Global Infusions Podcast: Recent Episodes
Liontrust Asset Management
A podcast from Liontrust’s Global Fundamental team which probes current market debates and considers their potential impact on the long-term investment horizon. For professional investors only. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this podcast, no responsibility can be accepted for the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions expressed. The podcast is not intended to be an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities. It does not constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation and is provided for information only. For more information please visit www.liontrust.co.uk
Music by Leila Panesar Morris
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom welcomes back Hong to explore the business of defence. From sanctions to drones, the consequences of war are legion. They also discuss why the US population has grown surprisingly quickly, behavioural biases and the most unexpected thing you will ever hear from a professional martial arts fighter.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom is joined by his latest guest co-host, James, to explore the business of nuclear energy. From power plants to uranium mines, the whole industry has entered the limelight and for good reason. They also discuss the surprising problem facing the Panama Canal and, in the run-up to Easter, chat about the price of chocolate eggs.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom welcomes back Hong to explore the business of losing weight. From gym subscriptions to new wonder drugs, the industry is changing like never before. They also discuss the company that has just overtaken Tesla as the world's largest maker of electric vehicles; and chat about the upcoming release from one of the best-selling game franchises of all time.
In this special festive episode of Global Infusions, Tom is joined by his second guest co-host, Tinger, to explore the business of Champagne. From exploding bottles to illegal balloons, you will never look at this go-to celebratory drink the same way again. They also discuss Netflix's most popular shows, the largest baseball contract ever and a hidden gift from a US department store.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom is joined by his first guest co-host, Hong, to explore the business of Housing. From property bubbles to green belts, everyone needs somewhere to live. They also discuss what chaos at OpenAI resulted in Microsoft offering everyone there a job; and they remember the life of investing legend Charlie Munger and reveal one of his surprising hobbies.
At Halloween we celebrate all things scary. In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore the business of fear. From films to theme parks, the horror industry is huge. The emotion of fear shapes human behaviour in everything from advertising to investing FOMO. They also discuss Google's latest revelations, antitrust cases and fake restaurants.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore the business of the microbiome. They discuss the increasing evidence that the trillions of bacteria that live in us can influence our appetites, cancer, and even how we think. They also chat about dynamic beer pricing, succession in the Murdoch empire and how Kindle is dealing with a splurge of new works written by AI.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore the business of books. From anti-libraries and pharaohs pinching Athenian treasures to the consolidation of publishers and book retailers, there is plenty to write home about. They also discuss how AI can minimise the climate impact of trails left by planes, reconstructing songs using brainwaves and room temperature superconductors.
Incentives can explain a lot about human behaviour. In this episode of Global Infusions, the last of season 1, Tom and Tom explore the business of incentives. From sales teams to CEOs, and supreme court justices to cobras, bad incentives can have major consequences. They also discuss record demand for 1950s tech, admissions criteria at Harvard, women’s tennis, SEC regulation of beavers and secret airport runways. Tom Morris says his goodbyes and passes the microphone to a new co-host for season 2.
Corporate succession can be very tricky and reality can be every bit as strange as fiction. In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore the business of leadership transitions. From Viacom and Disney to Apple and Starbucks, there are a million ways to mess it up. They also discuss fashion colleges teaching avatar design, a leap forward in MRI scanners, Music/AI, and the genius branding of Liquid Death.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore the business of subscriptions. From cable TV to coffee and Photoshop to food deliveries, everything seems to be a subscription now. What is driving this, and what could be next? They also discuss using fish skin to treat burns, the issues around AI music, the UK government’s efforts to ban encryption, and a celebrity sake brand.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore the business of collectables. From trainers and watches to wines and Pokémon cards, many collectables have been caught up in speculative bubbles in recent years. Why has this happened, and what can previous manias tell us about today? They also discuss the silent monks behind a herby spirit, a woolly mammoth meatball, and the growing popularity of sake outside Japan.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom discuss the business of alcohol – from the history of gin to the value of cognac, and the appeal of mixers to the design of taxes, with a glass of baiju thrown in for good measure. They also touch on ChatGPT’s attitude issues, why Angry Birds’ ongoing success is causing problems for its developer, and how US immigration rules let China forge ahead in 5G.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom discuss the business of art, from auction houses to private collections, and warzone bargain hunters to status-signalling royals. They also explore the story behind the most expensive painting ever sold, discuss a collection of Picassos hidden in plain sight, and find out why orange juice is suddenly so expensive.
In this festive episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom discuss the business of Christmas, from the dominance of one pudding maker to the commercialisation of advent calendars. They also see if an AI chatbot can write a decent Christmas movie, explore the economics of gifting, and reflect on the production of the last ever Boeing 747.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore the business of music, from streaming companies scraping by, to sell-out tours and the bargaining power of the big three labels. They discover which concert goers are the thirstiest, how editing techniques are making uplifting key changes rarer, and how ticket platforms deal with billions of requests for handfuls of tour tickets. Finally, they look at data that are too risky to hold, how washing machines and weapons have more in common than you might think, and some astounding comments from the people dealing with the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore family businesses. From luxury handbags to chocolate bars, supermarkets to energy, and the US to India, families still play a huge role in the corporate world. Why do some dynasties succeed while others tear themselves apart, and why does one family of billionaires eat pet food? They also discuss AI generated videos, the future of Darth Vader, and the financial turmoil in the UK.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom explore family businesses. From luxury handbags to chocolate bars, supermarkets to energy, and the US to India, families still play a huge role in the corporate world. Why do some dynasties succeed while others tear themselves apart, and why does one family of billionaires eat pet food? They also discuss AI generated videos, the future of Darth Vader, and the financial turmoil in the UK.
