Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin

Are we in an AI bubble? It's the trillion-dollar question — and depending on who you ask, you'll get completely opposite answers. Today, Nicole cuts through the noise and takes an honest look at what's actually happening inside the AI market right now.

She breaks down why sky-high valuations on AI companies are giving investors serious dot com bubble déjà vu, the circular financing deals that are inflating demand, and why the fact that Nvidia drove roughly a fifth of the S&P 500's gains in 2025 should have every investor paying attention. But she also makes the case for why this moment is fundamentally different from 1999 and what that means for your portfolio.

Check out Nicole’s financial literacy course The Money School 

Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole’s company Private Wealth Collective

Watch video clips from the pod on Money Rehab’s Instagram and Nicole Lapin’s Instagram

Here's what Nicole covers today: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

00:24 Both Sides of the AI Bubble Debate 

00:44 How Much Money Is Actually Flowing Into AI 

01:12 What Sky-High PE Ratios Really Mean 

02:14 Dot Com Bubble Déjà Vu 

03:32 Circular Financing

03:59 The Warren Buffett Market Indicator

04:19 What's Actually Different This Time 

05:10 The Real Risks

05:36 Nicole's Honest Verdict 

06:33 Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments.

Over the weekend, the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, killing the Supreme Leader and triggering a wave of retaliatory missiles across the region. This is the biggest military escalation the Middle East has seen in a generation, and it's already moving markets.

Today, Nicole traces the financial chain reaction from the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal all the way to Monday's market open, and breaks down exactly what this conflict means for your portfolio right now. Oil is surging, gold is spiking, defense stocks are climbing — and travel stocks are getting crushed. Nicole explains why markets recovered faster than expected, what the historical pattern tells us about what comes next, and the one scenario that should actually worry you.

She also breaks down the specific assets that go up and the ones that go down when the US is in conflict in the Middle East and makes the case for why you don't have to play offense, but you absolutely need to know how to play defense.

Here's what Nicole covers today: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

00:16 How We Got Here 

02:32 The Ceasefire That Didn't Hold 

03:02 The Strait of Hormuz: The World's Most Critical Choke Point 

03:46 Will This Be a Long War? 

04:36 How This Hits Your Wallet: 

08:09 Why Travel and Tourism Stocks Get Hit

09:26 The Historical Pattern Every Investor Should Know 

10:20 The Risks That Could Change Everything 

10:50 Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments.

Bill Gurley is a Wall Street and Silicon Valley legend. He’s the analyst who led the Amazon IPO and went on to become one of the most successful VCs of all time and an early investor in Uber, Zillow, and GrubHub. Today, he joins Nicole to answer the biggest questions on investors' minds right now.

Bill doesn't mince words: yes, we're in an AI bubble— and he explains exactly why, from circular spending deals that smell like Enron to the speculative behavior that always follows a real wave of innovation. He breaks down why the IPO system is rigged against retail investors, what tokenization could do to fix it, and what a SpaceX IPO would actually mean for everyday investors. He also shares the one market sector he thinks is quietly becoming a buy, and the specific Chinese battery stock he personally owns.

Then the conversation shifts to Bill's new book, Runnin’ Down a Dream, and his surprisingly personal framework for building a career you actually love. He shares the question he asked himself twice that changed the entire course of his life, his research on career regret, and why chasing passion is a competitive advantage.

Check out Nicole’s financial literacy course The Money School 

Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole’s company Private Wealth Collective

Watch video clips from the pod on Money Rehab’s Instagram and Nicole Lapin’s Instagram

Get Bill's book Runnin’ Down a Dream 

Here's what Nicole covers with Bill: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

01:12 SpaceX + xAI: What Elon's Deal Really Means 

03:18 Why Retail Investors Keep Getting Shut Out of the Best Companies 

05:55 The IPO System Is Rigged 

08:36 Inside the Amazon IPO

10:40 Are We in an AI Bubble? 

16:30 AI vs. the Dot-Com Bubble

21:15 Which AI Tools Bill Actually Uses 

22:00 Bill's Take on AGI Hype 

23:30 Where Bill Sees Opportunity Outside of Tech 

27:30 The Chinese Battery Stock Bill Personally Owns 

28:45 How to Evaluate Stock Options as an Employee 

31:50 The Hidden Value of Joining a Fast-Growing Company 

33:15 Buy Side vs. Sell Side Analysts 

35:40 The Question That Changed Bill's Career Twice 

38:00 Why Following Your Passion Is a Competitive Advantage 

42:00 How Tito's Vodka Started with a Blank Sheet of Paper 

45:20 Bill's Next Chapter: A Policy Institute 

48:00 Nuclear Energy, Healthcare, and the Issues Bill Wants to Fix 

51:06 Bill Gurley's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

President Trump wants to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, and if you're one of the millions of Americans drowning in credit card debt, that sounds like a dream. But Nicole breaks down why this proposal might not be the hero story it seems, and what you should actually be doing right now while Washington debates.

Nicole explains the real reason a rate cap could backfire, why people with lower credit scores could end up worse off, and the actionable moves you can make today (no legislation required). From the debt avalanche method to balance transfers, personal loans, and a surprisingly simple phone call that could save you thousands, this episode is your full playbook for escaping the high-interest debt trap.

Check out Nicole’s financial literacy course The Money School 

Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole’s company Private Wealth Collective

Watch video clips from the pod on Money Rehab’s Instagram and Nicole Lapin’s Instagram

Here's what Nicole covers today: 

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

00:16 Trump's 10% Credit Card Rate Cap, Explained 

01:17 Why This Isn't the Win It Sounds Like 

02:10 Who Could Lose Access to Credit Entirely 

02:52 The Payday Loan Trap Nobody's Talking About 

03:12 What You Can Do Right Now 

03:53 Know Your APR 

04:31 The Debt Avalanche Method 

05:09 Balance Transfer Cards and Consolidation Loans 

06:27 How to Negotiate Your Interest Rate 

07:01 Why Even $25 Extra a Month Matters 

07:41 Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

Behavioral scientist and bestselling author Jon Levy is back to unpack how we can leverage our own psychology to build wealth. He explains why publicly announcing your financial goals can actually sabotage them, how “if-then” plans outperform willpower, and why adopting the identity of “I’m an investor” can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Then Nicole asks Jon what the science says about whether jerks make better CEOs, and he shares research-backed strategies for becoming a stronger leader.

He also gets personal: how growing up as the child of immigrants affected his money mindset, the road to becoming debt-free in eight years, and the amount of money he needs in his bank account to feel safe. Nicole and Jon also discuss how financial frameworks like the sunk cost fallacy apply to relationships and whether your partner might be the best investment you’ll ever make.

Check out Nicole’s financial literacy course The Money School 

Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole’s company Private Wealth Collective

Watch video clips from the pod on Money Rehab’s Instagram and Nicole Lapin’s Instagram

Get Jon’s latest book Team Intelligence 

Here’s what Nicole covers with Jon:

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab? 

01:47 Jon’s Famous Dinners Explained 

04:17 Why Money is a Mental Puzzle, Not a Math Problem 

06:16 Why Sharing Goals Fails 

07:56 From Housing Markets to Dating Markets

09:42 Is Your Partner the Most Important Financial Decision You’ll Make? 

15:09 Jon’s Leap From Debt to Social Currency 

33:37 Money Values in Marriage 

38:01 Should You Quit the Zombie Job?

39:27 The Chicken/Egg Problem with Success 

45:25 Do CEOs Need to Be Jerks to be Successful? 

49:53 What Makes a Leader 

58:12 How Self Deprecation Erodes Trust 

01:06:57 Jon Levy’s Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank