The Accent Podcast

Dr. Peter Brand is an ancient historian and Egyptologist specializing in history and culture of ancient Egypt during its imperial age (ca. 1550–1100 BCE). He is author of The Monuments of Seti I and their Historical Significance: Epigraphic, Historical and Art-Historical Analysis (Brill, 2000), and has written numerous articles on Egyptian kingship, monumental art and construction, history, popular religion, warfare, and diplomacy during the late Eighteenth Dynasty and Ramesside period. Since 2001, Dr. Brand has served as director of the Karnak Hypostyle Hall Project, which is recording, conserving, and interpreting hundreds of scenes and hieroglyphic texts carved on the walls and columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall. Dr. Brand has appeared in over twenty documentaries for the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic.  GET THE BOOK - Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh: https://amzn.to/3RufmMS   SUPPORT THE ACCENT ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:35 Teaching Egyptology  08:20 How pyramids were built  12:50 Ancient Egypt through 18th Dynasty: Akhenaten, Tutankhamun  26:30 Beginning of 19th Dynasty  31:15 Seti I  35:50 Ancient Egypt's source of wealth  38:25 Egyptian army  40:25 Ramesses II – Childhood  45:05 Prince Ramesses II  49:45 "Female Household" and wives of Ramesses II  01:04:05 Ramesses II takes the throne  01:09:55 Highlights of Ramesses II reign  01:15:05 The Battle of Kadesh  01:21:10 Interpreting Hieroglyphs  01:27:40 Pharaohs or Kings?  01:30:40 Decline of Ancient Egypt 

Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a professor in the University's Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Professor Suri is the author and editor of eleven books on politics and foreign policy, most recently: Civil War By Other Means: America's Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy (which we discuss in the interview). SELECT BOOKS BY JEREMI SURI: - Civil War by Other Means: https://amzn.to/3F5DXSC  - The Impossible Presidency: https://amzn.to/3RQTRI1 - Liberty's Surest Guardian: https://amzn.to/3toGe8R  SUPPORT THE ACCENT ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:20 The Civil War never ended  03:05 Formation of the Republican Party  07:50 Causes of the Civil War and the reasons for North winning  14:15 South after the Civil War  19:00 Why Abraham Lincoln is the best president in the US history  20:10 John Wilkes Booth  22:55 Andrew Johnson is the worst president  26:20 Alexander Watkins Terrell  29:45 Moving on after wars  31:00 Ulysses S. Grant Presidency  34:45 Disputed 1876 Elections  38:10 Electoral College must go  45:55 Presidents James Garfield and Chester Arthur  50:45 Grover Cleveland – first President from the Democrat Party  53:50 Republicans and Democrats switching agendas  55:40 Cancers in American institutions  01:00:55 Rating the recent Presidents  01:04:45 Most Overrated and Underrated Presidents  01:07:00 How you should read Jeremi Suri's books

Dr. Konstantin Batygin is a Professor of Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology. Professor Batygin and his colleague, Michael Brown, have found evidence of a giant planet tracing a bizarre, highly elongated orbit in the outer solar system. The object, which they have nicknamed Planet Nine, has a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbits about 20 times farther from the sun on average than does Neptune (which orbits the sun at an average distance of 2.8 billion miles). In fact, it would take this new planet between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the Sun. Support the Accent on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:45 Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg  03:35 Encounter with conspiracists  06:40 Rumors of Alien space crafts  10:15 Where to look for life in the Universe  12:50 Planet Formation  17:20 Discovering planets  25:20 Pluto is no longer a planet  27:40 Planet Nine  34:30 Hypothesis of other cosmic bodies  35:15 Primordial Black Holes  43:15 Music Career  52:25 Scientific awards  57:40 Immigration to Japan and USA  01:01:30 Lex Fridman  01:02:30 Parents influence

Dr. Allen Frances is a Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. He is best known for serving as chair of the American Psychiatric Association task force overseeing the development and revision of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Dr. Frances is the founding editor of two well-known psychiatric journals: the Journal of Personality Disorders and the Journal of Psychiatric Practice. During the development of the current diagnostic manual, DSM-5, Dr. Frances became critical of the expanding boundaries of psychiatry and the medicalization of normal human behavior, problems he contends are leading to the overdiagnosis and overtreatment of the "worried well" and the gross undertreatment of the severely ill. Dr. Frances is the author or co-author of multiple books within the fields of psychiatry and psychology. Dr. FRANCES's BOOKs: Saving Normal: https://amzn.to/497dxxq Essentials of Psychiatric Diagnosis: https://amzn.to/494eRBe FOLLOW Dr. FRANCES ON TWITTER:   / allenfrancesmd   SUPPORT THE ACCENT ON PATREON:   / theaccentpodcast   TIMESTAMPS  01:25 Changes since Saving Normal  02:30 What is DSM?  06:20 Inflation of diagnosis in children's mental illnesses  14:10 Pharma advertises mental illnesses directly to people  17:00 Nature or Nurture – the root cause of mental illnesses  21:35 Psychotherapy  25:35 Depressions should not be confused with normal mammalian phenomena  29:35 Addiction to medication and drugs  37:45 Selecting psychiatrist 

Brian Fagan is an Archeologist, Author, and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara. He has written a number of books on archeology, humans, and, most recently, climate change. We discussed Early Humans, the history of hunting, the most influential civilizations, and the effects of localized climate change, which by the way, has nothing to do with politics but rather the history of the phenomena. TIMESTAMPS  01:10 Did humans evolve from apes  04:25 Hunting of early humans  12:45 Neanderthals  14:40 Humans walked out from Africa  20:50 Most important human tool  22:50 Complexities of archeological discovery  27:25 First Civilizations  32:55 Most influential Civilizations  34:45 Inca Civilization  37:55 Were there lost Civilizations (Atlantis)?  40:50 Why Civilizations Fall  44:35 Localized climate change  50:25 The Future of the human race

