The Wiggin Sessions

Demetri Kofinas is interested in looking beyond the epiphenomena to find out what’s really driving change.

Rather than accept the superficial, popular narrative around current events, he challenges the consensus and explores novel solutions to complex problems.

Demetri is the host of Hidden Forces, a podcast that uses a financial and cultural lens to make connections among disciplines and challenge today’s popular narratives. 

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Demetri joins me to discuss how he chooses guests for Hidden Forces and describe how technology platforms like podcasting facilitate the democratization of ideas.

Demetri shares what he learned from his interview with Google CEO Eric Schmidt around artificial intelligence and the problem of goal optimization, explaining how social media channels with a business model based on advertising are incentivized for outrage.

Listen in to understand how a high speed of change impacts society and learn how to maintain your humanity and sustain an open mind as you uncover the hidden forces that shape our changing world.

Demetri’s background as a media entrepreneur and financial analyst

What technology platforms allow for the democratization of ideas 

How Demetri chooses podcast guests who look beyond epiphenomena to what’s really driving change 

Demetri’s take on the influence we have as individuals and why we’re on the verge of political realignment in the US

What Demetri learned from his conversation with Google CEO Eric Schmidt around AI and the problem of goal optimization

Why social media platforms with a business model based on advertising are optimized for outrage

Edward O. Wilson’s concepts of consilience and eusociality

How the human desire to do meaningful work is fueling the Great Resignation

The costs associated with navigating a high speed of change

The pros and cons of Demetri’s open-minded approach to Hidden Forces 

Hidden Forces Podcast 

Demetri on Twitter

Consilience Financial

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5-Minute Forecast

The Meaning of Human Existence by Edward O. Wilson 

The Daily Reckoning 

Kurt Richebacher 

Mobs, Messiahs and Markets: Surviving the Public Spectacle in Finance and Politics by Bill Bonner and Lila Rajiva 

Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis by Will Bonner and Addison Wiggin

The Demise of the Dollar … and Why It’s Great for Your Investments by Addison Wiggin

Hans-Hermann Hoppe

Financial Reckoning Day: Surviving the Soft Depression of the 21st Century by William Bonner and Addison Wiggin

Richard Duncan

Substack

Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘The Man in the Arena’

Capital Account with Lauren Lyster

Mark Moss on The Wiggin Sessions EP030

Market Disruptors Live

Tristan Harris

Tristan Harris on The Joe Rogan Experience

The Social Dilemma

Eric Schmidt on Hidden Forces EP218

A World Only Lit by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance by William Manchester

Ray Kurzweil

Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away by Rebecca Goldstein

Rebecca Goldstein on Hidden Forces EP069

‘A Collective Mass Refusal to Work in Poor Conditions Is Driving the Labor Shortage’ in Business Insider

A Most Violent Year

Speed Limits: Where Time Went and Why We Have So Little Left by Mark C. Taylor

Land of Desire: Merchants, Power and the Rise of a New American Culture by William R. Leach

In the 1970’s, then Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker implemented a series of interest rate hikes to curb inflation.

But times have changed. Today, the powers that be no qualms about pumping trillions of dollars into the economy with nothing to back it. And businesses, individuals and the government itself are all dependent on very low interest rates.

So, what is the likely outcome of the current economic policy? Is it time to stock up your bolt-hole?

My long-time friend and mentor Bill Bonner is the founder of Agora Financial , the leading innovator in the financial advice industry for the last two decades.

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Bill joins me to discuss Joe Biden’s $6 trillion Build Back Better social engineering plan and share his take on skyrocketing inflation—with no sign of a Fed Chair like Paul Volcker in sight.

Bill explains how the Fed’s aim has changed from protecting our currency to manipulating the economy and describes the two ways a bubble built on credit ends.

Listen in for Bill’s insight on how we’re following Argentina’s financial playbook and learn how to protect yourself from the impending financial reckoning day here in the US. 

