UPTHINKING FINANCE

What is the status of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)? How could creating global division ultimately lead to humanity’s loss of control? How can we open our eyes and really see what’s going on before it’s too late?  In this episode of UpThinking Finance™, Melissa Ciummei—an independent investor and researcher in Northern Ireland—returns to revisit CBDCs, the balance of power, and what...

Tom Luongo is a former research chemist and part-time goat farmer. He publishes the “Gold Goats ‘N Guns” blog, a monthly newsletter, and records podcasts. His work is also published in Bitcoin magazine and syndicated regularly on sites like ZeroHedge, Investing.com, etc. Tom has a unique way of connecting geopolitical dots. In this episode of UPThinking Finance™, I pick his brain about some of the...

Cynthia Chung’s education taught her that energy consumption is destroying our world. It taught her that the hole in our ozone layer was growing. It taught her that the destruction of rainforests was wreaking havoc on humanity. Industry was portrayed as something that killed anything it touched. Cynthia’s research paints a far different picture. Cynthia dives into the fallacy of green energy in he...

Richard Laterman is a Portfolio Manager at ReSolve Asset Management, Inc. with 18 years of investment experience in capital markets. He has the unique ability to take complex information and boil it down into something concise and understandable.  In his role, he provides us with invaluable information about geopolitical events, economic events, and the markets. In this conversation, we get R...

Can we find an answer to the world’s ills? Is a return to a gold standard feasible? Can we keep our current system from imploding?  Do we even want to?  In this conversation, Charles Hugh Smith gets into the weeds on the socioeconomic issues we’re facing. We talk about whether or not a new economic system is the answer or if a focus on relocalization and self-reliance may be key to incit...

Inflation continues to rise. Interest rates are at 30-year highs. Gold is at all-time highs. There’s geopolitical conflict and confusion everywhere. Yet most global equity markets continue to go up. Where do you turn to get rational analysis, advice, or opinions?  Today’s guest brings three decades of experience to the equation. Charles Heenan is the Co-Investment Director at Kennox Asset Man...

Kevin Flanagan started his career as a Fed watcher i.e. money market economist working on the trading floor. As a fixed-income strategist, he looks at things from a broad perspective because numerous things impact the bond market—economics, geopolitics, elections, etc. All play a role in how the bond market and interest rates are developed.  He found it fascinating that you could look at the...

This episode marks the second anniversary of UPThinking Finance™. Alex Krainer was our guest for our first anniversary, so it made perfect sense to invite him back again. In this episode of UPThinking Finance™, he speaks on both financial topics and the ever-changing geopolitical landscape.  You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... The turmoil in the financial markets [2...

Our thoughts and ideas are being molded through the clever use of psychology. Our enemies aren’t generals and admirals but behavioral scientists and psychologists. They know how the brain operates and how to manipulate it.  In 2010, after years in the music industry, DJ Mark Devlin underwent a “conscious awakening.” He started to study the mainstream music industry and how A-list artists have...

The media is completely disconnected from reality. We’ve all known it for a while. The challenge becomes—if we don’t trust the news—where do we source information? How do we filter it? How do we discern the truth?  When did spreading propaganda begin? When did the news become a source we could no longer trust? Michelle Stiles wrote the book, “One Idea To Rule Them All: Reverse Engineering Ame...

If there was ever an industry where history repeats itself, finance is at the top of the list. Russell Napier has worked in investing for over 30 years. He’s written exceptional books, including “ The Anatomy of the Bea r” and “ The Asian Financial Crisis. ” He’s the Founder and Course Director for the Practical History of Financial Markets, an online course at the Edinburgh Business School. ...

I often feel like I’m living two lives. There’s the world I live in that I can see around me. Then there’s the world I can’t see but can feel in my heart. The gap between them seems to be getting wider and wider. Something is amiss. Is there a day of reckoning coming? Is change going to happen?  John Waters is a man who isn’t afraid to speak the truth. He’s able to put words to how many of us...

