Decoded with Ryan Pallotta

Herb Greenberg is a former journalist and current legend in the investing community. The first 20 years of Herb's career saw him plying his trade at some of the most recognizable publications that cover business, with stints at the Chicago Tribune, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. 

In 1998— a time when Americans were accessing the internet via a dial-up modem—Herb became one of the first mainstream journalists to make the leap to writing online, blazing a trail at TheStreet and MarketWatch while becoming a familiar face as a CNBC contributor. 

In recent years, Herb's gotten increasingly into financial research, which he describes as an opportunity to dig deep while cutting out the noise that comes with being a well-known voice in the business journalism space. He currently pens newsletters for Whitney Tilson's Empire Financial Research.  

Today we talk with Herb about his dynamic career, seismic changes that have taken place in business journalism, the toxicity of social media, and the point at which a firehose of content becomes a cesspool of misinformation.

Today, we're joined by author, philanthropist, former hedge fund manager, and current investment newsletter publisher Whitney Tilson. 

During our fascinating conversation, Whitney describes his childhood in Tanzania and Nicaragua, his relatively late start to investing, his long friendship with investment titan Bill Ackman and forming his own hedge fund, Kase Capital.

At Kase, Whitney predicted and navigated both the dot com and housing bubbles, beat the market for 11 of the next 12 years, and grew assets under management from $1 million to $200 million.   

Soon after winding Kase down in 2017, Whitney pivoted and poured his considerable insights into Empire Financial Research. While subscribers to the company's eight newsletters include investment whales, most of their subscribers are average investors.

Whitney talks to us about the common mental mistakes people make with managing money, the characteristics of a good stock picker, and the spidey sense he developed after more than two decades in the investing world.  

Today, we’re talking with a group of amazing people challenging the long-held idea that generating wealth and positively impacting the world are opposing strategies. 

Newday Impact was founded so that responsibly-minded individuals and institutions could access the impact and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) marketplace. CEO Doug Heske, COO Anne Popkin, and Head of Data Analytics John Boyer describe how we can use our voices as stakeholders and shareholders to advocate for solutions to global problems. 

The Newday team are joined by representatives of two organizations they're partnering with to demonstrate how capital is being deployed and the impact it’s having: 

Georgie Badiel of the Georgie Badiel Foundation is a model and activist tackling the issue of potable water in her native Burkina Faso. Phillippe Cousteau Jr is an oceanographer and co-founder of EarthEcho International, an environmental non-profit built around a mission to power a global youth movement to protect and restore Earth's oceans.

Jeff Dorman is a visionary investor using his expertise to creatively push boundaries in our rapidly-evolving world. Jeff is the CIO and Co-Founder of Arca—an innovative new crypto investment firm exploring new methods of applying traditional investing strategies in the world of blockchain. 

During our sitdown, Jeff showcases his unique talent for breaking down this revolutionary technology in a way that is easy for anyone to digest and describes how the lessons he learned through his career in traditional finance have helped him find opportunities in crypto.

Marc Cohodes has earned a living and a reputation betting against companies he suspects committing fraud. His high-profile take-downs include Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor—the orchestrator of a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe a fentanyl-based pain medication that caused the deaths of 7,000 people. 

During our earthy and entertaining chat, Cohodes' describes how his shorting career began when he bet against a pinball machine manufacturer at the dawn of the video game age. He explains the rationale behind some of his long positions and maintains that it's not what you've done but what you do next that counts.

Episode 4 of Decoded features Lilly Ghalichi. An entrepreneur, attorney, and former reality tv star. Lilly is an inspiration for entrepreneurs everywhere.  She describes how her immigrant parents—gave her confidence in her abilities to succeed, inspiring her to be her own boss. Lilly is an inspiration for young women, motivating them to build their brands and businesses without fear.

Transitioning from an attorney to an entrepreneur she was Inspired and driven to be a powerful business woman. Lilly, shares how early business missteps helped her perfect her approach to success, and shares a plan that anyone looking to build a brand or a business can use.

Through the lens of her own experience, Lilly illustrates the importance of putting our health and wellbeing first, letting go of what no longer serves us, and moving forward with confidence and optimism.  

Today we have the privilege to talk to an incredible investor. Gil Weisblum. The way he uses a philosophical approach to better his investing is something we can all learn from. Gil talks about using what he calls our Human Functionality tools to become better humans and investors.

Gil has been an investor for over 20 years managing money for a multi billion dollar family office. His intention moving forward is to recalibrate how we approach investing in a more balanced way and How we can use the tools of capitalism to benefit the world. Over the years he has become a better investor by quieting the noise and focusing on what’s important.