Full Disclosure with Roben Farzad
394 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 93 ratingsThe business of culture. The culture of business. Policy; media & tech; entrepreneurs and more.
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Episodes
Capitol Formations
January 15, 2023 21:02 - 49 minutes - 68.3 MBCBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane on the new GOP-led House's difficult math; January 6's long reach; social media and the renegade lawmaker; and the usefulness of George Santos to both parties.
The Big Hunch
January 09, 2023 00:48 - 51 minutes - 71.1 MBA 20-year old college dropout moves to the city and scrapes by with restaurant gigs. Seven years into this vision quest, he gets called to appear on an HBO cooking tournament -- and comes back to town with $300 thousand in grand-prize money. The story of Chef Daniel Harthausen, winner of season one of The Big Brunch.
A Portrait of the Comic as a Young Man
December 25, 2022 16:19 - 51 minutes - 71 MBAspiring comedian Cole Mier has been doing standup since the wise old age of eight. He's now 21, fresh out of UCLA, waiting tables and taking names -- and gigs. But it's not all laughs all the time.
Power Play
December 19, 2022 13:11 - 51 minutes - 70.6 MBPuck co-founder Jon Kelly on his foray into the world of private equity -- to emerge with the business plan and funding for an influence-driven media startup. Puck is breaking news, making waves and winning subscribers; Kelly was recently featured in the New Yorker.
Good News Bear, Bad News Bull
December 11, 2022 02:13 - 52 minutes - 72.2 MBStocks rally on weak economic numbers; they tank on a great jobs report. What gives? Thanks to inflation and the Fed's tightening campaign, 2022 underscored how markets and the economy don't always move in lockstep. Investopedia's Caleb Silver on how long this disconnect might last -- and what awaits in 2023.
Streaming's Harsh Winter
December 04, 2022 13:31 - 1 hour - 95.3 MBSo much for Hollywood's mission to spend-to-no-end. Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount racked up a combined $2.5 billion in streaming losses just in the latest quarter. Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and every streamer is scrambling to rethink strategy. Guests: Felix Gillette, co-author of the HBO history It's Not TV; and Joel Mier, former Netflix marketing director, now Robins School lecturer.
Demogracy
November 14, 2022 15:55 - 51 minutes - 70.2 MBThe immigration deficit. The coveted Latino voter. The reddening of Florida. These and other jump balls for guests Chris Porter, chief demographer with John Burns Real Estate Consulting; and Miami-based public opinion research strategist Fernand Amandi.
The New Bean-Counting
November 07, 2022 14:38 - 50 minutes - 68.8 MBHow one coffee-shop owner is taking on inflation and the Great Quit by *ditching* tips and propelling baristas onto the partnership track.
The Local Motion
October 30, 2022 19:31 - 50 minutes - 69.5 MBKarri Peifer, formerly of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, on becoming the first editor of Axios Richmond -- one of well-funded Axios's more than 24 local news efforts across the country ... at a time of spreading news deserts. The quest for a fresh, sustainable business model for local news.
Goldman Handcuffs
October 24, 2022 00:24 - 54 minutes - 74.8 MBVeteran Wall Street exec Jamie Fiore Higgins on her book, Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs.
Islamic Devolution?
October 16, 2022 22:08 - 51 minutes - 70.5 MBIran's street is convulsing yet again. The protests and crackdowns -- fueled initially by the death in custody of a young woman -- have since exposed new fault lines both across and within class, commerce...even religious observance. Negar Mortazavi, host of the Iran Podcast, on where this takes the restive nation of 88 million.
Bondsternation
October 01, 2022 23:00 - 54 minutes - 74.7 MBBloomberg Surveillance's Lisa Abramowicz and Truist Wealth's Chip Hughey discuss the inflation-stoked bear market that has rattled global bonds and stocks. Can the Fed subdue price pressures without pushing the economy into a steep decline?
Pope and Schapiro on Virginia
September 27, 2022 14:45 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBThe Virginia Public Radio - Richmond Times-Dispatch reporting duo of Michael Pope and Jeff Schapiro on Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's national ambitions; the prominent swing-district Democratic Congresswomen being targeted in Election 2022; and how the reversal of Roe v. Wade will play out in purpling Old Dominion.
If You Can't Beat It ...
