In the latest episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Sam Huang, Principal at BMW iVentures, for a candid conversation to explore the dynamic intersection of venture capital, artificial intelligence, robotics, and manufacturing innovation. Sam shares BMW iVentures’ investment thesis, focusing on Series A and B startups across the US, Europe, and Israel, with a strong emphasis on AI-driven SaaS, automation, and onshoring trends driven by labor shortages and supply chain disruptions. Listeners gain valuable perspectives on the evolving venture diligence process, the importance of product-market fit, and how higher ARR benchmarks reflect both market maturity and macroeconomic factors like rising interest rates. Sam also candidly discusses his unconventional career path—from a Stanford history PhD program to law school and ultimately venture capital—highlighting how diverse experiences enhance investment acumen. The conversation delves into the benefits of corporate venture capital, especially BMW’s hands-on support and networking advantages for portfolio companies. Additionally, Sam reveals how AI is integrated internally at BMW iVentures to optimize workflow and decision-making. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of innovation, investment strategy, and the transformative impact of AI and robotics on global industries. Learn more about Sam's work at https://www.bmwiventures.com/ and her involvement with the Asian Tech Collective at https://www.asiantechcollective.com/ Connect with Sam on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-huang-10375b106/ Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply at https://finstratmgmt.com/innovators-investors-podcast/ Want to learn more about Kristian Marquez's work? Check out his website at https://finstratmgmt.com…
Costa-Gavras' 1982 political thriller MISSING tells the true story of Charles Horman, an American in Chile who was disappeared during the days after Augusto Pinochet's 1973 coup. While his wife (Sissy Spacek) and father (Jack Lemmon) search Santiago, they uncover American involvement in the overthrow of Chile's democratically elected President Salvador Allende. This is the first movie in our new series about the Chilean coup and Augusto Pinochet. Discussions also include: Our recent watches, including THUNDERBOLTS, SUPERMAN, and LADY SNOWBLOOD 2: LOVE SONG OF VENGEANCE Hal went to the Beyonce concert in Atlanta; LET GOD SORT 'EM OUT, the newest album from Clipse; The return of one of our most hated historic figures: Milton Friedman Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd…
We watched Ryan Coogler's 2025 horror hit SINNERS, starring Michael B. Jordan (twice), Hailee Steinfeld, and Delroy Lindo. We discuss Coogler's career trajectory from the modest success of his first film, FRUITVALE STATION, to the massive studio hits (CREED and BLACK PANTHER) which paved the way for him to make Sinners, Coogler's ambitious, genre-blending, passion project. Discussions also include: Our other recent watches, including 28 YEARS LATER (2025), MATERIALISTS (2025), SUBURBIA (1983), and the TV show MOBLAND (2025); Trump's War in Iran; The odyssey of Joe Rogan and the Liver King; Blues music as an expression of black pain and joy; Favorite movies with actors playing their own twin. Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd…
After a hiatus, we are back! And we're finishing our series on the Spanish Civil War. We watched the 1996 film Libertarias (dir. Vicente Aranda) about the Free Women of Spain, an all-female column of anarchist resistance fighters who fought on the frontline of the Spanish Civil War. We discuss the Catholic Church and its role in the revolution and how anarchism rose from leftist movements in Spain. Discussion also includes: Our recent watches: including THE SURFER (2024), FRIENDSHIP (2024), FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINE (2025), THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (2025), DANGEROUS ANIMALS (2025), BRING HER BACK (2025), LA HAINE (1996), MORVERN CALLER (2002), and GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953); Craig brought some fun props to discuss; The recent mass shooting at Florida State University by a white a supremacist; And the complete failure (but done with a lot of enthusiasm and sparkle) that was the 1906 assassination attempt of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria. Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd We were recently on the Load Bearing Beams podcast with Matt and Laci and we discussed AMERICAN PSYCHO! Check it ou here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/load-bearing-beams-a-movie-podcast/id1236196018?i=1000703135484 .…
