Episodes

Most Stocks Suck (EP.414)
May 28, 2025

Most Stocks Suck (EP.414)

On episode 414 of Animal Spirits, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben Carlson⁠⁠⁠⁠ discuss long-term bond yields rising, why government debt won't fall, where all the dry powder is coming from, how often you should expect bear...
Talk Your Book: Investing in Goldminers
May 26, 2025

Talk Your Book: Investing in Goldminers

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ and ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Ben Carlson⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ are joined by Imaru Casanova, Portfolio Manager for the active gold and Precious Metals Strategy at VanEck to discuss gold...
Talk Your Book: The Nasdaq 100 of Crypto
May 24, 2025

Talk Your Book: The Nasdaq 100 of Crypto

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Ben Carlson⁠⁠⁠⁠ are joined by Samir Kerbage, CIO of Hashdex to discuss price action in 2025, narratives around price action, how the index is ...
Is Financial Education Working? (EP.413)
May 21, 2025

Is Financial Education Working? (EP.413)

On episode 413 of Animal Spirits, ⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Ben Carlson⁠⁠⁠ discuss: how retail became the smart money, why long-term investing caught on, where the money is coming from to buy the dips, chances of re-testin...
Winners and Losers From the Stock Market Rally (EP.412)
May 14, 2025

Winners and Losers From the Stock Market Rally (EP.412)

On episode 412 of Animal Spirits, ⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Ben Carlson⁠⁠ discuss the China trade deal, retail was right, Wall Street was wrong, price vs. sentiment, markets saved us from a recession, record stock buybacks, 4...
Talk Your Book: Will China Win the Trade War?
May 12, 2025

Talk Your Book: Will China Win the Trade War?

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...
There Will Never Be Another Warren Buffett (EP.411)
May 7, 2025

There Will Never Be Another Warren Buffett (EP.411)

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 recessi...
Talk Your Book: The CLO Playbook
May 5, 2025

Talk Your Book: The CLO Playbook

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 pe...
The Most Confusing Rally of All Time (EP.410)
April 30, 2025

The Most Confusing Rally of All Time (EP.410)

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 conference...
Talk Your Book: Equal Weight Investing
April 28, 2025

Talk Your Book: Equal Weight Investing

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, conce...
Talk Your Book: Derek Thompson Feels Like He's Taking Crazy Pills
April 26, 2025

Talk Your Book: Derek Thompson Feels Like He's Taking Crazy Pills

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 import...
So Bearish It's Bullish (EP.409)
April 23, 2025

So Bearish It's Bullish (EP.409)

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 perspectiv...
Talk Your Book: Interest Rates Go Kablooey
April 21, 2025

Talk Your Book: Interest Rates Go Kablooey

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, in...
Talk Your Book: How Not To Invest Like Buffett
April 19, 2025

Talk Your Book: How Not To Invest Like Buffett

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...
The Dollar Dump (EP.408)
April 16, 2025

The Dollar Dump (EP.408)

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, buyin...
Talk Your Book: Elevator Growth in Mid Caps
April 14, 2025

Talk Your Book: Elevator Growth in Mid Caps

On this episode of Animal Spirits: Talk Your Book, Michael Batnick , CFA and Ben Carlson , CFA are joined by Matt Bartolini, CFA, CAIA, Managing Director at State Street Global Advisors and Head of SPDR Americas Research Team...
The Stock Market Crashed. Now What? (EP.407)
April 9, 2025

The Stock Market Crashed. Now What? (EP.407)

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 co...
Talk Your Book: International Stocks, So Hot Right Now
April 7, 2025

Talk Your Book: International Stocks, So Hot Right Now

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 outper...
Ben's Bearish (EP.406)
April 2, 2025

Ben's Bearish (EP.406)

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 ...
Talk Your Book: Floating Rate Income
March 31, 2025

Talk Your Book: Floating Rate Income

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 w...
Did Trump Blink? (EP. 405)
March 26, 2025

Did Trump Blink? (EP. 405)

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, 1...
Talk Your Book: A Better Money Market Fund
March 24, 2025

Talk Your Book: A Better Money Market Fund

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 infl...
Talk Your Book: How to be a Supercommunicator with Charles Duhigg
March 22, 2025

Talk Your Book: How to be a Supercommunicator with Charles Duhigg

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 Wealt...
Live From Miami (EP.404)
March 19, 2025

Live From Miami (EP.404)

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 a...