September 19, 2022 02:06 - 51 minutes - 70.9 MB"Be the market. Don't try to beat the market." This mantra has dominated Wall Street for two decades, with investors sending trillions upon trillions of dollars into cut-rate, passive funds that track the broader market. The stock commission is dead. Equity investing has never been so accessible. What does this mean for you? Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF guru, weighs in.
The Great Dispersion
September 12, 2022 23:33 - 1 hour - 82.8 MBHybrid work. Quiet quitting. The eternally delayed return to the office. It's increasingly apparent that work is not going to revert to some imagined pre-Covid normal. The frictions are often inter-generational. Guests: Ed Zitron, CEO of EZPR, Substack's "Where's Your Ed At?" ; and Kian Gohar, co-author of Competing in the New World of Work.
Full Disclosure Rewind II
September 06, 2022 00:27 - 50 minutes - 69.7 MB• Eron Otcasek • Bestseller William Cohan • Axlesdotter Bakery • Breanne Armbrust
Full Disclosure Rewind I
September 06, 2022 00:18 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MB• Planet Money's Mary Childs • Restaurant mogul Chris Tsui • NewsHour's Geoffrey Bennett
Triple Bill
August 22, 2022 12:48 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBRepeat bestselling author. Veteran investment banker. Prolific feature writer. William D. Cohan discusses everything from Elon Musk's Twitter nightmare to the perennially cursed dream of acquiring (Time) Warner Media to his forthcoming book on the fall of GE.
How Eron Otcasek Found His Voice
August 15, 2022 01:20 - 48 minutes - 66.4 MBEron Otcasek, son of the late Cars frontman and prolific producer Ric Ocasek, on finding his own musical voice (and priceless mics and instruments) -- amid the recording industry's great, wide streaming open. His first full-length album is "Take Backs."
Swede Equity
August 09, 2022 02:10 - 52 minutes - 71.4 MBIngrid Schatz founded Axelsdotter Bakery out of her Virginia kitchen as a homage to her Swedish culinary bloodline. She's now on a mission to bring the kingdom's cakes and pastries to America. This is the story of how she flexed Instagram, elbow grease and no shortage of pricey butter to build a cottage business during Covid.
The Geoff Bennett Journey
August 01, 2022 14:43 - 50 minutes - 69.2 MBThe PBS NewsHour anchor's winding career journey, including a big leap of faith from the NPR management-track to a low-paying job as an Inspector Gadget-like Washington correspondent.
Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down
July 19, 2022 13:52 - 52 minutes - 71.9 MBOscar-nominated director Julie Cohen ("RBG," 2018) on her latest with Betsy West, "Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down." The documentary explores the ex-lawmaker's comeback -- and battle to form a new voice -- following a 2011 mass-shooting that nearly took her life.
My Brother, My Mentor
July 11, 2022 23:58 - 51 minutes - 70.5 MBMy brother, Ronnie, is a hospitality-industry entrepreneur. We always have long conversations on risk-taking; the innovator's dilemma; startup life; crisis management; marketing spend; you name it. Always taking notes, I thought it was finally time to have him on my podcast. So here goes....
RVA Tsui
July 03, 2022 22:05 - 51 minutes - 70.9 MBHow Taiwanese immigrant Chris Tsui went from after-schools at his parents' ice cream parlor to bussing tables at a nearby Chinese restaurant to building a 14-concept Virginia restaurant empire (Osaka, Wild Ginger, Boulevard Burger & Brew....) through the Great Recession and Covid.
Hard-Pressed
June 29, 2022 18:36 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBNPR media correspondent David Folkenflik (Murdoch's World, 2013) on TV news in the era of Jan. 6 investigations; networks doubling down and doubling back; intergenerational faultiness and Twitter spats within mastheads. All amid declining TV viewership. Plus, a flashback to our 2020 interview with veteran newswoman Soledad O'Brien.
Grit Point Average
June 13, 2022 00:12 - 52 minutes - 72.8 MBThe story of how Michael Kelly went from foster care, hunger and borderline high school homelessness to college and medical school. His viral LinkedIn post upon graduation brought him national attention -- which he's riding to advocate for neglected youth.
