Essential Listening: DIY Biology

It’s hard to remember a time when publishing your thoughts online was an arduous task. The launches of Typepad, Blogger, and WordPress have made blogging as easy as opening a Word document. Podcasting is not quite there yet. The technical aspects of the medium are still difficult and compose a barrier to entry for all but the most ambitious. But that may now be changing.

A new online service, Cast, is trying to make podcasting (almost) as easy as blogging. The service allows podcasters to record, edit, and host their episodes online. Cast at present isn’t for hardcore podcasters, but Jason Snell at Six Colors has tried it out and says, “Cast can potentially be a one-stop shop for all your recording, editing, and hosting, which is quite compelling.”

If you haven’t checked out last week’s edition of Essential Listening, please do so. And let’s move on to a new list of podcasts that will make your next workout or commute more enjoyable.

• Barry Ritholtz at Ritholtz Wealth Management interviews Roger Lowenstein, the author of such classic business books as Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management, and most recently America’s Bank: The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve. Among the questions covered are why the United States was so late in getting a central bank and whether we have learned anything from the financial crisis. (The Big Picture)
• Preston Pysh, Stig Brodersen, and Tobias Carlisle chat with Patrick O’Shaughnessy, CFA, of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management and author of Millennial Money: How Young Investors Can Build a Fortune. They consider the pros and cons of backtesting, the efficacy of combining value and momentum, and the importance of reading for investors. (The Investors Podcast)
• Behavioral economics and finance have become central to the education of financial analysts. In this presentation, Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist Strikes Back, talks about how good forecasters keep an open mind and are willing to change it when faced with contradictory evidence. (European Investment Conference)
• Stephen J. Dubner of Freakonomics interviews former US Federal Reserve chairman and author of The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath Ben Bernanke about the many challenges he faced during his tumultuous time at the Fed and what is still not well appreciated about the financial crisis. (Freakonomics Radio)
• Speaking monetary policy, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway at Bloomberg go way back to examine the history of interest rates with Richard Sylla of New York University. Here they focus on the origin of formalized lending and why it is that negative interest are such a historical oddity. (Odd Lots)
• Much is being made of late about the impact robots and automation have on employment. Russ Roberts speaks with David A. Mindell, author of Our Robots, Ourselves: Robotics and the Myth of Autonomy, about the potential for automated systems to take over the role of humans in the near future and the dangers that lie therein. (EconTalk)
• The US economy has been in transition from a manufacturing- to a services-based economy for some time. That does not mean manufacturing isn’t important. What may be surprising is that the greater Los Angeles area is the nation’s largest manufacturing hub. In this Morning Edition episode, participants consider the successes and challenges of manufacturers in this area. (National Public Radio)
• The only thing more difficult for a start-up than failure is success. Alex Blumberg and Gimlet Media are facing that very challenge and are trying to figure out how to move their podcasting start-up forward. To do so, they need more capital. In this installment of their podcast, they wrestle with the necessity of a Series A round of funding and how they should go about getting it. (StartUp Podcast)
• What is biohacking? Essentially it is “do-it-yourself biology” and it is taking off in the area of “cognitive performance.” This involves the use of nootropics, or “cognitive enhancers. The founders of Nootrobox consider how to expand the use of nootropics from hobbyists to the mainstream. (a16z Podcast)
• You probably would recognize B. J. Novak from NBC’s The Office, but he has done a lot more than that. Tim Ferriss talks with Novak about his career and how he found his way into comedy, acting, and writing. They also discuss the creative process and how that translates into entrepreneurship with The List App. (The Tim Ferriss Show)

Feel free to leave a comment with other podcasts Enterprising Investor readers/listeners might enjoy. I may highlight your suggestion in the next edition of this podcast series.

You can read more from Tadas Viskanta on his blog Abnormal Returns or follow him on Twitter @abnormalreturns.

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All posts are the opinion of the author. As such, they should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute or the author’s employer.

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