Policy Punchline

"Jim Simons is the greatest money maker in modern financial history." Since 1988, Renaissance Technologies' flagship Medallion hedge fund founded by Simons has generated average annual returns of 66 percent, racking up trading profits of more than $100 billion. No one in the investment world comes close. Warren Buf­fett, George Soros, Peter Lynch, Steve Cohen, and Ray Dalio all fall short of Simons. How did Jim Simons achieve this feat? Was it that easy for a math researcher at Princeton turned professor at Stony Brook to eventually become a legendary quant investor? In recently published bestseller "The Man Who Solved the Market," WSJ special writer Gregory Zuckerman documented how Simons launched the quant investing revolution, his personal and academic struggles along the way, why it's hard to "beat the market" and even harder to gain insights on the secretive quant hedge fund world. In this interview with Mr. Zuckerman, we ask him how the rise of quant trading impacts the finance world, whether algori

Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of several important books on constitutional theory, including "Political Foundations of Judicial Supremacy: The Presidency, the Supreme Court," and "Constitutional Leadership in U.S. History." He has published widely on American constitutional theory and development, federalism, judicial politics, and the presidency. Prof. Whittington argued in a recent op-ed titled “Can You Be a Libertarian in a Pandemic” that there are aspects of Libertarianism that are still valid even during a pandemic. In this interview, Prof. Whittington discusses the meaning and implications of Libertarianism in the Covid context; why more autonomy should be given to states, communities, and even individuals in deciding the appropriate response; whether we will see an inevitable expansion of government power after Covid; whether the Libertarian ethos might actually make it structurally, organizationally, and philosophic

Alp Basaran is a Congressional candidate for the NJ-09 district. If elected, he would be the 5th Muslim American, 3rd formerly undocumented, and 1st Turkish American Congressman in U.S. history. In this episodes, Alp discusses his values and main policy proposals – universal healthcare, free education, immigration amnesty, and fair economy for all. Why does he believe that those would be the most needed solutions to the current set of societal problems? How does he justify the potential economic costs of his plans? And how would he build the political coalition to back those progressive policies? Alp and Tiger go deep in discussing contemporary politics and the rise of progressive Democrats in recent years. Why did Bernie fail to inspire "millions of young voters" to turn out for him, and why did Warren fail to unite the centrist and progressive Democrats as promised? How can progressive Democrats bring forth sensible policies and make legislation happen in reality, rather than merely contributing to the s

Arthur Caplan is founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine. He is a pioneer in designing public health policies, from founding the National Marrow Donor Program to creating the U.S. system of organ donation and distribution. Dr. Caplan has been busily advising public health officials on the Covid-19 crisis and educating the public through media outlets like the Time Magazine, NYTimes, the Atlantic, etc. He kindly took some time off of his busy schedule to talk to us about the situation on the frontline of Covid care – how doctors are rationing medical resources and making difficult ethical decisions for life and death. What is the situation like on the frontline right now? Are doctors frequently forced to make triage decisions, or is reality not as bad as the philosophical debate? Given the scarcity of resources, what should the specific standards be when choosing whom to give care? Should people with chronic conditions, mental illnesses, criminal records, and fatal disease

Facebook invested $5.7 billion for a 10% stake in Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms Ltd, the biggest telecom operator in the country with more than 370 million subscribers. The deal not only made Facebook the largest minority shareholder in the Indian telecom network, but also brought India’s emerging tech scene back into the global spotlight. In this episode, WSJ Asia tech reporter Newley Purnell gives us a detailed overview of the prosperous tech scene in India, the struggles that local startups face when competing against American & Chinese tech giants, Indian government’s antitrust actions, and emerging trends the land promises. Newley also comments on the socio-political life in India in general – from India’s democracy to caste structures, from religious identities to linguistic barriers, as well as issues in Indian business practices that may hinder growth and inclusivity. This interview was recorded in February after Tiger’s return from a three-week trip in India. Newley and Tiger originally

