This Time Is Different

By Malcolm Ethridge and Ricky MulveyBusiness Technology Investing

This Time Is Different episodes

September 29Will Healthcare Costs Take More Jobs Than AI?
Mark Cuban says rising health benefit costs will get more people fired or not hired than artificial intelligence will. Ricky and Malcolm dig into the claim that polite society isn’t supposed to talk about.
Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge discuss:
Why healthcare costs, now close to $19,000 per employee per year, could cost more jobs than AI.

What GLP-1 drugs are doing to company budgets, including Bank of America's $250 million a year in spending.

Why Oracle is warning its creditor that it may struggle to make payments on a data center, and what OpenAI's delayed IPO has to do with it.

Why SoftBank's near-10% high-yield bond offering to buy more OpenAI shares is a sign markets are getting more skeptical, and why bond fund holders may already be exposed to the AI trade.

Why Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara might be the book Malcolm needs to download next, plus Ricky's case for Costco, Disney parks, and Trader Joe's.
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Hosts: Malcolm Ethridge, Ricky MulveyEngineer: Heather Horton

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57 min
September 22OpenAI Really Cares About Safety
Sam Altman told Fortune that OpenAI is delaying its IPO because of safety concerns. Ricky and Malcolm think the real story is something else.
Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge discuss:
Why Sam Altman's "safety" excuse for delaying OpenAI's IPO looks a lot more like a company that isn't ready to speak to Wall Street.

The AI researcher who quit his job over how "dangerous and irresponsible" these companies are, then admitted on national TV that he still owns his shares.

Why the federal government is quietly taking equity stakes in companies like Rigetti Computing.

What a Yahoo Finance analysis of 17 companies that cut deals with the Trump administration says about who actually profits.

Ricky's new car purchase, the used-car market that refuses to depreciate, and tips for speeding up time at a dealership.
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We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Hosts: Malcolm Ethridge, Ricky MulveyEngineer: Heather Horton

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48 min
September 15Apple Finds the Crease
Apple dropped a new folding iPhone. Are you ready to pay $2k for one? Ricky and Malcolm are joined by special guest Dylan Lewis, now with The Morning Brew! They discuss:
Malcolm's case that this is Apple's "Jordan Mania" moment even if he's not buying one himself.

Why Apple's stock is up roughly 40% over the past year, why it’s a "safety trade" story as CEO John Ternus takes over.

Robinhood's tokenized-stock push and why AMC's CEO isn't a fan.

Aura's IPO: 74% revenue growth, 5 million paid members, and a killer word-of-mouth acquisition number. Are fitness wearables investable?

Why Dylan is interested in financial planning for new parents, like setting up a 529 plan.
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We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge
Guest: Dylan Lewis
Engineer: Heather Horton

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48 min
September 08Real Money Secrets Aren't on TikTok
Tax tricks used by billionaires are now showing up in the algorithm, but the real money secrets aren’t going out on social media. Ricky and Malcolm discuss:
Winmark, a royalty-collecting franchisor (Play It Again Sports, Once Upon a Child) trading at a 52-week low, and why Ricky is interested as a long-term investor.

The 351 exchange strategy the ultra-wealthy use to defer capital gains taxes, and why the version being pitched to retail investors on TikTok rarely pencils out.

Gary Vaynerchuk's VeeFriends, how their being sold to collectors, and if cards can provide “alpha”.

K Money, a suspended securities broker turned Facebook "investing luminary," and how his $800,000 fund actually got spent.

Why "if they were really that good at it, they wouldn't be telling you about it" is a solid rule of thumb for filtering financial advice on social media.

A few real-life "avoidable risk" lessons from Red Rocks, and Ricky's Tesla-vs-Civic dilemma as his EV lease runs out.
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We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Host: Ricky Mulvey
Co-host: Malcolm Ethridge
Engineer: Tim Sparks

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51 min
September 01Cybersecurity Stocks' Comeback
AI didn’t kill all software. In fact, some of the big dogs in cybersecurity may be stronger than before. Ricky and Malcolm discuss:
Bitcoin's return to favor, and whether it's a trade or a decade-long hold.

Why CrowdStrike and Okta are rallying, and the CISO survey stat behind the next leg of cybersecurity spending.

The "SaaS-pocalypse" that may still be coming, and how private equity gets hurt.

Ricky's Medicare for All reporting, and the cost assumption nobody's talking about.