The real cost of the government’s infrastructure and social spending bills

How printing money is responsible for skyrocketing inflation

What former Fed Chair Paul Volcker did to kill inflation in the 1970’s

How the Fed’s aim has changed from protecting our currency to manipulating the economy

The 2 ways a bubble built on credit is likely to end

Bill’s insight on how the US is following Argentina’s financial playbook

The challenge of running a business when you don’t have confidence in the government

How the pandemic contributed to the current economic environment

Why we’re in for a chaotic, impoverishing few years (and how to protect yourself)

Bill Bonner’s Diary at Rogue Economics

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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5-Minute Forecast 

Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis by Will Bonner and Addison Wiggin

Financial Reckoning Day: Surviving the Soft Depression of the 21st Century by William Bonner and Addison Wiggin

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Build Back Better Act

‘The Real Biden Bill: At Least $4.6 Trillion’ in The Wall Street Journal 

‘Build Back Better Cost Would Double with Extensions’ on The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Blog

National Taxpayers Union

Paul Volcker

IOUSA

Ludwig von Mises

David Stockman’s Contra Corner

CARES Act

‘Deere Strike to End as Workers Vote to Approve Contract’ in Reuters

‘Ford, GM Step into Chip Business’ in The Wall Street Journal 

The Demise of the Dollar … and Why It’s Great for Your Investments by Addison Wiggin

Hans-Hermann Hoppe

In his 1987 bestseller, The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom explores how abandoning a Classical education in favor of political correctness leads to indoctrination over independent thinking. 

Anya Leonard sees a further erosion of the American mind today, where social media is driving us further and further into isolated silos. Where independent thought and the exchange of ideas is frowned upon.

And under pressure from the ‘woke mob,’ universities are eliminating their Classics departments. 

So, what can we do to combat this demolition of the American mind? How can studying history and the Classics reverse this dangerous trend? 

Anya is the Founder of Classical Wisdom, a platform dedicated to preserving Classical ideas. She earned an MA in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh and studied at St. John’s College with a double major in Philosophy and the History of Math and Science.

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Anya joins me to share her experience in the Great Books Program at St. John’s and explain how we might distill the wisdom of the Classics to take inspired action now.

Anya explains her decision to travel the globe with her daughter Freida and challenges us to expand our view of the Classics, offering insight around the ancient world as a huge and diverse place.

Listen in for Anya’s take on the parallels between Mao’s China and America today—and learn to leverage the Classics to ‘vaccinate’ yourself against the demolition of the American mind.

How Anya defines the Classics and her experience in the Great Books Program at St. John’s

What’s important about the Classics and what we can learn from studying the Western cannon

Anya and her husband’s decision to travel the globe with their daughter Freida

What inspired Anya’s essays around her idea of the demolition of the American mind

How social media impacts our brains and drives us into isolated silos

How we might distill the wisdom carried in history and stories to take inspired action now

Anya’s explanation of stoicism and how we can apply its principles in modern life

The guest lecturers Anya is featuring on Classical Wisdom, e.g.: Zena Hitz and Anika Prather

Anya's insight around the ancient world as a huge and diverse place

Anya’s passion for preserving Classical ideas (and the resources she provides to that end)

Demolition of the American Mind 

Classical Wisdom

Classical Wisdom Speaks

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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5-Minute Forecast 

Anya Leonard on The Wiggin Sessions EP006 

The Closing of the America Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today’s Students by Allan Bloom

Emily Wilson’s Translation of The Odyssey 

Dan Denning, Anya Leonard and Joel Bowman on The Wiggin Sessions EP013

Kathleen Stock

Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of ‘Brainwashing’ in China by Robert Jay Lifton

Jeffrey A. Tucker at the Brownstone Institute 

Anthony A. Long

William B. Irvine

Donald Robertson 

Zeno of Citium

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 

Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life by Zena Hitz

Dr. Anika T. Prather

The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America by Victor Davis Hanson

Niall Ferguson

James Hankins

Angie Hobbs

Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis by Will Bonner and Addison Wiggin

The Essential Classics

Classical Wisdom Society

Litterae Magazine

In the modern world, people waste a lot of energy on things we cannot control. Faced with information overload, we get overwhelmed and make poor decisions. A dilemma Ian Silverberg calls Modern Society Syndrome.

But what if we shifted our focus to the things we can control? What could we accomplish if we made conscious decisions about where to put our energy? 

What would it look like to build an intentional life?

Ian is an international real estate investor, entrepreneur and strategic business advisor. He has 30 years of experience building businesses in the health and wellness, real estate and business coaching industries, and he is currently developing a portfolio of intentional communities in New Zealand, Costa Rica and Utah.

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Ian joins me to explain how to overcome Modern Society Syndrome and make better decisions through intentional living.

He shares his experience working with entrepreneurs to apply intentional living strategies in their personal and professional lives.

Listen in to understand how Ian’s concept of intentional living shows up in his Harmony Ranch communities and learn how to own your sh*t and take on the role of Chief Energy Officer in your life!

