#013 Epsilon Theory's Ben Hunt On The Narratives Everywhere

Ben Hunt, the author of Epsilon Theory and co-founder of Second Foundation Partners, joins Julia La Roche to discuss narratives and how they shape everything from financial markets to politics.  Ben’s Epsilon Theory is a newsletter read by over 100,000 investors and allocators that examines markets through the lenses of game theory and history and provides novel insights into market dynamics.  In this conversation, Ben details his focus in the investment world on examining unstructured data, which includes “the words that we read and the messages that we hear.” He explains that whether it’s in investing or politics, once you start to understand underlying narratives and story arcs, you begin to see them everywhere.  Ben also discussed how narratives are pervasive in the media and his approach to his content diet. He also outlined his “Fiat News” concept and how narratives get “weaponized.”  Elsewhere, Ben, who has written in praise of Bitcoin, explained how Wall Street co-opted the narratives surrounding the cryptocurrency, and it’s now “just another table at the Wall Street Casino.”  Finally, Ben discussed polarization and how American politics is approaching an “event horizon” that it might not be able to escape.  0:00 Intro/ Ben’s background  4:54 Unstructured data    10:02 Why don’t we recognize narratives/stories?  13:40 Michael Crichton’s Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect  17:30 Ben’s content diet  22:09 ‘Surviving’ in the environment  24:23 ‘Fiat News’  30:10 Weaponized narratives  35:21 The story of Bitcoin 40:16 Wall Street co-opted Bitcoin  45:39 Pervasive political conflict 52:22 How to protect yourself from political crisis  Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/frQ5SPKQMb4