Journalism and Democracy
May 30, 2022 21:10 - 54 minutes - 75.4 MBA special live episode organized by James River Writers: "The Role of Local Journalism in a Healthy Democracy." Panelists: Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Paul Williams of the Richmond Times-Dispatch; VCU journalism professor Mallory Perryman; and Sharene Azimi of the the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Dear Graduate,
May 23, 2022 22:06 - 51 minutes - 70.2 MBOur annual listen for new graduates, featuring heartfelt advice and recollections from MLB-recruit DJ Lee; Nextdoor's head of marketing Maryam Banikarim; and some networking nuggets from global digi-mentor Sree Sreenivasan.
Get Myself Corrected
May 13, 2022 17:55 - 52 minutes - 71.5 MBInvestopedia's Caleb Silver on 2022's plunge across stocks, bonds and crypto. Is this (and spiking inflation) the reckoning for decades of easy money? Can the Fed save the economy without having to crash it? Plus: with commodity prices surging, we revisit my 2019 interview with global trash and recyclables guru Adam Minter.
Iran, So Far Away
May 09, 2022 22:59 - 49 minutes - 67.6 MBThe immigrant backstory of Persian-food chef Sebastian Oveysi, who splits time between serving diners across Virginia and D.C. and crossing the country in his mini-camper. Plus, a rewind back to my 2020 chat with Andrew Zimmern, the Beard Foundation-recognized foodie, activist and TV personality who turned his life around after a stretch as a homeless addict.
Diverging Markets
May 03, 2022 00:55 - 57 minutes - 79.5 MBCaglar Somek, portfolio manager for global emerging markets at British Columbia Investment Management Corp, on the investing category's lost decade-plus vs. the U.S. -- and why we could be on the brink of an inflection; emerging markets boomed during the U.S.'s post-dot-com Lost Decade.
Reactivating
April 25, 2022 18:35 - 54 minutes - 74.7 MBHow illness, disability and a near-death experience led one Virginia woman to dedicate her life to serving the poor, the abused and the under-advocated.
Hollywood Reshuffled
April 18, 2022 01:49 - 51 minutes - 70.1 MBWarner HBOMax Discovery CNN. Disney+ ABC ESPN, with Hulu (kind of). Legacy content empires look formidable, until you realize how small they are vs. multi-trillion-dollar tech platforms such as Apple, Amazon and Google. Veteran media analyst and investor Rich Greenfield on Hollywood's era of frenzied self-disruption.
Full Disclosure Rewind
April 12, 2022 17:40 - 51 minutes - 70.7 MBSome Full Disclosure memories -- from the education of amateur meme-stock traders; to Pres. Lincoln's final weeks; to a beginner's guide to America.
A Call to Tech
April 03, 2022 22:24 - 49 minutes - 67.8 MBJavelin anti-tank missiles. Turkish drones. Artificial intelligence. How Russia's Ukraine invasion is disrupting long-held assumptions about deterrence and military technology. Guests: Chris Rogers, founder of the defense and aerospace practice at investment bank Harris Williams; and Morgan Till, PBS NewsHour's foreign and defense editor.
Broken Income
March 25, 2022 17:39 - 51 minutes - 71.1 MBNPR Planet Money's Mary Childs on her bestseller, The Bond King: How One Man Made a Market, Built an Empire, and Lost It All. Recorded before a live audience at the University of Richmond's Robins School.
How Ukraine Is Rebalancing Global Power
March 18, 2022 16:37 - 51 minutes - 70.2 MBSoviet-raised investor and author Vitaliy Katsenelson (Soul in the Game: The Art of a Meaningful Life) on the dire economic consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Natasha Bertrand, CNN national security and White House reporter, called in from Europe with her observations from NATO.
America for Beginners
March 15, 2022 01:49 - 51 minutes - 71.4 MBRoya Hakakian (A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious) on her first impressions of the U.S. upon fleeing Iran in the 1980s -- and squaring that with all she has since learned. Plus, a flashback to our 2020 interview with Cuban immigrant Jorge Valdes, who went from being a University of Miami and Federal Reserve honor student to a top kingpin for the Medellín cocaine cartel.
Live: Lincoln and the Fight for Peace
March 07, 2022 00:35 - 50 minutes - 69.3 MBCNN's John Avlon on his book, Lincoln and the Fight for Peace -- which retraced Pres. Lincoln's steps in 1865 Richmond, just before his assassination. We discussed the state of journalism and discourse amid a divided electorate. Recorded before an audience at the University of Richmond's Robins School.
