Essential Listening: Poker Dealings

Like all new forms of communication, the podcast presents a problem for established media. For example, National Public Radio (NPR), which has been at the forefront of the podcasting revolution, is now taking a step back. Joshua Benton at NiemanLab reports on NPR’s decision to stop promoting its podcasts on air. The suspicion is that NPR’s push into the new form may have created some tension with its local affiliates.

Despite this setback, podcasts are growing increasingly ubiquitous and have even found their way into the classroom. Michael Godsey of The Atlantic explores how Serial and This American Life are being used to teach a range of subjects. This trend will only gather momentum as the medium becomes easier to produce. Fitz Tepper of TechCrunch takes a close look at one recent advance on that front, exploring Cast, a fully cloud-based, end-to-end solution for podcast creators.

For a wide array of additional podcasts, you can access earlier editions of Essential Listening.

• Barry Ritholtz talks with journalist Bethany McLean about a range of topics. McLean, who recently authored Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants, discusses the fall of Enron, the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and why the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are not going anywhere any time soon. (The Big Picture)
• Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller is generally viewed as a pioneer in the field of behavioral economics. In this video, he lectures on the role of psychology in investing and economics. (Exploring Markets)
• This year’s presidential race is influenced by what appears to be a stagnant economy. Stephen Dubner and Robert Gordon, author of The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War, examine the case for a secular slowdown in US economic growth. (Freakonomics Radio)
• Tyler Willis hosts “prolific” angel investor Jason Calacanis who discusses entrepreneurship and investing. They explore the lessons Calacanis has learned from well over 100 seed investments and why novice investors should use syndicates to get started in angel investing. (AngelList Radio)
• The ridesharing company Uber is the poster child for the current generation of start-ups. One of the firm’s early investors was First Round Capital’s Rob Hayes. Hayes explains to Harry Stebbings how he got involved in the seed round of Uber and made the transition from operator to venture capitalist and why no one saw how big Uber would eventually become. (The Twenty Minute VC)
• The rise of the internet lent credence to the notion that middlemen could potentially be eliminated from the economy. Of course, they’re still here. Russ Roberts interviews Marina Krakovsky, author of The Middleman Economy: How Brokers, Agents, Dealers, and Everyday Matchmakers Create Value and Profit, about the ongoing need for middlemen and the value they add. (EconTalk)
• Emma Seppälä, author of The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success, uses insights from recent research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience to show how our drive for success often inhibits our long-term happiness. (Talks at Google)
• In the new economy, the success equation has changed. James Altucher sits down with Derek Sivers, author of Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, to review the keys to becoming a go-to source for other people. In short, it requires a rethinking of your goals and how you go about achieving them. (James Altucher)
• Tom Rath‘s personal story is a compelling one. Rath, author of Are You Fully Charged?: The 3 Keys to Energizing Your Work and Life, talks to Brian Koppelman about how making small changes in our lives can lead to greater meaning and fulfillment. (Slate)
• Professional poker is a big money operation. However, what you see on the tables is not always the whole story. Stacey Vanek Smith and Keith Romer explore how pro poker players stake other players and trade shares in their tournament winnings. In short, it is not uncommon to have players competing with opponents whose winnings they may have a stake in. (Planet Money)

If you know of a podcast that other readers and listeners might enjoy, let us know in the comments section below. I may highlight it in the next installment.

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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