The Tableaux Grab Bag, June 2026
Things we’ve been reading, watching, and listening to that we think are worth your while.
Every Company Has a Strategy: Acquired Podcast
I have become a big fan of long-form podcasts, especially Acquired, which each month takes a deep dive into the history of a large, famous company and, often, the life story of its founders. Each episode of Acquired provides great historical context and ends with a fascinating analysis of the featured company’s “powers” that have differentiated it from its competitors.
A recent episode examines the fund company Vanguard, and the show notes perfectly summarizing the company’s uniqueness: “Vanguard is the most effective vehicle ever created for participating in the fruits of American capitalism… And yet Vanguard itself is essentially a communist organization—it has no shareholders, makes no profits, and operates more like REI than Fidelity.” This episode of Acquired tells “the story of communist capitalism at its finest.”
Catherine Chester
Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman
I can’t resist a volume of the personal papers of historical figures. There is no better way to get closer to what people thought, and how they rationalized their thinking, than to read their letters and diary entries.
And so when I recently inherited another stack of books, I had to read this one first.
Truman may have been one of the more honest and straightforward modern occupants of the U.S. presidency. He was both quick and informed in making decisions. And yet he also had a refreshing intellectual and moral humility—virtues that seem not to have weakened in the slightest while he was in office.
Truman was astonishingly hardworking. From his appointment sheet for September 5, 1945:
9:35 [Alabama delegation] About Hobbs for Judge D.C. Court of Appeals. I said No but sorry etc.
10:00 [Senators McKellar, Barkley, Speaker Rayburn] Congressional Policy, Pearl Harbor etc. Message and other things.
11:00 [Frank S. Land] Mostly personal and pictures.
11:15 [Herman B. Baruch, banker] Flatterer. Wants to be ambassador to France. Conniver like his Brother.
11:30 [Associate Justice Jackson] Made a great contribution to International Law. One good man.
12:00 [Secretary of War Stimson] Told me he is quitting on account of physical condition. Hate to see him go.
12:15 [Harry L. Hopkins] Surprised him. Took him out in the yard to see the ceremony & pinned one on him.
12:30 [Distinguished Service Medal to Hopkins, Howard Bruce, director of materiel, army services forces] A nice ceremony.
1:00 [Lunch] with the Paul Hendersons. He’s a great admirer of Calvin Coolidge.
2:30 [Nick Schenck, Basil O’Connor] Advertising for O’Connor. Mostly bunk. Gave me a blank check.
3:00 [Roosevelt National Memorial Committee] Same bunch of Prima Donnas who helped drive the Boss to his grave are still riding his ghost.
This busy schedule wasn’t unusual for Truman and looks about average for presidents who came after him. You can also compare it with the published agenda of the current president.
Joe Polidoro
Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better by David Epstein
Inside the Box by David Epstein | Penguin Random House
David Epstein's Inside the Box makes a point that sounds wrong until it doesn't: that limits and constraints are actually what free us up, and that total freedom tends to paralyze more than it inspires.
He backs it up with research and a lot of great stories—about composers, companies, and everyday decisions—showing how the right guardrails tend to produce more creativity, not less. It's hard not to see the parallels in financial planning—figuring out how much can realistically go out the door each year, whether a purchase is actually adding something to your life or just adding to the pile, what the tax picture genuinely demands of the plan.
These aren't boxes we put people in; they're what makes a real plan possible in the first place. Epstein won't tell you what your constraints should be, but he'll make you a lot more comfortable having them.
Matt Chester