Thematic Edge Podcast

Episode 024: Crisis in Europe

Introduction The European crisis that Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington have long warned of appears to have begun…while Marvin and Mark were focused on the “mother of all

Episode 023: Noise awaiting signal

Introduction In this episode of Thematic Edge, Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington revisit the “resolution window” stretching from the summer through the US midterm electio

Episode 022: Competition for capital

Introduction In this episode of Thematic Edge, Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington reunite to examine what is really driving the rise in sovereign bond yields around the wo

Episode 021: Alexander Stahel & Russia's endgame

Introduction In this episode of The Thematic Edge, Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington speak with Alexander Stahel, Chief Investment Officer of Burggraben Holdings and auth

Episode 020: Sintra, forward guidance & the dollar

In episode 020 of Thematic Edge, Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington consider the broader implications of the European Central Bank’s retreat in Sintra, Portugal where there

Episode 019: "Macro Crypto" with Arthur Hayes

In this episode of Thematic Edge, Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington sit down with Arthur Hayes to explore one of the most important questions in crypto today: what ultimat

Episode 018: Fed regime change

In this episode of Thematic Edge, Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington examine whether central banks are finally being forced to confront a changing inflation regime. They ar

Episode 017: "Mark"ing to market: Iran & China views

In this episode of Thematic Edge, Marvin and Mark examine the evolving Iran conflict, the shift in US strategic thinking, and the emerging logic of trying to “make busine

Episode 016: Fed independence

In this special episode of Thematic Edge, recorded around the Hoover Institution Monetary Policy Conference at Stanford University, Marvin Barth explores why the greatest

Episode 015: US & Fed outlook with Danny Dayan

In this episode of Thematic Edge, Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington are joined by Danny Dayen for a wide ranging debate on inflation, monetary policy, and whether the Fede

Episode 014: Iran blockade

A detailed and at times sharply contested discussion on the strategic direction of the Iran conflict following the collapse of US-Iran peace talks and what it means for m

Episode 013: Iran strikes credit with Zoso Davies

This week Mark Farrington and I are joined by Zoso Davies, formerly Managing Director in European Investment Grade Credit Research at Barclays, where he spent over 15 yea

Episode 012: Doomberg - Strategic implications of the Iran war

A sharp and wide-ranging discussion on the strategic consequences of the Iran war. In this episode, Doomberg joins Marvin Barth and Mark Farrington to unpack why markets

Episode 011: Iran implications with Erik @YWR

How could the Iran conflict reshape global markets, China risk premiums and emerging market capital flows? Marvin Barth and Erik @YWR discuss geopolitics, uncertainty and

Episode 010: Forest fire insurance

Forest Fire Insurance explores how risk truly builds in financial systems and why volatility is not the enemy it is often portrayed to be. Marvin Barth and Mark Farringt

Episode 009: Trump 2.1 shock

Unfortunately, the audio for this episode was terrible, so in addition to the time-stamped table of contents, a full, edited transcript is included below. In this episod

Episode 008: Nigeria in focus

Nigeria is the largest economy and population in Africa, is abundant in natural resources, is an emergent cultural and technology center, and increasingly a regional manu

Making sense of Venezuela with David Kilcullen

The Thematic Edge opens 2026 with its first guest, David Kilcullen, retired Australian Army colonel, intellectual architect of both the “Surge” in Iraq and Afghanistan, a

Episode 006: Fed reform & US National Security Strategy

After a brief hiatus, the Thematic Edge is back! In the first half of this week’s episode, Mark queries me on Fed reform, a consistent theme of senior Trump officials tha

Episode 005: Forward guidance’s end

A very lively discussion this week that goes on a bit longer than usual as Mark & I get into a disagreement over the implications of Chinese gold-backed stablecoins. But