This podcast episode of "At The Money" interviews Morgan Housel, author of "Same as Ever," to discuss the unchanging aspects of human behavior and its impact on finance. The conversation explores how consistent human responses to economic events are throughout history, emphasizing the predictability of behavior over the unpredictability of events. Housel argues that understanding these consistent behaviors is more valuable than trying to predict specific future events, highlighting the influence of narratives over data in financial decision-making. The discussion also touches on the cyclical nature of economic booms and busts, the gap between expectations and reality, and the importance of balancing optimism and pessimism in investing. A key takeaway is the concept of multiplying "a number from today" (e.g., earnings per share) by "a story about tomorrow," illustrating how narratives shape market valuations.
