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A Book with Legs

A Book with Legs
Author: Smead Capital Management
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Welcome to A Book with Legs podcast, hosted by Smead Capital Management. In each episode, the folks at Smead Capital Management explore value investing through an entirely unique lens, bringing in authors to discuss books that have directly or indirectly influenced the decisions the Smead team has made on their investments in stocks and equities. The podcast is for the curious-minded looking for worldly wisdom. Investing is the last great liberal art, and the team at Smead wants to learn as much as they can. Any level of investor, business person, or thinker, whether personally or professionally, will be intrigued and engaged by these discussions.
108 Episodes
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In this episode, professor and author Amitav Acharya joins Cole Smead to discuss his book “The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West.” The two discuss the history of world order, including its origins in Mesopotamia. Cole and Amitav also examine what historical insights reveal about the future of nations like the U.S. and China, as well as the world order in relation to the decline of the West.
In this special quarterly ‘book list’ episode, Bill Smead and Cole Smead discuss memorable takeaways from books they have recently read, share what they are reading now, and preview what is next on their reading list. The pair also offer fresh insights for investors, drawing on historical examples and personal experiences that shape their perspectives on today’s economy.
In this episode, author and professor Toby Stuart sits down with Cole Smead to discuss his book “Anointed: The Extraordinary Effects of Social Status in a Winner-Take-Most World.” Together, they explore how social status shapes perception, drawing on examples from the art world to show how value has shifted from the object itself to the identity of its creator, various forms of uncertainty, and more.
In this episode, Cole Smead sits down with author and former President and CFO of SoftBank Group International, Alok Sama, to discuss his book, “The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble.” Sama discusses his personal background and investing roots. He also details his experiences alongside SoftBank’s revolutionary founder, Masayoshi Son, and the “dark side” of the industry, discussing topics such as corporate espionage.
In this episode, Cole Smead sits down with professor and author James Romm to discuss his book, “Plato and the Tyrant: The Fall of Greece's Greatest Dynasty and the Making of a Philosophic Masterpiece.” They cover a series of letters that Romm believes to unmistakably be Plato’s writing. The two discuss Plato’s encounters with a tyrannical father and son, both named Dionysius, and the legendary philosopher’s impact on the opulent city of Syracuse.
In this episode, author and professor Graham Taylor sits down with Cole Smead to discuss his book, “Imperial Standard: Imperial Oil, Exxon, and the Canadian Oil Industry from 1880.” Their conversation takes an in-depth look at the history of Canada’s Imperial Oil and its complex relationship with Exxon Mobil. Additionally, Cole and Graham discuss their expectations for the future of Imperial Oil, including if they foresee a time when the company is no longer controlled or majority owned by Exxon, and more!
In this episode, Cole Smead sits down with Bloomberg Editor Duncan Mavin to discuss his book, “Meltdown: Greed, Scandal, and the Collapse of Credit Suisse.” The two explore the founding of Credit Suisse and its morally questionable history, which found the bank involved in a long list of scandals, including the laundering of Nazi funds and stolen assets, banking relationships with drug dealers and dictators, and the incineration of holocaust related documents. They also cover the bank’s collapse in March of last year, one of the largest shocks to the banking industry since the 2008 crisis.
In this episode, Cole Smead sits down with Stephen Clapham, founder of the London-based investment research and training consultancy Behind the Balance Sheet, to discuss his book “The Smart Money Method: How to Pick Stocks Like a Hedge Fund Pro.” Their conversation explores Clapham’s investment philosophy and methodology, his perspective on legendary investors such as Warren Buffett, and more.
In this special quarterly ‘book list’ episode of A Book with Legs, Smead Capital Management’s analyst team, including Seamus Sullivan, Nick Garcia, and Will Keenan, joins Cole Smead to discuss memorable takeaways from books they have recently read, share what they are reading now, and preview what’s next. They also offer fresh insights for investors on opportunity in homebuilders, oil prices with Israel and Iran’s 12-day war, and more.
In this episode, Cole Smead sits down with independent scholar and writer Jill Eicher to discuss her book, “Mellon vs. Churchill: The Untold Story of Treasury Titans at War.” Their conversation explores the never-before-told story of heated debates between Andrew Mellon and Winston Churchill over post-WWI debts. Eicher and Smead discuss how each side of the dispute crafted narratives to shape public opinion, their differences in leadership philosophy, and more.
In this special bonus episode, Cole Smead and Conor O’Callaghan sit down with former Taoiseach of Ireland Enda Kenny to dive deeper into Ireland’s rich history and the Great Famine. They also explore the spread of the Irish people and their modern identity. Kenny reflects on his experience as a politician, including run-ins with U.S. Presidents and what it means to be a leader.
In this episode, Cole Smead and Conor O’Callaghan sit down with Author and Educator Padraic Scanlan to discuss his book, “Rot: An Imperial History of the Irish Famine.” The three explore the history of the Great Famine, explaining how Ireland’s position in the British Empire and reliance on the potato made it uniquely susceptible to starvation, and more.
In this episode, Cole Smead speaks with author and historian Russell Shorto about his latest book, ”Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America,” discussing the birth of New York City, originally a Dutch-controlled settlement called New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, until English takeover. Their conversation explores this pivotal transfer of power, and the key figures involved, explaining how it shaped the future of New York and the American identity.
In this episode, Cole and Bill Smead speak with journalist and author Kyle Paoletta about his book, “American Oasis: Finding the Future in the Cities of the Southwest.” Their conversation explores the unique history of the American Southwest and its most iconic cities. The discussion spans from Spanish colonialism to the impact of railroads and suburbanization. They also examine the region’s key drivers of economic growth today, including innovative water conservation solutions being used to support growing populations.
In this episode, author, professor, and Council on Foreign Relations member Amar Bhide, joins Cole Smead to discuss his book, “Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known.” Their conversation explores the relationship between profit and uncertainty when investing, the old and new schools of thought emerging from the Chicago School of Economics, artificial intelligence, and more.
In this episode, writer and medievalist Mary Flannery joins Cole Smead to discuss her book, “Geoffrey Chaucer: Unveiling the Merry Bard.” Their discussion explores the life and work of English writer and poet Geoffrey Chaucer, a father figure in the English literary tradition, covering his most influential and controversial works, numerous titles and royal affiliations, impact on the modern English language, and more.
In this special quarterly ‘book list’ episode of A Book with Legs, Cole and Bill Smead revisit the most memorable takeaways from the books recently featured on the podcast, share what’s on their current reading list, and preview what’s next. They also offer fresh insights into inflation, tariffs, investment opportunities in oil, and more!
In this episode, author, speaker, and radio host Eric Metaxas joins Cole Smead to discuss his book, “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.” Their discussion explores the remarkable life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a dedicated pastor, unwilling to waver in his convictions, even when facing the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer’s story spans continents and finds him playing a role in a plot to kill Hitler, protecting the German Church from Nazi takeover, and more.
In this episode, Lucy Santos, freelance historian, writer, and consultant, joins Cole Smead to discuss her book, “Chain Reactions: The Hopeful History of Uranium.” Their discussion covers topics such as the history of the element, the impact on culture, its role as an energy source, and more.
Max Frumes, author and Global Head of Distressed and Restructuring at 9Fin, joins Cole Smead and Conor O’Callaghan to discuss his book, “The Caesars Palace Coup: How A Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Power and Greed of Wall Street.” In this episode, they discuss the 2015 bankruptcy brawl for Caesars Entertainment in Las Vegas, the key figures involved, and more.
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