my website or Apple podcasts. (And if you like these conversations please submit a rating on Apple).

Reflections on Coups, Information and Mentoring

February 5, 2021

This edition is a “two-for,” a podcast and investment perspective. If you want the asset allocation that goes with this investment perspective, email me and I’ll share it. Also, if you like my book Raising a Thief, post a review on Amazon or tell a friend. If you like the podcast Things I Didn’t Learn in School, post a review on Apple Podcast. If you like these essays, share them. If you don’t like any of the above, tell me why and I’ll learn.

The Investment Risks of Regime Shifts

January 10, 2021

The below post was originally published in mid-December via the South China Morning Post (pre-this Substack distribution) and because both many readers didn’t receive it and due to of what’s transpired more recently, I’m re-sharing. Since this was published, we’ve crossed the threshold into violence.