"What are the economic consequences of an influenza pandemic? And given the pandemic, what are the economic costs and benefits of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI)?" In a recently published economics paper, Prof. Emil Verner and his co-authors find that cities that intervened earlier and more aggressively in the 1918 Spanish Flu did not perform worse and, if anything, grew faster after the pandemic was over. Their findings thus indicate that NPIs not only lower mortality; they may also mitigate the adverse economic consequences of a pandemic. The paper is titled "Pandemics Depress the Economy, Public Health Interventions Do Not: Evidence from the 1918 Flu," and it provides crucial justification for the current social distancing measures and guidance on how we should handle this current Covid-19 crisis. In this interview, we ask Prof. Verner about his research methodology, why the 1918 Flu serves as a reliable comparison with the coronavirus outbreak, what recovery measures can be taken after the shutdo

Melissa Reynolds is Perkins-Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Princeton University. A historian and humanist, Dr. Reynolds recently published an op-ed in Washington Post comparing the coronavirus epidemic to “the sweat” outbreaks in 15th century Europe. She suggests that, despite the obvious advances in modern medicine since the 15th century, there are similarities between the two epidemics, most notably the failure of government to communicate adequately with the public. In this interview, Dr. Reynolds explains why the public can so easily fall into misguided conceptions about a pandemic regardless of one's education level; how the government can step in to provide a clear and coherent voice about the pandemic while not being the only authority dictating public opinion; why media follows unique "cultural scripts" that end up posing a potent threat to the health of our socio-political discourse; and many other fascinating historical comparisons between today and the 15th century. Dr.

Another wave of reflections for capitalism is now kindled by the Covid-19 crisis. Will the fiscal stimulus uplift the average Americans or end up exacerbating inequality? How is the crisis revealing fundamental fractures of the American and Western societies? The world as we have known it for the past decades has come to a stop, and the global socio-economic system might finally be shaken up as businesses remake their supply chains and governments re-envision their globalization goals... As people reflect on those important questions, we think it’s timely to re-introduce an earlier interview with Prof. Branko Milanovic on his book “Capitalism, Alone” and his insightful critique on the present and future of this political-economic system. “Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World” provides a detailed recount of the path through which Capitalism came to dominate our world; an overview of the different capitalistic systems now govern the world; a range of problems such as inequality tha

Peter Singer is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. Considered by many as “world’s most influential living philosopher,” Prof. Singer works mostly in practical ethics and is known for his controversial critique of the sanctity of life ethics. In this interview, Prof. Singer discusses how one may reason through triage decisions when it's no longer hypothetical to decide who lives and dies; whether the negatives of the economic shutdown outweigh the benefits; when governments should be allowed to intervene with individual choices for better public health outcomes; why he advocates for the closing of wet markets; and the long-term moral-ethical impacts of Covid-19... The interview is co-hosted by Tiger Gao and Arjun Mani, who will also offer an overview of some of the most interesting philosophical, economic, and political arguments central to the crisis today. Prof. Singer is perhaps best known for his book "Animal Liberation," often credited with starting the modern animal r

Markus Brunnermeier is the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Economics and Director of the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University. In this episode, Prof. Brunnermeier explains the nature of the covid-19 economic shock, why it poses a threat to financial stability, the $2tr stimulus package and why the current solutions for funding small & medium-sized businesses are still insufficient, how to bring the economy back to life in the long run, and other topical political & economic debates related to the crisis. One of the most prominent economists of our time, Prof. Brunnermeier focuses his research on international financial markets and the macro economy with special emphasis on bubbles, liquidity, financial crises and monetary policy. He promoted the concepts of liquidity spirals, CoVaR as co-risk measure, the paradox of prudence, and the I Theory of Money. He is or was a member of several advisory groups, including to the IMF, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the European Systemic Risk Board,

