Slate Money

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Business #200Investing #70

A weekly roundup of the most important stories from the worlds of business and finance, hosted by Felix Salmon.Want more Slate Money? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit https://slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen.

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Recent Reviews
  • blaazza
    Loving the Ladies! (Not to OverGender it or anything)
    I’m grateful for the fewer interruptions. Allows for complete sentence explanations. Makes a big difference.
  • philrenato
    Anna, Anna, Anna!
    Anna is back againnnnn!!!!
  • egizzi
    Was better before. But opinions about things they are not experts on? No thanks.
    I’ve listened to this show for years. I can tolerate the banter though Felix is sometimes heavy handed. But the female co-hosts (Elizabeth and Emily) give it right back to him. That’s okay with me. The problem still is 2-fold: Felix is too in love with his opinions. It can stunt dissent and exploration. and The newest faux pas is them talking about things about which they know little. Southwest Airlines? They never fly them. Get someone on who actually knows the experience. Snack food is fine as a meal replacement? Really? Are they sociologists, nutritionists and physicians… in addition to being financial experts? It weakens their statements when they speculate in areas about which they know very little. The be-all and end-all for important topics is not just money. Just be honest about your myopic perspective and actually include some experts beyond economics. Maybe do just one topic per show so you can get a fuller perspective on not only the economic things. Embrace the complexity and stop trying to make snack size digestible podcast experiences.
  • elizschles
    Chase glitch episode
    I’m a fan of Slate Money and Felix but he clearly doesn’t have kids because anyone at a public school knows checks still are used and my kid learned about them at school. Look I think kids should learn cursive too. But seriously! Maybe Felix sends his kids to bitcoin school but the rest of us are out here sending checks for field trips etc.
  • JXDDN20202020
    Quality gone downhill massively
    It used to be good because it had informed co-hosts. Emily & Elizabeth just don’t know very much about finance & economics. Emily at least tries to learn the subject but still not enough. Elizabeth is terrible; she doesn’t understand the substance. Emily and Elizabeth mostly provide you with generic criticism of business & finance from a generic lefty perspective. Imagine what a lefty college student would say about any business or finance topic: that’s the level of engagement you get here. Felix understands the substance a lot more but seems too lazy to provide any pushback most of the time. If you want any insightful thoughts on business & finance, just read Matt Levine’s Moneystuff or listen to one of those Bloomberg podcasts. If you want generic college-level lefty critiques of business & finance with little understanding of the plumbing & substance, this is your show.
  • skeptisarous
    Very Informative with one caveat
    A very informative program in a clear and entertaining format. Definitely recommend it. My one negative is Felix is almost constantly critiquing every sentence out of his cohosts mouths. Otherwise well worth listening to.
  • BengalWool
    Trash Analysis
    Felix Salmon all too often sounds like a shock jock rudely trampling co hosts or guests mid sentence to make some asinine arbitrary comment.
  • Johnathan Utah
    Not Financial Enough and Bad Host
    Gave this pod a chance since I’ve caught up on a few and need to fill the extra time. I enjoy some of Slate’s other podcasts but this one is a miss. The financial topics are a bit too general for my liking and this most recent episode was the last straw. They did a segment of the NPR woke controversy or whatever is going on in the news, and of course talked about Elon. Hilariously the British host has horrible takes. He seemed to conceptually not understand that people can put change in their pockets and put them in a piggy bank when they get home. I get that we’re in the future now and going “cashless”, but not understanding the concept of a piggy bank is tone deaf to the max.
  • Nenoman1
    Felix is the worst
    Felix only provides a room to give a bad opinion that the women correct. I want a finance/business podcast. I wish the way Slate gave commentary wasn’t a pompous idiot corrected or informed by experts. Nevermind the sexism of multiple women paid and prepared to correct a male idiot. It’s exhausting.