James Pan is a former Hedge Fund manager who, a decade ago, returned funds to outside investors and converted his firm into a family office. If you search for CP&E Partners' letters, you will see the phenomenal performance that James has achieved, and he did it as a one-man-shop. In this interview, we discussed James' investment philosophy, investment process, current holdings, and many other things. Books James is Ayn Rand's fan, so don't forget to read Atlas Shrugged: https://amzn.to/3sqGEel Support the Accent on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  02:05 Absorbing information  03:45 Path to a Family Office  09:15 Defining Value Investing  13:30 Looking for investment ideas  15:30 First thing to see in a stock  19:30 Valuing companies  25:10 Concentrated vs Diversified portfolio  31:10 Meta  34:30 Latest investment – U-Haul  43:35 Management assessment  44:50 NOL as part of the valuation  46:20 Rolls-Royce  49:05 Writing Call Options  55:35 Investing with Dyslexia  59:15 Definition of Happiness 

Dr. Scott Aaronson is Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin, and director of its Quantum Information Center. His research interests center around the capabilities and limits of quantum computers and computational complexity theory more generally. For the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years, he is on leave to work at OpenAI on the theoretical foundations of AI safety. In this interview, Dr. Aaronson discussed a quantum computer, its comparison to classical computers, and its use cases. He also shared his take on the potential role of quantum computers in Artificial Intelligence. Get Scott Aaronson's Book Quantum Computing since Democritus: https://amzn.to/3E290yb Read Scott Aaronson's blog: https://scottaaronson.blog Support The Accent on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast   TIMESTAMPS  01:45 Misconceptions about Quantum computing  03:00 Quantum Computer vs Classical Computer  08:30 The Schrodinger equation  18:00 What is Quantum Computer good for?  28:45 The look of Quantum computers  43:40 Quantum Error Correction  46:50 Quantum computing in AI  55:25 Would you choose Machin Learning or Quantum Computer for a major  57:50 Take on Michio Kaku's book Quantum Supremacy….(oh, well)

Joby Warrick is a best-selling author and a national security correspondent for The Washington Post. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he served for 24 years with the Post's national and investigative staffs, reporting from Washington and scores of cities around the world. He is the author of three two nonfiction books, including "The Triple Agent", a New York Times best-seller about a CIA operation in Afghanistan; "Red Line", and "Black Flags", a narrative account of the personalities and events that gave rise to the Islamic State. "Black Flags" was listed as one of the best books of 2015 by the New York Times, The Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and numerous other publications, and it was the recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. BOOKs:  Black Flags: https://amzn.to/3QE46NK The Triple Agent: https://amzn.to/49zq5On Red Line: https://amzn.to/3FYaLxo   SUPPORT THE ACCENT ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:35 The most surprising thing about ISIS  03:30 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi  06:45 Afghanistan after the Soviet Union  08:00 Zarqawi in al-Jafr prison  10:05 Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi  13:00 Al-Qaida of Iraq, and Zarqawi's weaponization of religion  17:30 Black Flags  20:00 The US invasion of Iraq  28:00 Big pause after Zarqawi  31:50 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the Rise of ISIS  38:00 A typical ISIS Fighter  40:30 New ISIS  43:10 Roots of Islamic Radicalization  47:00 Joby's books 

Tapio Schneider is a climate scientist and a professor of environmental science and engineering at the California Institute of Technology. His research is focused on understanding how the turbulent dynamics of the atmosphere, from clouds to large-scale weather systems, shape Earth's climate. Ultimately, his goal is to develop a set of physical laws that govern climate. SUPPORT THE ACCENT ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:20 Climate Change or Global Warming?  04:25 Greenhouses and their effects  07:25 The worst-case scenario  12:30 Genesis of Thoughts on Climate Change  17:35 Melting of Ice Sheets  23:20 Disagreements on the Climate Change  27:50 Main emitters of greenhouses  30:35 Solutions to Climate Change  33:50 Do EVs make a difference  39:00 Why not switch to renewables

Tim Staermose is the founder of the African Lions Fund, which invests in sub-Saharan African "Frontier" economies, excluding South Africa. Tim is also an investment writer, and his website - www.GlobalValueHunter.com - is full of global value investing ideas.  SUPPORT THE ACCENT ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:10 Perception of Africa (Factfulness book)  08:25 Long or Short-term opportunity: Main Thesis  13:25 Asian model will not work in Africa  16:10 Leading Industries  18:35 Valuations in Africa  21:55 Investment process  29:25 Banking Industry in Africa  32:10 Position sizing  35:10 Hedging  38:50 Taxation of the fund  40:15 Largest position (NMB Bank - Tanzania)  48:45 Recent investments (KCB Bank, Equity Bank, Safaricom – Kenya)  52:40 Selling stocks

Dr. Lalich is Professor Emerita of Sociology at CSU Chico, where she was awarded the Professional Achievement Honor. She is recognized international authority in the fields of Cults and Coercion and has written numerous books and articles on the subject. In this interview, Dr. Lalich discussed cults, who tend to join them, her experience being in a cult, children raised in cults, and many other things. Support the Accent on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast Dr. Lalich's BOOKs:  Escaping Utopia: https://amzn.to/43L7AmB Bounded Choice: https://amzn.to/45XDtdw Cults in Mind: https://amzn.to/3MSYUU2 Taking Back Your Life: https://amzn.to/3oLHpgB    TIMESTAMPS  01:05 The definition of Cult  08:05 The profile of a person joining a cult  11:00 Cult recruiters  12:20 Personal cult story  26:50 Is everything a cult?  28:20 Strangest cults  29:55 The largest cults  31:55 Children in cults  41:00 Social Media's Role in cults  42:40 Pulling your loved ones out of the cult  44:15 Building a cult  48:00 Lalich Center on Cults on Coercion 

