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By luck or fate or some other reason, you’ve found yourself reading an email from Thinking Is Cool, *the* podcast to listen to if you want to have better conversations. If this email was forwarded to you, sign up for regular correspondence from me, Kinsey, right here:
Good morning, everyone! I trust you had a restful weekend thinking about Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend’s balls. I know I sure did.
Today, I’m doing something that I’ve never done before on this show or any other I’ve hosted. I’m bringing you an episode published in partnership with a company I really, truly believe in. A meeting of the podcast minds years in the making.
Now, before I tell you more about 1) the episode and 2) the company I made it with, I want to explain the process for creating an episode like this one. The steps:
Do everything the exact same way I usually would.
Et voilà. What I mean is this: Just because I have a production partner in on the fun this episode doesn’t mean it’s any different from my usual thing. I was adamant about that from the start of this show—I never want to sacrifice journalism for anything. I repeated it so many times to my team that they probably hear it in their sleep. Rule No. 1 is that the content always comes first.
And today, content absolutely comes first. The episode you’re about to hear covers something truly revelatory, something that touches (I’m guessing) almost everyone reading this. Today, we are dissecting the enormous implications of the retail investing revolution with the incredibly bright minds at Public.com.
This Week on Thinking Is Cool
I wrote my first story about the stock market on June 6, 2017. Until about January 6, 2021...no one in my life thought to ask me my thoughts on the stock market. And I can’t say I’m surprised—I tend to surround myself with very few old rich dudes.
And up until recently, old rich dudes were really the only ones who seemed to care, at least publicly, about the daily swings constituting the wild tempest that is the stock market. But because of 1) a pandemic that forced us all to pick up habits we’d otherwise shown no interest in and 2) a cabal of user-friendly, well-branded, tech-forward stock trading apps...
Investing isn’t just the old rich dudes’ game anymore. It’s yours, it’s mine, it’s everyone’s. But what are the ramifications of this rapid democratization of investing, this revolutionary tide change in the stock market?
What happens in the post-meme stonk world, one in which the definition of “investor” is nothing like it was a decade ago? What might our investing habits and goals mean for platforms and their responsibility? And most importantly...is it better to have meme-stocked and lost than to never have stocked at all?
On this episode of Thinking Is Cool created in partnership with Public.com, we’re finding out.
This episode exists at the nexus of all the things I love to do most: dunking on the irresponsibly rich, ruminating on tech platform responsibility, exploring themes of democratization, imitating finance bros, and proving to the world that you can be endlessly captivated by both Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend’s balls and the outdated politics of the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the same time.
I hope you’ll listen and consider what it means to really be an investor. To take ownership, for better or worse.
And as you pop in your AirPods, consider this food for thought: When we mix a heavy dose of consumer technology into the act of investing, what risks and rewards are we bringing to the table? You know how the seemingly simple design of tech tools impacts how you live your life...what about the way it impacts how you invest your money? I urge you to think about it while you listen to this episode.
Which, of course, you can do anywhere—Apple, Spotify, and everywhere else you get your podcasts.
This episode is close to my heart, especially seeing as my parents didn’t believe I could balance a checkbook until very recently. I’ve always loved showing the world that investing, finance, business, the economy—they can be for anyone, even for people who abbreviate the words “delicious” and “situation” and collect vintage shoulder bags and take 14 selfies every time they get dressed. You don’t have to look or act or talk a certain way to invest. You just have to want to.
And apps like Public are making that possible. I’m so genuinely grateful to have met the Public team and learned more about their mission to help everyone (people like me, people like you, everyone) become an investor.
A little more on Public.com: Public.com is a free investing social network app that allows you to both own parts of the companies you believe in and share ideas about your investing strategy with your community. I’m a fan and an active user (follow me here).
Download the app today or sign up online at Public.com with the code STAYCOOL to receive $10 in free stock. Just remember: This offer is valid for U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to join. Visit Public.com/disclosures/ for more information.
Enjoy the episode and let me know what you think. Have the best week ever, and I’ll see you Friday for some fun.
-Kinsey