The 1942 film RAZA is a Spanish propaganda film written by THE Fascist Supreme himself Francisco Franco, showcasing the rise of Spain's Nationalist Movement through the eyes of a single family. RAZA checks all the boxes of fascist propaganda: an obsession with a "noble death" in the name of empire, ahistorical interpretations of rival political movements, and absolute terrible filmmaking. We discussed Franco's forray into film as well as: What qualifies as propaganda; Recent viewings: THE MONKEY (2025), BLACK BAG (2025), and PINK NARCISSUS (1971); Wrestling talk, including John Cena's recent heel turn; ICE disappearing protestors; Craig's embarassing encounter with Catholicism and its rituals. Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd…
We start a three episode series discussing movies that depict the Spanish Civil War and Francisco Franco's fascist rule in Spain. First up is Guillermo Del Toro's 2006 fantasy Pan's Labyrinth. Discussion includes: Recent watches: Wolf Man (2025), Heart Eyes (2025), Presence (2024), Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954), Let's Start a Cult (2024), and The Tarnished Angels (1957); The brave people in federal government resisting Trump and Elon's fascist takeover; The beauty of resistance and fantasy as an escape from political upheaval; And how many characters in Mel Gibson's new film FLIGHT RISK talk about pooping themselves? Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd SOURCES https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/26/altgov-elon-musk-doge-federal-workers Mercedes Penalba-Sotorrio’s chapter “Of Fascist Heroes and Martyrs: Death and Violence in the Falanage Espanola” in the 2021 book The Crucible of Francoism: Combat, Violence, and Ideology in the Spanish Civil War Michael Parenti’s 1997 book Blackshirts & Reds: Rational Fascism & the Overthrow of Communism and his 2007 essay “Fascism the Real Story” Hugh Thomas’ 1961 book The Spanish Civil War The University of Warwick’s illustrated timeline of the Spanish Civil War: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/archives_online/digital/scw/timeline/…
For our fiftieth episode, we welcomed burlesque and sideshow performer extraordinaire Indie Sinclair to discuss THE cult film of all cult films: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. We discuss the film's lasting legacy and the community its builr over the last fifty years. Discussion also includes: This year's Oscar nominations; The passing of David Lynch; Indie Sinclair gives us some behind the scenes views of hosting Rocky Horror midnight screenings; And our comfort movies. Find Indie Sinclair online: https://linktr.ee/indiesinclairhome Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd SOURCES & LINKS: https://transreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019-03-17_5c8eb1ebaced4_susan-stryker-transgender-history2.pdf…
In our first episode of 2025, we discuss the Godfather of Filth John Waters and his rollicking 1988 film about integration in Baltimore: Hairspray. Discussion also includes: Other recent watches: NOSFERATU (Robert Eggers), THE LAST SHOWGIRL (Gia Coppola), FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (Russ Meyer), and ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ (Don Siegel); Farm labor in Florida; Craig's New Year's Resolution Watchlist; Lots of Coppola talk: Francis, Gia, Sofia, and Nic! Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd SOURCES & LINKS: https://www.tampabay.com/investigations/2024/12/27/migrant-farmworkers-came-florida-stability-they-found-danger/?utm_campaign=feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=later-linkinbio https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2024-07-12/florida-heat-law-biden-administration-outdoor-worker-heat-protections https://www.ocala.com/story/news/local/2024/06/18/farmworkers-need-more-protection-advocates-say/74123319007/ https://www.newsweek.com/florida-teen-posted-speeding-tiktok-videos-killing-six-jailed-2011604 https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/142…
