Best Financial Podcasts for Fighter Pilot Money Nerds
I’m not sure if I was late or early to the podcast game, but I’m a bit of a podcast junkie these days. I alternate between podcasts and audiobooks, as well as “poor man’s audiobooks. *” I watch little TV that isn’t curated by my teenage daughters, so I don’t have any idea what the financial pornography industry is spouting on cable (I suspect it’s nifty wisdom about impending doom one minute and canine-inspired electronic pogs the next…)
My podcast habit finds me listening during exercise, driving, and any household manual labor. I generally listen at about 1.5x to 2.0x speed depending on the speaker’s natural cadence, but it’s probably more reflective of my impatience and desire to cram more activity into less time.
The follow is a list that I think financial nerds and closet nerds might also enjoy and why.
The White Coat Investor. With a blog of the same name, Dr. Jim Dahle is an emergency physician and former Air Force doctor. He’s high on detail, has a servant/teacher’s heart, and skips fluff. In a lot of ways, he’s like Dave Ramsey for a higher-earning, slightly more sophisticated crowd.
The Ramsey Show. Dave Ramsey is America’s lead voice advocating for consumers to eliminate debt other than a mortgage. It’s common to outgrow some of his advice, but he has inspired millions of listeners to reverse course and get their financial life in order. His mission is to spread hope and you can hear it growing in this call-in format show.
Bogleheads on Investing. A monthly show hosted by author Rick Ferri, this podcast typically interviews a legend or expert in the investing space that aligns with Vanguard founder, Jack Bogle’s philosophy. It’s great for detail, history, and learning about additional educational resources.
Money for the Rest of Us. David Stein’s podcast is phenomenal for weekly deep-dives on both mainstream and more obscure financial topics. The material is right on the edge of penetrable and PhD, so some episodes don’t quite latch in my lizard brain, but I’ll slow it down to 1x speed and replay this podcast rather than skip it.
Investopedia Express. Put on by the eponymous website, this fast-paced podcast usually explores a very timely topic in-depth, but in a very common-person and accessible fashion. Just like the website, the goal is to educate, not sell.
Retirement & IRA Show. Hosted by two Colorado-based financial planners, this hour-ish long show crushes the atom on retirement planning and qualified account details. They often incorporate detail from renowned IRA specialist Ed Slott including how the Tax Court has ruled on various strategies.
The Military Money Show. Hosted by Air Force veteran and personal finance coach, Lacey Langford, the Military Money Show targets the broader military audience, not just finance nerds looking to optimize investments. Of note, Lacey is sponsoring “MILMoneyCon22” in April 2022. This 3-day conference will bring together personal-finance and investing-focused military organizations and members for an education and networking event.
Stay Wealthy. Financial advisor Taylor Schulte dives deep on pretty much any topic in the personal finance space, but the show rarely lasts more than 30 minutes, which is a plus for nerds-on-the-go. Taylor’s show posts great show notes with resources that are worth holding onto in order to build your financial library.
Retirement Starts Today. Army Veteran Benjamin Brandt’s podcast is another highly accessible, brief show that covers both listener Q&A and crucial financial planning information.
The Retirement Answer Man. Roger Whitney’s show has matured over 7+ years and really focuses on both the personal and finance as he reaches into the behavioral elements of money just as much as the 1’s and 0’s. He often runs series that last weeks on topics as diverse and divorce or living the RV lifestyle in retirement.
The Wall Street Journal’s “Your Money Briefing.” This short-form pod cast is great for a current-events-focused look at how an evolving issue might affect American’s pocketbooks. It’s rarely more than 10 minutes, so good for a quick hit but not deep education.
NPR has myriad financial shows, so I’ll lump The Indicator, Planet Money, and MarketPlace all together. Each has different hosts, but the resources behind these shows ensures a never-ending deep-dive into what really affects economic activity in our nation and the planet writ-large. You can’t go wrong with these podcasts.
Freakonomics. The long-running podcast from the book series of the same name is usually about an hour of great interviews and exploration of the “hidden side of everything.” This podcast will always shine a new light on issues that most of us take for granted.
The Daily. While not a personal finance podcast, the Daily is a Monday through Friday half hour show exploration of a contemporary issue. It’s actually news and reporting without the bloviating opinion-fest that masquerades as news on cable.
Intelligence Squared Debates. Also not a personal finance podcast, this show features Oxford-style debates between two teams of experts on controversial policy issues. This podcast focuses on a lively, but civil debate and the (virtual) audience gets to vote both before and after to indicate which debate team presented the best argument. Nerdy? Absolutely. But you can’t walk away from it without having grown a nuanced understanding of a thorny issue and be a better American for it.
Cleared to Rejoin
Podcasts are one of my favorite inventions of the 21st century. You can find them on literally every topic and if you want, you can make your own on the cheap. The list of good personal finance podcasts dwarfs this article, but these podcasts feature truly high quality, educational content, not a bunch of shiny objects flashing around to get you listening to advertisements (looking at you cable TV…). If max-performing your money is a priority, learning through these and other podcasts is a great, free way to get started!
Fight’s On!
* The Kindle App on an iPhone can use the phone’s native screen-reading function. You have to enable it in the settings, but once you do, Siri will read the text of your Kindle book. You won’t get a smooth Morgan Freeman-quality reading, but you won’t pay audiobook prices and you can turn your book into a hybrid to suit your reading mode at the time.
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