Nolan Bushnell established Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre chain. He has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame, received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Nations Restaurant News "Innovator of the Year" award, and was named one of Newsweek's "50 Men Who Changed America". He has started over 20 companies and is one of the founding fathers of the video game industry. NOLAN's BOOKs: Shaping the Future of Education: https://amzn.to/3Sqrssq Finding the Next Steve Jobs: https://amzn.to/3ShSB0I SUPPORT THE ACCENT ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast   WATCH THE ACCENT ON YOUTUBE: www.Youtube.com/TheAccentPodcast   TIMESTAMPS  01:40 Nolan Bushnell's Biopic  03:25 Story behind Atari  05:25 Birth of Computer Space!  07:35 The Story of Pong  11:00 Creating a new industry  12:05 Steve Jobs at Atari  15:20 Warner's mismanagement of Atari  18:20 Nolan Bushnell's story  25:45 Chuck E. Cheese  29:25 Catalyst Technologies: ETAK Navigator  32:00 Kadabrascope + Pixar  34:10 Raising Eight! children  38:10 Blitz 

After reading the book "Philip and Alexander – Kings and Conquerors" and being blown away by a remarkable story, I absolutely had to invite its author, Dr. Adrian Goldsworthy, to the Accent. He is an ancient historian and novelist, who has written more than a dozen of non-fiction and fiction books, primarily focused on Ancient Rome (Check his books below). In this interview, we discussed Philip's role in the meteoric rise of Alexander and the life stories of this father-and-son duo. BOOKs: Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors: https://amzn.to/445ti56 Caesar: Life of a Colossus: https://amzn.to/435Qteh Augustus: First Emperor of Rome: https://amzn.to/3PIWWsy Historical Novels: The Wall: https://amzn.to/3O7uJL3 Vindolanda: https://amzn.to/3PGLlu6 The Full Collection of Books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NWnvZX SUPPORT THE ACCENT ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS 02:10 Underrated Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great 08:10 Philip on his way to the Throne 13:45 Philip's reforms 21:05 Little casualties in wars 25:25 Taking Philip seriously 29:45 Philip II's death 36:40 Alexander is the New King 43:05 First campaign 51:10 Diplomacy of Philip and Alexander 54:55 Defining Battles of Alexander 01:02:00 Conquering Empires is not Conquering the Provinces 01:06:45 Death of Alexander 01:07:00 Philip vs Alexander and their Roman counterparts 01:13:10 Dreams and Upcoming Books 01:17:15 Classics Influence on Dr. Goldsworthy

Amit Wadhwaney is a Portfolio Manager and Co-Founding Partner at Moerus Capital Management. He has over 25 years of experience researching and analyzing investment opportunities in developed, emerging, and frontier markets worldwide, and has managed global investment portfolios since mid-90s. Prior to founding Moerus, Amit was a Portfolio Manager and Partner at Third Avenue Management, where he founded the international business and was the manager of the Global Value Fund, Emerging Markets Fund, and International Value Fund. In this episode, we discussed Moerus' investment philosophy, current investments, position sizing, time of exit, and value investing in general. Support The Accent on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast  TIMESTAMPS  01:30 Jean-Marie Eveillard  06:50 Negative Environment for Value Investing  13:40 Which countries to invest in and which to avoid  20:20 Definition of Cheap and a current holding  27:50 Despegar as a value investing play  38:05 Position sizing  43:10 Existing positions  48:00 Looking for investment ideas  59:10 Currency risk

Tre Nation is the frontman of a hugely popular band, Ghost Hounds, whose latest single, "The Last Train to Nowhere," is playing all over the world. In this interview, Tre shared the story of the band, his musical taste, his upbringing, touring with Rolling Stones and ZZ Top, and many other things. Get the latest Ghost Hounds album, "First Last Time": https://amzn.to/3sYJCa3 Support The Accent on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:25 Origin of Ghost Hounds  05:05 Ghost Hounds' Music Style and Tre's Voice  06:45 Song-writing process  08:55 New Album: First Last Time  11:30 Music Videos  14:00 The Band's Manager  16:40 Motivation to keep going  18:35 Art vs Business  21:30 Growing up in San Antonio  25:15 Music or Physics  30:30 From Gospel to Rock-n-Roll  35:05 Tre's preferred music style  39:50 Touring with Rolling Stones  44:20 Blitz

Gerald Posner is the author of thirteen acclaimed books, including New York Times bestsellers CASE CLOSED, WHY AMERICA SLEPT, and GOD's BANKERS. He is a contributor to Forbes. Posner was a finalist for the Pulitzer in History. "A merciless pit bull of an investigator," concluded the Chicago Tribune. In this interview, we discussed Case Closed, a comprehensive and absolutely mind-blowing investigation of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Gerald covers the backstories of the main characters of the saga, Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby, and whether or not they had links to CIA, KGB, or Mafia.  Links to select books: Case Closed: https://amzn.to/44F8wsB Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America: https://amzn.to/3qXfnQo God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican: https://amzn.to/45AW26G Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11: https://amzn.to/3Z0DJ8m  Support the Accent on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:55 Lee Harvey Oswald's bio as the proof  07:40 Many "IFs" in the JFK case  12:50 Conspiracy about placing Oswald in the sniper nest  15:45 The most plausible and the dumbest conspiracies  19:20 Magic bullet  25:20 Jack Ruby  33:35 Yuri Nosenko – defected KGB agent  38:15 Is Gerald Posner a CIA agent?  42:50 Does new information change the conclusion?  46:50 Writing books across the spectrum of important issues

