Episode Details

The editor in chief of Barron's on stock picks, the "Barron's bump," AI in the newsroom, and where Barron's is headed 

I've been reading Barron's for as long as I can remember, and our firm has been fortunate enough to be the subject of a few of its stories. But I had always wondered how a story is chosen, so I asked the person who chooses: Barron's editor in chief, Ben Levisohn. 

We go behind the scenes to find out how a cover story gets picked, where the ideas come from, whether clicks matter, and why Barron’s so rarely tells readers to short a stock. I also asked how it feels to move markets with the "Barron's bump," the jump a stock often gets on Monday morning after Barron's recommends it over the weekend. When I asked why stock picks so rarely come with position sizing, Ben said adding that kind of risk context to Barron's picks is on the table. 

Ben also explains how Barron’s uses AI, and why it won’t let AI write its stories. The reason isn’t about quality. It’s about lawsuits and copyright. 

We finish with where Barron's is headed: a community where readers can talk directly with reporters, and Ben's goal of making Barron's the first place anyone turns with an investing question, not just Wall Street and financial advisors. 

What we cover:

• From preschool teacher and aspiring musician to proprietary trader in 1998, and the pivot to journalism that led him to the top job at Barron’s
• How a Barron’s cover story gets chosen, and where the ideas come from
• The sources he looked for as a reporter: no perma-bulls, no perma-bears, no spin
• The “Barron’s bump,” when Barron’s tells readers to sell, and why short calls are so rare
• Why Barron’s stock picks could start coming with risk context, and why a model portfolio is unlikely
• Why an AI bust could look more like 2008 than the dot-com crash, and what worries him about private credit
• How he uses AI to test reporters’ pitches, and the legal reasons AI doesn’t write Barron’s stories
• Why Ben thinks AI won’t shrink the newsroom, but will force reporters to find the stories AI can’t

About the guest:

Ben Levisohn is the editor in chief of Barron's. He joined Barron's in 2012 as an emerging-markets writer, wrote the Streetwise and Trader columns for a decade, and served as deputy editor and senior managing editor; he led the 2025 launch of Barron's Investor Circle. Before Barron's, he covered markets for The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Earlier, he spent more than seven years as an equities trader. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

Links:

• Barron's: www.barrons.com 
• Barron's Investor Circle: www.barrons.com/investor-circle
• Boyar Research on Substack: https://boyarresearch.substack.com/

Disclosure:

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or an offer to provide investment advisory services. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Boyar Research or its affiliates. Boyar Research, its affiliates, employees, and accounts managed by its affiliates may own shares of companies mentioned in this episode. Our views are subject to change at any time, and we are under no obligation to update listeners if our opinions or positions change. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of princip