The Julia La Roche Show

Prominent First Amendment attorney Greg Lukianoff, a New York Times best-selling author and the President and CEO of The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (previously called the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), joins Julia on this episode for a wide-ranging discussion on free speech. In this discussion, Lukianoff explains what free speech is, some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding free speech, and the importance of fostering a free speech culture. He also covers his work on college campuses and why free speech has worsened since 2015. The conversation also covers FIRE’s expanded mission in the workplace, why journalism is the worst industry for free speech, cancel culture, and free speech on social media. Lukianoff is the author of Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, Freedom From Speech, and FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus. Most recently, he co-authored The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure with Jonathan Haidt. He’s working on his next book Cancelling of the American Mind with his co-author Rikki Schlott.

Contrarian macro investor and thinker Hugh Hendry (@Hendry_Hugh) joins Julia La Roche for a two-hour, unfiltered conversation that covers everything, from his early years in the hedge fund world to why he’s currently fearful of the economy. In this episode, Hugh discusses his time “healing” from the hedge fund world while living on St. Barts for the past five years. He revisits his earliest years, how he got into markets, and his investment process while running his hedge fund. Hugh also explains why he’s fearful of the economy and unpacks his views on why he thinks we’re currently in the fourth depression in the last 200 years that he argues will end in “a revolution in money.” Hugh is also critical of the Federal Reserve and believes they’re making a mistake with rate hikes while debt is “at warning levels.” The conversation also covers inflation, class warfare, the problems with ESG, current opportunities in the market, why he thinks gold is a “stupid” investment, and his thoughts on Bitcoin. Hendry founded Eclectica Asset Management, a global macro hedge fund that was pretty much uncorrelated to everything in the financial universe. Hugh started Eclectica in 2002 and ran for 15 years before closing in 2017. He made more than 30% in 2008 betting against banks. These days, Hendry is a luxury hotelier on St. Barts, where he spends his time surfing and still thinking about macro. He also hosts a weekly podcast called “Acid Capitalist” and shares his views on Instagram, Twitter, and Substack.

In this episode, Julia is joined by Gerry Parsky, founder and chairman of private equity firm Aurora Capital Partners and partner of Endurance Partners.  When Parsky was 31, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, a position he held from 1974 until 1977. In that role, Parsky was responsible for capital markets policy. He also was responsible for all of the Treasury Department’s international affairs, including trade policy, international monetary policy, investment and energy policy; relations with industrial and developing countries; and U. S. policy relating to the international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.  In this episode, Julia and Gerry discuss the importance of mentorship, public service, lessons from the 1970s, inflation, energy, private equity, and more.  

David Cote, executive chairman of Vertiv Holdings and former CEO of Honeywell, joined Julia La Roche for a wide-ranging discussion of his best-selling book “Winning Now, Winning Later.” Cote knows a thing or two about turning things around. He describes his early years as a “tumultuous beginning.” The first in his family to graduate high school, Cote had a 1.8 GPA in college before he stopped attending classes to be a fisherman. Shortly after getting married, Cote and his wife found out they were expecting, and he only had $100 in the bank. Cote got serious and returned to school, earning straight As. He later started at GE as an hourly worker before moving up the executive track only to be fired by Jack Welch. Cote’s opportunity to change as a leader began in February 2002 when he joined Honeywell as its CEO. During his 15-year tenure, Cote took Honeywell's market cap from $20 billion to $120 billion, delivering returns of 800 percent and beating the S&P by nearly two and a half times.

Bill Browder is one of the most influential human rights activists in the world today, working to hold human rights abusers to account. Browder architected and spearheaded the campaign to pass The Magnitsky Act, a federal law that allows for sanctions, freezing assets, and visa bans on foreign nationals who’ve committed human rights abuses. Browder, the founder of hedge fund firm Hermitage Capital Management, was once the largest foreign investor in Russia, where he took an activist investing approach by exposing high-level corruption among company managers and officials. He was expelled from Russia in 2005 and declared a threat to national security. Police later raided his Moscow offices, and those officials used the seized documents to commit a complex and massive fraud. This $230 million fraud was discovered by Browder’s friend Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old Russian lawyer. Magnitsky, a married father, was tortured and ultimately beaten to death while in a Russian prison in 2009. Magnitsky’s murder changed Browder’s life. From that day, he vowed to put aside his business and dedicate all his time and resources to exposing the corrupt Russians responsible for Magnitsky’s death. He joins Julia La Roche on this episode taped in mid-June 2022 to discuss his newest book, “Freezing Order: A True Story of Russian Money Laundering, State-Sponsored Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath.”

In this episode, Julia La Roche (@julialaroche) is joined by Morgan Housel (@morganhousel), the best-selling author of “The Psychology of Money,” with over 2 million copies sold worldwide. Even Morgan was surprised by the book’s viral success after being turned down by every major New York publisher before being picked up by London-based Harriman House. “The Psychology of Money” surfaces timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness hiding in plain sight. During this conversation, Morgan takes us inside his writing process. Morgan also shares stories of the rich throwing gold coins into the Pacific Ocean (for fun!) only to later go broke to the janitor who died with a secret multi-million dollar fortune. Plus, learn why Warren Buffett is NOT the best investor of all time and why average individuals who can’t even remember their investment account passwords are beating the hedge funds. Morgan Housel is a partner at Collaborative Fund, a board member of the Markel Corporation, and a former columnist at The Motley Fool and The Wall Street Journal.

The Julia La Roche Show brings you in-depth conversations with top CEOs, investors, founders, academics, and the emerging names she finds fascinating. Julia (@JuliaLaRoche), a veteran financial correspondent, dives deep into the lives and minds of her guests, uncovering their stories, experiences, and insights. Whether you’re interested in finance, technology, entrepreneurship, or want to hear compelling stories and pick up some worldly wisdom, this podcast is for you. Tune in every Tuesday and Thursday, and join Julia for enlightening conversations. Want to watch the episodes? Subscribe to the YouTube channel here.