Dan Michelson is the CEO of Strata Decision Technology, an analytics and financial planning platform that helps over 1,000 leading healthcare organizations and system in the U.S. to figure out and lower their true costs. In this episode, Dan explains why health systems don't understand the true costs of their treatments and operations, the key interests and incentives for doctors and patients to demand reforms, the reasons why Silicon Valley startups have failed to "disrupt" the industry, and the need to understand healthcare on a deeper level. Dan also discusses the impact of coronavirus on hospitals’ bottom lines, the enormous responsibilities that healthcare workers are taking on, his optimism of how we will come out of this crisis stronger, and ways we can get both acknowledge the problems and contribute to the solutions. We would strongly encourage you to follow Strata's campaign and tag #MyHealthcareHero to thank those who are risking their lives for our safety. With close to 30 years of healthcare

Nancy Lin is a former senior advisor at Exxon Mobil and has career experiences across the oil and gas value chains, including supply chain logistics, crude oil trading, strategic technology and business alignment studies, long-term market outlook development, and environmental health and safety legislative affairs. In this interview, Nancy discusses the evolution of cleaner energy sources in the U.S. and abroad and weighs the different policy options necessary to mitigate rising emissions. She also address critical issues surrounding the role of large corporations in combating climate change in the context of government regulation. With her dynamic perspectives on both natural gas technology development and business, Nancy helps us address these questions among others about our global energy transition towards a more sustainable future. With her B.S.E in Chemical Engineering from Princeton ‘77, Nancy started her career researching project opportunities with Mobil Oil. After pursuing an MBA in Finance from

Austan Goolsbee is former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers for President Obama and led the Economic Recovery Advisory Board after the 2008 financial crisis. In this interview, he talks about how he first got involved advising Obama’s Senate campaign in 2004 as a fellow UChicago professor, the critical decision-making moments to save the economy from recession, his reasons of endorsing Pete Buttigieg for President, the efficacy of UBI in an AI economy, and his potential prospects as a stand-up comedian… Prof. Goolsbee is currently the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. His research has earned him recognition as a Fulbright Scholar and an Alfred P. Sloan fellow. In prior years he was named one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum, and one of the six "Gurus of the Future" by the Financial Times. His ability to explain economics clearly has made Goolsbee popular in the media. Jon Stewart describes him as "Eli

Professor Jessica Metcalf of Princeton explains how to best understand the novel Coronavirus and emerging diseases in general, why it might take a long while to find and produce a vaccine, why the WHO would declare a State of Emergency around the Coronavirus, how researchers can measure its severity and spread, and what properties of COVID-19 compel her to think it might go global. Jessica Metcalf is Assistant Professor of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Public Affairs at Princeton University, and a demographer with broad interests in evolutionary ecology, infectious disease dynamics and public policy. Some of her motivating research questions of particular interest include: How will changing human demography impact infectious disease incidence and spread? What drives dynamics of rubella through space and time, and what does this indicate for vaccine control? What are the key influences on dynamics of malaria inside the bloodstream of mice, and what does this imply for control as well as evolution of the

Princeton Investment Company (PRINCO) CIO Andy Golden walks us through Princeton’s investment theses and manager selection processes, speaks to the importance of value add in partnerships, responds to divestment concerns, and addresses upcoming challenges in the finance and private equity industry. One of the most successful investors and endowment directors today, Andy manages Princeton's $26 billion Endowment through a global network of over 75 investment firms. He has grown the endowment from $3 billion when he arrived more than 20 years ago, and achieved an annualized return of 11.6 percent in the past 10 years – making PRINCO one of the highest performing endowments in the world. Andy became the third President of PRINCO in January 1995. He came to PRINCO from Duke Management Company where he was an Investment Director. He previously worked as a Senior Associate in the Investments Office at Yale University. Andy holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Duke University and an M.P.P.M. from the Yale School of

