The bulls are charging, and volatility is getting "taken to the woodshed." Join Mark Longo, Russell Rhoads (the "Volatility Closet" resident), and Mark Sebastian (the "Greasy Meatball") as they break down a massive week in the markets. From the "mother of all tech earnings weeks" to the generational spending on AI, the crew explores why the VIX remains under pressure despite global geopolitical turmoil and a hawkish-leaning Fed.

In this episode, the team dives into:

• The Volatility Review: A post-mortem of the April markets, the impact of the FOMC meeting, and how mega-cap tech earnings are reshaping the volatility landscape.

• VIX vs. VVIX: Russell analyzes the relationship between the VIX and the "Vol of Vol," and whether the current divergence is the ultimate fade signal.

• Russell's Weekly Rundown: A look at the weird and wild trades hitting the tape, including a "penny" VIX binary and a 21-19-17 put fly.

• The Crystal Ball: The guys place their bets on where the VIX cash will settle next week.

• Pro Trading Crate: Announcing the April winner and the debut of Dan Passarelli's brand-new book.

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Is the traditional volatility conference a dying breed? This week on Volatility Views, host Mark Longo and the "Once, Future, and Present Dr. VIX," Russell Rhoads, dive into the shifting landscape of institutional trading events—from the legendary "swag mazes" of the CBOE Risk Management Conference (RMC) to the distinct lack of retail-friendly education in the space.

The duo breaks down a week of head-scratching market action where the S&P 500 hits new all-time highs while the VIX remains surprisingly "spicy" due to geopolitical uncertainty and ceasefire extensions.

Highlights include:

• The RMC Swag Report: Russell reviews the high-end gear at this year's conference and the curious absence of electronic swag.

• The VVIX/VIX Ratio: A deep dive into using this relationship as a hard trading indicator.

• VIX Options Flow: Analysis of massive prints in the May and June cycles, including a rare 15,000-lot weekly trade that caught Russell's eye.

• The "Hair Dryer" Hedge: A wild look at betting markets and a Polymarket trader who allegedly rigged a weather-based bet.

• Crystal Ball: Mark and Russell place their bets on the VIX handle for next week.

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Is it "opposite day" in the financial markets? In this episode of Volatility Views, Mark Longo is joined by Russell Rhoads (Dr. VIX), Andrew Giovinazzi from Option Pit, and Scott Nations from Nations Indexes to deconstruct a wild week where bad news for the world seemingly became fuel for a massive equity rally.

The team dives deep into the "Bizarro" nature of the current landscape—where a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz resulted in a market surge and a ceasefire triggered explosive upside momentum.

Key topics include:

• The Volatility Review: A look at VIX Cash levels, the collapse of VVIX, and the surprising lack of "flight to quality" in gold and treasuries.

• Bizarro Markets: How the S&P 500 reached new highs despite crude oil remaining significantly elevated.

• RMC Insights: Russell Rhoads shares his top-level takeaways from the latest Risk Management Conference (RMC), including the shift toward buffered ETFs and the latest research on VIX futures reactions to spot.

• VIX Options Flow: A breakdown of massive volume in May and June strikes, including a look at the "Scott Nations Special" deep out-of-the-money calls.

• The Crystal Ball: The team peers into the future to predict where the VIX and Volley will land next week.

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