Topic: Michael Lewis

Dvorak discusses Michael Lewis's new book, "Flash Boys," with a banker friend in Austin. The banker claims the book's focus on fiber-optic speed is "bullshit" and that the real money in high-frequency trading is made by identifying small-cap stocks that will naturally follow the movement of large-cap leaders like Unilever. He also predicts American banks will double in size despite "too big to fail" concerns.

The hosts discuss the 1933 novel It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis. Curry compares the book's themes of a totalitarian fascist state to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, suggesting Rand may have been influenced by Lewis. Dvorak also recommends Life and Death in Shanghai, a book about the communist takeover of Shanghai.