The Contrarians: The Contrarians with Adam and Adir

Expert360 Heartbreak, CTM is Back, Iran Stalemate gets less Stale and The Athlete Rich List

The Contrarians — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir unpack Expert360’s painful sale, why founders need to think carefully about golden windows, and what CTM’s return to the ASX says about survival, short sellers and investor risk. They also dig into Iran’s blockade problem, student politics at Monash, Alastair Clarkson’s messy North Melbourne exit, and the athlete rich list quiz that turns into a bigger conversation about brand, equity and celebrity power.

00:00 - Intro
12:20 - Alistair Clarkson & North Melbourne
25:08 - Student Politics at Monash
36:17 - The Athlete Rich List Quiz
50:30 - Iran and the Straight of Hormuz
1:02:30 - Expert360
1:16:04 - CTM

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Try Braze

Retail Deep Dive: Kogan shows the money and Cettire close to the edge

The Contrarians — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Australia’s retail stocks are getting smashed, but Adam and Adir think the sell-off could finally be creating opportunities in businesses like JB Hi-Fi, Kogan and Koala.

Meanwhile, Cettire has lost 95% of its value in two years and its latest results raise even more questions about how long the luxury retailer can keep going.

00:00 Australian Retail Stocks Are Getting Smashed
12:41 Kogan, Temple & Webster and Koala
16:40 Cettire’s Collapse & The Art of Contrarian Investing

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Try Braze

Canva’s Investor Dumpster Fire, Xero’s Shareholder Smackdown, CTM’s Lifesasver Deal and GTA's $3.5bn Bet

The Contrarians — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir unpack the investor fight building around Canva, AirTree and the painful question of when early backers should finally get liquidity. They also dig into Xero’s shareholder revolt, Corporate Travel Management’s surprise rescue deal, Zoox’s lost upside, the return of hardware startups, and why Disney might be one of the rare businesses with almost every major competitive power.

00:00 - Defcon Merch and Tansu’s First Week
07:14 - Zoox
16:31 - Vanguard Smart Glasses
23:05 - Leo Esaki's Five Don'ts
27:47 - Disney's Hidden Powers
35:53 - GTA VI
43:13 - Eureka Pet Co.
48:20 - Victoria's Crime Problem
58:04 - Canva
1:13:19 - Xero's Shareholder Revolt
1:20:40 - CTM

The first 20 listeners to use code "TCfirst20" at Tanssu.com will redeem the offer mentioned in this week's episode: https://www.tanssu.com/discount/TCfirst20. Add “The Set” to your cart in any colour. Then at checkout, the code will remove the cost of the tote.

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OpenAI Burns Billions, Temple & Webster Gets Crushed

The Contrarians — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir unpack the strange economics of AI, with OpenAI burning billions, Anthropic claiming explosive growth, and investors still trying to work out where the real profits will come from. They also dig into Temple & Webster’s brutal share price collapse, the limits of its retail model, and why even strong operators can struggle inside a brutally hard business.

00:00 - OpenAI, Anthropic and The AI Money Problem
14:39 - Temple & Webster Gets Whacked

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The World's Best Negotiator Returns To The Contrarians

The Contrarians — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir are joined by negotiation expert Vicki Medvec to discuss how to negotiate better deals, use anchoring, understand BATNA, manage emotion, create multiple offers, avoid losing value at the finish line and solve the other side’s problem. Vicki also explains bucket issues, storytelling issues, negotiation power, cross-cultural differences and why the best negotiators focus less on themselves and more on what the other side really needs.

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Buy Vicki's Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Negotiate-without-Fear-Strategies-Maximize/dp/1119719097

GYG’s Blowout Result, Adir’s Luggage Startup, Sydney's Pullman Five and Culture Amp’s AI Fight

The Contrarians — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir cover a messy week of airports, taxis, AI tools and data privacy before turning to Sydney's Pullman Five and the erosion of the presumption of innocence in public life. They also unpack Culture Amp’s AI data changes, Spirit Airlines’ email archive being sold for training data, Guzman y Gomez’s impressive result, and Adir’s long, painful, surprisingly successful launch of his new luggage brand Tanssu.