TRICARE's opaque drug pricing, and why other developed nations pay less for U.S.-made drugs.

A mailbag question on investing real money for a college asset management timeline.
Want to contact us? [email protected]
We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Host: Ricky Mulvey Co-host: Malcolm Ethridge Engineer: Tim Sparks

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51 min
August 25 Matt Argersinger: The AI Trade Is Musical Chairs
Future US stock returns may not follow its historical success. Former Motley Fool senior analyst Matt Argersinger sits in for Malcolm this week. Ricky and Matt discuss:
- 30-year Treasury yields near two-decade highs, and what that means for income investors who remember 2% bonds.- A real estate investment trust that Matt thinks is a great value.
- The case for playing defense on the AI trade.
- Ricky’s reporting on debanking.- Mercado Libre, gold, and covered-call ETFs.
- When it actually makes sense to pay for active management, versus indexing.
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We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Host: Ricky Mulvey
Guest: Matt Argersinger
Engineer: Tim Sparks

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52 min
August 18The Only Sane Person in Crazy Town
The economy is unhinged! Ricky and Malcolm discuss:
Gen Z redirecting investing dollars toward gambling.

Malcolm as the lone voice of caution on a CNBC panel of market bulls.

Bill Ackman's return to Netflix as an activist investor and his shaky track record with the stock.

Reddit's inclusion in the S&P 500, and why Google and OpenAI need the site for AI ambitions.

Cerebras' wild earnings swings, the buildout of "collateralized chip obligations," and Malcolm's case about semiconductor shortage, which may not last forever.

Ricky's reporting about margin debt, which is at a record amount in the US stock market.
Want to contact us? [email protected]
We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Hosts: Malcolm Ethridge, Ricky Mulvey
Engineer: Tim Sparks

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47 min
August 11When to Sell a Stock You've Owned for Years
Malcolm bought a popular tech stock a few years ago and just decided it's time to sell. How did he know?
Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge discuss:
Why Malcolm is selling a streaming giant after a multi-year run, and why he believes there are signs the company's best growth days are behind it.

Mercado Libre, the "Amazon of Latin America," and why a company trading off profit margins for a decade of growth might be a stock you just hold and don't overthink.

The little-known Fed rule that hasn't been touched since 1974, how it could effect the record levels of margin in the US stock market.

A listener question on the K-shaped economy: what would it actually take for the bottom half of the K to catch up to the top?
Want to contact us? [email protected]
We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge
Engineer: Tim Sparks

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
43 min
August 04 Why Smart People Take Dumb Money Risks
A 24-year-old hedge fund manager said he had more "situational awareness" than anyone on Wall Street. Then his leveraged bets on memory chipmakers blew up, forcing a fire sale to Ken Griffin. Wall Street is pretty smart.
Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge discuss:
- How Leopold Aschenbrenner's AI manifesto and multi-billion-dollar hedge fund imploded within months, and what it says about ego.
- South Korea's leveraged ETF boom, and what a 30% single-day swing in SK Hynix says about the stock market.
- What free solo climber Dean Potter's story (via HBO's The Dark Wizard) reveals about risk tolerance vs. risk capacity.
- Why AI chatbots are quietly rewriting the dating game, and what a Bloomberg story on "chat phishing" says about how people communicate now.
Want to contact us? [email protected]
We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge
Engineer: Tim Sparks

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
52 min
July 28 ServiceNow's Pitch: A Kill Switch for Rogue Bots
ServiceNow is down 50% over the past twelve months. Investors are doubting the company's place in a world with AI agents. But, maybe the software giant is figuring it out…
Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge discuss:
- OpenAI’s latest scandal. Its bot broke out of a sandboxed test environment and hacked its way into another company’s servers using stolen credentials.
- Ricky passing the CFP® exam.
- ServiceNow’s pitch for an AI “kill switch,” and why Wall Street isn’t buying it (yet).
- Tesla’s robotaxi miles dropped 36% quarter over quarter, and nearly all of its net income came from SpaceX stock gains.
- Why Gen Z women are financially “momming” their boyfriends, and what it says about the dating economy.
- The financial lessons hiding inside Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Want to contact us? [email protected]
We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.
Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge
Engineer: Tim Sparks

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 4 min

About This Time Is Different

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Long-form conversations that challenge consensus thinking about markets, money, and the economy. We question the narratives everyone else accepts and welcome contrarian ideas.