Episodes

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, ⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Ben Carlson⁠⁠⁠ are joined by Brendan Ahern, CIO at KraneShares to discuss an update on China's economy, China real estate, the AI race with China, stock picking within China, consumerism outside the US, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s ⁠⁠⁠A Wealth of Common Sense⁠⁠⁠ Michael Batnick’s ⁠⁠⁠The Irrelevant Investor⁠⁠⁠ Feel free to shoot us an email at ⁠⁠⁠animalspirits@thecompoundnews...

On episode 411 of Animal Spirits, ⁠Michael Batnick⁠ and ⁠Ben Carlson⁠ discuss Warren Buffett's legacy, no one can guess where the market is going, a 9 day win streak for stocks, Americans love to buy the dip, the next recession is going to be wild, Wall Street is very bearish, retail is bullish, Bitcoin didn't decouple yet, a housing market slowdown, the benefits of drinking and more. This episode is sponsored by YCharts and Fabric By Gerber Life get 20% off your initial YCharts subscription b...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, ⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Ben Carlson⁠⁠ are joined by Shiloh Bates, Partner and CIO of Flat Rock Global to discuss the relationship between income and volatility, how CLOs perform during recessions, what CLO equity is, what happens when loans default, characteristics to look at for CLO managers, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s ⁠⁠A Wealth of Common Sense⁠⁠ Michael Batnick’s ⁠⁠The Irrelevant Investor⁠⁠ Feel ...

On episode 410 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: a wild month of stock market performance, bear market rallies, a shift in tariffs, Amazon fighting back, an update on earnings, thoughts on conferences, a new Netflix recommendation, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Innovator ETFs. Visit: ⁠http://innovatoretfs.com/⁠ to learn more. Sign up for The Compound newsletter and never miss out: thecompoundnews.com/subscribe Find complete show notes on our blogs: Ben...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, ⁠Michael Batnick⁠ and ⁠Ben Carlson⁠ are joined by Nick Kalivas, Head of Factor & Core Equity Product Strategy at Invesco to discuss the research behind equal weighting, concentration within the S&P 500, looking at flows during the selloff in 2025, factor performance, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s ⁠A Wealth of Common Sense⁠ Michael Batnick’s ⁠The Irrelevant Investor⁠ Feel free to shoot us an email at ⁠ani...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, ⁠Michael Batnick⁠ and ⁠Ben Carlson⁠ speak with Abundance author Derek Thompson about his new book, what it means in the current environment, why the supply chain is so important for consumers and what comes next in the trade war. This episode is sponsored by Betterment Advisor Solutions. Grow your RIA your way at: https://www.betterment.com/advisors Find complete show notes on our blogs: Ben Carlson’s ⁠A Wealth of Common Sense⁠ Michael Batnic...

On episode 409 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: some 1929 and 1932 comparisons, the impact of tariffs on small businesses, supply chain problems are coming, putting the dollar's move into perspective, jumping into a recession, why a recession might feel worse than it actually is, the correction is still relatively mild, retail keeps buying the dip, Bitcoin is decoupling, $145,000 mud rooms and much more! This episode is sponsored by YCharts. Grab a copy of their new d...

On this two-part episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson speak with Jason Greenblath of American Century Investments about short duration fixed income, remaining active during recessions, inflationary spikes and fixed income. Then, at the 21:30 mark, the guys speak with Christian Hoffmann of Thornburg Investment Management to discuss opportunities in global credit markets, recession risk, heightened volatility, the Fed and inflation, and much more! Find comple...

On this special two-part episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson speak with Barry Ritholtz to discuss his new book, How Not To Invest. Barry is the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, as well as the host of the popular Bloomberg podcast Masters in Business. Then at the 30:00 mark, the guys talk with Alex Morris to discuss his new book, Buffett and Munger Unscripted. Alex is the founder of The Science of Hitting Investment Res...

On episode 408 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the tariff tantrum, why a falling dollar matters, yields are rising, betting markets on recession predictions, sentiment is falling off a cliff, buying stocks when they're down 15%, the unintended consequences of Trump's trade policies, panic in the stock market, when you should sell some stocks and much more. This episode is sponsored by NEOS Investments and Fabric by Gerber Life. Learn more about NEOS Investments and ...