00:00 - Wispr, RSI and The Curse in Disguise
07:12 - Telstra’s Futurama Phone Box Fail
10:13 - Mobile Phones, Parenting and Always Being Contactable
12:35 - Uber, Taxis and Airport Chaos
18:28 - Adir’s New York Cafe Story
22:23 - DEF CON, Delta Wi-Fi and Executive Deepfakes
36:01 - Sydney's Pullman Five and Presumption of Innocence
47:52 - Culture Amp, AI Training Data and Privacy
58:57 - Guzman y Gomez’s Big Result
1:21:06 - Tanssu Launch

Housing Crash Gets Real, NVIDIA’s AI Factory Gamble, Canva’s Markdown

The Contrarians — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir unpack the growing pressure in Australia’s housing market, with falling prices, sticky inflation and the fallout from the federal budget creating a messy economic picture. They also dig into NVIDIA’s latest AI infrastructure financing play, why CUDA may not be as untouchable as it once looked, and whether the AI boom is starting to look more fragile. Plus, Canva’s valuation gets marked down, SaaS multiples come back to earth, and Blackbird raises another billion dollars.

00:00 - Australia's Housing Crash
10:21 - NVIDIA
24:45 - Canva's Valuation Markdown

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Tech Bros Goes Off, DEF CON Hackers, Waymo vs Zoox, and The LinkedIn Algorithm

The Contrarians — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir unpack San Francisco’s AI-fuelled tech boom, from Waymo and Zoox to Figma’s aggressive push and Lovable’s wild valuation. Later, Adir explains what DEF CON reveals about modern cybersecurity, before John Stensholt joins to discuss Tech Bros, Atlassian’s founder breakup and the strange billionaire world of Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar.

GET YOUR TICKET TO THE CONTRARIANS LIVE! https://events.humanitix.com/the-contrarians-live

John Stensholt's book 'Tech Bros' is available now: https://harpercollins.com.au/products/9781460769492

00:00 - San Francisco, Waymo and Zoox
08:00 - Figma, AI and the API Boom
17:15 - Lovable’s $13bn Valuation
21:45 - Contrarians Live Show Announcement
26:30 - LinkedIn’s Algorithm Problem
31:30 - DEF CON, Hackers and Cybersecurity
51:15 - John Stensholt on Tech Bros and Atlassian

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Australia's Most Powerful VCs Join the Pod

The Contrarians — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Hear Blackbird's Rick Baker, Airtree's Craig Blair and Jelix's Ian Gardiner discuss the AI Bubble, CGT Founder Chaos and Australia's Startup Future

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Canva’s AI Crisis, Zoox Changes Everything, Xero’s Ad Disaster, Jetstar’s Bag War, and Atlassian’s Profit Pivot

The Contrarians — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss Zoox, Waymo, autonomous cars, Xero’s strange Vegas advertising, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, Victoria’s work-from-home laws, Delta One, airline lounges, Jetstar’s carry-on bag crackdown, Ryanair, Canva’s slowing growth, AI design tools, Claude, OpenAI, Figma, Atlassian’s profit pivot and the future of Australia’s biggest tech companies.

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Canva’s $60bn Problem and eBay’s Corporate Terrorism Scandal

The Contrarians — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss Canva’s slowing growth, its $60 billion valuation, Figma, Meta, AI design tools, OpenAI, Anthropic, the pressure on Australia’s biggest private tech company, eBay’s corporate terrorism scandal, the Steiners, Devin Wenig, CEO accountability, the $55 million settlement and why corporate consequences rarely reach the top.

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AI Fund Explodes, Alan Joyce is Back, Victoria’s Labor Reset, Fauci’s COVID Reckoning and Credit Card Chaos

The Contrarians — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss Ben Carroll replacing Jacinta Allan, Victoria’s work-from-home laws, credit card fees, AI chatbots, bad customer experience, the “logo CEO” problem, Qantas, Alan Joyce, self-managed super property changes, Gen Z drinking habits, OSW and the battery boom, Anthony Fauci, COVID lockdowns, Leopold Aschenbrenner’s AI fund blow-up, Anthropic, Nvidia and the AI bubble.

01:07 - Victoria's Leadership Change
06:52 - Credit Cards
13:20 - AI Customer Service
18:26 - Logo Changes and Rebrands
27:08 - Alan Joyce
41:08. - Property Rules
51:59 - OSW
1:03:22 - Fauci, COVID and the Pandemic Reckoning
1:16:30 - Leo Lats, AI Leverage and Bubble Behaviour

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Tesla Going Down...Down, Immutable’s Massive Fall and Australia’s Unicorn Bubble

The Contrarians — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss Tesla’s profit collapse, Elon Musk’s valuation premium, robotaxis, self-driving, BYD, SpaceX, Starlink, Richard White, Immutable, blockchain gaming, NFTs, crypto tokens, Australia’s unicorn bubble and the $3.5 billion valuation that never made sense.

