Kara Swisher joins Carl for a wide-ranging conversation about money and meaning - from her early experiences with money to observing the habits of influential billionaires up close. If you’re not already familiar with Kara, her reputation precedes her: she’s direct, honest, and unapologetic about asking tough questions, especially to the wealthiest of individuals in our society. Over the course of her career, Kara has interviewed many of the most influential figures in the tech industry:...

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What job have you given money, and is it realistic? Jonny Miller and Carl explore this question in a discussion that digs deeper into the meanings of wealth, ambition, and fulfillment. Jonny is the founder of  the Nervous System Mastery program, providing high-performers -  from the CEO of a rocket ship company to startup founders recovering from burnout to busy parents attempting to stay afloat amidst the chaos of raising a family- with evidence-backed protocols to cultivate calm, build...

Jerry Colonna is a certified professional coach dedicated to the notion that better humans make better leaders. Drawing on his wide variety of experiences as a former venture capitalist and practicing Buddhist, Jerry and Carl explore the intricate relationship between money, emotions, and family ancestry. He shares personal anecdotes about his early memories of money, the emotional weight it carries, and how these experiences shaped his understanding of financial relationships throughout his...

David C. Baker is the author of multiple books, including “The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight To Impact + Wealth”. He’s a helicopter and airplane pilot, an avid photographer, and taught high performance motorcycle riding/racing. Based in Nashville, he has visited and worked all over the world. On this episode of 50 Fires, he shares his insights on staying curious in life, the importance of keeping meaningful hobbies, and how to shut out the noise of...

Sarah Spain is a veteran sports reporter who currently hosts “Good Game with Sarah Spain”, a daily podcast covering the biggest stories in women’s sports. Sarah and Carl discuss the challenges and realities of working in the sports industry, including the financial struggles and gender inequity that comes with it.  Follow and Listen to "Good Game with Sarah Spain": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-game-with-sarah-spain/id1752100672 Email List: Sign up at https://www.50fires.com/...

Teenage investor Chris Truong joins Carl to discuss why investing your money should be boring. At just 16 years old, Chris started a long-term diversified investing club at his high school - a club for ‘boring investment’, as he puts it - and it has grown from a club of 2 people - just him and his teacher - to over 40 of his peers. Chris emphasizes the importance of investing for long-term financial stability and the misconception that picking individual stocks can lead to quick wealth. He...

The world is a better place when we are all trying to do the thing that lights us up. Ben Katt shares his experience of following his intuition and making a job change to focus on writing a book and rebooting his meditation teaching practice while in his 40s. Ben recently authored a book called “The Way Home: Discovering the Hero’s Journey to Wholeness at Midlife”, and on this episode of 50 Fires, he and Carl discuss many of the principles in that book that helped him embrace his uniqueness...

Jodi Kantor and Ron Lieber are both distinguished journalists at The New York Times, and today they join Carl to discuss the importance of financial stability for their family while pursuing work that is meaningful, both as individuals, and as a couple. Ron has been the “Your Money” columnist for The New York Times since 2008, and worked as the editor for Carl’s “Sketch Guy” column when he was at the Times. In 2017, Jodi and her colleague Megan Twohey I broke the story of decades of sexual...

What does it truly mean to balance success with artistic integrity? Brendan Leonard, an artist and creative known for his humorous and thoughtful writing at Semi-Rad.com, shares his journey through the delicate balance of staying true to his creative vision and the pressures of mass appeal. This episode explores a familiar theme on 50 Fires: Why do we need money, and what is it really for?  Reflecting on personal stories, Brendan and Carl observe that true security may be more about mindset...

Stephanie Kelton is an American Economist, Academic, and a leading proponent of Modern Monetary Theory. She served as chief economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee in 2015, and POLITICO called her one of the 50 Most Influential Thinkers the year after. On this episode of 50 Fires, she joins Carl to share her own personal stories about money and discuss what it means to her. The conversation explores the themes of taking risks, learning how (and when) to say yes to opportunities, and the...

Peter Rollins is an Irish philosopher, author, storyteller, producer and public speaker who has gained an international reputation for overturning traditional notions of religion and being in the world. Peter joins Carl to reflect on how we can align our lives more closely with our values, using money to enable that alignment. This wide ranging conversation focuses on themes of desire, lack, and the pursuit of fulfillment, while exploring the relationship between money, satisfaction, and...

Comedian King Hassan has lived many lives - he’s a former police officer who somehow became a stand up comic and writer, now living in Los Angeles with his wife and three kids. He was born in Alabama to an American mother and Nigerian father, which led to often confusing and conflicting approaches to money, wealth, and identity. He and Carl discuss how he has embraced change and uncertainty in his career and how he has always found meaning in his work, a trait he picked up from his...

