One of the things I love most about Pundit Review Radio is getting to read a wide variety of books and then having the opportunity to have extended discussions with the authors. It really is an honor and a thrill. I know I enjoy these segments because I have read every page of all of these books. I wouldn’t have done that or invited the authors on if I wasn’t passionate about their work. I think the authors enjoy these because they are not cookie cutter interviews. We have plenty of time to explore all aspects of these books.
We are now in full blown holiday shopping season. Throughout the coming days, I’ll feature my favorite books of 2011, broken down by categories such as Politics, History, and in this case, the Financial Crisis that dominated much of 2011. In no particular order…
Exile on Wall Street: One Analyst’s Fight to Save the Big Banks from Themselves
This book is an absolute must read. It details the conflicts, crony capitalism and greed that helped bring us to the edge of chaos. Mike provides a look behind the curtain, how companies co-opt analysts, curry favor and manipulate their ratings. He tells of his experience on the Street, how he has struggled to do his job, simply because he has always been about getting at the truth about the companies he covers, good, bad or ugly.
At a time when there are so few people to admire in public life, especially as it relates to Wall Street, Mike Mayo is the exception. A man of great integrity, character and insight. I was deeply honored that he spent the full hour with us. This is one of my favorite interviews in six plus years of doing this show.
NY Times’ Diana Henriques on The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the death of trust
Twenty-two years at the New York Times, currently senior financial writer, winner of a Polk Award, Pulitzer Prize finalist for her coverage of the 2008 financial crisis, it was an honor to welcome Diana Henriques to Pundit Review Radio.
So much has been said and written about Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme. Incredibly, there is much about the story that people do not know, and in many cases, what people do know is flat out wrong. Ms. Henriques was the first journalist to interview Madoff in prison, and he sent her dozens of follow-up emails and letters. Few people know his story better. Everything is in this book, from the childhood and the lessons learned, to his early business days to the Ponzi scheme itself. Of course, the story is filled with gut wrenching human drama, the damage Madoff inflicted upon everyone around him, starting with his family. After reading the book, I am convinced that Madoff’s wife and sons did not know about his Ponzi scheme. It was fascinating to hear her describe meeting Madoff in prison a couple of months after his oldest son Mark had committed suicide. He seemed like a shattered man and it was hard to think anything other than “good”! That is just one of many moments of clarity that the book provides. It also goes to great detail to explain how he was able to get away with it for so long, and how many opportunities regulators had to stop him. The failure of government at all levels is another central character in this story. Not only did they miss numerous chances to identify the fraud, they asked all the wrong questions after the fact. Shocker. This is a great book.
Ron Suskind on Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington and the education of a President
Pulitzer Prize winnner Ron Suskind has written a great book that gives an inside look at the first year of the Obama administration. Unprepared for office and unaware about the application of power, our young president has been run over by his far more seasoned staff. Who could have seen that coming? Certainly not the Beltway Intellegensia, who were in full swoon over Obama. Some of us saw this coming. Really, given his total lack of experience managing ANYTHING, how could it have turned out any different? This book is the ideal companion to the Occupy movement as it explains in great detail the Wall Street crisis and the decisions made, and not made, by Obama. Let’s just say, when it came to changing Wall Street culture, he once again voted present.
Don Luskin was one of the first guests I ever invited on Pundit Review Radio starting in 2004. He’s been on many times and has been a great friend of the show. He’s written a 3-for-1 book. Part bio on Ayn Rand and her philosophy, part casting call for the real-world version of Atlas Shrugged, complete with heroes and villains (guess which one Barney Frank is? See 26:00), and part business management book that examines what makes leaders business leaders like Cypress Semiconductor CEO TJ Rogers the modern day disciples of Ayn Rand.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Last Sunday night on Pundit Review Radio, we had the pleasure of talking with C. Blake Powers, CEO of Cooking with the Troops
Cooking with the Troops just announced something pretty damn cool,
I imagine that few who read this will not know the name Richard D. “Dick†Winters. While the movie Band of Brothers made him famous, he was already well known within the military community for his outstanding leadership. His accomplishments make him an excellent exemplar for all the outstanding leadership shown on D-Day and beyond by those who led men in combat, which is the basis for the Richard D. Winters Leadership Project of the WWII Foundation.
As part of this effort, a statue of Dick Winters is being dedicated on 6 June 2012 in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Normandy, with a reception afterwards at the Utah Beach Museum. It is an honor and a pleasure to tell you that Cooking with the Troops will be providing the refreshments at the reception. Our goal is not just to provide tasty and appropriate food and drink to those attending, but to involve as many veterans-to-chefs and troops/vets interested in culinary/hospitality careers as possible.
You can donate to this great organization here.