Joyce Chang is Chair of Global Research for J.P. Morgan, whose research capacities expand across equities, currency and commodities, fixed income, emerging markets, derivatives and structured finance. Ms. Chang’s team has been named the top global research firm for 2017 and 2018 by Institutional Investor. In this episode, Ms. Chang tells us how the utilization of alternative data has revolutionized financial market research, as well as J.P. Morgan’s cooperation with social organizations in using big data to promote public good. What does the “Volfefe” index tell us about the relationship between Treasury bonds volatility and President Trump’s tweets? With technological change through big data and artificial intelligence, how does the role of an analyst evolve? How has the J.P. Morgan Institute contributed to a socially responsible investment environment?… Ms. Chang also shares her unique experience as an Asian female working on Wall Street. Her insights into how she thrives in a traditionally male-dominat

“Most sports and entertainment companies are satisfied by taking a more traditional focus on game attendance, meaning ticket purchases and merchandise purchases as a measure of fan engagement, and they stop there,” said Iwao Fusillo, SVP of Data Data Analytics and Insights at the National Football League. Since his arrival, however, Mr. Fusillo has spearheaded the NFL’s “data revolution” – from bringing on Amazon as a strategic partner for AI and machine learning technology to introducing wildly successful crowdsourcing programs such as the NFL Punt Analytics Competition and the NFL Big Data Bowl. Mr. Fusillo’s contribution to the NFL in the realm of data analysis have significantly pushed the culturally-significant sport of football forward in ways that even the most dedicated fans may not be aware of. In this interdisciplinary podcast between data, sports, and the NFL’s business model, our co-hosts Tiger and Arjun talk with Mr. Fusillo about the rapid integration of the latest data analytics advancements

Andrew Winston is a prolific writer, consultant, and globally recognized expert on how companies can navigate and profit from climate change while transforming their businesses to be more environmentally friendly. Andrew's first book, "Green to Gold," was the top-selling green business title of the last decade. His latest book, "The Big Pivot," provides a practical roadmap to help leaders build resilient, thriving companies and communities in a volatile world. In this interview, we tackle some of the most essential debates about climate change and our economy. How can businesses remain profitable while transforming themselves to be more responsive to climate change? What has prevented more businesses from doing so? How can we make sure that debates about climate change are not affected by partisan politics and lobbying efforts? ... Andrew is also a respected and dynamic speaker, reaching audiences of thousands with an entertaining message of practical optimism: the world’s challenges are great, but busines

An American singer-songwriter, Mr. Pete Muller forged a rather unconventional path. He founded and now runs PDT Partners, one of the most successful quant investment firms in our world today. But he is also a famous musician, having just recently released his 4th studio album, "Dissolve," and is touring all around the world. In this interview, Mr. Muller talks about his educational and music journey with us – from studying math at Princeton to starting his hedge fund; from starting his music career in California to pushing himself as a live performer playing on the New York City subway platforms and stages all around the world. He speaks about his morning routine of yoga and cardio, as well as his way of finding a balance between music and finance. Mr. Muller has long been a champion of music education and the arts. In 2017, he spearheaded the Berklee School of Music's acquisition of New York City's Power Station recording studio, saving the iconic space from being shuttered. In partnership with the city, M

It seems that American politics has reached a new level of tension. The Democratic and Republican parties have become more polarized over years, and Congress is currently mired in an eye-opening impeachment inquiry, which could alter the course of American history. But has Congressional partisanship actually gotten significantly worse than before? Are there in fact fewer bipartisan legislations getting passed? Will the Trump impeachment remain a partisan issue or can the two parties ever reach consensus? Do we see reasons of remaining optimistic in the current political climate, and is the pessimism in our current social discourse overblown? Here to provide some very refreshing views on the impeachment and Congressional partisanship is Prof. Frances Lee, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Professor Lee is one of the country’s foremost scholars on Congressional politics. She has written extensively on American politics, including the award-winning books "Sizing Up the Senate