A Book with Legs

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The Smead Book List - Fall Book List 2026 Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of A Book with Legs, Cole Smead, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Smead Capital Management, is joined by Chairman and Chief Investment Officer Bill Smead for the firm’s quarterly book list.

Cole and Bill walk through what they have recently finished, what they are reading now, and what is on deck. Recent titles include David Williams’s “The William E. Boeing Story”, Liaquat Ahamed’s “1873”, Ken Rogoff’s “Our Dollar, Your Problem”, Adrian Wooldridge’s “The Revolutionary Center”, Bryan Burrough’s “The Gunfighters”, and Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman’s “Campus Speech and Academic Freedom”. Currently in progress are Lydia Towns’s “In Search of Trade and Fortune”, George Orwell’s “1984”, and A. W. Tozer’s “God’s Pursuit of Man”.

The conversation uses those books as mental models, including comparing today's AI enthusiasm with the railroad boom and the panics of 1873 and 1893. In the second half, they turn to the firm’s eight criteria and the market: Nike’s core shoe business versus apparel, the 10-year Treasury back near 5 percent, and a gun-to-the-head choice between that Treasury and the S&P 500 over the next decade. Tozer’s reminder from Ecclesiastes 12:12 that “of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh” hangs over the book list episode itself.

If you have a book to recommend for a future list, email podcast@smeadcap.com or reach the firm on X at @smeadcap.

Kenneth Rogoff - Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of A Book with Legs, Cole Smead, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Smead Capital Management, sits down with Dr. Kenneth Rogoff to discuss his book, "Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead."

Kenneth Rogoff is the Maurits C. Boas Professor of Economics at Harvard University. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund, and earlier in his career was an economist at the Federal Reserve Board. He is the co-author, with Carmen Reinhart, of the New York Times bestseller "This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly," as well as "Foundations of International Macroeconomics" and "The Curse of Cash." He earned his Ph.D. in economics at MIT and is also an international grandmaster of chess.

The conversation explores the dollar's position at the center of global finance, from the history of currency dominance dating back to Spain, to the rise of populism and its threat to the dollar's exorbitant privilege, to real, candid stories from Rogoff's own experience meeting Chinese leadership and warning of the country's real estate crisis years before it hit. They also discuss the euro's uneven path, the Mexican peso crisis, and what stablecoins and cryptocurrency really mean for the future of money.

Read Kenneth's column here: https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist

"Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead," published by @YaleUniversityPress , is available now.

Adrian Wooldridge - The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of A Book with Legs, Cole Smead, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Smead Capital Management, sits down with Adrian Wooldridge to discuss his book, “The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism.”

Adrian Wooldridge is the global business columnist at Bloomberg News, and previously spent more than twenty years at The Economist, serving as political editor and Washington bureau chief. He is the author of twelve previous books, including “Capitalism in America,” co-written with former Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan, and “The Aristocracy of Talent.”

The conversation traces the intellectual roots of liberalism, from Erasmus and Hobbes to Mill and Tocqueville, and explores where the philosophy has drifted from its original ideals. Along the way: how the concentration of power in figures like the Mag 7 and today’s tech leaders echoes Montesquieu’s warnings, how identity politics shifted the unit of analysis from individuals to groups, and what Wooldridge believes must change to recover what he calls “the revolutionary center” before autocracy, fascism, or societal stratification takes hold.

“The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism,” published by Pegasus Books, is available now.

Bryan Burrough - The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of A Book with Legs, Cole Smead, CEO and Portfolio Manager, welcomes back Bryan Burrough to discuss his book, “The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild.”

Bryan Burrough is a New York Times bestselling author or coauthor of eight books, including the Wall Street classic “Barbarians at the Gate,” which he previously discussed on A Book With Legs podcast, as well as “Public Enemies,” “The Big Rich,” and “Forget the Alamo.” He spent nearly a decade as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and has been a longtime special correspondent for Vanity Fair.

The conversation traces how a Southern honor code, a new piece of technology, the Colt revolver, and a generation of traumatized Civil War veterans collided in one state to produce three decades of violence, and how journalism turned killers into folk heroes. Along the way: how Texas became home to 30% of all major postwar gunfights in America, the true origins of the gunfighter in Southern dueling culture rather than frontier life, and how legends like Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, and Jesse James were built as much by newspapers as by their own actions.

“The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild,” published by Penguin Press, is available now.

Liaquat Ahamed - 1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of A Book with Legs, Cole Smead, CEO and Portfolio Manager, and Bill Smead, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer at Smead Capital Management, sit down with Liaquat Ahamed to discuss his book, “1873: The Rothschilds, The First Great Depression and the Making of the Modern World.”

