The Compound and Friends

Josh Brown -- known online as Downtown Josh Brown and in the financial world as CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management -- co-hosts this twice-weekly podcast with Michael Batnick, and together they have built one of the most entertaining and informative investing shows available. With 535 episodes and a 4.8 star rating from over 2,000 reviews, the show occupies a unique space: it is smart enough for professional money managers but accessible enough for people just starting to pay attention to their portfolios. Each episode features Josh and Michael plus rotating guests discussing market trends, individual stocks, economic policy, and investing psychology. The conversation style is loose and genuinely funny, which makes topics like sector rotation, capital gains taxation, and earnings season feel less like homework and more like overhearing sharp people argue at a dinner party. A recent episode tackled the idea of unrealized capital gains taxes and their potential economic impact, featuring Ben Carlson discussing international stock allocation. The hosts have strong opinions and are not afraid to disagree with each other or their guests, which keeps the analysis honest. For beginners, this show works as a way to absorb how experienced investors actually think about markets in real time -- the reasoning process, not just the conclusions. It is a level up from pure basics, but the conversational format makes it easy to follow along even when the subject matter gets sophisticated.