Carlo Cannell started Cannell Capital in 1992 with just $600k, and the fund grew over time to over $1 Billion. Unlike most fund managers, Carlo returned a portion of the assets back to investors, even though it meant less management fees. But that is not what Carlo is known for. Carlo has a superb track record investing in small-cap stocks, which he tends to hold for many years. Besides investing "long," his repertoire includes short-selling and occasional activist campaigns, which he discusses in this interview in detail. Disclaimer: No Investment Advice. The information shared in this episode has no regard to the specific investment objective, financial situation or particular needs of any specific recipient.  The Book Carlo mentioned: A Money Mind at Ninety by Philip Carret: https://amzn.to/3D6uCZK Be the first to support The Accent at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:55 Carlo on Carlo  05:00 Carlo's investment style  13:05 Investment Process  16:00 Favored industries  19:20 Due Diligence  25:50 Investment Activism  28:45 Common Mistakes that Boards and Managements make  33:55 Valuing companies  35:45 Exiting positions  40:35 Shorting stocks  52:05 Sizing of Short Positions  55:40 Role of LPs  01:01:10 Returning half a billion to investors  01:05:35 Investment Management business is unique  01:08:15 Advice for individual investors 

Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career conducting scientific research on what leads people to say "Yes" to requests. The results of his research, his ensuing articles, and New York Times bestselling books have earned him an acclaimed reputation as The Godfather of Influence. His books, including Influence and Pre-Suasion, have sold more than five million copies in 41 different languages. TIMESTAMPS 01:45 First encounter with influence 04:30 Principle of Unity 14:20 Principle of Social Proof 18:50 Principle of Reciprocation 21:25 Principle of Scarcity 24:20 Cialdini Institute 26:25 Principle of Authority 29:50 Principle of Liking 32:50 Principle of Commitment and Consistency 35:30 Pre-Suasion 38:00 Growing up in Post-war Milwaukie 42:20 Favorite childhood memory 48:10 University and writing The Influence 51:10 Influence at Work 53:15 Blitz

                                                                            Dr. Donald Hoffman is a cognitive psychologist and famous science author. He is a professor in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Hoffman studies consciousness, visual perception, and evolutionary psychology using mathematical models and psychophysical experiments. His research subjects include facial attractiveness, the recognition of shape, the perception of motion and color, the evolution of perception, and the mind–body problem. His latest book, The Case Against Reality, argues that the world is nothing like the one we experience through our senses. Subscribe to Accent Podcast on Youtube to see all episodes: https://www.youtube.com/theaccentpodcast The Case Against Reality: https://amzn.to/46pkLLS Be the first to support The Accent at: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:40 Take on AI, AGI, and ChatGPT  11:40 Threats of AI  13:45 Human Vision and Face Perception  18:00 Looking for Eyes  26:55 The Case Against Reality – Evolution by Natural Selection  34:55 Why Hoffman is wrong  39:55 Spacetime is Doomed  48:00 Thousand dimensions  50:25 Men vs Women Seeing colors  55:00 Designed simplicity  01:00:35 Reality misleads us  01:06:05 Consciousness  01:12:05 Dreams

                                                              Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the podcast The Michael Shermer Show, a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, and the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers. Watch this episode with visual aid at www.YouTube.com/theaccentpodcast, and enjoy many more unpublished episodes.   Dr. Shermer's books: Conspiracy: https://amzn.to/43cPsll Why People Believe Weird Things: https://amzn.to/45bkRX4 The Believing Brain: https://amzn.to/3MquA4c Support The Accent on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast  TIMESTAMPS  01:35 The First Recorded Conspiracy Theory 04:05 Defining Conspiracy Theory and Who Falls for Them 12:40 The Umbrella Man – JFK Conspiracy 15:15 The 9/11 Conspiracy 17:20 Types of Conspiracy Theories (OJ Simpson) 22:25 Where there is smoke, there is fire 26:55 The Deep State 30:35 Changing Mind on Conspiracy Theories and UFOs pictures 35:15 The Skeptic Society 37:25 ChatGPT 39:25 Backward Masking 42:50 How to think like a Scientist 47:40 Social Media's Role in Conspiracy Theories 49:50 Being Michael Shermer

                                                                    John Kleinheinz is the CEO of Kleinheinz Capital Partners, the investment advisor for the Global Undervalued Securities Fund, a global-macro-themed hedge fund that at its peak managed $4 billion. In the 1990s, he was a partner in an investment firm where he managed the Russia Value Fund, one of the earliest funds to invest in Russia, and formed at the inception of the Russian stock market following the voucher privatization program in 1994.  John is a Chairman of the Board of Overseers for The Hoover Institution and on the advisory board of SIEPR (Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research).  John's adventures in 1990s Russia are the basis for Josh Haven's book The Siberia Job. After reading the book, I had to speak to John to dig deeper into the events described in it, and boy, did I enjoy it. We also discussed John's investment philosophy and where he sees value in today's markets. This Episode is one of many on the Accent Wealth sub-channel on YouTube. If you enjoyed it, subscribe at www.Youtube.com/TheAccentPodcast TIMESTAMPS 01:40 Privatization in 1990s Russia 05:20 Russian Gold Rush 11:10 Illusive auctions for Russian companies 13:45 The results of the Russian investments 18:20 Life in Russia and Co-existence with Mafia 24:15 Kleinheinz Capital's areas of interest 31:35 Investment process 36:15 Japanese market 40:10 Texas Central 44:00 The Hoover Institution