Why does bottled water cost more than petrol? Why is Salt Lake City in trouble? What have cotton and meat got in common? Find out in this watery episode of Global Infusions.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom look into the business of sport. Who is making all the money, and how? They explore why football clubs are often bad businesses, why TV rights are worth so much even as viewership falls, and how endorsements have grown into an industry of their own. They also discuss a hotdog that has defied inflation for almost 40 years, chips designed by AI, military preparedness, and extreme weather in Europe wreaking havoc on food production. Finally, they reflect on press articles from the 19th century showing that some things never change.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom consider what happens when regulations fail, from crypto to the collapse of UK energy suppliers. They explore why drugs are so expensive in the US, why getting telco prices down in Mexico proved difficult, and the bafflingly complex hurdles to opening restaurants and bookshops in the US. Finally, they look at the inefficiencies of global food production, advances in AI generated fiction, and the lengths some companies will go to in the search for truly random numbers.
In this episode of Global Infusions, Tom and Tom consider the history of travel, from missionaries and Grand Tours to ultra-long-haul flights. They discuss the benefits and downsides of tourism, the impact of the pandemic, and the clues to early trade routes that can be found in food. Finally, they cover the super tight labour market, the world’s longest serving employee, supply chain issues in healthcare, and an intriguing ancient tablet that sheds light on Egyptian work/life balance in 1250BC.
In this episode of Global Infusions, the Toms consider the curious causes and effects of changing demographics on the economy and wider society, from pressures on healthcare to a shortage of business heirs in Japan.
They also follow the trail of a sample of moondust collected by Neil Armstrong and ponder Amazon’s $10 billion space venture, a metaverse collaboration between Epic, Lego and Sony, evolving cyberwars in Russia, and new non-profit AI technology that is revolutionising how we create and source images.
In this episode of Global Infusions, the Toms turn their sights to Space and the increasingly important role of satellites in everyday life. They also reflect on the geopolitical cooperation required to keep the International Space Station in the sky, a point in sharp focus since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In this episode, Tom and Tom delve into the murky yet highly organised and crypto-levered world of cybercrime. Attacks come in many forms, from thefts to ransomware to pure destruction. A nightmare for victims at the time, incidents can also be wake-up calls for companies to really get on top of their IT, as was the case for Maersk.
In this episode, the Toms talk about how serendipity has been a powerful force behind discoveries such as penicillin and Viagra, products like Play-Doh and the Post-it note, and the decisions that reshaped YouTube and Instagram, propelling them towards tech-giant status.
They also explore a raft of prescient predictions from 1922 about life today, how the balance of power has shifted in tech start-up financing, fascinating new AI technologies in voice generation and sketch animation, and Microsoft’s big metaverse bet.
In this festive edition of Global Infusions, the Toms pore over the enduring real-world influence of science fiction on technology, finding the seeds of the metaverse in Star Trek and Snow Crash, precursors to the iPad and AirPods in 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and inspiration for a modular prosthetic arm called LUKE from…well you probably know where.
Tom Record and Tom Morris talk about rare metals, exploring where they are found, how they are produced and their importance in modern technology – from lithium and cobalt in rechargeable batteries to the use of gallium nitride in next-gen transformers and super-strong neodymium magnets in wind turbines.
In this episode, Tom Record and Tom Morris discuss the sustainability of transport, from cars to planes to ships. They consider how electricity grids will cope, the outlook for batteries, and the role that carbon-neutral liquid fuels could play.
In this month’s episode, Tom Record and Tom Morris talk about the weather, how and why it is changing and the implications for how we design our urban environments, from Iranian windcatchers to ultra-white paints and the outlawing of lawns in Las Vegas.
In this episode, Tom Record and Tom Morris discuss the innovations that are reshaping food production, from vertical farming to robotics to coating seeds with bacteria to improve yields, as well as the risks posed by monocultural farming and the use of antibiotics.
They also reflect on the visual artistry of celebrity chefs, Facebook’s move towards the metaverse and an unusual side effect of the IPO frenzy on Wall Street.
Social media has transformed what it means to be famous, allowing more people to achieve notoriety and giving those that do the ability to interact with and monetise their followings in new ways. Tom Record and Tom Morris look across the celebrity landscape to see how the modularisation of supply chains has helped Kylie Jenner and Dwayne Johnson, and discover the reason why so many YouTube videos are exactly 10 minutes and one second long.
Tom Record and Tom Morris discuss how quasi-monopolies behind the world’s favourite brands are creating the illusion of choice in areas as diverse as sunglasses, alcohol and airport dining. They also ponder tech’s self-reinforcing monopolies, a surprise hit smart lamp that helps children with their homework, a wily technology-led crime sting and Tim Berners-Lee’s NFT of the web’s source code.
In this episode, Tom Record and Tom Morris discuss how education is changing, from crowdsourced content on Wikipedia to gamified linguistics and online masterclasses with world-famous chefs.
In this episode Tom Record and Tom Morris dive into the somewhat murky world of payments – an opaque and often consumer unfriendly industry that is now ripe for disruption.
From genomic sequencing to machine learning, biotech is undergoing a rapid transformation. In this episode, Tom Record and Tom Morris discuss some of the emerging technologies and businesses at the forefront of the changes in this area. They also touch on the rise of non-fungible tokens and deep fakes, as well as the curious state of the US housing market where there are now more estate agents than homes for sale.
Tom Record and Tom Morris discuss how virtual worlds are becoming an increasingly important part of everyday life. With Fortnite hosting “live” concerts, Instagram replacing the High Street, and games acting as global social spaces, they consider the rising value of virtual real estate and how investors have been slow to appreciate its potential.