Founders (podcast)

David Senra has dedicated his life to summarizing lessons from the greatest business and investing minds of all time. He reads business and investing biographies, then condenses the key points into digestible one-hour podcasts. David’s finished 351 episodes and counting. Available for free on your favourite podcast app or direct from their site.

Recommended by Tye.

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

David Epstein looks at some of the most successful people in their fields and shows why it’s better to have a wide variety of interests and skills rather than be overly specialized. The book is easy to read and full of anecdotes that show the importance of breadth of knowledge, not just depth.

Recommended by Frank.

Art of Investing (podcast)

Cal Fussman – Compounding Human Connections

Almost every episode of this podcast is worth a listen, but the one with writer Cal Fussman stands out. He’s a great storyteller, but also has a lot of life lessons about the importance of human connection, compounding curiosity and how to ask the right questions.

Recommended by Claire.

Mitch Rales – The Art of Compounding

Hear from Mitch Rales, the co-founder of Danaher, on how he created and shaped an organization that’s compounded capital at over 21% for over four decades. This is the first longform interview he has done and it was intriguing to hear from the mind of a long-term builder of businesses.

Recommended by Steven.

Investing in U.S. Financial History: Understanding the Past to Forecast the Future by Mark J. Higgins

An exploration of over 230 years of U.S. financial history that helps readers understand the forces that drove financial markets in the past.

Maybe not the best beach read, but it’s very reader-friendly and Higgins makes the numbers interesting!

Recommended by Greg.

Shut Up and Listen!: Hard Business Truths that Will Help You Succeed by Tilman Fertitta

When someone recommended this book to me, I was skeptical. A book on business by a TV personality? I gave it a chapter but quickly became engaged and finished the book in one sitting (it’s a short one-hour read). In this book, Tilman Fertitta shares timeless business insights from building one of the largest hospitality companies in the U.S. I came away inspired and motivated. What really stands out to me is not how profound the insights are, but rather how digestible the content is. This is a read you can share with anyone as the takeaways are important, but not intimidating (unlike most “value” investing books!).

Recommended by George.

Peanuts Guide to Life by Charles M. Schultz

I’ve enjoyed this comical bit of light reading when reflecting upon some successes and mistakes.

Recommended by Harry.

The Circuit (podcast)
Transistor radio (podcast)
Fabricated Knowledge (blog)
Semianalysis (blog)

A pair of podcasts and two blogs that look at the semiconductor industry from a business perspective. They provide simple explanations for the technology that’s the backbone of our modern world.

Recommended by Syd.

Invest Like the Best (podcast) – Marc Lasry - Making Bucks in Credit and Sports

A wide-ranging discussion from Marc Lasry, co-founder of credit investing firm Avenue Capital Group and former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. If you’re interested in learning more about sports team ownership and distressed debt investing (I can’t be the only one!), then this podcast is for you.

Recommended by Steven.

Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy by James Stewart and Rachael Abrams

A look at the last years of Sumner Redstone, former chairperson of Viacom and CBS. The book focuses on the decline of his mental facilities and how everyone around him abused his weakened state to their advantage. An amazing (and sad) cautionary tale regarding corporate governance.

Recommended by Lee.

The Revolution That Wasn't: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors by Spencer Jakab

A walkthrough of the meme stock craze that analyzes the financial impact of frenetic retail stock trading. The whole thing actually benefitted brokerage firms, hedge funds and market makers (i.e., basically the exact opposite of what participants thought they were doing).

Recommended by Lee.

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson

A history of the computer science industry, the principles of enhanced creativity and the qualities of effective teams that combined to change the course of humanity.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Where we came from, how we got here, what events shaped human history, how certain scientists saw reality differently and made groundbreaking discoveries (sometimes literally). Bill Bryson covers a lot of information in a relatively small number of pages.