                                                            Paleontologist Jack Horner discovered the first dinosaur eggs in the Western Hemisphere, the first evidence of dinosaur colonial nesting, the first evidence of parental care among dinosaurs, and the first dinosaur embryos. Horner's research covers a wide range of topics about dinosaurs, including their behavior, physiology, ecology, and evolution. Due to struggles with the learning disability, dyslexia, Horner does not hold a formal college degree but was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Montana in 1986. Also in 1986, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. He's a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University and is widely acknowledged to be the inspiration for the main character in the book and film Jurassic Park. Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  02:25 T-Rex with feathers  10:30 Most intelligent dinosaurs  13:30 Historical misconceptions about dinosaurs  17:30 Interest in Dinosaurs  20:35 Verity of Dinosaurs across the World  21:40 B-Rex and Dinosaur's Soft Tissue  31:45 Favorite Dinosaur – Maiasaura  45:50 "Undiscovering" dinosaurs  49:55 Dino-chicken: How to Build a Dinosaur  56:45 The Jurassic Park  01:02:35 Is Jurassic Park possible?  01:06:15 On Jack Horner's Books: Digging Dinosaurs, and Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up  01:06:50 Life as a Dyslexic

                                                  In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Avi Loeb, the longest-serving chair of the Astronomy department at Harvard University, the best-selling author, and one of the most influential people in Space (according to Time Magazine). We discussed Alien life, Interstellar objects visiting the Earth (Oumuamua), the limitation of the multiverse, time travel, and A.I. astronauts. We also discussed Dr. Loeb's exploration projects, including Galileo Project and Starshot initiative that is working on a technology that would allow sending probes to Alpha Centauri and reach it within our lifetimes. Watch this episode with visual aid at www.YouTube.com/theaccentpodcast. Dr. Loeb's books: Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth https://amzn.to/3mPCScc Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life https://amzn.to/40A3Wts My Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:00 Are we alone in the Universe? 04:45 Oumuamua 10:40 Galileo Project 12:10 Mainstream pushback against the alien origin of Oumuamua 26:50 Fermi Paradox 32:45 Biggest challenge for human space travel 38:30 Multiverse and String Theory 45:00 Reconciling Skeptics and String Theoreticians 54:00 Starshot Project (Alpha Centauri) 01:01:50 Time Travel 01:03:25 Dreams

                                                          Jim Rogers is a legendary investor, philanthropist, and author. In 1973, Jim Rogers and George Soros founded one of the most successful hedge funds in history, the Quantum Fund. By 1980, Quantum Fund returned more than 40 times the initial investments (vs ~50% for S&P). Unlike Soros, who continued running the fund, Jim retired from the industry and went on to travel the world, the adventures that he covered in his books. He now lives in Singapore and continues investing his own wealth. In this interview, we discussed the global economy, the Federal Reserve, Inflation, investing, and Jim's life and career. My Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/theaccentpodcast TIMESTAMPS  01:50 The state of the world economy 03:50 Do we need the Fed 06:10 Thoughts on the inflation 10:40 Investing in Commodities 14:15 Investing in stocks  16:35 Learning Chinese  18:55 What can prevent China from becoming the largest economy  19:40 Learning from Singapore  21:40 Jim Rogers  28:30 To the Wall Street  30:20 Starting Quantum Fund  33:00 Investment Biker  36:40 The Second World Trip  38:00 Botswana  39:50 Undervalued countries – Uzbekistan  41:20 Investing in Commodities  45:35 Gift to children  49:35 Blitz  51:20 North Korea

                                                                        Frank Wilczek is a theoretical physicist, mathematician and Nobel Prize laureate. In this interview, we discussed his most famous research projects - Asymptotic Freedom (which won him Nobel), Axions, Anyons, and Time Crystals. He shares his take on whether or not we are in a Simulation, risks and benefits of Artificial Intelligence, and even shares the type of tattoo he would get. TIMESTAMPS 01:00 Dumb Questions 02:20 Understanding the Black Holes is not useful 03:40 Choosing the subject of research 06:25 Biggest breakthrough in physics in his lifetime 08:00 Axions 15:20 The Big Bang 19:30 The most beautiful equation 21:15 Are we in a simulation? 23:25 Dangers of Artificial Technology 28:40 Childhood and Parents 31:55 Favorite Childhood memory and Hobbies 35:20 Choosing his profession 38:25 Asymptotic Freedom 46:00 Receiving Nobel Prize 51:35 Does every scientist strive for Nobel Prize? 53:25 Anyons 01:01:00 Time Crystals 01:02:40 Anyons, Time Crystals, or Axions 01:04:40 Family and Career 01:07:00 Blitz

                                                                                  Olivier Chastan is the founder and CEO of Iconoclast, a company acquiring and managing the intellectual property of iconic entertainment artists, creators, and brands. Over the past year or so, Iconoclast acquired the IP of Tony Bennett, The Band, The Murder, Inc. (Ja Rule, DMX, etc.), DJ Diplo, and many others. Olivier has more than 20 years of experience in the music industry, including a decade of running VP Records, one of the largest independent labels in the USA.  We spoke about the music industry's ecosystem, investments in music catalogs and their valuations, his adventures in the music industry, and many other nerdy music-related things.  Timestamps 01:35 Iconoclast 02:55 Music Business 10:15 Attorney's role 11:55 Artists' revenue streams 12:55 Who gets paid more artists or the writer 17:55 Covers are paid 18:55 Story behind Iconoclast 24:55 It's not about Maximizing cash flow 28:40 Valuations of music catalogs 32:10 Is the future technological change included in the price 36:55 Practice helps separate emotions from investment 42:55 The 1960s-70s were a unique era 47:25 Do Interest rates affect music catalogs' valuations? 50:15:20 Murder, Inc. acquisition 52:25 Irv Gotti is an extraordinary entrepreneur 59:25 Growing up in a village around Bordeaux  01:11:00 Photography 01:17:05 Move to the US and career change 01:23:00 Bass is underrated 01:27:00 VP Records and Greensleeves 01:32:00 What saved the music industry 01:38:30 Irving Azoff 01:46:30 Memorable career moments 01:50:10 Blitz

