Episodes

Talk Your Book: Bitcoin for Anyone
Feb. 3, 2025

Talk Your Book: Bitcoin for Anyone

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Matt Kaufman, SVP, Head of ETFs at Calamos to discuss using downside protection for cash, understanding caps and buffers using B...
Your Budget Sucks (EP.397)
Jan. 29, 2025

Your Budget Sucks (EP.397)

On episode 397 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: Future Proof Citywide in Miami, the DeepSeek rug pull on Nvidia, what this means for the Mag 7 stocks, the most beloved bear market of all-time, Howar...
Talk Your Book: The Private Credit Opportunity Set
Jan. 27, 2025

Talk Your Book: The Private Credit Opportunity Set

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Kyle Brown, CEO, President, and CIO of Trinity Capital to discuss valuations in the VC market, what advisors should be asking ab...
Trump Coin (EP.396)
Jan. 22, 2025

Trump Coin (EP.396)

On episode 396 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: a memecoin from the President, what's next for the crypto industry, the golden age of financial fraud, recessions are becoming less prevalent, how muc...
Talk Your Book: 3 Reasons to Buy Bonds
Jan. 20, 2025

Talk Your Book: 3 Reasons to Buy Bonds

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Dave Braun, Managing Director and Generalist Portfolio Manager at PIMCO to discuss why rates have been moving higher, if the Fed...
A Key Market Signal (EP.395)
Jan. 15, 2025

A Key Market Signal (EP.395)

On episode 395 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the devastating fires in LA, why homes are the most important financial asset for the middle class, a roundtrip in stocks since the election, why rate...
Talk Your Book: Moneyball Meets Private Equity
Jan. 13, 2025

Talk Your Book: Moneyball Meets Private Equity

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Greg Bond , CEO of Man Numeric and Head of the Americas for the Man Group to discuss how the private equity portfolio is constru...
Predictions For 2025 (EP.394)
Jan. 8, 2025

Predictions For 2025 (EP.394)

On episode 394 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: all sorts of predictions for the upcoming year, the AI bubble, the roaring 2020s of stock market returns, financial regrets at age 80, housing is the ...
Talk Your Book: Direct to Consumer Venture Capital
Jan. 6, 2025

Talk Your Book: Direct to Consumer Venture Capital

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Elia Infascelli, Partner and CEO of The Cashmere Fund to discuss celebrities within VC, utilizing networks for private investmen...
It Was a Very Good Year (EP.393)
Jan. 1, 2025

It Was a Very Good Year (EP.393)

On episode 393 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the year that was in the stock market, expectations for 2025 returns, the Steve Ballmer portfolio, record ETF flows, the new normal of speculation, ri...
Talk Your Book: Conviction in Growth Investing
Dec. 30, 2024

Talk Your Book: Conviction in Growth Investing

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Charly Travers, Portfolio Manager at Motley Fool Asset Management to discuss how the Motley 100 Index is constructed, growth vs ...
Talk Your Book: The Economy is not the Stock Market with David Rosenberg
Dec. 29, 2024

Talk Your Book: The Economy is not the Stock Market with David Rosenberg

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by David Rosenberg, Founder and President of Rosenberg Research , to discuss David's macro track record, thoughts on where the econ...
All In on US Stocks (EP.392)
Dec. 25, 2024

All In on US Stocks (EP.392)

On episode 392 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: healthy corrections, rate cuts vs. the stock market, terrible sentiment towards foreign stocks, the crack cocaine of the stock market, addiction in th...
Talk Your Book: Looking for the Next NVDA
Dec. 23, 2024

Talk Your Book: Looking for the Next NVDA

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Nick Frasse, Product Manager at VanEck , and Angus Shillington, Deputy Portfolio Manager at VanEck to discuss NVDA vs everyone e...
Eff You Money (EP.391)
Dec. 18, 2024

Eff You Money (EP.391)

On episode 391 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the prospects for another 20% year in the stock market in 2025, the U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders, no one is predicting a recession anymore,...
Talk Your Book: Buy Low, Sell High in China
Dec. 16, 2024

Talk Your Book: Buy Low, Sell High in China

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson talk to Brendan Ahern from KraneShares about Chinese tech stocks, historically low sentiment towards international stocks, US vs. China tech c...
The Bears Capitulate (EP.390)
Dec. 11, 2024

The Bears Capitulate (EP.390)

On episode 390 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the 4 biggest types of investment mistakes, bears throwing in the towel, Bitcoin hitting $100K, more travel stories, the greatest family movie of all ...
Talk Your Book: Matching Longs with Shorts
Dec. 9, 2024

Talk Your Book: Matching Longs with Shorts

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Mick Rasmussen, Portfolio Manager at Wasatch Global Investors , to discuss how to construct a long/short portfolio, factors that...
The Mother of All Bubbles (EP.389)
Dec. 4, 2024

The Mother of All Bubbles (EP.389)

On episode 389 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: US exceptionalism in markets and the economy, losing all of your retirement savings, yield sells, financial nihilism, the downfall of the CFA, the gre...
Talk Your Book: J.P. Morgan's Guide to ETFs
Dec. 2, 2024

Talk Your Book: J.P. Morgan's Guide to ETFs

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Jon Maier, Chief ETF Strategist and Shayan Hussain, Head of U.S. Investment Specialists at J.P. Morgan Asset Management to discu...
The Leverage Mania (EP.388)
Nov. 27, 2024

The Leverage Mania (EP.388)

On episode 388 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: great stock market returns so far for 2024, Bluesky vs X, the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy, when to sell Bitcoin, money in college athletics,...
Talk Your Book: Animal Spirits Live
Nov. 25, 2024

Talk Your Book: Animal Spirits Live

On today's show, we are live from Chicago with Alex Morris, Chief Investment Officer of F/m Investments to discuss why investors are still crowded on the short end of the curve, thoughts on why rates went up following a Fed c...
Everybody in the Pool (EP.387)
Nov. 20, 2024

Everybody in the Pool (EP.387)

On episode 387 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: 7 years of Animal Spirits, the miracle of US equities, the wall of worry has fallen, S&P 10,000, massive ETF flows, vibes rule everything around me, a...
Talk Your Book: Investors Love Cash Flow
Nov. 18, 2024

Talk Your Book: Investors Love Cash Flow

On today's show, we are joined by Barry Martin, Portfolio Manager of Shelton Equity Income Fund to discuss what it means to have shares called away, what makes a good stock to write a call option on, understanding the relatio...