Essential Listening: Disruption Theory

Not every podcast has a huge audience like Serial or WTF with Marc Maron. Like blogging, podcasting has made great inroads among niche audiences. It provides fans and subcultures with a medium through which to explore topics of interest in a different way. This is one reason why podcasting has continued to grow increasingly popular with the public. A recent study shows that one in five Americans have listened to a podcast in the past month.

If you want to hear more podcasts, previous installments of Essential Listening would be a good place to start. With spring break coming up for many students, you can never have enough material to listen to on your long drive to the beach.

• Warren Buffett makes some big bets at Berkshire Hathaway by insuring rare risks through its insurance arm. About eight years ago, however, Buffett made a personal bet (for charity) that the S&P 500 would outperform a mix of hedge funds over the next decade. Jacob Goldstein and David Kestenbaum explore this big bet and why Buffett is so far ahead at the moment. (Planet Money)
• The exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry is so large today it is easy to forget that it had to start somewhere. Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal talk with their Bloomberg colleague Eric Balchunas, author of the new book The Institutional ETF Toolbox: How Institutions Can Understand and Utilize the Fast-Growing World of ETFs, about the obscure SEC report that spawned an entire industry. (Bloomberg)
• The term “disruption” is thrown around with great abandon these days. But many people are misusing it. In this podcast, Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz and Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business and the father of “disruption theory,” discuss what disruption really means and why it impacts competent companies rather than incompetent ones. (a16z Podcast)
• One of the great advantages venture capitalists have is that they see this disruptive process occur again and again. Mike Moritz of Sequoia Capital talks about what is required to maintain success over time as a VC and as a company. (The Macro)
• Income inequality and the male-female pay gap seem to be garnering more attention over time. Russ Roberts chats with Alison Wolf, author of The XX Factor: How the Rise of Working Women Has Created a Far Less Equal World, about how social and economic factors have lead us here. (EconTalk)
• For better or worse, we are knee deep in a US presidential campaign. That is why it is nice to hear from a politician who isn’t running for the White House. Stephen Dubner sits down with US Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey to discuss the publication of his new book, United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good. (Freakonomics Radio)
• Frequent-flyer miles: Everyone has them, but few of us understand them. Adam Davidson and guest host John Hodgman reveal the lengths to which people go to obtain frequent-flier miles and what you can actually get with them. (Surprisingly Awesome)
• There are few people who have made more of a splash online than entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. James Altucher interviews the controversial Vaynerchuk about his new book, #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur’s Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness, and how to become your authentic (and successful) self. (The James Altucher Show)

Feel free to leave a comment or recommend other podcasts that Enterprising Investor readers and listeners might enjoy. I may highlight them in the next edition.

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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