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AI Bubble, Waymo Ditches Uber, Jacinta Allan’s Disaster, KPMG Scandal and Jim Chalmers’ Crashes Housing in All the Wrong Places

The Contrarians — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss the Labor Party conference, Ed Husic, Jacinta Allan’s political problems, Victoria’s unemployment rate, a 1998 celebrity earnings quiz, Etched and the AI chip race, Nvidia, OpenAI, KPMG’s Lendlease audit scandal, Waymo vs Uber, Revolut, bank fees, Jim Chalmers’ housing policy and Australia’s property risk.

Watch the video Adam mentions: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DbNXhESCeXM/

2:06 - Ed Husic and the Gaza Debate
8:46 - Jacinta Allen and Victorian Labor
13:45 - Work From Home Laws
19:19 - Highest Earning Celebrities of 1998
35:33 - Nvidia's Margin Problem
57:11 - KPMG
1:00:36 - Waymo
1:09:53 - Mid Roll
1:10:17 - Revolut
1:17:53 - First Home Buyers

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SpaceX Returns to Earth, Tesla's Shrinking Powers and Atlassian Ruins Loom

The Contrarians — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss luxury hotel inflation, Instagram status games, SpaceX’s valuation drop, Starlink’s powers, Tesla vs BYD, Australia’s best-selling cars, Atlassian’s Loom problem, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Adam’s safari life.

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Xero Gets Whacked, 4DMedical’s Meme Stock Moment, SEN Circles ARN, Uber's Loyalty Lock Up, and Adam’s Safari Business Lessons

The Contrarians — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss safari business lessons, England vs Argentina, Murderbot Diaries and $0.99 Kindle funnels, Uber One, Lux Plus, Marxism, social democracy, Xero’s CEO share sale, SEN circling ARN, Jackie O, 4DMedical, Pro Medicus comparisons and meme stock valuations.

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00:00 - Adam’s Safari Experience
11:08 - England vs Argentina and Why Playing Defence Kills Winners
15:35 - 99c Kindle Funnel
22:14 - Uber One vs Lux Plus
31:20 - Collective Noun Quiz
36:17 - Marxism & Capitalism
55:10 - Xero’s CEO Share Sale
1:15:38 - SEN & ARN
1:26:04 - 4DMedical

Deep Dive: Bending Spoons - Genius or Disaster?

The Contrarians — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam & Adir examine Bending Spoon's extraordinary rise, its blockbuster IPO, comparisons with Berkshire Hathaway and Constellation Software, the risks created by its aggressive use of leverage, and whether Bending Spoons is an ingenious software conglomerate or an enormously overvalued house of cards.

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Nvidia's AI Trade, Telstra’s Disaster, EasyJet’s Takeover Fight, Protein Mania, and TEG Loses the Plot

The Contrarians — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss EasyJet and the economics of discount airlines, Telstra’s outage, Twinkies, protein mania, gambling, Norway’s sporting machine, work from home obesity, Nvidia and Fermi’s AI bubble, Bitcoin, TEG, Ticketek and Live Nation.

Watch the Luton Airport Prank Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya_LluCl16k

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Ask Us Anything: How do you explain average grades? + Should workers own more of the businesses they help build?

The Contrarians — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Happy Saturday! We’re answering another batch of your questions this week.

This week you asked:

🧠 How should someone with a strong career but average academic results explain ADHD and employability concerns to a potential employer?

🤝 Should Australia adopt broader employee ownership models to help workers build wealth and support retiring SME owners?

🇦🇺 What is Australia’s greatest invention in terms of global impact or global good?

Have something you want Adam and Adir to answer next? Drop it in the comments!

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AI’s $7 Trillion Bubble, Corporate Travel’s Next Disaster, Work From Home Revolts, and The Man Shake Buy Back

The Contrarians — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Adam and Adir discuss London’s heat wave, Victoria’s crime wave, Labor’s housing mess, the world’s most profitable companies, Nvidia and the AI bubble, remote work, Canva vs Figma, Koala, SkinKandy, The Man Shake and the latest Corporate Travel disaster.

00:00 - London's Heat Wave
06:00 - Victoria's Crime Wave and the Housing Debate
14:00 - The 30 Most Profitable Companies
23:00 - The AI Bubble, Nvidia and the $7 Trillion Question
44:00 - CGT, Capitalism and Labor's Budget Backlash
54:00 - Remote Work, Gen Z and Canva's Office Crackdown
1:05:01 - Koala, SkinKandy and the ASX IPO Problem
1:10:00 - Man Shake
1:20:00 - Corporate Travel's Latest Disaster

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