Links - 04/21/2025
“We basically have the attitude that you can’t make a good deal with a bad person. And…that means we just forget about it. I mean, we don’t try and protect ourselves by contracts, or getting into all kinds of due diligence. We just forget about it. We can do fine over time, dealing with people that we like, and admire, and trust. And a lot of people do get the idea, because the bad actor will tend to try and tantalize you in one way or another — and you won’t win. It just pays to avoid them. We started out with that attitude, and maybe one or two experiences have convinced us, even more so, that that’s the way to play the game.” —Warren Buffett (1995)
Richer, Wiser, Happier Podcast: Calm Amid The Storm w/ Christopher Begg (Video and Transcript, Podcast)
Related previous links: 1) High-Quality Investing w/ Christopher Begg (May 2023 Podcast); 2) East Coast Asset Management Letters (2009-2015)
Buy the Dip! The Appeal and Dangers in Contrarian Investing! - by Aswath Damodaran (LINK)
Don’t Buy Into This Easy Fix for Stock-Market Craziness - by Jason Zweig (LINK)
How Costco’s Kirkland Signature Beer Finally Hit the Mark (LINK)
The NEW China Hustle - by Herb Greenberg (LINK)
Acquired Podcast: Epic Systems (MyChart) (LINK)
Odd Lots Podcast: Why the Pentagon Fails Audits Year After Year After Year (LINK)
10% Happier Podcast: Stoic Advice for Handling Setbacks, Insults, and Death | William Irvine (LINK)
We the People Podcast: The Day the Revolution Began (LINK)
Short History Of... Podcast: The Egyptian Sphinx (LINK)
How to Take Over the World Podcast: Jesus Revisited (LINK)
Why Starship Matters (LINK)
No, astronomers almost certainly didn’t find biosignatures of life on another planet. (LINK)
The Naval Academy Canceled My Lecture on Wisdom - by Ryan Holiday (LINK)
“Those who propose to take charge of the affairs of government should not fail to remember two of Plato’s rules: first, to keep the good of the people so clearly in view that regardless of their own interests they will make their every action conform to that; second, to care for the welfare of the whole body politic and not in serving the interests of some one party to betray the rest. For the administration of the government, like the office of a trustee, must be conducted for the benefit of those entrusted to one’s care, not of those to whom it is entrusted.” —Cicero (“De Officiis”)