                                                                           Marin Alsop is a chief conductor of ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. She is the first woman to lead a major US orchestra (Baltimore Symphony), and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Marin is featured in the documentary The Conductor, which follows her journey from student to conductor, delving into women's struggles in music. Timestamps 01:25 Styles of conducting 03:25 Beethoven, Metronome, and Tempo 05:30 Selecting a repertoire 08:15 Marin's Creative Process – analyzing a score 10:00 Hearing the Score 12:35 Lessons from parents 14:00 Girls don't become conductors 16:00 Biggest accomplishments Watch more than 50 Episodes of The Accent Podcast on www.YouTube.com/TheAccentPodcast

Marina Toybina is a six times Emmy Award winning costume designer, who is behind the fascinated costumes of The Masked Signer show on Fox. She won awards for her work at The Masked Signer, Super Bowl Halftime Show (w/Katy Perry), 55th Annual Grammy Awards, SYTYCD, and X Factor.  Marina was born in Moscow, USSR, but when she was 11, her family immigrated to USA, settling in Phoenix, AZ. Her incredible journey from constant struggles to the pinnacle of the industry is one that is worth hearing! TIME STAMPS 01:20 The Masked Singer and its costumes 07:00 Creating costumes 12:40 What it feels like to win an Emmy Award  16:30 Life after the Emmy's 17:55 USSR - beginning of the journey  23:35 Choosing a career as a fashion designer 25:00 Starting a Fashion Line – GLAZA 29:20 First celebrity client 31:35 Pivot to Costume Design  34:30 X-Factor and SO You Think You Can Dance TV shows  38:00 Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show with Katy Perry 44:55 Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Usher, and Ariana Grande 46:35 Stylist for Eminem and Dr. Dre video, and conversation with Dre. 48:20 Working with Celebrities 50:00 Why do people in the Entertainment industry fail?  52:40 Outside of your comfort zone 54:30 Ten years of nothing before holy shit  57:50 Determination vs Competition 01:01:10  Friends, family and future 01:06:10 Blitz   Watch more than 50 Episodes of The Accent Podcast on www.Youtube.com/TheAccentPodcast

Graham Weaver is founder and managing partner of Alpine Investors, a people-driven private equity firm that invests in software and services businesses. With over 20 years of experience in private equity, Graham founded Alpine based on the belief that exceptional people create exceptional businesses, a PeopleFirst philosophy that guides the firm's choices today. When he's not inspiring growth at Alpine, Graham teaches a top-rated strategic management course at Stanford's Graduate School of Business or posts on his blog - www.GrahamWeaver.com. In this interview Graham takes us to a journey from his childhood in suburbs of Ohio, to his school athletic life, college, and career. He then walks us through early days of Alpine, which despite underperformance of its first fund, ultimately became one of the best performing firms in the industry. 

Jeremiah Tower is likely the first Celebrity Chef in the US. A food lover from childhood, he had no formal culinary education before beginning his career as a chef at Chez Panisse, making the place famous for its authentic cuisine that is currently known as California or American style cuisine. Jeremiah later opened one of the most famous restaurants in the country in 1980s - The Stars, which became the major attraction for celebrities. Anthony Bourdain produced a fantastic documentary on Jeremiah - The Last Magnificent, which tells his story.  I sat down with Jeremiah to discuss details that weren't included in the documentary, and we covered everything from his early childhood to his latest experiments with the restaurant industry. 

Jim Grant is the founder of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, a twice-monthly journal of financial markets popular among some of the most famous investors. Over past 35+ years of the publication, Grant developed a cult following on Wall Street.   In this interview we discussed Modern Monetary Theory and its limitations, Keynesian and Austrian Schools of Economics, recent government actions in response to COVID, Jim's life, career, and founding Grant's Interest Rate Observer. 

Dominique Crenn is the owner of Atelier Crenn restaurant in San Francisco, and is the only female 3 Michelin Star Chef in the US. In her recent memoir - Rebel Chef: In Search for What Matters - she shares her fascinating life story from French orphanage to the pinnacle of culinary art.  In this interview we discussed Dominique's journey: influence of her parents, challenges she had faced (she didn't have a formal culinary education), building Atelier Crenn, her battle with cancer, and many other things.  01:10 How is Atelier Crenn adapting to COVID? 04:45 Changes COVID will bring to the restaurant industry 08:20 Restaurants move towards healthy choices 10:10 Thoughts on her Memoir 15:00 Adoption & childhood 17:30 Favorite childhood memory 18:40 Mother's teaching 23:45 Young Dominique 24:15 Leaving France 26:00 Jeremiah Tower 30:45 The origin of confidence and how it was applied at Stars 34:17 Nature vs Nurture 37:40 Blending past experiences and starting Atelier Crenn 42:00 Netflix – Chef's Table 44:20 Choosing investor, and balancing art and business 46:30 The role of Michelin Stars 50:02 After achieving everything one could dream of, what drives her now 52:00 French President's dinner and Allen Ducas 55:12 Women in the Restaurant Industry 56:55 Defeating Cancer   59:30 looking for the biological mother 01:00:50 Blitz

