WOKE ADJACENT THURSDAY: transcript 12/1

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Live from the Morningstar Sustainalytics Backgammon Closet, it’s a super dopey ESG Game Show!

Joined as always by the quirky Matt Moscardi. I’m CEO Michael Jantzi.

In today’s Diet Pepsi-stained bag of materiality-scented nuggets called December 1, 2022: We rummage through our ESG Game Closet!

DAMION1

This first game is called Rate The Crazy Founder CEO Shit:

The Sam Bankman-Fried roadshow rolls on: 10 crazy things the FTX founder has just said

The FTX founder has engaged in a publicity full-court press as investigations loom: Just this week, he has given an interview to Axios, had lengthy, beachside phone chats with crypto video blogger Tiffany Fong, posted online and appeared on Wednesday by videolink at the New York Times DealBook Summit.

Most CEOs facing similar challenges would stay silent (usually upon the advice of their lawyers), but not Bankman-Fried, who has opted to try to spin the narrative in wildly unfiltered ways, especially concerning reports that FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange Bankman-Fried founded, lent out billions of dollars in customer funds to his family office hedge fund, Alameda Research.

1. Was FTX a Ponzi scheme?
2. “I had a duty. Clearly, I didn’t do a good job of that. Clearly, I made a lot of mistakes, things I would give anything to do over again. I didn’t ever try to commit fraud on anyone. I saw it as a thriving growing business and I was shocked by what happened this month.”

1. Did Alameda raid the FTX piggy bank?
2. “I didn’t knowingly co-mingle funds. I wasn’t trying to co-mingle funds. I wasn’t running Alameda. I didn’t know what was going on”

1. Was there a secret tunnel to move funds from FTX to Alameda?
2. “I don’t even know how to code. I couldn’t build some backdoor into the system. I could barely use the system.”

1. Was FTX really his “personal fiefdom”?
2. “There’s certainly an extent to which that I wish there had been someone who wasn’t me who was in charge of managing conflicts of interest.”

1. Did he also give money to Republicans?
2. “All my Republican donations were dark but the reason was not for regulatory reasons, it was that reporters freak the fuck out when you donate to Republicans and I didn’t want to deal with that.”

DAMION2

25 eco-friendly gift ideas for the sustainability-minded: Rate their ESG-ness

1. A super warm parka with made with recycled materials
2. Made from a 100% recyclable polyester shell and recycled down feathers
3. A bestselling skin tint/Bright-colored, reusable sandwich bags/A sustainable sheet set
4. The green part is the brand donating 1% of its profits from this item to 1% for the Planet. But aside from that, it's an excellent, SPF 40 skin tint that's silicone-free, fragrance-free, chemical screen-free, oil-free, non-comedogenic, and safe for sensitive skin.
5. A flannel shirt made from a host of sustainable materials
6. It's made from OCS-certified organic cotton , polyester made from recycled plastic waste, and biodegradable buttons made from tree nuts. As a bonus, it ships plastic-free.
7. An under-$100 cashmere sweater
8. Furthermore, it powers its production facilities with clean energy, employs sustainable grazing practices, and pays local nomadic herders 50% more than traditional traders.
9. A virtual tree planting

Planting a tree in someone's honor is probably the most sustainable gift you can think of. One Tree Planted plants a tree per dollar and the "gift" part — a card with your giftee's name on it — is 100% virtual.

LARRY FINK POP QUIZ:

“The world is losing hope.”

• Was he talking about the global birth rate, ESG investing, inflation at 2%, or long term investor paradigms

“I believe stakeholder capitalism is not political, it’s not woke, it’s just capitalism.”

“I’m not happy with the narrative.? I’m spending a lot more time in Washington trying to correct the narrative, and let’s be clear, it’s not based on fact.”

“Lemme be clear…”

“If the people are taking back their vote, whether it’s an individual, a corporation, or a pension fund… they take back their vote, and they don’t do the necessary research to analyze… and they rely on the proxy voting organizations… we’re in trouble.”??