Railroader (August 2025 fintwit book club) (pod #336)
In this episode of Yet Another Value Podcast Book Club, host Andrew Walker and co-host Byrne Hobart of The Diff discuss Railroader, the biography of Hunter Harrison—one of the most transformative figures in modern railroading. They explore Harrison’s management style, capital discipline, and the precision scheduled railroading model he pioneered. The conversation digs into his alliances with Bill Ackman and Paul Hilal, controversial board dynamics, and the balance between performance and persona. Was Harrison a generational genius or just a man with perfect timing? Tune in for a deep probe into leadership, rail strategy, and long-term industry shifts.
This podcast is sponsored by…. well, partly AlphaSense, but partly me!
Long time listeners know that AlphaSense is one of my longest running sponsors and most valuable subscriptions. This podcast is sponsored by them because I’m thrilled to continue my relationship with them…. but it’s also sponsored by me because they recently had me do a webinar on expert calls and using AI with my good friend Artem Fokin, and I wanted to make sure you were aware of it because Artem is fantastic and I’m positive you will enjoy the webinar / learn something if you listen to it!
Please follow the podcast on Spotify, iTunes, or most other podcast players, as well as on YouTube if you prefer video! And please be sure to rate / review the podcast if you enjoy it, or share it with someone else who would enjoy it (more listeners is a critical part of the flywheel that keeps this Substack and podcast going!).
Disclaimer: Nothing on this podcast or on this blog is investing or financial advice; please see our full disclaimer here. The transcript below is from a third party transcription service; it’s entirely possible there are some errors in the transcript
Transcript for paid subs begins below