Eicca Toppinen is the founding member of the multi-platinum metal band Apocalyptica, which has a cult following around the world. Its first album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos was released in 1996 and turned the heavy metal music upside down due to the band unique sound - the new music style is now called Symphonic Metal. In this interview we covered the history of the band, changes in the music industry, Eicca's life and creative process, and collaboration with Metallica & other bands.  Time stamps: 00:15 Streaming live concert 03:23 How are albums and features songs are written 08:24 Creating a band 14:53 International tours 17:00 How do musicians make money 18:50 Genesis of Apocalyptica 24:00 Plans for future 27:30 Metallica's 30-year anniversary 29:00 Describing each member of Apocalyptica 33:48 Describing each member of Metallica 35:44 Getting to know Eicca 39:30 Choosing to become a musician 45:00 Writing music for Movies and Plays 47:27 Process of writing a music 50:49 Main motivation 54:54 People Behind  the curtain

Given the amount of information about COVID (often contradicting), I thought it would be a good idea to have a discussion with an expert to make sense of it. I interviewed Dr. Robert Wachter, Chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF, whose team has been working on COVID response from the very beginning. We covered everything from How COVID affects human body to Vaccines to Hydroxychloroquine to conspiracy theories, and everything in between. Dr. Wachter also answered a bunch of my trivial questions: - Does he wipe groceries and mail? - Is he comfortable going to a Gym? - Does he think it is safe to send kids back to school?; and many other questions. You can find more episodes on www.Youtube.com/TheAccentPodcast  Rough outline: 01:33 Who is Dr. Robert Wachter 03:22 How COVID affects people with different pre-existing conditions 07:45 Effective treatment, but not Hydroxychloroquine 15:00 Vaccines are coming in February 2021? 21:22 Why is COVID picking up again? 26:27 Do masks actually work? 30:50 Shortage of PPE and Testing – supply in China 36:10 First signs of the Storm 42:35 Is COVID human made virus? 44:56 Day-to-Day activities: Wiping groceries? Fly? Eat out? Gym? 57:28 Digital transformation of medicine

Tom Steyer is a Political Activist, Environmentalist, and Philanthropist. He is well known to the general public for his recent run for Democratic Presidential Nomination (2020 election), and for his career as a founder of Farallon Capital - a multi-billion hedge fund. Tom was recently appointed by the Governor Gavin Newsom to Co-Chair California Task Force on Business and Job Recovery that is focused on re-opening CA for business post-COVID lockdowns.  We spoke about BLM protests, COVID, Tom's run for Democratic Presidential Nomination, his childhood, lessons he learned from his parents, and philanthropy. 01:45 George Floyd and Black Lives Matter 03:20 Structural Racism in USA 07:12 Co-Chair of Task Force for reopening California after COVID 09:20 There is no going back 12:11 Reconciliation of the struggling economy and booming markets 14:20 Grade CARES ACT and Federal Reserve's response to COVID 16:43 Administration's response to COVID too bad? 20:25 How fun was the Presidential campaign? 23:30 Those arguments on the stage – are they real? 25:43 Childhood in New York 26:30 Tom's Mother and what he learned from her 30:00 Philanthropy is a Rich person writing a check – it is not sustainable

Vitaliy Katsenelson is a famous value investor and a CEO & Chief Investment Officer of Investment Management Associates. Vitaliy has written several books on investing, including Active Value Investing and The Little Book of Sideways Markets. We spoke about value investing, Vitaliy's investment process, his view on diversification, his biggest mistakes, his bucket list, and many other things.  Time stamp 00:40 Who am I 02:14 What's Value Investing? 05:50 Is Warren Buffett a value investor or a GARP investor? 07:20 Diversified stock portfolio vs concentrated stock portfolio 09:50 When do you sell stocks 11:32 Case study: Twilio  15:15 Vitaliy's stock picking process 17:14 Learning from biggest losers: Electronic Arts  22:14 The investment management Industry gets dumber and smarter at the same time 25:20 Time management between investing, writing, and having a family 28:07 Investment advice to non-investors: unusual budget 33:47 USSR influence on a future investor 37:38 From analyst to CEO 38:30 Blitz 41:51 Advice to youth Visit:www.TheAccentPodcast.com Music: Bensound.com  

Lou Ferrante is a former mobster of the Gambino Crime Family, who did his time in prison, and then turned his life around becoming a bestselling author and a sought after TV personality. Lou's book, "The Mob Rules: What Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman", became a best seller and was named The Best Business Book by Forbes. It was subsequently translated into 16 languages. His TV project, "Inside The Gangsters' Code", explores different gangs around the world and has been successfully running on Discovery Channel since 2013. We spoke about his path to the Gambinos, his arrest, his time in prison, the transformation he has gone through, his books, John Gotti, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, and many other things. 01:45 Who is Lou? 03:30 Writing a bestseller 10:15 Fake diversity 12:00 Meeting George Weidenfeld 14:30 History of Mafia – contradictions 16:54 What is mafia? 19:20 Growing up in Queens 24:00 Crime in DNA 25:20 Prison stories 29:51 Mafia's role in the streets 32:50 Day-to-day in Mafia 38:20 Snitching - Sammy "The Bull" Gravano 43:50 Arrest 47:00 Times have changed – Snitching 2.0 55:57 Prison is the greatest thing happen to me 1:01:45 "Mein Kampf" and other first books 1:04:00 Life advice to youth Visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com soundtrack: Bensound

