In this episode of The Liquidity Event, Shane and guest host Ed Z cover everything from Nobel laureates disappearing into the woods to Italy's flat-tax paradise for the ultra-rich. They unpack why more working-class Americans are turning to the stock market, debate whether democratized investing is empowerment or gambling, and answer a listener question about why companies are staying private longer. The duo also tackles Reddit's $750,000 cash conundrum, the truth about life insurance "wealth hacks," and end on chess, broken office chairs, and the art of tax-season survival.

Timestamps: (00:00) Shane's office chair falls apart — chaos at tax day HQ. (02:00) Meet guest host Ed Z (04:15) Disney planning with AI — Shane and Ed test ChatGPT's travel agent skills (06:30) The government shutdown, Epstein theories, and suit shopping with AI (07:25) Nobel laureate goes missing — why geniuses love the woods (09:30) Italy's "La Dolce Vita" flat-tax scheme for the ultra-rich (13:00) Corruption, $1 Italian homes, and Shane's mafia jokes (15:00) The working class joins Wall Street — Robinhood, risk, and returns (19:00) Why democratizing investing is both thrilling and terrifying (20:00) Listener question: why aren't companies going public anymore? (24:00) Private money, long horizons, and the rise of private equity ETFs (26:30) Reddit question: what to do with $750,000 in cash (29:00) Life insurance "wealth hacks" and why caps on returns are a scam (31:30) Chess, Fabiano Caruana, and why Shane's the only spectator in St. Louis

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