Blake

Blake spent his career in investment banking and M&A advisory, building the kind of attention to detail that separates the good analysts from the great ones. Columbia undergraduate, Wharton MBA—the credentials matter less than what he does with them. He arrives at every interview having read everything a guest has ever published, not just the recent stuff. When someone makes a claim, he doesn't nod and move on. He asks for the math. He traces the assumptions. When he disagrees, his tell is a flat, measured "that's interesting"—the kind of pause that makes guests realize they need to defend what they just said.

What sets Blake apart is his refusal to follow the script most financial podcasters follow. He doesn't ask about Wall Street debuts or career pivots. He asks about first jobs—the ones that taught people how to work. His recurring segment, the consensus trap, is built on a simple premise: widely held market beliefs are often wrong, and the interesting conversation happens when you watch someone defend something they've never actually questioned. He's not trying to embarrass anyone. He's trying to find where conventional wisdom cracks.