What inspired Ian’s shift from stocks to international real estate

Why Ian made the decision to be a Pro Dad and how he teaches his kids to own their sh*t

Ian’s development of intentional living communities in New Zealand, Costa Rica and Utah

The concept of intentional living and why It's so important to Ian

Ian’s idea of Modern Society Syndrome and how it leads to poor decision-making

Ian’s concerns around our growing inability to see all sides of a story

Ian’s experience working with entrepreneurs to apply intentional living strategies in their personal and professional lives

How Ian’s concept of intentional living shows up in his Harmony Ranch micro-communities

Ian’s advice on overcoming Modern Society Syndrome to pursue an intentional life

What it looks like to take on the role of Chief Energy Officer in your life

Harmony Ranch Eden 

Ian on LinkedIn

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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5-Minute Forecast

Agora Financial 

Agora’s Platinum Reserve Membership 

Med Retreat 

Alec Ross on The Wiggin Sessions EP029

Rancho Santana

La Estancia de Cafayate

Between droughts, political policies and the conversion to alternative energy sources, the cost of energy is skyrocketing.

And anytime there’s a market disruption of this magnitude, a transfer of wealth follows. 

So, how can you be on the receiving end of this inevitable transfer of wealth? What can you do to grow and protect your wealth through the approaching global energy crisis?

Mark Moss is the serial entrepreneur and investor behind Market Disruptors Live, an event that brings together world-leading financial experts to help you develop an investing plan that will make 2022 your most profitable year ever.

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Mark joins me to discuss the impending global energy crisis, explaining what’s behind the global elites’ agenda for resetting the economy after the pandemic—using climate change as a catalyst.

He weighs in on the unintended consequences of carbon credits, sharing his take on the real goal of cap-and-trade systems and why nuclear power is the ultimate source of green energy.

Listen in for Mark’s insight on how market disruptors facilitate the transfer of wealth and find out how to protect your finances, freedom and health at his upcoming event, Market Disruptors Live.

How Mark’s market analysis is informed by his experience of losing it all in 2008

The concept of a market disruptor and how economic volatility facilitates a transfer of wealth

What you will learn at Market Disruptors Live about protecting your finances, freedom and health

The consequences of printing unlimited money and how it’s likely to impact the economy

Mark’s take on climate change policy and why the energy crisis is a man-made problem

The potential incentive among politicians to promote a fear-based system

The unintended consequences of carbon credits and cap-and-trade

What’s really behind the global minimum tax on corporations

The contradictions in policy around nuclear power and why it’s the ultimate source of green energy

How to protect your purchasing power and invest wisely amid a global energy crisis

Market Disruptors Live 

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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Mark Carney

Dr. Joseph Mercola 

Mark’s Video on Rolling Blackouts 

Reveries of the Solitary Walker by Jean-Jacques Rousseau 

Klaus Schwab

‘Wall Street’s Takeover of Nature Advances with Launch of New Asset Class’ on Unlimited Hangout with Whitney Webb 

Value(s): Building a Better World for All by Mark Carney

Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 by Karl Marx

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

The social contract is an unwritten agreement defining the relationship among government, capital and labor. 

But our existing social contract was written for the Industrial Age and fails to serve the needs of everyday Americans in a digital economy.

And Alec Ross contends that if we don’t update our social contract, we can look forward to a Mad Max-like future characterized by growing division and rage.

Alec is a distinguished professor at the University of Bologna Business School, Board Partner at Amplo VC and bestselling author of The Industries of the Future.

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Alec joins me to discuss his new book, The Raging 2020s: Companies, Countries, People—and the Fight for Our Future.

He shares his approach to investing in companies that are imagining and inventing the future, asking himself who is in the best-of-class in digitization, crypto and genomics.

Listen in for Alec’s prediction around the next trillion-dollar industry and learn how we might rewrite the existing social contract to restore the balance of power in America.