  • moi5687
    Loved it but…
    I adored this show - listened since pre-Covid. But over the past year, ads have gotten longer & denser, Emily turned into a suburban stereotype (bragging about using single use plastic bags because remembering reusable is sooo hard & my poor little girlie brain can’t), and Felix started talking over the other guests more and more. Finally electing to pull the plug on this one - it’s been such a good run but really just no longer interesting
  • Peter_Chicago
    4 Episodes In - No Longer a Fan
    Ironically I sought this podcast out because of Felix Salmon and his talents as a financial journalist. I was excited to have found myself a niche podcast about a topic I follow in media. However, after listening to only 4 episodes, I am unfollowing the show. Felix Salmon is intolerably rude and constantly cuts off his co-hosts (who are often mid-sentence on an interesting point). He will then take a 30 second to 1 minute tangent to toot his own achievements, name-drop about some famous person he has interviewed, answer his own question, or ask yet another question. What a mess. My personal favorite behavior I’ve observed- his strange antagonism with one of the co-hosts, Elizabeth Spiers. He constantly argues with her over points that seem insignificant or unnecessary, all so that he can cut her off and make his point over hers. And this is happening all while Felix shows a clear favoritism toward Emily Peck. Elizabeth is talented and should join (or start) a competing financial podcast given the interpersonal mess. The dynamics among the co-hosts interfere with a great concept for a podcast. It’s a shame they can’t seem to work things out.
  • adiago1492
    Fire your audio editor.
    What is going on with this show for the last few months? Audio levels dipping in and out during the ads, repeat segments, two tracks playing at the same time so it sounds like everyone is talking over each other, have some quality control for heaven’s sake…
  • loulou1929
    Loved it before; starting to get on my nerves
    Long-time listener, former subscriber. I love topic mix, but why is Felix always so dismissive of Elizabeth’s point of view? When his opinion differs from Emily’s, he seems to convey his more politely, but that poor Elizabeth! Every episode, multiple times! No one needs to listen to that much contrariness and mansplaining. Do better, Felix!
  • e85gal
    The British male host is awful
    Mansplaining all the time to his guests. Such a know-it-all. Interesting topics but I cannot stand listening to him.
  • Cie Hunz
    Indignant host
    Couldn’t even make it through one episode of listening to this insufferable male host interrupt and contradict nearly every valid point brought up by the female cohosts. JFC! Who wants to listen to two intelligent women get bulldozed by the arrogance of Felix’s ego-centric dialogue every episode?! I’d love to listen more. The topic are so interesting. I love the cohosts, but I will not listen again while Felix is at the microphone. Truly intolerable to listen to.
  • an168103
    Constant interrupting
    I’ve tried to listen to so many episodes of this and had to turn them off because they’re so frustrating. The male host routinely interrupts the women in conversation, or tells them they’re wrong and then splits hairs or manipulates his own opinion in order to justify why his viewpoint is different and more right than theirs. It’s a bummer, because the topics are often interesting, but without a more respectful and balanced dialogue it’s just not worth listening to.
  • Josh959595
    Love the show
    Longtime listener paying my dues and feeding the algo. Enjoy the choice of topics — nice mix of pop culture, Econ and finance, and politics. I’ve learned a lot from Felix’s perspectives in particular, and Emily is a great foil. I do find Felix and Elizabeth’s constant disagreements a little grating. I’m also sad that some of the good segments are behind the slate plus paywall. This is the only media from slate that I interact with so it’s not worth it for me to subscribe. But thanks and keep it up!
  • spec_13
    Time to quit
    I like the topics and approach of Slate Money, but I’ve reached my limit on Felix Salmon’s sneering contempt—especially the way he blatantly sets up and knocks down his cohost Elizabeth Spires. Elizabeth, get out of there! I’d love to follow your intelligent, well-researched insights SOMEWHERE ELSE.
  • lennon2020
    Audio issues
    Multiple episodes with poor audio leveling. Did the editor rage quit?
  • Nate-1
    Please fix sound editing
    Long time listener and enjoy the insightful content. The volume will jump substantially during advertisements - making the podcast a little painful to listen to on headphones.
  • Nicebearnyc
    Fun but Dumb (updated)
    Perhaps you’ve not read anything from former CBO of Alphabet Mo Gawdat? Or anyone else in the field? Recent AI developments include cracking AES-192; the ability to unencrypt nearly anything; the ability to hack any system online. There are thousands of CRSPR and other DNA editing machines which can produce new novel corona viruses daily if instructed to do so.
  • Nihilistic Punchline
    You missed the obvious Javier Milei look
    He looks like Wolverine in the X-men movies 🤣
  • radios1
    Horrendous host chemistry
    It has the potential to be Planet Money for grownups, but is ruined by the worst host chemistry I’ve come across. An arrogant, interrupting, mansplaining host and two women who sound like they’re trapped in the room and completely uninterested in the discussion. I keep listening in the hopes that it will get better. It doesn’t.
