This year has seen a spate of insurance companies announcing that they're leaving markets like Florida and California, citing the increased risk of natural disasters, such as floods and wildfires. Elsewhere, premiums for certain types of insurance are skyrocketing — yet many insurance companies can't seem to turn a profit in certain areas. Melanie Gall is the co-director of the Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security at Arizona State University, and she also manages the Spatial Hazard Events and Losses Database for the United States, known as SHELDUS. In this episode, we talk to her about what's driving insurers away from certain markets, and what can still be done to protect businesses and homeowners from catastrophe.

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When the US auto industry needed a restructuring or bailout in 2009, the Obama administration tapped former banker and investor Steven Rattner to lead the effort. As the government's "car czar," he helped shape an agreement that saw the United Auto Workers accept significant concessions in order to preserve the financial stability of the big three American carmakers. Now the UAW is on strike, with an aim of reversing many of those concessions and gaining new benefits for their workers. So what can the UAW reasonably accomplish? How plausible are their asks? And can US industry remain competitive with higher labor costs? On this episode of Odd Lots, we speak with Rattner to get his take on the negotiations, the challenge of the energy transition on the incumbent automakers, and the goals of Bidenomics more broadly, as the administration seeks to boost domestic manufacturing in areas like EVs, batteries, and semiconductors.

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When generations undergo any kind of collective life-changing event, it shapes how people think about money -- and how they think about spending and investing. Past upheavals like the Great Depression, the World Wars, the inflation of the 1970s, and Weimar-era hyperinflation, had profound effects on the cohorts that lived through them. So what will be the effect of the pandemic on current generations? And what is the combined effect on people who lived through the pandemic, the Great Financial Crisis, and 9/11 in a span of less than 20 years? On this episode, we speak to Morgan Housel, personal finance expert and author of the bestselling book The Psychology of Money, on the lasting impact from these recent societal disruptions.

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In theory, the Federal Reserve operates by tightening the supply of credit. Or at least making it more close. Yet so far, despite the rate hikes, the economy has remained resilient. And credit spreads have remained surprisingly tight. So what's going on? Where are the risks? Why are some pockets of the credit markets showing weakness, while others are rock solid? On this episode of the podcast, which was recorded live at the Future Proof conference in Huntington Beach, California, we speak with Wayne Dahl, a managing director and investment risk officer at Oaktree Capital Management, to get a broader lay of the land.

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For those who can't get enough Odd Lots, we're now offering you... "Lots More." This new podcast show, appearing on Fridays, will see hosts Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal chatting with some of your favorite Odd Lots guests about the latest breaking news and the biggest themes on their minds in markets, finance and economics. On this inaugural episode, they're joined by Neil Dutta of Renaissance Macro Research to talk inflation, a possible government shutdown, the risk of a Federal Reserve policy error, and just how high bond yields can get. Are we getting a soft-landing or an inflationary boom? And why do some investors find the doom-and-gloom philosophy so appealing?

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Last year, consumers around the country experienced an explosion in the price of eggs, in part due to an outbreak of avian flu. Since then, egg prices have come back down to more normal levels. But what did we learn from that outbreak? What could we do better? And how can we mitigate further the economic impact of such waves? On this episode, we speak with Delaware Senator Chris Coons, the co-sponsor of proposed legislation to change how the USDA compensates farmers when the next outbreak comes. We discuss why this is an important topic for the poultry farming community, how insurance works right now, and lessons from the last outbreak.

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Bill Gross became known as the Bond King during his legendary, multi-decade run at Pimco, eventually growing the company to manage trillions of dollars. Of course, that success coincided with a remarkable bond bull market -- a bull market that came to a screeching halt over the course of the last two years. So what does Gross think of markets today? And could there ever be a new bond king in this environment? During a live episode of the Odd Lots podcast, taped at the Future Proof conference in Huntington Beach, California, Gross talked about the state of the market, reflected on his career, discussed the things that make him happy today, and addressed old rivals and competitors.

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In some respects, the real estate market has been surprisingly resilient in the face of rising interest rates. Homebuilders have generally performed well and home prices have not tumbled the way many might have expected. But looked at in another light, rising interest rates and reduced credit availability mean some real estate projects that might have made sense a year or two ago are no longer penciling out. On this episode of the podcast, we speak with David O'Reilly, the CEO of Howard Hughes Holdings, a major publicly-traded real estate developer with Master Planned Communities all over the country. Thanks to the company's role in the real estate market, David has perspective on all aspects of real estate, from housing to offices to retail development. We discuss the impact of higher rates, costlier insurance, and inflation.

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A decade ago, there was a lot of hype about self driving cars. In fact, there was more interest in self-driving cars than there was in electric vehicles, in terms of the future of the auto industry. But progress in developing these robotic cars has turned out to be slow, and many tricky challenges still have not been solved. But is the technology finally ready for prime time? On this episode of the Odd Lots podcast, we speak with long-time technology journalist and analyst Tim Lee, the author of the Understanding AI newsletter, about why he believes self-driving cars are here and why they're finally about to make serious commercial inroads.

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Certain people claim that New York City has a reputation for... not having the best fruits and vegetables. This is a controversial point and not everyone agrees. But regardless of where you stand on this hot button issue, getting produce into the city has unique challenges for multiple reasons. So how does it all work? On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Karen Karp, founder of Karen Karp & Partners and an expert in food supply chains, who works with a range of institutions to help get their produce delivered. We discuss the three main ways that fruits and vegetables come into NYC, the key role of the Hunts Point distribution terminal, and how this important supply chain can be improved.

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