It's the end of the year, so it's our end of the year wrap-up special! Hal and Craig discuss their favorite new movies of 2024, as well as some of their favorite first time watches! Discussion also includes: A new entry in Hal's favorite sub-genre: NUN movies! Kendrick Lamar's new album "GNX"; Shotime's excellent series Yellowjackets; Quentin Tarantino's book Cinema Speculation (and his unfotunate blaccent) Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd…
We did one of Craig's favorite kind of episodes: making Hal watch a terrible conservative movie! This time, we watched Sean McNamara's 2024 film, and shameless hagiography, REAGAN. Discussion also includes: Recent watches: CONCLAVE (2024), HERETIC (2024), ANORA (2024), KAMIKAZE HEARTS (1986), ALTERED STATES (1980), and THE NIGHT PORTER (1975) Matt Gaetz nomination for (and subsequent withdrawal) Attorney General Alex Jones losing Infowars to the Onion Is notorious Republican monster Dana Rohrbacher actually a cool surfer guy? (no) Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd SOURCES & LINKS: Debord’s the Society of the Spectacle on Marxists.org: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/society.htm…
Spooky season concludes with Nia DaCosta's 2021 sequel Candyman. We discuss America's legacy of violence against black bodies and the undue burden put on black artists to represent black pain "the right way". Discussions also include: Our two-year pod-iversary. Hal's book club reading of D.H. Lawrence's WOMEN IN LOVE; Craig saw Damien Leone's Christmastime masterpiece: TERRIFIER 3; How Candyman builds on the original film, while staking its own place in horror history. NOTE: We recorded this episode on November 5th, just three days before the news of Tony Todd's untimely passing. Rest in peace to horror icon Tony Todd. Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd SOURCES & LINKS: Amendment 4 financial impact statement: https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-supreme-court-allows-financial-impact-statement-next-to-abortion-amendment/ Stop Cop City ballot measure: https://theintercept.com/2024/11/04/atlanta-cop-city-voter-turnout-democrats/ Kara Walker: https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s2/kara-walker-in-stories-segment/ Kara Walker: https://mcachicago.org/collection/items/kara-walker/2695-presenting-negro-scenes-drawn-upon-my-passage-through-the-south-and-reconfigured-for-the-benefit-of-enlightened-audiences-wherever-such-may-be-found-by-myself-missus-k-e-b-walker-colored…
We had a delay recording our next episode. So in lieu of a new episode (coming soon, but after the election...), here's Hal encouraging you to VOTE YES ON 4 for REPRODUCTIVE JUSTIVE in Florida. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/desantis-administration-florida-amendment-4-abortion https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article294142144.html https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/florida-desantis-abortion-ad-amendment-4-john-wilson-rcna176580 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/florida-surgeon-general-restraining-order-abortion-ad-tv-stations-rcna176124 John Wilson affidavit: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flnd.527759/gov.uscourts.flnd.527759.29.1.pdf…
Spooky season continues and Hal and Craig watched Wes Craven's 1991 horror-comedy The People Under the Stairs. We discuss how the economic policies of Ronald Reagan (and his putrid Wormtongue Milton Friedman) led to our current housing crisis. Discussion also includes: Our favorite Wes Craven films; The bombing of the Al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza and Palestinian martyr Shaban Al-Dalou; Some books we're reading: "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein and "When the Clock Broke" by John Ganz; Other recent viewings including "The Apprentice", "The Substance", and "Wolfs"; and Ving Rhames' all-time great lines. Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd Sources & Links https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/the-great-eliminator-how-ronald-reagan-made-homelessness-permanent/article_92c9b2ac-e881-502a-ae9d-5266cac03404.html https://archives.hud.gov/hud50/hud50.hud.gov/hud_history_timeline/index.html https://www.thezebra.com/resources/home/housing-trends-visualized/ https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/remarks-annual-meeting-national-alliance-business https://nlihc.org/explore-issues/why-we-care/problem https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/15/shaban-al-dalou-the-palestinian-teen-burned-to-death-in-israeli-bombing…
