Full Disclosure with Roben Farzad - podcast cover

Full Disclosure with Roben Farzad

Roben Farzadsoundcloud.com
The business of culture. The culture of business. Policy; media & tech; entrepreneurs and more.
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Episodes

From Wall Street to Washington to Wazirabad

Veteran banker James Harmon on his 60-year journey from Wall Street to the Clinton administration to investing in bleeding-edge markets like Pakistan and Ghana. Along the way, he helped IPO Starbucks and dabbled in film and music moguldom. His book is Up and Doing: Two Presidents, Three Mistakes, and One Great Weekend―Touchpoints to a Better World.

Nov 02, 20211 hr

The Contented Life

Richard Siklos, until recently VP of corporate communications at Netflix, used to cover the media business for the New York Times and Fortune. We discussed the streaming arms race and ongoing disruption of old media, consolidation musical chairs and the elusive dream of marrying distribution with content.

Oct 21, 202155 min

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin

Tom Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, on the unprecedented shocks and monetary interventions of the pandemic. We discussed the "Great Quit," inflation, rusty supply chains and much more before an audience at the University of Richmond's Robins School of Business.

Oct 15, 202153 min

Independent Variables

Economics writer Matthew Klein (Barron's, Bloomberg, The FT) on new schools of thinking on inflation and full employment; the rust on the post-Covid labor force and supply chains; China; the beleaguered class of savers; and striking out on his own with a subscription-supported newsletter.

Oct 04, 202151 min

Restaurants: Impossible?

Help wanted...desperately. Everywhere. Wages are up, but so are no-shows. Meanwhile, food costs are spiking and supply chains are rusty. The crisis has more and more restaurants curtailing hours and even shutting down outright. What gives?

Sep 28, 202153 min

Finance: She Takes It Personally

Veteran personal finance writer Lauren Young (Reuters, BusinessWeek, SmartMoney) on the pandeconomy vs markets; shipping her kid off to college; yet more of the work-from-home Normal ... and shedding a tear for the departed investing magazines of yesteryear.

Sep 20, 202154 min

The Barry Trade

Wall Street polymath Barry Ritholtz on markets, investor psychology and New York 20 years after September 11.

Sep 12, 202153 min

Full Disclosure Rewind

Our first-ever highlights episode. Featured conversations: reformed whiz kids; a citizen sleuth; comedians; the son of an infamous Miami gangster; a photojournalist who explores abandoned malls; an author trying to make peace with the ghost of a volatile parent; and the battle to diversify public media.

Sep 10, 202153 min

Out of Kabul

Two decades and more than two trillion U.S. dollars later, was this latest fall of Afghanistan inevitable? The nation of 40 million is once again in the hands of the Taliban, which is trying to rebrand. Can it be trusted? The Economist's James Astill and international security consultant Michael Arrighi weigh in.

Aug 30, 202147 min

Rough Drafts

New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff on his relationship with his late, cocaine-addicted father -- and the grit it took to strike out on his own to become a nationally renowned journalist. In 2018, Itzkoff published a bestselling biography of tormented funnyman Robin Williams, who he got to know before his 2014 death.

Aug 15, 202152 min

The Love Variant

Fueled by celebrity promotion, Shelly Tygielski's Pandemic of Love movement connects donors with people in Covid need. The lapsed corporate executive discusses her immigrant upbringing, quarter-life crises and her upcoming book, Sit Down to Rise Up: How Radical Self-Care Can Change the World.

Aug 10, 202154 min

On Cancer ...

Dr. Robert Winn, director of VCU's Massey Cancer Center, on breakthroughs in prevention, detection and intervention in the COVID era. Plus, Traci Eagle and Vickie Brooks (musical duo Tray and Vickie) on how fighting hate has helped Eagle's fight against cancer.

Aug 03, 202158 min

Cubiami

The unrest in Cuba -- some of the most violent scenes in more than 40 years -- also has the Miami street stirring. What are the stakes for a regime that's been in power since 1959? What can Washington do? What should Washington do?

Jul 25, 202148 min

Stocks and the City

Ri Sharma, 21, the voice behind Instagram forum Wall Street Confessions, always thought she wanted to go into investment banking. Then she realized there's too much in the industry that no one is talking about. Nicknamed "the Carrie Bradshaw of Finance," the Manhattanite discusses her personal journey; the mental health of junior employees; and the traumas that go with being a woman on Wall Street.

Jul 18, 202152 min

It Pays to Be Humble

As he approaches his own retirement, veteran personal finance columnist Jonathan Clements reflects on 35 years of covering investing and the markets. The author of several books (including From Here to Financial Happiness and How to Think About Money), he contemplates risk, humility, "normalcy," advice to his younger self -- and much more.

