Insights

Research, theses and book notes

Long-form thinking on the companies, technologies and capital structures we study.

Cover image for the article The Mute Button

Insights

The Mute Button

The interest rate on long-term U.S. debt is one of the most important prices in the world, and in August 2026 the Treasury started buying its own bonds to push it down. Investor Stanley Druckenmiller says that is like disconnecting a smoke detector because you dislike the sound. A plain-English breakdown of the fight over yields, debt, and buybacks.

September 4, 2026 · 5 min read

Cover image for the article Lessons - Barbarians at the Gate: What the Greed Was Hiding

Book Review

Lessons - Barbarians at the Gate: What the Greed Was Hiding

Barbarians at the Gate, revisited: 11 lessons from the largest leveraged buyout in history, and why nobody in the RJR Nabisco fight was watching the business.

August 1, 2026 · 28 min read

Cover image for the article Summary - Barbarians at the Gate

Book Review

Summary - Barbarians at the Gate

A cigarette company bought a cookie company, Wall Street spent $25 billion fighting over it, and almost nobody involved was thinking about the business. Here is what the greed was hiding, and why a book from 1989 still reads like it was written today

July 31, 2026 · 4 min read

Cover image for the article The Alchemy of Air: The Discovery That Feeds the World and Arms Its Wars

Book Review

The Alchemy of Air: The Discovery That Feeds the World and Arms Its Wars

Thomas Hager's The Alchemy of Air tells how two chemists pulled fertilizer from thin air and solved global starvation, then watched the same discovery arm the Nazi war machine. A reflection on transformational technology, human nature, and the questi

July 1, 2026 · 11 min read

Cover image for the article The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager

Book Review

The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager

Thomas Hager's The Alchemy of Air tells how two chemists solved global starvation and, with the same discovery, helped arm the Nazi war machine. A grandson of a Holocaust survivor reflects on what that contradiction means for the age of AI.

June 15, 2026 · 2 min read

Cover image for the article Overdrive and the Operating System of a Genius: What We Can Learn from Bill Gates About Winning

Book Review

Overdrive and the Operating System of a Genius: What We Can Learn from Bill Gates About Winning

Gates didn't just build the world's most powerful software company. He built an operating system for his mind. Overdrive pulls back the curtain on his genius, his competitive ruthlessness, and the investment lessons hiding in plain site.

June 15, 2026 · 13 min read

Cover image for the article What Is Holding Anthropic and OpenAI Back From Taking Over the World?

Investment Thesis

What Is Holding Anthropic and OpenAI Back From Taking Over the World?

Anthropic and OpenAI aren't in a bubble. They're supply-constrained. The real question: what happens when compute, power, and data centers stop being the bottleneck? One company can offer them all three resources and eliminate their constraint.

June 10, 2026 · 9 min read

Cover image for the article Base Power Company: Revolutionizing the Electric Grid

Research

Base Power Company: Revolutionizing the Electric Grid

Base Power is transforming the electric grid with residential batteries, clean energy, and smart software.

May 23, 2024 · 6 min read

Cover image for the article Maximizing Returns, Minimizing Fees: The Case for a Fairer Investment Fee Model

Research

Maximizing Returns, Minimizing Fees: The Case for a Fairer Investment Fee Model

Rethinking traditional 2/20 investment fees. Discover how profit-sharing with a hurdle rate better aligns investor and manager success.

December 8, 2023 · 2 min read

Cover image for the article Executive Summary of Amprius Technology

Executive Summary

Executive Summary of Amprius Technology

Explore cutting-edge insights on tech, AI, Bitcoin, energy, and innovation. From decentralization to battery breakthroughs, this blog challenges old models and uncovers ideas shaping the future of business and finance.

October 5, 2022 · 1 min read