We start spooky season by discussing Brian Yuzna's 1989 body-horror satire SOCIETY. We use this film (where a man's face emerges from his own butthole) to have a serious discussion about Reaganomics and how America subsidizes the rich at the expense of the poor. Discussion also includes: Our other recent watches: The Substance, Rebel Ridge, Blink Twice, and Oddity; Feeling collective despair over the recent climate disasters in Florida; Hal's trip to the High Museum in Atlanta; The Batman and Robin of hating poor people: Ronald Reagan and Milton Friedman; and Some of our other favorite body horror films and gags. Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Jared on Twitter at @jjoconno Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd Sources & Links Hal's Art Discussion Links: Titus Kaphar A Puzzled Revolution 2021: https://gagosian.com/artists/titus-kaphar Nina Chanel Abney: Catfish 2017: https://ninachanel.com/exhibitions/ Nabil Kanso's America series: https://www.instagram.com/nabilkanso/p/C1MlYHjuFjN/?img_index=1 https://jacobin.com/2023/04/trickle-down-economics-arthur-laffer-wealth-inequality-ronald-reagan-margaret-thatcher https://www.reaganfoundation.org/ronald-reagan/the-presidency/economic-policy/?srsltid=AfmBOopneyw43jqnuR4WiB5ZU1-QcSIqecxLP1_NFYuxvsIB2v7yjzjW https://www.levernews.com/rise-of-the-insurance-apocalypse/…
For the final episode in our series on Fascism and Italian Filmmakers, we watched Pier Paolo Pasolini's controversial 1975 film SALO, OR 120 DAYS OF SODOM, and discuss the depravity of 1940s fascist Italy. (TW: this film, and our discussion of it, features graphic depictions of sexual assault and human degradation). Discussion also includes: How does Paosolini define fascism; Fascism and Nietzche; Salò as both atrocious and sublime; Art that is antithetical to capitalism. Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Jared on Twitter at @jjoconno Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd Sources & Links Gideon Bachmann. 1975. “Pasolini and the Marquis de Sade” originally published in Sight & Sound; included as part of the Criterion DVD Roland Barthes. 1971. “The Life of Sade.” https://supervert.com/elibrary/marquis-de-sade/roland-barthes-life-of-sade H. James Burgwyn. 2018. Mussolini and the Salo Republic, 1943-1945: The Failure of Puppet Regime. Springer. Naomi Green. “Breaking the Rules” included as part of the Criterion DVD https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/ Mario Sznajder. 2002. “Nietzsche, Mussolini, and Italian Fascism” in Nietzsche, Godfather of Fascism? On the Uses and Abuses of a Philosophy. Princeton University Press. https://archives.evergreen.edu/webpages/curricular/2005-2006/sacredmonsters/readings/sade.pdf Fabio Vighi. 2007. “Liberation Hurts: Violence, Masochism and AntiCapitalism According to Pasolini” Italian Studies, 62:1, 61-77…
It's the second episode in our series about fascism and Italian filmmakers. This time, we watched Bernardo Bertolucci's THE CONFORMIST. We discussed the fascist desire for "normalcy" and the fascist's urge to supress their sexuality. Discussion also includes: Tallahassee Film Fest; Ecuadorian AG attempts to blame leftists for a cartel assassination; Terrible A.I. in ALIEN: ROMULUS; and Why does Nic Cage look like Miss Piggy in the new horror film LONGLEGS? Follow us online! Follow us on Twitter at @RedRoseFilmPod Follow our Facebook Group Follow Hal on Twitter at @shestructured Follow Craig on Twitter at @KegFreighter Follow Hal's Letterboxd Follow Craig's Letterboxd Sources and Links Escape from Freedom (1941) by Erich Fromm Gramsci, Antonio. (1921) “The Two Fascisms” https://www.marxists.org/archive/gramsci/1921/08/two_fascisms.htm Italian Fascism: Its Origins and Development (1982) by Alexander J. De Grande Fascism, Vulnerability, and the Escape from Freedom: Readings to Repair Democracy (2022) by C. Jon Delogu The Anatomy of Fascism (2004) by Robert Paxton McLaughlin, Neil. 1996. “Nazism, Nationalism, and the Sociology of Emotions: Escape from Freedom Revisited” in Sociological Theory 14(3): 241-261. https://www.intercept.com.br/2024/08/29/ecuador-us-backed-prosecutor-attacks-left/…
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