SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING

Straight Talk for All, Nonsense for None About - Our podcast looks to help improve investing IQ. We share 15-30 minutes on finance, market and investment ideas. We bring experience and empathy to the complex process of financial wellness. Every journey is unique, so we look for ways our insights can help listeners. Also, we want to have fun😎 Your Hosts - Meet Steve Davenport, CFA and Clem Miller, CFA as they discus the latest in news, markets and investments. They each bring over 25 years in the investment industry to their discussions. Steve brings a domestic stock and quantitative emphasis, Clem has a more fundamental and international perspective. They hope to bring experience, honesty and humility to these podcasts. There are a lot of acronyms and financial terms which confuse more than they help. There are many entertainers versus analysts promoting get rich quick ideas. Let’s cut through the nonsense with straight talk! Disclaimer - These podcasts are

SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING is a business podcast hosted by Steve Davenport, Clement Miller, with 162 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Steve Davenport, Clement Miller hosts SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING, a business show with 162 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING

  What If AI Growth Is Just Debt In Disguise

  Aug 11, 202633 min

  Please text and tell us what you like A $500 billion AI funding headline can sound like destiny, but we’re more interested in the mechanics and the weak links. Steve Davenport and Clem Miller trace the AI investment chain from money-losing model builders to the very real world of data centers, semiconductors, and the energy required to keep it all running. Then we ask the uncomfortable question that almost nobody wants to say out loud: what happens when a major backer finally says no? We dig into why calling AI “infrastructure” is both persuasive and misleading. Data centers can be long-lasting capital assets, but chips are on a short replacement cycle, more like maintenance than a bridge. That difference matters when you’re trying to value the AI capex cycle, understand who benefits when spending accelerates, and spot the risks when it slows. We also talk about debt, private credit, and how higher interest rates can turn an optimistic buildout into a fragile refinancing story. From there, we move into market signals. Forward earnings and forward PEG ratios can look precise while the assumptions get stretched by hype, so we explore a more grounded cross-check: short interest and what it may reveal about informed skepticism. If you’re investing in AI stocks, semiconductor stocks, or data center infrastructure, this conversation is built to help you think clearly about funding, cash flow, valuation, and what “growth” really costs. Subscribe for more skeptical market breakdowns, share this with a friend who’s all-in on AI, and leave a review with your take: slow deflation or a sharper unwind? Straight Talk for All - Nonsense for None Please check out our other podcasts: https://skepticsguidetoinvesting.buzzsprout.com Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.

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  SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING

  What If Real Shortage Is Political Will

  Aug 11, 202626 min

  Please text and tell us what you like Oil doesn’t move on headlines, it moves on incentives, constraints, and timelines. We walk through the latest US-Iran-Israel-Gulf dynamics and translate the geopolitics into practical investing questions: what does Strait of Hormuz risk really mean for crude prices, inflation, and energy stocks, and what should a long-term investor do with all this volatility? We dig into the idea that Iran benefits by stretching negotiations and distributing the pain across the developed world that relies on Gulf energy flows. We also talk about how public goals can quietly shrink from sweeping military outcomes to a narrower focus on keeping shipping lanes functional, and why that shift matters for market pricing. Along the way, we challenge the “open or closed” framing of the strait, looking at alternative corridors, the months-long demining process, and the possibility of fees and restrictions that keep friction in the system even after a “deal.” On the investing side, we get specific about oil price scenarios, why volatility can favor traders over buy-and-hold portfolios, and how Strategic Petroleum Reserve levels and logistics constraints can tighten the range of policy options. Clem also shares current positioning in energy stocks like Exxon and ConocoPhillips within a cash-heavy portfolio, and we debate what could trigger a final spike in oil and what that would mean for recession risk alongside higher interest rates. If you want a clearer framework for energy investing during Middle East tensions, listen now, then subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review. What’s your base case for oil prices over the next few months? Straight Talk for All - Nonsense for None Please check out our other podcasts: https://skepticsguidetoinvesting.buzzsprout.com Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.