On episode 407 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss the chaos surrounding tariffs, Dan Ives getting cautious, possible affects on the economy, fake headlines moving markets, cabanas are getting out of control, the White Lotus finale, and much more! This episode is sponsored by Betterment Advisor solutions and Morningtstar Investment Conference. Grow your RIA your way at: betterment.com/advisors Don't miss Animal Spirits at the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Rahul Sharma, Portfolio Manager and Executive Director at Schafer Cullen to discuss the catalyst for recent international outperformance, what policies have led to international performance, avoiding/concentrating into different countries, how the US Dollar affects international investments, and much more! Learn more at: https://www.cullenfunds.com/ Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carl...

On episode 406 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: auto tariffs, binary outcomes on Liberation Day, rising uncertainty, why household debt is going to rise, the Mag 7 bear market, the pros and cons of buffered ETFs, the bottom 50%, PE in 401(k) plans, a diverging housing market and more. This episode is sponsored by YCharts. Register for the YCharts x Nick Maggiulli webinar here: https://ycharts.zoom.us/webinar/register/6017424930774/WN_pt05FhS_SW2Q0dbtqFi8Bg Sign up fo...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Fran Rodilosso, Head of Fixed Income ETF Portfolio Management and Bill Sokol, VP and Director of Product Management to discuss what a CLO is, how the portfolio is constructed, the possible risks with CLOs, why spreads have remained so low in 2025, performance during recessions, and much more! Learn more at: https://www.vaneck.com/us/en/investments/clo-etf-cloi/overview/ Find complete show notes on o...

On episode 405 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: how to become indispensable at work, the stock market comeback, the wealth effect, international stock outperformance, who owns the US stock market, 100 baggers, the Jerome Powell rally, watch what consumers do not what they say, how the GFC messed up the housing market, the shrinking middle class, Severance and more. This episode is sponsored by Kraneshares and Fabric by Gerber Life. Explore the KraneShares China & Eme...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Alex Morris, CEO and Mark Spindel, Senior Advisor for F/m Investments to discuss how TIPS work, why it was so hard to hedge inflation in 2022, difficulties around inflation-protected investing, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at animalspirits@thecompoundnews.com wi...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by author Charles Duhigg to talk about his book, Supercommunicators. Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at animalspirits@thecompoundnews.com with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Check out the latest in financial blogger fashion at ...

On episode 404 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: a bear market in Mag 7 stocks, one of the fastest corrections ever, surveys gaslighting investors, a possible consumer slowdown, more travel stories and email etiquette advice, the best movie cities, and much more! This episode is sponsored by YCharts. Sign up today at: https://go.ycharts.com/animal-spirits Sign up for The Compound newsletter and never miss out: thecompoundnews.com/subscribe Find complete show notes on...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Phil Bauer, SVP and Portfolio Specialist at Calamos Investments to discuss how private credit differs from high yield, intricacies around specialty finance lending, opportunities in commercial real estate lending, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at animalspirits@th...

On episode 403 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: a healthy correction in the stock market, growth stocks getting slaughtered, bonds are working again, recession worries are back on the table, international stocks are outperforming, the slowing labor market, AGI is coming, millennials are going to be waiting for their inheritance, how Covid changed everything and much more. This episode is sponsored by Betterment. Grow your RIA your way at: https://www.betterment.com/ad...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by JD Gardner, CIO and Founder of Aptus Capital Advisors to discuss who Aptus is, shifting to riskier portfolios using options, using single stock options to hedge risk, misconceptions about option-based strategies, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at animalspirits@the...

On episode 402 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: GDP growth rolling over, the probability of a recession is rising, timing a bear market, Ray Dalio's crash calls, the crypto strategic reserve, the bull market in convenience, why we need Social Security, housing as a recession hedge, Keanu's life advice and much more. This episode is sponsored by YCharts and Fabric by Gerber Life. If your investment research and analytics platform is being phased out, make the switch to...

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson are joined by Matthew Radgowski, CEO of Halo Investing to discuss the difference between buffered ETFs and structured notes, Halo's new structured note SMAs, using structured notes as portfolio insurance, and much more! Find complete show notes on our blogs... Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense Michael Batnick’s The Irrelevant Investor Feel free to shoot us an email at animalspirits@thecompoundnews.com with ...

On episode 401 of Animal Spirits, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss: the potential for an economic slowdown, Steve Cohen gets bearish, the labor market is slowing, giving the US economy the benefit of the doubt, the top 10% owns everything, rich people are everywhere these days, Berkshire Hathaway pays a lot of taxes, Robinhood is a casino and much more. This episode is sponsored by Betterment. Grow your RIA your way: https://www.betterment.com/advisors Sign up for The Compound newslette...