News wasn’t always readily available at the click of a button. Ted Turner forever changed that in 1980 when he brought the Cable News Network to life. 

In this episode, hosts Cole and Bill Smead are joined by Lisa Napoli, author of the book Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN and the Birth of 24-Hour News. Lisa shares incredible insight into the life of Ted Turner and how the media mogul rolled the dice with the launch of CNN. She also discusses the evolution of cable news, its transition from “pure-play journalism” to “theatrics”, and what the 24-hour news cycle might look like in the future.

For a long time, the world has considered China as an example of economic success, but those days may be over. 

In this episode, Cole Smead is joined by Dinny McMahon, author of the book China’s Great Wall of Debt. Dinny takes a deep dive into China’s financial system and gives us a sense of how the country’s complex and “dysfunctional” economy works from the ground up. Dinny also explains why China’s economic growth has slowed down, how the accrual of debt has played a role, and why the “Chinese Miracle” has come to an end.

Buried deep underground lies a wealth of oil and natural gas. Embedded in shale, the major gas companies thought extraction was a waste of time. That all changed when a handful of men thought otherwise, thus creating the process now known as fracking. 

In this episode, Cole Smead sits down with Greg Zuckerman, author of the book The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters. Greg introduces us to the men responsible for the birth of fracking and explains how the trajectory of the United States economy changed with the extraction of oil and natural gas.