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  SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING

  SpaceX Stock Whiplash And What Could Move It Next

  Aug 11, 202630 min

  Please text and tell us what you like SpaceX as a public stock looks like the future, right up until you try to price it. We open with the hard reality of volatility: a run from the IPO around the mid-100s to roughly 250, then a slide back near the low-100s. That swing forces a grounded investing question: what, specifically, drives value here over the next few years, and what is just narrative? We break SpaceX into the businesses investors are actually buying. Falcon 9 launches look like the established engine. Starlink satellite internet is a meaningful revenue generator, but profitability and durability still matter if you care about valuation instead of hype. Then there’s the massive, long-dated bet on bigger rockets and a Mars timeline, which can be inspiring while still being very hard to underwrite as “near-term commercialization.” If you’re searching for SpaceX IPO analysis, space stock catalysts, or Starlink profitability, this is the framework we keep coming back to. From there, we tackle the Musk wildcard: governance and structure. We debate the idea of combining SpaceX with Tesla, how voting control can tilt outcomes, and why constant reshuffling can feel like a shell game to shareholders who want stable expectations. We also connect the space thesis to something closer to cash flow: robots and autonomy. If self-driving data becomes the moat for humanoid robotics, does exposure become “defensive” even if you dislike the uncertainty? Subscribe for the upcoming conversations on energy and Iran and where we are with AI, and if you listen, share this with one investor friend and leave us a review. What would make you buy SpaceX, and what would make you walk away? Straight Talk for All - Nonsense for None Please check out our other podcasts: https://skepticsguidetoinvesting.buzzsprout.com Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.

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  SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING

  Iran And Oman May Redraw Maritime Rules

  Aug 6, 202630 min

  Please text and tell us what you like A 21-mile-wide passage can move the world’s energy markets, and the Strait of Hormuz is the clearest proof. We sit down to unpack why this chokepoint keeps returning to the center of global geopolitics, oil shipping risk, and investor anxiety and why trying to treat it as “just a strait issue” quickly turns into a much bigger Iran question. Clem Miller lays out a provocative idea: a new regional equilibrium may be forming where Iran and Oman share a role in administering the strait, with other Gulf states quietly supporting the arrangement because continued escalation threatens their assets and stability. We talk through the geography that makes Oman unavoidable, what cooperation could look like in practice, and why leverage matters as much as firepower when the goal is to keep tankers moving and avoid a spike in oil prices. We also debate something most headlines skip: what counts as “war” when nobody declares it. From modern precedents to today’s blurred lines, we focus on the outcomes that shape policy and markets. Then we zoom out into maritime rules, including the Law of the Sea, territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, and the tricky question of fees or shared governance in narrow channels. If you care about freedom of navigation, Iran sanctions, Gulf security, and how geopolitical risk shows up in investing, this conversation will sharpen your framework. Subscribe, share this with a friend who follows energy markets, and leave a review with your take on shared control of Hormuz. Straight Talk for All - Nonsense for None Please check out our other podcasts: https://skepticsguidetoinvesting.buzzsprout.com Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.

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  SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO INVESTING

  Michigan’s Tight Senate Primary

  Aug 6, 202642 min

  Please text and tell us what you like A Senate primary in Michigan comes down to fewer than 10,000 votes and suddenly the whole midterm map feels more fragile and more interesting. We sit down to make sense of what Al Sayed’s narrow win on the Democratic side could mean in a working-class, auto-industry state where turnout, identity, and cost of living decide elections. We talk through why calling every progressive a “socialist” or “communist” is a blunt tactic that may not land with younger voters, and why a candidate can be progressive without being a Democratic Socialist. Clem lays out the idea that US politics can act like a circle, with populist frustration on the right and left sometimes converging around the same pain points: Medicare cuts, billionaire influence, and affordability. We also dig into Michigan’s unique electorate, including large Arab American communities in Detroit and Dearborn, and how Middle East policy, Israel, Netanyahu, and the Iran conflict could energize or alienate key voter blocs. Then we get concrete about election mechanics and risk: what the SAFE Act actually requires, why “just bring an ID” can hide a passport or birth certificate barrier, and how that could reshape turnout. We also game out institutional stress tests for the midterms, plus what all this political uncertainty means for investors watching oil price volatility and geopolitics. If this helped you think more clearly about politics and portfolio risk, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review. What do you think will matter more in 2026: affordability or turnout rules? Straight Talk for All - Nonsense for None Please check out our other podcasts: https://skepticsguidetoinvesting.buzzsprout.com Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.

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