Substack Library

Glossary

Why The Dictator

I am not partial to strongmen rulers, but my visit to Iquique, Chile, which I am leaving as this post hits your inbox, helped me put Pinochet and others of his ilk into perspective.

Letter from Santiago

The International Energy Agency predicated that demand for lithium was set to grow thirty-fold by 2030 and more than a hundred times by 2050.

Navigating With A Janky Compass

Hi there! To my many unpaid subscribers, today I’m jumping directly to the paywall and skipping free content. If you are after free content, I get it and am delighted you have signed up. However, I need to balance your desire for free stuff with my desire to build a business! If you are a student, give me a shout. I may make adjustments. Separately, next week I head to Chile to better understand copper, lithium, and politics. If there are Subscribers down there or if you know someone good to talk to, please let me know. Today subscribers receive my outlook, investment results, asset allocation, and the details of a Subscriber-only call later this week.

A Soldier’s Perspective

Today I’m sharing a conversation with Lt. General (ret.) Mark Hertling. This is part of my effort to understand the Ukraine war. I’ve been frustrated by some news coverage, like a weekend article from The Wall Street Journal warning “Some Western Backers of Ukraine Worry That Time Might be On Russia’s Side.” These stories lack a rigorous economic and military analytical framework.

Letter From Riga

Still Press is less a person than an idea—to create content that is thoughtful, mind-bending (the world “Still” connotes two things at once) and that helps put our existence into perspective. It’s a team effort. The sound of the podcasts, the look of the book covers, all of it comes from a group. Your feedback is also crucial and helps direct us down the right path. So far, I have written all the posts. Today, is our first guest post.

Beating Putin Is Easier Than It Looks

For those of you new to these posts, you can find out more about what I am up to and who I am on my website. Frederik Gieschen was kind enough to have me on his podcast to discuss Master, Minion. You can hear the episode here.

China’s Fading Boom

Xi scares me. And I’m far from his grasp. I can’t imagine what it is like if you are close.

When Facing Tribulation

We all encounter tough challenges along the way. Everyone. The question is how to struggle through them with a degree of grace and poise such that it draws people in rather than repels them and isolates you.

Asphyxiating the Economy

Welcome! More about me here. Questions? Write me: paul@paulpodolsky.com. Still Press produces books, podcasts and these essays.

The Flow and Eddies

This year’s posts began with The Barbell as Medicine and will end on a metaphor—we are all in a river with eddies. The goal is to get as much out of the ride down the river as we can and do our best to avoid those eddies. The river flows at a fast clip, there is a waterfall at the end. That’s true in our own lives but also for countries and investing.