Alec’s explanation of the social contract as an unwritten agreement defining the relationship among government, capital and labor

Why it’s time to rewrite the social contract as we evolve out of the Industrial Age

How Alec’s background as a public-school kid from West Virginia who became a successful entrepreneur shapes his understanding of the social contract

Why US policies are much more favorable to investment and entrepreneurship than just about any other country

Alec’s take on where the government is overspending and why we should focus instead on investing in infrastructure and innovation

Why Alec invests in early-stage companies that are imagining and inventing the future and what he looks for in a founder

Alec’s approach to investing in the best-of-class companies in digitization, genomics and crypto

Alec’s insight on investing in applications of mRNA technologies to other maladies

The data around the growing economic equality in America over the last 30 years (and what the future looks like if we continue that trajectory)

How to begin rewriting the social contract through tax legislation

Alec’s Website 

The Raging 2020s: Companies, Countries, People—and the Fight for Our Future by Alec Ross 

The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross 

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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Juan Enriquez on The Wiggin Sessions EP004 

The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau 

Amplo VC 

Bowery Farming 

Mark43 

Andela

Craig Venter

Craig Venter’s Project with Exxon 

Global Minimum Tax Framework

China is on a mission to become the world’s dominant industrial power. What does it mean for the US if China succeeds? And how would Chinese economic dominance impact individual investors?

David Goldman is a columnist for Asia Times and principal of Asia Times Holdings. He is a regular contributor to the Claremont Review of Books, American Affairs Journal and Standpoint Magazine, writing under the pseudonym Spengler. David is also the author of You Will Be Assimilated: China’s Plan to Sino-Form the World. 

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, David joins me to discuss China’s goal to dominate the Fourth Industrial Revolution and why it matters. 

He shares his prediction of what the world looks like in 2031 should China become the dominant force in global manufacturing and trade, describing how that would affect our economic and military power.

Listen in for David’s insight what could happen to the USD’s reserve currency status should China achieve its goals and find out what that means for you and me as individual investors.

David’s concerns around whether China’s centralized system will fail in time for the US to avoid strategic disaster

What would happen to the USD’s reserve currency status if China achieves economic dominance 

The potential for armed conflict between the US and China

China’s goal to dominate the Fourth Industrial Revolution (i.e.: artificial intelligence and big data)

How China is producing 7X as many bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields as the US

How China’s rise to economic dominance would impact individual investors in the US

David’s take the Evergrande drama as a managed deflation of China’s real estate bubble and not a major crisis

David’s prediction of what the world looks like in 2031 should China become the dominant force in global manufacturing and trade

The two big differences between our concerns about Japan in the late 1980’s and our concerns about China today

Why it's important that China has 70% of the world’s installed 5G internet 

How the US tax and regulatory environment’s hostility to capital-intensive industries impacts our ability to adopt 5G technology

David at Asia Times

‘Spengler’ at Asia Times

Books by David P. Goldman

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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You Will Be Assimilated: China’s Plan to Sino-Form the World by David P. Goldman 

Sample Questions from China’s Gaokao 

Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis by Will Bonner and Addison Wiggin 

The Evergrande Crisis 

Houlihan Lokey 

‘US Is Chasing China’s Tail on 5G’ in Asia Times 

Ericsson 5G Technology 

Nokia 5G 

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

There are two ways to make wine. There’s the industrialized process, where blends are used to achieve the same flavor year over year. 

And then there’s the traditional fermentation process, where winemakers work with what they’ve got, producing a wine unique to that place. A wine that transports you to Argentina’s breathtaking Calchaqui Valley or the little-known Valdeorras region of Spain.

Will Bonner and Diego Samper are the CEO and Wine Explorer, respectively, behind Bonner Private Wines, a partnership dedicated to searching the world for astounding wines from undiscovered winemakers. 

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Will and Diego join me to explore the history of wine through the development of civilization and explain how environmental factors influence taste.

Will and Diego discuss why Malbec does well in the high altitudes of Northern Argentina and describe the experience of traveling from the subtropical forest to the mountain desert vineyards in Salta.

Listen in to understand what differentiates wines that are authentic to a particular place and find out how to be a part of Will and Diego’s Extreme Altitude Wine Club.

The long and winding history of wine through the development of civilizations

The fungi that nearly wiped out the French wine industry (and how that incident led to the Old World accepting New World wines)

Who was responsible for the introduction of winemaking in Argentina

Why Malbec does well in the high altitudes of Northern Argentina

The experience of traveling to Argentina’s spectacular Calchaqui Valley and why the climate shifts so quickly

The science of wine and how it’s influenced by terroir (e.g.: soil, sun exposure, altitude, etc.)

What differentiates traditional fermentation from using blends to achieve a particular flavor

The evolution of winemaking in Argentina

Why it’s so challenging to ship wine from the Salta region of Argentina to the US and what inspired Will to make it happen

How the Extreme Altitude Wine Club membership works and where the wines come from

Diego’s role as a wine explorer

Bonner Private Wines

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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Extreme Altitude Wine Club

Penfolds Wines

Davalos Family History

Hess Persson Wines

James Turrell Museum

Los Cardones National Park 

700 million people are affected by mental illness, addiction or eating disorders. And mushrooms can help.