Jul 11, 202151 min

Abandonment Issues

Photographer, documentary maker, author, child of the Rust Belt, self-proclaimed "urban explorer": Seph Lawless (VICELAND; the book Autopsy of America) documents decaying spaces -- from dead malls and haunted houses, to abandoned factories and motels; even alligators terrorizing defunct water parks. What do these tableaus tell us about America?

Jun 26, 202147 min

Virginia: Battleground 2021

What is Virginia telling us on this trademark off-year election? Guests: •Jeff Schapiro of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Michael Pope of Virginia Public Radio •GOP strategist Taylor Keeney •Ghazala Hashmi (D), who was elected Virginia's first Muslim state senator

Jun 20, 202156 min

Parney, the Diamond-Hearted

Veteran baseball executive Todd "Parney" Parnell, CEO of the minor-league Richmond Flying Squirrels, on community, coping and cash flow during Covid. Relatedly, what can you do with an empty ballpark? Plus, tough questions from a fifth-grade super-fan.

Jun 14, 202152 min

Amazon Unbound

Brad Stone, author of the bestseller Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire. Amazon is an e-commerce behemoth; a Hollywood studio; an essential cloud services provider to multinationals; the savior of Whole Foods. Founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post and plows his unprecedented wealth into rockets. So then what the heck is Amazon?

May 30, 202151 min

Ma Bell's Hell (and Back?)

So much for AT&T's content + distribution empire. The telco is retreating from Hollywood -- unwinding its costly, debt-laden acquisition of HBO parent WarnerMedia. What does this mean for a media landscape increasingly dominated by streaming heavyweights Netflix and Disney? What about 5G, Amazon and Comcast? Edmund Lee of the New York Times and Michael Morris of Guggenheim Partners weigh in.

May 21, 202152 min

The Economist on the Future of Banking

Alice Fulwood, The Economist's Wall Street correspondent, on her feature package on the future of banking. We discussed mobile payments; "govcoins," paper money and the unbanked; central banks' hegemony; and the struggle to untether from both dominant banks and the U.S. dollar.

May 14, 202153 min

Jaytalking

CNBC executive editor Jay Yarow on markets, the roaring comeback of the individual investor, speculation, digital media consumption and much more.

May 10, 202146 min

The Brain Trust of Kyle Grooms

In 2019, a near-fatal seizure and emergency brain-tumor surgery walloped comedian Kyle Grooms (Chappelle's Show, Comedy Central, Def Comedy Jam, BET, HBO); he woke up telling the doctor it was 1969. Then, Covid and nationwide racial unrest upended all of comedy. He delves into this -- and his standup special “Kyle Grooms: Brain Humor.”

May 02, 202146 min

Healthcare's Major IT Factor

The U.S. spends $4 trillion a year on healthcare. COVID has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine and spawned major investments in testing, machine learning and artificial intelligence -- rapidly moving hundreds of billions of dollars to new frontiers. There's still plenty of waste. But also a feeling that new opportunities abound. We talk to a physician-investor and a healthcare banker about the landscape.

Apr 25, 202151 min

Risk-Onward

A seemingly relentless bull market in all sorts of assets -- from stocks to crypto to real estate to newfangled NFTs -- has traffic booming at Investopedia, where veteran business journalist Caleb Silver is editor-in-chief. He rejoins us to discuss ... just about everything.

Apr 18, 202155 min

Top Chef's Brittanny Anderson

Brittanny Anderson, who is competing on this season of Top Chef, on her journey from wings and flair at Hooters to national culinary stardom. In 2019, we interviewed her in front of a live, hungry audience.

Apr 12, 202153 min

On Sayman's Terms

The story of software engineer and entrepreneur Michael Sayman, a child of immigrants who as a teenager taught himself how to build apps. After supporting his parents during the Great Recession, he joined Facebook at age 17 -- becoming a reluctant Silicon Valley celebrity. His book is App Kid: How a Child of Immigrants Grabbed a Piece of the American Dream.

Apr 02, 202156 min

The Legends of Ricardo "Monkey" Morales

Cold Warrior; informant; demolition expert; spy; mercenary; cocaine provocateur; Nazi hunter; quoter of military histories. Four decades after notorious Cuban exile Ricardo "Monkey" Morales was killed in Miami, his son, Rick Jr. is piecing together Dad's tormented story.

Mar 26, 202153 min

Live: Poets & Quants

Poets & Quants founder and editor-in-chief John Byrne on the costs and rewards of the MBA degree; remote learning; the search for meaning in business careers -- and much more. Recorded live with the University of Richmond's Robins School.

Mar 21, 202145 min

Till the Ends of the Earth

PBS NewsHour foreign editor Morgan Till on the Middle East, China, Myanmar, vaccine diplomacy and other geopolitical hard choices confronting the Biden White House.

Mar 12, 202148 min
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