Peter Cavelti is a financial advisor who shares a similar worldview as we do. He was one of the first investment managers to recognize some of the defining trends of our time, such as the ascent of emerging economies and the dramatic reversal of globalization. In this episode of UPThinking Finance™, we have a conversation about his career, his opinion on the US debt, and how he navigates financial...

Dr. Tess Lawrie is the Founder and Director of The Evidence-Based Medicine Consultancy (EBMC). She also sits on the steering committee for the World Council of Health, which sponsors  The Better Way Conference . She is committed to improving the quality of healthcare through rigorous research.  She envisions a healthier world in which science and learned wisdom are brought together to em...

Wealth planning is an exercise in risk management. Our role as advisors is to manage risks for our clients. We place our clients and their goals  first . That means that we do things differently than most. In this episode of UPThinking finance™, Amy and I will share why “This time is different” and how we operate, keeping our client’s best interests in mind.  You will want to hear this e...

Foresight is an act of thinking about and looking toward the future. Those who engage in foresight are working toward building the future, not just predicting what may happen. Today’s guest, John Smart, has a Master’s Degree in Future Studies and 22 years of experience as a Foresight Consultant. John’s mission is to help others achieve more adaptive futures for themselves, their teams, and their o...

For the last 400–500 years Western Powers controlled and dominated global trade and finance. Alex Krainer believes that the current empire is coming to an end. The world is shifting, both politically and economically. He also believes that these inevitable processes are leading us toward better things. It may seem that the world is falling apart but we might actually be working toward a better fut...

Almost every financial services firm does the same thing for people. They’re operating following same-old same-old principles. Why is it a problem? Firms are seeking ways to differentiate themselves but are doing so in external ways. Some are trying to leverage technology. Others are focusing on credentials that set them apart.  Measuring performance via benchmarks has been the most detriment...

In today’s interview, you’ll get to meet my business partner: Amy LeNoble. Amy always dreamed of becoming a professional dancer. She attended Loyola Marymount University to pursue her vision, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in dance (while minoring in business administration). But Amy also developed a passion for finance. Over the last nine years, Amy grew from receptionist to administrative a...

Christof Plothe, D.O. is a Dr. of Osteopathic Medicine who currently works as a naturopath in Germany. He’s authored and co-authored numerous books and studies. He currently serves as a steering committee member of the  World Council for Health , which is a global coalition of health-oriented organizations and civil society groups designed to inform people about health and human rights. ...

In the early 1980s, John Waters—an Irish thinker, talker, and author—was a correspondent for Ireland’s “The Hot Press,” a Rock & Roll newspaper. He contributed reviews and interviews and wrote a regular radio review column.  He shifted the paper from rock and folk music to a wider engagement with politics and culture. He’s written several books, including his most recent, “ Give Us Back t...

Have you ever thought about the impact that gambling has on the global economy?  Jeremy Olson , with Online United States Casinos, points out that casino gaming and sports betting are multi-billion-dollar industries. And each nation has its own laws about gambling and takes its own approach based on cultural preferences.  But what are the economics of gambling? Marty Goldman—the SVP of G...

Alex Sanchez grew up in an area where drug use, gangs, poverty, and racism were a part of everyday life. He lost his dad at the young age of two. He just wanted to be accepted, but society rejected him.  But the gang culture accepted him. He was constantly told he wasn’t going to amount to anything. He lived into what they said he would be.  His aggression fueled by the gang culture and...

Is the fiat currency system about to implode? Could Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) be the financial system of the not-too-distant future? What would be the long-term ramifications of CBDCs? Melissa Ciummei—an independent investor and researcher—joins me in this episode of Upthinking Finance™ to discuss the implications of CBDCs and the global move toward digitalization.  You will wan...

Have you ever wondered whether or not a vaccination that you get every year is necessary? Have you questioned the logic of sticking our children with needles within days, weeks, and months after birth? Have you hit the realization that big pharma might not be helping us but simply trying to make a profit?  Leveraging her degrees in psychology and immunology, Deanna McCloud worked in the pharm...