Bangers Only

About Bangers Only

Welcome to The Bangers Only Podcast, where we make money talk exciting. The Bangers Only Podcast is an insightful investing podcast hosted by Tom Lydon, where finance meets fun! This show is all about making investing, retirement planning, and market trends both accessible and entertaining. Whether you're a seasoned investor or just starting out, Tom and his notable guests break down complex financial topics in a way that's engaging, informative, and often hilarious. Each episode features top experts, market movers, and big-name personalities who share their wisdom on investing

Publisher

Tom Lydon

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Jun 2025

Latest episode

12 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Jun 2026

   What Does The SpaceX IPO Mean For The Average Investor?

   SpaceX (SPCX) starts trading June 12 in the largest IPO in history, near $1.75 trillion. If you own an index fund, a 401(k), or a Roth, you may already own a piece. Tom Lydon breaks it down with Avery Marquez and Matt Kennedy of Renaissance Capital, the firm behind the first ETF built entirely from new public companies. Inside: the size that breaks your intuition, why only a sliver of SpaceX actually floats, what it means for your retirement accounts, why the Nasdaq-100 moves fast while the S&P 500 waits a year, the volatility to brace for, and why this is a twenty-year bet rather than a trade. Chapters 00:00 Welcome & the Live SpaceX Launch01:10 Meet Avery, Matt & Renaissance Capital02:00 $1.75 Trillion: How Big Is Too Big?03:00 The Float Paradox: Why Only 5% Trades04:45 What It Means for Your 401(k)06:45 Why the S&P 500 Is Waiting08:00 The AI Wave: OpenAI & Anthropic Next09:30 Feast or Famine: The IPO Market Returns11:00 Volatility & the Facebook Lesson12:45 Lockups & 5,000 Overnight Millionaires15:00 A 20-Year Bet, and a Trip to Mars

2. 

   1 May 2026

   Flying Cars Aren’t Coming. They’ve Arrived!

   Flying cars aren't science fiction anymore. They're flying over Manhattan. Tom Lydon sits down with Riley Rosebee — founder of Godspeed and aerial economy analyst at Stock Market Media — to break down what's actually happening in the eVTOL industry and why the timeline is shorter than most people think. Joby just ran demo flights between Midtown and JFK. Manhattan air taxi service is targeted for summer 2027. Archer is the official eVTOL of the 2028 LA Olympics. China is already running fully autonomous flights with no pilot in the aircraft. We cover the five companies leading the field, why Phoenix to Sedona becomes a 20-minute hop, the three regulators that will decide the timeline, and the one thing Riley says could hold the whole industry back — and it isn't regulation. CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome & Meet Riley 01:03 Joby Lands in Midtown 01:32 What's an eVTOL? 03:31 The Sedona Use Case 04:53 The FAA Hurdle 07:49 The Five Players 09:22 Energy and the Electrified Airport 12:06 China's Lead: XPeng & EHang 14:31 FAA, China, and Dubai 16:21 Where's My Flying Car? 17:36 Where to Find Riley Connect with Riley: Godspeed: https://godspeed.today LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riley-rosebee-4485b1106/ X: https://x.com/be_rosebee

3. 

   17 Apr 2026

   Why Freedom Is The New Emerging Markets Alpha

   The ETF founders who actually change how we invest in an asset class are rare.Perth Tolle is in that rare company.Seven years ago, she challenged the entire premise of emerging markets investing. Today, FRDM manages $3 billion, and her conviction has paid off. On the latest Bangers Only, I sat down with Perth, founder of Life + Liberty Indexes and creator of the Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM). We've known each other since she was getting started, and it's a real joy to watch what she's built come into its moment.A Different QuestionMost EM ETFs are weighted by market cap, which means the biggest autocracies get the biggest weights. At the COVID peak, China alone was 41% of the MSCI EM Index, the same country with the weakest property rights and the most capricious regulators owning the most of your emerging markets portfolio.Perth asked a different question. What if we weighted by freedom instead? FRDM uses the Cato/Fraser Human Freedom Index - 87 variables spanning civil, political, and economic freedoms. Rule of law. Property rights. Judicial independence. Soundness of monetary policy. The composite score drives the weighting. No China. No Russia. Heavy Taiwan, South Korea, Chile, and Poland.The Origin StoryThe aha moment came long before Perth knew what an ETF was. At 22, she was living in Hong Kong and had a friend in Shanghai who didn't exist on paper; the one-child policy meant her parents had registered only her brother. "That could have been me. These policies matter for the future of a country, a society, and the market." Ten years as a Fidelity advisor later, a Russian client in Houston told her he wouldn't invest in Russia. This was 2014, eight years before the war. No product existed. So she built one.The Performance StoryThe last 5 years tell the story:FRDM: +105% (15.09% CAGR)EEM: +30% (5.25% CAGR)Russia went to zero for cap-weighted funds after the invasion. FRDM had none. Meanwhile the freer countries captured every major growth story of the decade, AI through Samsung and SK Hynix, semiconductors through TSMC, Poland's 2023 democratic reset, Chile's institutions holding firm.Hungary: The Latest Case StudyThe timeliest piece of the conversation? Hungary. Orbán out after 16 years. Freedom score 7.37, above the EM average of 6.2. The peaceful transition unlocked $9 billion in EU aid."For 16 years autocracy was winning and creeping in. Now they've overturned it, and the ripple effects of freedom are going to be bigger than the ripple effects of autocracy. It swallowed it whole."That's the Poland playbook repeating. And it's why this framework is only getting more relevant.Emerging markets investing isn't just about growth anymore.It's about who you trust with your capital.So proud of what Perth has built.Timestamps(0:00) Welcome & Meet Perth Tolle(2:15) Freedom-Weighted vs. Cap-Weighted(3:45) Inside the Human Freedom Index(4:50) Perth's Origin Story: Shanghai to Fidelity(6:45) Why Removing China and Russia Mattered(9:40) FRDM vs. EEM: The 5-Year Scoreboard(12:35) Hungary After Orbán(15:20) The Early Days and $3 Billion Later(23:00) FRDM as a Risk Management Tool(26:10) Where to Find PerthConnect with PerthPerth Tolle - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/perthtolle/) | Twitter (https://x.com/Perth_Tolle) Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF - Webpage (https://www.freedometfs.com/) Life + Liberty Indexes - Webpage (https://www.lifeandlibertyindexes.com/)

Who has been a guest on Bangers Only

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Rusty Vanneman
• Emily Binder
• Todd Sohn

Podcast Authority Score: 17 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

34

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.