Can TV News Self-Disrupt?
February 28, 2022 13:56 - 51 minutes - 71.4 MBTV news -- venerable, cushy, historically profitable -- is kicking and screaming through digital disruption. Guests: Mosheh Oinounou, formerly executive producer of the CBS Evening News; he now runs a "news concierge" Instagram. And Terence Smith, veteran TV news correspondent who authored the book Four Wars, Five Presidents: A Reporter's Journey from Jerusalem to Saigon to the White House.
Thriving and Hurting: Brand NFL at 100
February 18, 2022 16:51 - 51 minutes - 71.4 MBFounded a century ago, the National Football League brand is thriving: high TV ratings, sold-out Super Bowl ads and popularity among nearly all demographics. Yet, the NFL is reeling from allegations of institutional racism and sexual abuse, and not enough being done to protect players from traumatic injury. Brandcenter director Vann Graves and Sportico's Scott Soshnick on the dichotomy.
Underrated?
February 11, 2022 16:39 - 51 minutes - 70.8 MBThe Economist's Ryan Avent on the magazine's cover feature, "How High Will Interest Rates Go?" With inflation at a 40-year high, the Fed faces the tricky task of normalizing borrowing costs without killing the broader economy. Chip Hughey, managing director for fixed income at Truist, discusses the market implications.
Doomed to Retweet It?
February 07, 2022 01:06 - 52 minutes - 71.5 MBHow social media and the pull of clicks-at-any-cost are chipping away at real, facts-based history. Our guest is historian and author Jason Steinhauer, global fellow in history and public policy at The Wilson Center. Plus, a flashback to our chat with Michael Sayman, who joined Facebook at the age of 18.
Business Insurance After Covid
January 25, 2022 00:47 - 52 minutes - 71.5 MBCovid was a mass-extinction event for businesses, from restaurants and bars to concert venues and landlords. Many were blindsided to learn that their business-interruption insurance did not cover a pandemic. Risk advisor John Pendleton of Scott Insurance (est. 1864) and Penn Law Prof. Tom Baker discuss the tricky subject of what coverage will look like after this global shock.
Revenge of the Small Investor?
January 17, 2022 01:23 - 52 minutes - 71.5 MBWall Street Journal editor Spencer Jakab on his book, The Revolution That Wasn't: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors. The Mulligan brothers, new investors from Oregon, share what they learned riding GameStop stock against the Hedge Fund-Industrial Complex.
All the News That's Fit to Slash
January 10, 2022 17:05 - 51 minutes - 71.2 MBHedge fund Alden Global has devoured and squeezed newspapers, most recently Tribune Publishing. It now wants Lee Enterprises, parent of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Charlottesville's Daily Progress and 75 other dailies. Can Lee stop Alden? Robert Zullo of the Virginia Mercury and NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik on this last stand for the industry.
Rewind: 2019's Concert Series
January 06, 2022 18:56 - 52 minutes - 71.8 MBFlashback to 2019: Nada Surf, Silversun Pickups and (Professor!) David Lowery (Cracker; Camper Van Beethoven) on the highs, lows and hustle it took to make it in the music industry. We'll return to live music when Covid finally exits stage left.
Parental Guidance Demanded
December 12, 2021 18:33 - 52 minutes - 72.4 MB50+ million Americans provide unpaid care for someone over 50. Children of parents needing elder-care -- a surging share of the aging population -- are learning how little they can depend on the social-safety net. Julia Pekarsky Schneider and Kitty Eisele share their experiences as daughters who had to parent a parent.
Remote Control
December 04, 2021 20:52 - 50 minutes - 69.8 MBSo much for the great return to offices. Many of us are still working remotely, often with little desire to go back to the five-day-a-week desk-grind. Who gets hit hardest in this new order? Can you negotiate dividends from this shift? Guests: Bloomberg's Matthew Boyle and Prof. Andra Ghent, chair in real estate at the University of Utah's School of Business.
Live Show: "What Did VA Just Tell US?"
November 12, 2021 20:22 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBFrom the University of Richmond's Robins School: Jeff Schapiro and Michael Pope, the politics duo from the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Virginia Public Radio, on the national implications of the GOP's big 2021 wins in Virginia.