Carl welcomes Greg McKeown, the author of two New York Times bestsellers “Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most”, and “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” one of Carl’s favorite books. In this episode of 50 Fires, Greg and Carl discuss the concept of creating possibilities beyond money and why lack of capital should never be the thing that holds us back from doing something that we really want to do. Greg explains his philosophy that in any endeavor, starting small...

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. In fact, if you’ve come across the word ‘mindfulness’ in the past decade, Sharon has had a lot to do with it (at least here in the United States). On this episode of 50 Fires, Sharon shares how her experiences in India and Burma shaped her as a college student from New York City,  where she witnessed the sheer generosity of people who had very little, and what it taught her about money and...

Everyone has a meaningful story about money. What's yours? Start by answering this question: What's your earliest memory of money? Share yours by emailing Carl - [email protected] Email List: Sign up at https://www.50fires.com/ for our monthly email with resources for financial advisors!  Follow 50 Fires on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/50firespod/ Please direct business inquires to: [email protected] Cover Art: Josh Passler - TheFinArtist.com Music Credits: Alexandra...

If you’ve ever felt like the investment advice you get feels closer from sources like CNBC feels like gambling (AKA The Financial Pornography Network) and want to be thoughtful about investing, this episode of 50 Fires is a great place to start. Carl welcomes Meb Faber, a co-founder and the Chief Investment Officer of Cambria Investment Management. Meb is also the host of The Meb Faber Show podcast and has authored numerous white papers and leather-bound books.  This is the first episode of...

Have you ever found yourself gripped by the terrifying thought of your money running out? Join Carl in this bonus solo episode of 50 Fires, as he contemplates financial anxiety. Imagine if we viewed money not as a dwindling resource but as something more fluid and replenishable? This 'minisode' isn't just about financial strategies; it's an introspective look into how our mindset shapes our fears about the future. Email List: Sign up at https://www.50fires.com/ for our monthly email with...

Scott Ballew is a filmmaker, singer, and songwriter who has taken a remarkable journey from directing adventure films for Yeti to releasing music as a solo artist starting in his late 30s. Carl explores Scott's upbringing in a modest household in Austin, Texas, where his family faced financial struggles but maintained a stable environment. Scott describes himself as a recovering Texas football star and drug addict, and now that he’s found sobriety, he reflects on the internal struggle of...

Born to drug-dealing parents in rural Indiana, J. Dana Trent was a preschooler the first time she used a razor blade to cut up weed and fill dime bags for her schizophrenic father, King. This is the opening log line to her new memoir “Between Two Trailers”, and it is a wild story. She talks with Carl about the experience of hustling with her father and mother as a child and how it’s shaped her relationship with money today. In her effort to overcome such an unpredictable childhood, Dana...

When former Major League Baseball Player Dexter Fowler was drafted out of high school in 2004, he signed for $1 million dollars and immediately got a wealth advisor. He played 14 years in the league, and despite all of his success on the field, he attributes his success off the field to his parents, wife, and children. As Dexter explains to Carl in this candid episode of 50 Fires, “you’re only as strong as your foundation”.  Email List: Sign up at https://www.50fires.com for our monthly...

Shannah Game and Carl have one important thing in common: they both love talking about money. Shannah, a Certified Financial Planner and Trauma of Money Specialist has been talking about money for a long time. As host of the podcast Everyone’s Talkin’ Money, Shannah’s goal is to help people see their money as a tool they can use to create they want rather than something to be feared. In this episode of 50 Fires, Carl and Shannah discuss the impact of childhood experiences on financial...

The impact David Booth has had on your financial life is profound, whether you realize it or not. David is the co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, a firm that fundamentally changed the way we make everyday decisions about practical investing and money. David knew the future of investing would depend on data, so in 1981 he moved a noisy, hot, refrigerator-sized computer into his two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. The machine spit out stock prices for brokers and investment managers around...

50 Fires returns with new episodes! Carl gets deep on money and what it means with Index Pioneer David Booth, Bestselling Author Greg McKeown, Meditation Guru Sharon Salzberg, and many more*: June 26: Dimensional Co-Founder David Booth  July 03: Host of Everyone’s Talkin’ Money Shannah Game  July 10: World Series Champion Dexter Fowler  July 17: Bestselling Author Greg McKeown  July 24: Musician and Filmmaker Scott Ballew  August 07: Author and Minister J. Dana Trent  August 14:...