Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.

Here are five links worth reading…

Mapping the Migration of the World’s Millionaires by Carmen Ang and Nick Routley 

Globally, about 88,000 millionaires moved to a new country in 2022. A look at where they’re coming from and where they’re going, with fantastic graphs and charts.

HT: Balaji Srinivasan 

A Government Shutdown by Michael Batnick

If you’re worried about a government shutdown, know that it’s probably less cause for alarm than you might think. A look at the data on government shutdowns going back to 1990, and why the market is good at pricing risk events with a date associated. 

Listen: David Sacks: SaaS Metrics, Tech Cycles & Fundraising in a Down Market

On the World of DaaS podcast, one of the foremost minds in SaaS and venture capital breaks down what the best startups will do to survive the downturn. David Sacks is a lucid thinker with lots of concise insights. A must listen for anyone running a company right now. 

Is Selling Shares of Yourself the Way of the Future? By Nathan Heller

We normally think of inequality as something that runs top to bottom in society, but there’s a chronological component too. Your younger self works hard for rewards you reap in old age. What if you could draw on that potential when you’re young?  

HT: Erik Torenberg

Higher Rates Will Lead to the Next Generation of Great Tech Startups by Chamath Palihapitiya

Some have said high interest rates will be disastrous for tech. Chamath looks at the data: The largest and most successful tech startups of all time were founded in the 70s and 80s, during a period of soaring interest rates. 

Bonus: (Inspiring) RIP to The Greatest CEO You’ve Never Heard Of

When Frances Hesselbein became CEO of the Girl Scouts at age 60, it was only her second professional job ever. She would go on to earn 23 honorary doctorates and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, despite never graduating from college. 

Bonus (Listen): Acquired: The NFL

In time for Superbowl season, the Acquired podcast takes a deep look at the history of the single largest media property in the world— the NFL.    

More reading links at https://twitter.com/AurenReads

Books:

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

HT: Patrick Radden Keefe, Annabel Ostrow

Spies, Lies, and Algorithms by Amy B. Zegart

HT: Johnnie Moore

The Laws of Trading by Byrne Hobart

HT: Byrne Hobart

Paper Belt on Fire by Michael Gibson

Tweet of the Month:

100% of founders fantasize about starting a country

— Auren 𝐇𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧 (@auren) January 26, 2023

Join the 100,000+ subscribers to Five Links

Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.

Here are five links worth reading…

Why “Why Nations Fail” Fails by Maia Mindel

Taking another look at the (questionable) arguments behind a modern econ classic. 

Grow the Puzzle Around You by Jessica Livingston

Livingston’s journey to co-founding Y Combinator, plus nine takeaways for authenticity, strong partnerships, and making the best of your strengths. 

Listen: Bryan Mistele: What the Future of Transportation Looks Like on World of DaaS

An insightful conversation Bryan Mistele (CEO of Inrix) on what transportation will look like in the next 10 years … and he’s not afraid to make predictions. 

52 things I learned in 2022 by Tom Whitwell

Fun, useful, random, and min-expanding facts to start the year. I guarantee you haven’t heard every one of these, and at least one will change the way you think about something. 

The Mirage of European Identity by Miquel Vila 

The fascinating story of a Japanese-European aristocrat and how his pan-European hypothesis went on to influence generations of the European project. 

Demystifying Financial Leverage by Patrick McKenzie

In turbulent times, it’s important to understand first principles. McKenzie breaks down leverage, a frequently misunderstood concept, to its roots. 

Bonus: Suburban Mom Handcuffed, Jailed for Making 8-Year-Old Son Walk Half a Mile Home

How a Texas mom ended up with a child endangerment charge, and the fallout from it

Bonus (Watch): Interpreting Girard by Jonathan Bi

Bi and David Perell created a great seven-part lecture series on René Girard’s Mimetic Theory.

More reading links at https://twitter.com/AurenReads

Books:

Money Men by Dan McCrum (must read)

An overview of the Wirecard fraud

Almanac of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgensen

HT: Eric Jorgensen

Greenlights by Mathew McConaughey

HT: Kevin Weil, Tony Pan, Steve Ferketic 

The Globalization Myth by Shannon O’Neil

HT: Shannon O’Neil

The Truth About God’s Plan For History by Bryan Mistele

HT: Bryan Mistele

Say Nothing by Patrick Raaden Keefe

A history of the Northern Ireland Troubles

HT: Chris Kirchhoff

Tweet of the Month:

my goal is to play in the World Cup for people over 100.