Not the kind you might find at a Grateful Dead concert but the medicinal mushroom molecule of psilocybin.

Doug Drysdale is the CEO of Cybin, a biotechnology company working to advance psychedelic pharmaceutical treatments for mental health issues and addiction.

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Doug joins me to discuss the research around treating major depression with psilocybin and explain how his team is making classical psychedelics more accessible.

Doug describes the size of the market for treating depression, addiction and eating disorders, differentiating Cybin’s work from the psychedelic microdosing trending in Silicon Valley. 

Listen in for Doug’s insight on the differences between medicinal marijuana and psilocybin—and learn how investing in Cybin looks to be a win-win for stockholders and anyone living with mental illness.

Cybin’s work to make classical psychedelic drugs both faster and shorter acting

How Cybin is making psychedelic treatments for depression, addiction and anxiety more accessible

The findings of the Johns Hopkins study on treating major depression with psilocybin

How psilocybin works to make patients more receptive to psychotherapy

Cybin’s innovation in delivering psychedelic therapies (direct contact with bloodstream vs. oral delivery)

The enormous size of the market for treating addiction, depression and eating disorders

Why Cybin is building out an entire care model that includes a psychotherapy program

The differences between medicinal marijuana and psychedelic therapeutics

Why developing psychedelic microdosing treatments is much more challenging than Cybin’s macrodosing treatments

When Cybin’s stock was listed on the NYSE and how that affected the team’s work

How volatility in stock price impacts a biotech company’s ability to finance testing

The potential for consolidation in the biotech space over the next few years

Cybin

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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Psilocybin Research

‘Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder’ in JAMA Psychiatry

Cybin’s EMBARK Program

Greenbrook TMS

Cybin’s Collaboration with Greenbrook TMS

GW Pharmaceuticals

Today’s current events drive the tech trends of tomorrow. And if we’re paying attention, we investors can profit from those trends.

That’s why I love sitting down with my go-to science and technology advisor, Ray Blanco, to jam about the latest in COVID treatments, flying taxis and life-extending pharmaceuticals. 

Ray is the science advisor at St. Paul Research and editor of Technology Profits Daily and Catalyst Trader, where he breaks down the latest in science and shares his research around investments in technology and biotech companies.

On this episode of The Wiggin Sessions, Ray joins me to explain why he’s optimistic that the Delta variant has peaked on the national level and how COVID is likely to become an endemic disease.

Ray offers insight on what makes vaccine mandates counterproductive and walks us through the science behind Ivermectin as a treatment for coronavirus.

Listen in for Ray’s advice on investing in eVTOL aircraft, psychedelic therapeutics, ‘immortality drugs’ and the metaverse.

What makes Ray optimistic that the Delta variant has peaked on the national level

Why Ray thinks COVID will become an endemic disease

Ray’s take on mask/vaccine mandates and why they’re counterproductive

The science behind Ivermectin as a treatment for coronavirus

What differentiates Cybin from other emerging psychedelic therapeutics companies 

The market opportunity in battery energy storage systems or BESS

The rumors around iPhone 13’s ability to support satellite communications

Why Ray recommends investing in the metaverse (augmented and virtual reality technologies)

The eVTOL aircraft technology in development at Joby Aviation

Why Ray is excited about MyMD Pharmaceuticals’ new TNF alpha inhibitor drug 

Technology Profits Daily

Catalyst Trader

Consilience Financial

Be sure to follow The Wiggin Sessions on your socials. You can find me on—

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President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan

Ray’s Interview with Dr. Peter Tsai

William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura’s Nobel Prize for Ivermectin

Merck’s Mectizan Donation Program

Cybin

COMPASS Pathways

MindMed

‘Tesla Is Plugging a Secret Mega-Battery Into the Texas Grid’ in Bloomberg Green

Ming-Chi Kuo on the iPhone 13 and Satellite Communications

Globalstar

Iridium Satellite Communications

New Scale Technologies

Eos Energy Storage

Stem

AST SpaceMobile

Qualcomm

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

NVIDIA

Tawain Semiconductor

Apple Glasses

Oculus

Joby Aviation

BLADE

MyMD Pharmaceuticals

MyMD’s Presentation at HC Wainwright