The Grant Williams Podcast Ep. 128 - Brent Johnson

**Grant Williams** (0:10)
Before we get going, here's the bit where I remind you that nothing we discuss should be considered as investment advice. This conversation is for informational and hopefully entertainment purposes only. So, while we hope you find it both informative and entertaining, please do your own research or speak to a financial advisor before putting a dime of your money into these crazy markets.
You're about to listen to a special preview edition of The Grant Williams Podcast. Joining me, my very special guest and my good friend, Brent Johnson of Santiago Capital. Brent was the architect of The Milkshake Theory, which has gotten an awful lot of coverage and has been misinterpreted by many over the years. Brent has written a recent piece called The Band, which you can find at research.santiagocapital.com, and I would suggest you do that because it's a fantastic effort of his to put down in writing exactly what he means, to trace the Milkshake Theory's path so far, and also, I guess, re-examine where he thinks it goes from here, and hopefully clear up any confusion that people have about what he's actually calling for. It's an exceptional piece of work, and I can't recommend it. highlyenoughresearch.santiagocapital.com, and of course, Brent is on Twitter. He's very active there at SantiagoAUFund. Every episode of The Grant Williams Podcast, including The End Game, The Super Terrific Happy Hour, The Narrative Game, This Week In Doom, Shifts Happen, Kaos Theory, and The Hundred Year Pivot is available to Copper and Silver Tier subscribers at my website grantwilliams.com. Copper subscribers get access to all the podcasts, while members of the Silver Tier get both the podcasts and my monthly newsletters, Things That Make You Go Hmmm. So, if you enjoy what you hear on the show and you'd like more high-quality content like it, then please make your way over to grantwilliams.com and join our excited community today. And now, on with the show.
Brent, my friend, how are you? It's so good to see you. It's been a while.

**Brent Johnson** (2:11)
Thanks for having me back. Always fun to talk to you, and things have been good. I'm loving the World Cup. I'm sure you are too, but it's been a lot of fun to watch.

**Grant Williams** (2:18)
It has been. It's weird, I was in America shortly before the start, and was talking to people there, and there didn't seem to be any excitement about it, or half the people I spoke to didn't even know it was going on.
But it seems to have caught the imagination. I guess that opening US game didn't hurt when they played so well, and they got a couple of wins, and they're through. So I guess the fever pitch is mounting. But as much as all the bullshit is surrounding with FIFA and the football always saves the World Cup. It's always excited.

**Brent Johnson** (2:42)
It's been really fun to see how much fun foreigners have had in the US. Like the way the Scots just embraced Boston and the Japanese kids in Texas going crazy over the barbecue, and all of the silly cultural stuff that goes along with it.
It's just you watch it, it's like, how can you not love this? It's just even if you don't necessarily love soccer, you gotta love the atmosphere and the event and the camaraderie. Anyway, it's been a nice break from the usual dreary, this next disaster pyramid into the next disaster. It's been a nice rest, but I guess it's the right way to say it.

**Grant Williams** (3:18)
I hear you. I hear you. Listen, here's what we're going to do today. We're going to talk about this piece you've just written called The Band, which is absolutely sensational. I really enjoy reading it. And obviously it's about the dollar, which is something that you've been writing on and speaking on for such a long time now and you've become synonymous with what we're going to call the n-word. I'm going to get James to beep out. Every time one of us accidentally says the n-word, I'm going to get James to beep it out. So feel free to say it, even if it will try not to, but every time it gets accidentally said, I'm going to get it beeped out. I was in San Francisco, I think it was, when you debuted there. How long ago was it? A decade ago, maybe?

**Brent Johnson** (3:49)
It was pretty close. I actually just looked this up just to remember it was eight years ago, almost exactly. It was June of 2018

**Grant Williams** (3:56)
There you go. I remember being struck by the original presentation. Wow, that's a really great way of doing this. And this thing has taken on a life of its own, which is great. It's great for you. It's great for the brand. It's great for the discussion, which is phenomenal.