— Auren 𝐇𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧 (@auren) December 10, 2022

Join the 100,000+ subscribers to Five Links

Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.

Here are five links worth reading…

How Elites Abandoned the Masses by Erik Torenberg

On elite lifestyles vs the normalization of divorce, bad health and unemployment, and how elite hypocrisy is encouraging others to make bad choices. 

Listen: Keith Rabois: Velocity, Differentiation & Disruption on World of DaaS

A conversation with one of the most counterintuitive thinkers in tech. Keith is a master operator and has amazing insight on finding talent, investing early, and creating culture, whether that’s at his companies or in building a new tech scene in Miami.  

Is Wine Fake? By Scott Alexander

The most exhaustive look at the data from numerous wine tasting competitions and academic studies you’ll find anywhere. Scott Alexander comes to a pretty definitive answer to the question “is all this wine stuff made up?”  

Winter is Coming by Fabrice Grinda

A stark, comprehensive look at what could go wrong in the global economy in the next year. If you want a baseline bearish macro view, this is it.  

A sleuth’s guide to the coming wave of corporate fraud by The Economist

“There is an inverse relationship between interest rates and dishonesty.” Where and how you can expect to see the cracks appearing as the economy trends downward.   

Of Ponzis and Polyamory: SBF, FTX, and EA by Zohar Atkins

What polyamory, EA and crypto have in common: optimizing for efficacy and altruism alone will likely take us to zero. There’s been plenty written about the FTX implosion, but this is worth a read.

Bonus (freaky): 30 Y.O. Woman Takes DNA Test For Fun Only To Discover Her Long-Term Boyfriend Is Her Full Sibling by Darja Zinina and Saulė Tolstych

“Life is crazy, sometimes hellish even.” An unbelievable story of modern DNA testing. 

HT: Christopher Kirchhoff

Bonus (Interesting): Rishi Sunak and the Rise of the ‘Short King’

Almost every leader in the G7 is the exact same height— 5’ 7”.

Bonus (Watch): We Own This City on HBOThis six part miniseries from David Simon, the writer of the Wire, covers one of the wildest true stories of corruption in the last 20 years: the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force.

More reading links at https://twitter.com/AurenReads 

Books:

Spy Handler: Memoirs of a KGB Officer by Victor Cherkashin

An autobiography from the KGB officer that handled Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen.

The Teenage Brain by Frances Jensen and Amy Ellis Nutt

HT: Jack Huffard

The Small Big by Steve J. Martin, Noah J. Goldstein & Robert B. Cialdini

The Speechwriter by Barton Swaim

Tweet of the Month:

it is not in the founder handbook, but one of the main jobs of being a founder is just being a good SDR

— Auren 𝐇𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧 (@auren) November 7, 2022

Join the 100,000+ subscribers to Five Links

Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.

Here are five links worth reading…

Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share.

Here are five links worth reading…

Jane Street and the Arbitrage Royal Family by Hide Not Slide

The Ocaml advantage: How Jane Street leaned on an obscure coding language to hire better programmers and climb to the top of the prop trading food chain. 

Listen: Packy McCormick: Web3 & Smart Optimism (World of DaaS Podcast)

A fascinating conversation with a true optimistic thinker about the future of tech in the next five years, and the next 50 years. Packy thinks deeply about the root forces driving innovation and progress. 

Should America Go All In On Ukraine? by David Sacks

Sacks is one of the most lucid foreign-policy thinkers. Here he reviews the nuclear threat from a risk analysis perspective. 

Breaking: Elon Musk is Not Stupid by Sven Schnieders

Decoding what looks like bad decision making and finding simplicity on the other side of complexity— or, the metrics that really matter in evaluating early-stage companies.

San Francisco: The Reckoning is Here by Peter Yared

There’s been lots written about the decline of San Francisco and what it means for tech and the country as a whole. This is an honest, straightforward look at what went wrong driven by data (not partisan buzzwords). Essential reading for anyone who cares about American cities.  

Bonus (Humor): I Work from Home by Colin Nissan.

The funniest thing I have read all year.  

HT: Eugene Chong

Bonus (Framework): From Nostradamus to Fukuyama by Scott Alexander

Predictions are one of the biggest drivers of “discourse.” A useful spectrum for thinking about predictions, and whose predictions are doomed to misinterpretation.  

More reading links at https://twitter.com/AurenReads 

Books:

The Strategy of Denial – Elbridge Colby

HT: Michael Kratsios

Leadership and Self-Deception – The Arbinger Institute

HT: Jay Friedman

The Kill Chain – Christian Brose

HT: Dave Fitzgerald

The Key Man – Simon Clark & Will Louch

Tweet of the Month:

You will learn more about business from “The Wire” than you will from two years at HBS.

