In Loving Memory: Liam Niemeyer’s Bank Account Balance
April 23, 2008 - November 20, 2017
Always there, always empty, didn’t care about Liam’s feelings
My bank account was a cruel mistress, even though I did have the audacity to write its obituary.
I’ll be the first to admit it saw better days. After a week eating out with friends, partying or paying for parking tickets, like most college students, I would come crawling back to it to beg forgiveness. I would plead with it, weep at its feet.
It’s too late for forgiveness now. But it might not be too late for you. Podcasts and the topic of money go together like the “two peas in a pod” cliche: podcasts telling stories about how a barrel of oil is made in the petroleum industry to geeky Wall Street gurus debating the value of a new hot stock.
These are the kind of podcasts that finance and economics nerds love. Maybe you can even find inspiration for the financial responsibility that I sorely lack listening to some of these:
“The Slate Money Podcast”
For the money geek that likes their finance and economy news delivered to them in the form of a weekly “gabfest,” then this might be the perfect show.
For those unaware, a “gabfest” is a term in the podcast industry for a podcast that basically consists of people talking around a table. There are tons of “gabfests” out there, and this podcast is no different.
The show, hosted by financial journalist Felix Salmon, has conversation bouncing back and forth between various financial experts and consultants about the economic topics of the day, like the recent Leonardo da Vinci painting selling for $450.3 million or the military coup in Zimbabwe.
But like many “gabfests,” this show can sometimes suffer from conversation moving too quickly from one topic to another.
If one isn’t paying attention at a particular moment or takes their headphones off for a split second, Salmon could be talking about something completely different, forcing a listener to rewind. It can be a tad annoying.
Rating: 3 out of 5 earbuds
“Planet Money”
I’m a bit biased with this podcast since I’ve been listening to this show for so long, but I couldn’t leave it out either. "Planet Money" is the king of money/finance podcasts.
This NPR podcast has taken some of the most boring economic topics imaginable — take the Jones Act, for example — and turned them into some of the most fascinating half-hour stories I’ve ever listened to.
Hell, the show even did a story about how bald eagles were costing chicken farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars because the eagles were swooping down and having an all-you-can-eat buffet.
My only critique of the podcast is that it sounds NPR-esque in terms of its production and storytelling, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. NPR podcasts are really great, but "Planet Money" could be more creative with the wide range of stories the show does.
Rating: 5 out of 5 earbuds
“Bad With Money”
There are a lot of podcasts that claim to be the one-stop shop to help people with all of their finance management needs, hosted by people with years in the finance industry. Gaby Dunn as the host of this podcast is the opposite.
Dunn is like a person’s best friend that one can relate with on almost everything, including money. She is not from anywhere near Wall Street, which makes the advice and stories she tells more refreshing and genuine.
She talks with interviewees about real money-related topics that people deal with on a daily basis, like the financial cost of having a baby or, of course, crippling student loan debt.
For a show that doesn’t claim to be anything but a millennial complaining about money problems, it’s a compelling listen.
Rating: 4 out of 5 earbuds
Liam Niemeyer is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. How do listen to save? Let Liam know by tweeting him @liamniemeyer.