Chris DeRose has written a terrific book about a little understood period of American history, those years between the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the first session of Congress under the Constitution in 1789.
Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, The Bill of Rights, and The Election that Saved a Nation
Beyond the story of Madison and Monroe, one thing that struck me time and again was how similar the country’s problems were as a nascent nation and today as a world superpower. The very first tax bill that came before Congress went nowhere and was punted to a “Committee”. Really. On day one of the first session of Congress, the country had a “staggering” $54 million debt, 12% of which was owned by foreign governments. Sound familiar? Madison did a study of failed governments throughout history and the common thread he discovered was paralysis. They were no longer able to govern. Super committee anyone? Overseas rivals mocking our government’s ability to function, not to mention our balance sheet. China and Russia do this regularly. Even intransigent politicians ignoring directives goes back to our Founding. When Pulitzer-prize winner Ron Suskind joined us to talk Confidence Men, he told a story about Treasury Secretary Geithner ignoring a directive from President Obama to break apart Citigroup. Geithner disagreed so he simply ignored it. In Founding Rivals, the order was to strike a deal with Spain to secure access to the Mississippi River. New York’s John Jay didn’t agree and set out to do the exact opposite. Thanks largely to Madison and Monroe, he was unsuccessful.
It was remarkable how relevant this book is today. At it’s core, it is the story of life long allies who ultimately became political rivals without becoming personal enemies. Buy this book for any history lover on your holiday shopping list!
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Cooking with the Troops is great charity that our friend Bruce McQuain told us about. We were honored to welcome the group’s CEO, C. Blake Powers, a fellow Blackfive blogger of Bruce’s, to Pundit Review Radio. Blake told us about the group, some of the great events they have held, including on Veterans Day at the NASDAQ. The reception that CWWT has received has been phenomenal. To keep things going, they need our support. You can help them and learn more by visiting their website.
Here’s C. Blake Powers talking about Cooking with the Troops
C. Blake Powers, CEO of Cooking with the Troops on Pundit Review Radio
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Lieutenant Colonel Matthew A. Lopez. From his Silver Star citation,
On 17 April 2004, demonstrating extraordinary combat endurance and command presence, Lieutenant Colonel Lopez led a 48-hour urban assault to destroy an estimated 300 insurgents in the city. His brilliant action resulted in more than 120 insurgents confirmed killed, destroying whole insurgent cells and groups, numerous foreign fighters, and the enemy’s will to fight. Throughout the battle, he placed himself with lead platoons, assaulting insurgent fortified positions in house-to-house assaults and employing mortars and rotary wing close air support. By his bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Lieutenant Colonel Lopez reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The SYSK archive can be found here and The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Well, we can’t solve ALL the world’s problem each and every Sunday night. On those weeks we need a break from the madness that is state and national politics, we love to have Producer Rob return to Pundit Review Radio so we can take advantage of his Rain Man knowledge of all things movies. Tonight, the focus was Guy Movies.
We took a lot of great calls and got some great suggestions. As usually happens during these segments, we also got a few suggestions out of left field, like Star Trek 3. Not two or four, but Star Trek 3. Allrighty then. Here’s one of my picks, A Bronx Tale,
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
This was a great honor for me to have Mike Mayo on Pundit Review Radio. He is someone I have long admired for his tenacity, integrity and fearlessness. For the past two decades, he has been the top ranked banking and finance analyst on Wall Street. Fortune named him One of Eight Who Saw The Crisis Coming. He has developed a well-earned reputation as a truth seeker, someone who is uninterested in currying favor with the companies he covers. According to the LA Times review of his fantastic book Exile on Wall Street: One Analyst’s Fight to Save the Big Banks from Themselves
Stock analysts are not known for being a rebellious sort -– their jobs generally involve writing up dry technical reports on public companies. But Mike Mayo is not your typical stock analyst. Since joining the industry nearly 25 years ago, he has shaken up the financial world with his bold and forthright analysis of the banks he researches.
…He argues that regulators, accountants and credit ratings agencies do not have the right incentives to serve as good watchdogs. He slams his fellow stock analysts for providing misleadingly positive portrayals of public companies due to conflicts of interests.
This book is an absolute must read. It details the conflicts, crony capitalism and greed that helped bring us to the edge of chaos. Mike provides a look behind the curtain, how companies co-opt analysts, curry favor and manipulate their ratings. He tells of his experience on the Street, how he has struggled to do his job, simply because he has always been about getting at the truth about the companies he covers, good, bad or ugly.
At a time when there are so few people to admire in public life, especially as it relates to Wall Street, Mike Mayo is the exception. A man of great integrity, character and insight. I was deeply honored that he spent the full hour with us. This is one of my favorite interviews in six plus years of doing this show.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here and you can find us on iTunes at Pundit Review Radio.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.