#26 WSJ’s Spencer Jakab: AI Mania, GameStop & Why Investors Keep Getting Fooled

Spencer Jakab of The Wall Street Journal joins In The Harbor to break down AI mania, GameStop lessons, private credit risks, passive investing, and why smart investors keep getting fooled. Spencer writes the WSJ’s Markets A.M. newsletter and is the author of Heads I Win, Tails I Win and The Revolution That Wasn't: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors. In this conversation, we discuss how bubbles form, why investors chase hype, whether AI stocks resemble past tech manias, the truth about meme stocks, how private credit is being sold to retail investors, and why passive investing still wins for most people. If you want to become a calmer, smarter investor and better understand how markets really work, this episode is for you. Topics Covered: • AI stocks and market hype • GameStop and meme stock psychology • Private credit risks and alternatives investing • Passive investing vs active management • Behavioral finance and investor mistakes • Wall Street incentives • How to think long term in noisy markets 🎙️ Subscribe to In The Harbor for more conversations where sports, leisure, and finance meet. #SpencerJakab #WallStreetJournal #Investing #AIStocks #GameStop #PrivateCredit #StockMarket #BehavioralFinance #PassiveInvesting 0:00 WSJ’s Spencer Jakab Joins In The Harbor 1:35 Spencer Jakab’s Career Path: Wall Street to WSJ 5:15 Why Smart Careers Are Rarely Linear 9:10 Inside The Wall Street Journal’s Markets A.M. 13:45 How to Filter Market Noise Every Morning 18:30 What Investors Usually Get Wrong 23:20 Fear, Greed & Why Humans Struggle to Invest 27:35 AI Mania, Tech Bubbles & “This Time Is Different” 32:40 Cisco, Dot-Com Lessons & Great Tech vs Great Stocks 35:30 Private Credit Risks & Retail Alternatives Boom 40:10 Index Funds vs Active Management Explained 45:20 GameStop, Meme Stocks & Gambling Culture 51:40 Best Investing Advice for Young Investors 56:10 Rapid Fire: Books, Metrics & Success 1:01:00 Where to Find Spencer Jakab