Liaquat Ahamed explores 1873 as the first truly global financial crisis, centered on the Rothschild family, then the wealthiest bankers in the world. The conversation traces how the Rothschilds nearly collapsed in 1848, losing 40% of their capital, only to rebuild over the next 25 years into a bank controlling a third of the entire European banking system. Liaquat and the Smeads discuss how market psychology moves in generational cycles, why it can take a full generation to recover confidence after a crash, and how President Grant’s decision to defend the gold standard during the 1873 panic prolonged deflation across the U.S. economy.

“1873: The Rothschilds, The First Great Depression and the Making of the Modern World,” published by Penguin Press, is available now.

David Williams - The William E. Boeing Story: A Gift of Flight Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of A Book with Legs, hosts Cole Smead, CEO and Portfolio Manager, and Bill Smead, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer at Smead Capital Management, sit down with author David Williams to discuss his book, “The William E. Boeing Story: A Gift of Flight.”

The conversation traces Bill Boeing’s path from a wealthy heir working timberland in Hoquiam, Washington, to founding both Boeing and United Airlines almost by accident, chasing a hobby with no clear business model at the time. Along the way: a prohibition-era wiretapping scandal that helped shape modern privacy law, a government breakup of his company in the 1930s that was reversed within a decade when Roosevelt needed thousands of bombers built for WWII, and the origin story of the modern flight attendant through Ellen Church, a woman who was told no when she asked to be a pilot and created an entirely new profession instead.

David is a former executive director of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum near Seattle and has written 10 books on motorsports and aviation. For this project, the Boeing family gave him unprecedented access to their private archives, thousands of never-before-seen photos, diaries, and personal letters, making this the first full-length biography of the father of commercial aviation.

“The William E. Boeing Story: A Gift of Flight,” is available now on https://www.hydromuseumstore.org/books-and-magazines/

Alex Wright - Empire of Ink Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

What can the history of newspapers teach us about today's media landscape?

In the latest episode of A Book with Legs, Smead Capital Management CEO and Portfolio Manager C. W. Smead, CFA is joined by author Alex Wright to discuss his book, Empire of Ink: The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper.

Cole and Alex trace the evolution of American newspapers from the Revolutionary era through the rise of mass media, exploring how technological disruption, government policy, advertising, and human behavior shaped the way information spread. They also discuss the parallels between the early newspaper industry and today's digital media ecosystem.

The Smead Book List - Summer 2026 Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

What is the Smead Capital Management team reading, and what ideas are shaping their view of today's markets?

In this quarterly Book List episode of A Book with Legs, Smead Capital Management CEO and Portfolio Manager Cole Smead is joined by longtime listener Steve to discuss the books that have recently captured their attention.

Cole and Steve discuss their recent reads which cover a range of topics from investor psychology, Chinese history, mathematics and intelligence, to business turnarounds and cooperation. They also share the books currently on their nightstands and discuss what they hope to learn from future reads. Along the way, the conversation touches on energy markets and the role of history in understanding today's investment landscape.

The Long View: Defining Intelligence Jun 15, 2026

Show notes

Can a human being’s behavior and personality be fully explained by a machine, chemistry, biology, or data? Or is there something intangible left over?

These questions and the different conversations they can spark were the inspiration behind this special episode of A Book with Legs. Smead Capital Management CEO and Portfolio Manager Cole Smead revisits highlights from conversations with experts offering unique perspectives on the topic, including a computer scientist, a geneticist, a neuroscientist, and a cognitive scientist.

Check out the full episode to hear from names like Paige Harden, author of "Original Sin: On the Genetics of Vice, the Problem of Blame, and the Future of Forgiveness" and Charles Murray, author of "Taking Religion Seriously." Smead Chairman and CIO Bill Smead also shares his perspective on what past manias have had in common and why those lessons remain relevant for investors today.

Howard Gardner - Frames of Mind Jun 01, 2026

Show notes

Can an IQ test comprehensively define an individual’s intelligence? Are there aspects of human capability that tests fail to take into account?

In the latest episode of A Book with Legs, Smead Capital Management CEO and Portfolio Manager Cole Smead is joined by professor, psychologist, and author Howard Gardner to discuss his book, titled "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.”

Cole and Howard explore how we measure and think about intelligence, highlighting that there is a spectrum of abilities beyond a single test score. They discuss the origins of intelligence testing, why an individual's role in society should not be conflated with their intelligence, and some of the less-often-considered forms of intelligence, such as musical and interpersonal skills intelligence.

Howard Gardner is the Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is an expert on intelligence, creativity, leadership, and professional ethics; former Co-Director of Project Zero; and co-founder of The Good Project. Both a memoir (A Synthesizing Mind) and a study of higher education co-authored with Wendy Fischman (The Real World of College) were recently published by MIT Press. In 2024, Teachers College Press published a two-volume collection of his work, The Essential Howard Gardner on Mind and On Education.

An updated edition of his book Frames of Mind was published by Basic Books in Spring 2026 with a new preface. Purchase "Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences” here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/howard-gardner/frames-of-mind/9781541608528/?lens=basic-books

Visit Howard Gardner's Website and Blog - https://www.howardgardner.com

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