Fengsuo Zhou is a President of Humanitarian China, a non-profit organization that is focused on development of a civil society in China to promote rule-of-law, human rights, and freedom of expressions.  Fengsuo was one of the student leaders during the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989, and after the massacre ended up on the list of 21 Most Wanted issued by the Chinese government.  In this interview we discussed what happened at the Tiananmen Square 30 years ago, Fengsuo's role in the protest, his arrest, and the life afterwards.  01:35 Humanitarian China - support to political prisoners 04:30 Million people on Tiananmen Square 05:23 China erases memory of the Massacre 06:25 Going back to the Square 09:35 From mourning to political protest 15:10 Becoming a student leader 21:34 Democracy within reach 24:35 Massacre starts 26:00 List of Most Wanted 27:36 Arrest and Prison 30:15 Exile 35:30 Current Hong Kong protests 37:42 How would China be different if student movement succeeded 40:40 Hope for China 41:47 Beyond totalitarian regime   Visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com  Soundtrack: www.bensound.com  

Dan Primack is a Business Editor of Axios, where he runs the daily Pro Rata newsletter and hosts the daily Pro Rata podcast, among other things.  Previously, Dan was with Fortune.com as Senior Editor, where he covered deals and dealmakers, from Wall Street to Sand Hill Road. At Fortune, Dan launched a very popular newsletter, Term Sheet, which covered venture capital, Wall Street, M&A and other deal-related topics.  Prior to Fortune, Dan was an Editor-at-large with Thomson Reuters, where he launched both peHUB.com and the peHUB Wire email service.  Here you have it - ALL "must subscribe" daily newsletters about deal and dealmaking were created by the same person - Dan Primack.  In this interview we covered various subjects, from Uber's IPO and Slack's direct listing to Dan's favorite music band.  Visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com   

Guy Kawasaki is the Chief Evangelist of Canva, an online graphic design tool. He is a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz and an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley). Guy is widely known around the world for his books and speeches on entrepreneurship, and his early work at Apple alongside Steve Jobs.  We covered many subjects, from his childhood in Hawaii to his path to Apple, and from his student record to 15 books he has written, including recently published Wise Guy. We also covered entrepreneurship, venture capital, business operations and many other subjects. Visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com    

    Keith Teare is a serial entrepreneur, who has built two $1 billion dollar companies, helped to raise a billion dollar VC fund, and was in the founding team of TechCrunch.  Born in the UK, he learned how to code at an early age, and later started his first tech company. If you think it sounds familiar, you are wrong: Keith ran the company to pay for his passion - political activism.  We covered many subjects: from the class-conscious United Kingdom to blockchain, from bootstrapped companies to venture capital trends, from Karl Marx to a rapper Lil Backwood, and from Keith's childhood to his life advice to young people. Visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com  

Javier Mendez is the founder and head coach of American Kickboxing Academy, the leading Mixed Martial Arts teams/schools in the world.  Throughout his spectacular career he has won world championships himself, and raised numerous world champions in both Kickboxing and MMA.  Javier's notable students include Daniel Cormier (UFC Heavy- and Light-Heavyweight champion), Cain Velasquez (former UFC Heavy weight champion), Khabib Nurmagomedov (UFC Lightweight champion), Luke Rockhold (former UFC Middleweight champion), and many others.  In this interview we spoke about Javier's life and career, genesis of Mixed Martial Arts, qualities required to become a champion, and his famous students.  For more episodes visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com  

    data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Tom Kalinske is Chairman of Doodles, one of the many Ed-Tech ventures he has been involved in.  Throughout his fascinating career, Tom has built several multi-million dollar Ed-Tech companies, changed the video gaming industry as the CEO of SEGA America, revived Barbie doll and created He-Man and The Masters of the Universe animation series as the CEO of Mattel. Each of Tom's business endeavors could have been a bestselling book; and the fact that he had so many of them makes Tom a truly remarkable businessman and an entrepreneur. For more episodes visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com  

Heidi Ridley is CEO of Rosenberg Equity, one of the premiere quantitative investment management firms with $22 billion in assets under management.   Her life story is fascinating: she was born in Iran; her family lost everything during the Iranian Revolution, had to leave the country to an start everything from scratch in the US. On top of this, Heidi's personal career path is truly remarkable - from her job as a restaurant manager, to the CEO of the most male-dominated filed (quantitative investing) within one of the most male-dominated industries (asset management).  Visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com

PJ Pereira is a Co-Founder and a Creative Chairman of Pereira O'Dell, one of the leading advertising firms. Over its relatively short history, Pereira O'Dell won every major industry award, including countless Cannes Lions and Emmy Award. In his native Brazil, PJ is known as the author of the best-selling book, Gods of Both Worlds.  His life story is inspiring, his view of the advertising business is unique, his passion for martial arts is contagious, and his love for his family is limitless.   www.TheAccentPodcast.com

  Michael Hoffmann is a Co-Founder & President of one of the best-known placement advisory firms - Probitas Partners. Since inception in 2001, Probitas Partners has raised nearly 90 funds and over $68 Billion for both established and emerging investment managers.   Michael's knowledge of the alternative asset management space, in particular private equity and real assets, makes his view on the today's trends especially valuable. Whether you are a top PE firm raising your 10th fund or a newly created "shop" raising your very first fund, you will find something interesting in this discussion. You will also learn about Michael's life and career as well as the story behind Probitas Partners' from its very first official meeting at 9:30 am on September 11, 2001 to its present state.  Visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com Soundtrack: bensound-memories

Thomas Weisel is the founder of Montgomery Securities, an iconic boutique investment bank that was sold to a predecessor of today's Bank of America.  Upon exiting Montgomery Securities, he started another investment bank, Thomas Weisel Partners, which was later sold to Stifel Financial, where Thomas currently is a Co-Chairman.  His success stories in business, in sport, in art, and other areas of life have one theme in common - he pushes himself extremely hard to become very competent in the subject-matter. This can be said about other successful people, but when you hear Thomas' story, you realize that he takes it to a whole new level. Visit www.TheAccentPodcast.com music: bensound-memories