— Auren 𝐇𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧 (@auren) October 16, 2022

Join the 100,000+ subscribers to Five Links

Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.

Here are five links worth reading…

Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share.

Here are five links worth reading…

A Triumph of Avoiding the Traps by David Carr

Twelve years on from its original publishing, this article on Oprah Winfrey’s success is still essential reading for everyone, especially entrepreneurs. On the value of knowing your strengths, staying in your lane, and leading with authenticity. 

Listen: Tim Urban: Zooming out on Everything (World of DaaS podcast)

A wide-ranging conversation with one of my favorite thinkers. Tim Urban can talk about anything and covers nothing short of love, death, time, and artificial superintelligence in this conversation. 

6 Discontinued and Uncommon U.S. Currency Denominations

The unknown history behind the $500 bill, the $1000 bill, the $5000 bill, the $10,000 bill, and even the $100,000 bill.

Caesar vs. Dominance-Oriented Status Seekers by Rob Henderson

A bit of Shakespeare and social science. Dives into the correlation betweens status-seeking and political discontent, and two distinct psychological profiles of discontent: populists and dominance-oriented status seekers.    

Siting Bank Branches by Patrick McKenzie

A deep dive into the mechanics of choosing bank branch locations and setting up branch networks. Significantly more interesting and nonobvious than it sounds. 

Bonus (Advice): A Manual for the Low-EQ CEO

Being a low EQ CEO isn’t totally uncommon, but it can be a severe disadvantage as a leader. As someone who’s spent years figuring out how to overcome these disadvantages, I hope this guide will help other low EQ leaders (and those who work with them). 

Books:

Fooling Some of the People All of the Time by David Einhorn

Fiction: “East of the West” by Miroslav Penkov

A beautiful short story about growing up in Serbia, falling in love, and disappointment.

Silicon Valley Porn Star by Jason Portnoy

HT: Jason Portnoy

Tweet of the Month:

Imagine if your company outsourced everything it wasn’t good at and focused only on what it was good at.

— Auren 𝐇𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧 (@auren) September 5, 2022

Join the 100,000+ subscribers to Five Links

Every month I try to share the most mind-expanding links to read/watch/listen. If you find these interesting, please do share with your friends.

Here are five links worth reading…

Understanding Jane Street by Byrne Hobart
Should the smartest students continue going into prop trading instead of trying to cure cancer? Everyone’s heard of Jane Street but do you understand what they really do?

Listen: Sheila Heen: How to Navigate Difficult Conversations
Difficult conversations are challenging and necessary. Life is filled with them, yet most people don’t know how to navigate them effectively. Here are tactics to get better at difficult conversations.

Status, Vulnerability, and Status Vulnerability by Erik Torenberg
Cancel culture, tall poppy syndrome, and a holistic look at how our personal motivations play out on a global scale as status games. Very useful advice for how to escape the status rat race.

Listen: Terry Kawaja: The Future of AdTech
The AdTech world changes every 18 months driven by new regulations and technology changes. But the current downturn may have a lasting impact on the landscape.

The Midwit Trap
Why are we so dismissive of simple solutions? Sometimes the smartest people are the first to complexify a solution when the simple solution is the best answer.

Bonus: The Inside Story of Carlos Ghosn’s Brazen Escape From Japan
The James Bond-esque lead-up to smuggling former Nissan exec Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a musical instrument case.

Bonus Listen: Founders podcast by David Senra
My new favorite podcast. Senra gives a good summary of biographies of entrepreneurs.
HT: Patrick O’Shaughnessy

Graph of the Month: The best founders are both Smart and Positive.
… but most smart people are negative

Books:

The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate (fiction) by Ted Chiang (must read)
I don’t normally read fiction but this short-story (18-pages) by Ted Chiang is amazing. Highly recommend.
HT: Tenzing Shaw

The Seven Sins of Memory by Daniel Schachter (really interesting)
HT: Sheila Heen

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
HT: Marissa Shandell

Build by Tony Fadell
HT: Tony Fadell

Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation by Yossi Klein Halevi

Bloodchild (fiction) by Octavia Butler
HT: Mary Therese Jackson

Tweet of the Month:

the biggest privilege in life is to have at least one parent that loves you unconditionally.
if you have that, then you are lucky to be massively privileged.

— Auren 𝐇𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧 (@auren) August 1, 2022

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