  • babins64
    Felix is great
    I started listening to this podcast as I started having withdrawal symptoms from the ending of Succession and love it! Felix is great and I learnt and appreciated so much more the show after his deep dives and different angles. Great guests that added a lot to the show. I still re-listen to the Succession’s episode but now also appreciating the other topics he covers. Love his insights as being British he has a different and at times deeper outlook. Thank you from Kenya 😉🙏
  • lu and ru fan
    Peak toxic male mediocrity
    Oh my lord Felix Salmon… first of all Elizabeth Spiers is a truly legendary New York journalist, and she is one the star in this review. Please put her in charge of this podcast immediately. Felix, on the other hand, is a proud know-nothing who is in love with the sound of his own musings. I am always flattened at his ability to just guess (!!!) at why something might be the way it is — without bothering to Google it or say ask an expert on the show to talk about it. The number of times I have caught him being flat out wrong is just… Stupefying. Stupid-ifying. No matter the topic, he contributes all the insight of a guy who’s read half an article on said topic on the toilet. I write this review only to say Elisabeth: we see you. Sorry the patriarchy is still going strong.
  • Marila0
    Felix doesn’t have a clue about anything
    The show would be better without him
  • chitowntemp1084
    Downhill slide
    Started listening back when Anna was still on the show. She was a good moderate counterweight to the other hosts. Emily Peck is probably one of the most uninformed hosts I have ever listened to. Her inputs and way of speaking are empty headed and frivolous and reflects poorly on women in finance. Elizabeth also offers some very biased opinions based not on facts but on her own clearly leftists political views. She also offers nothing in terms of real insights, wit, humor or anything. While Felix can sometimes be overbearing at least he can speak intelligently on a topic and bring real facts and insights. I just wish he can have co hosts who can be good sparring partners for him and can hold their own.
  • nwolf1979
    Fed up with Felix
    I’m finally cutting the cord and unsubscribing. Tired of listening to Felix constantly dominate the conversation and talk over the ladies and dismiss their contributions.
  • chasegrantjr
    Show has been gradually declining, but after this week I won’t bother with it anymore
    I’ve been listening to this show for years and it used to be one of my favorites. They used to have more guests and the hosts were well prepared. The hosts occasionally offered hot takes, but usually confined themselves to areas they actually had expertise in. There was some drop in quality when Ms. Szymanski left, and a pronounced drop in quality when Ms. Ishmael left. They have fewer guests, more lackluster preparation, and the hosts offer more hot takes on things they don’t know anything about. This week’s episode was the last straw for me though. The title “Could Global Inequality Actually Be…Good?” was pure clickbait, and up there with the most obnoxious Slate contrarianism. Even more disappointing was the lack of substantive material in the segment. Essentially we learned that a paper was published that found a huge drop in the GINI coefficient during the pandemic. That’s it. The rest of the segment was Mr. Salmon and Ms. Peck trying to gin up an argument around the topic of the title, without much success.
  • Mail Buster
    Need better cohosts
    Quality of show has gone way down. Current cohosts are not as qualified as prior ones. Emily is a writer She knows women’s issues and labor. The rest she regurgitates what she reads and often doesn’t quite understand and asks Felix for reassurance! Elizabeth has more experience and doesn’t talk Felix often interrupts her rarely does he do that to Emily. Felix can handle shoe by himself with guests
  • Bart Szyszka
    Watch with subtitles, please
    If you’re going to do any more recap episodes, I suggest the staff and the guest speakers watch the episodes with subtitiles. It’s really frustrating to hear people constantly correct each other/Felix on details they would have noticed if they just watched with subtitles (like “New Jess” in the succession finale, not “new jets”). And with the way shows are audio edited these days you can miss a lot of subtleties if you’re not reading the words to back up what you think you heard (I also found the conversation about Kendall’s kids not being his confusing to listen to, but the subtitles helped).
  • Annehandled
    Felix. Stop talking.
    I love this show but Felix can’t stop talking. Why have two other hosts? Good info if You can get past Felix’s tendency to dominate and more than occasional mansplaining.
  • NHxNY
    Temu? Seriously?
    Was your recent episode sponsored by that garbage app? Because that is the only reason why you would blather on about how popular it is, how Chinese direct to American consumer companies are the way of the future, and not once mention the thousands of complaints the company has from Customers regarding orders never being delivered, false advertising and extremely poor quality. You were either bought and paid for by Temu, or your lack of actual research into the company is astounding. I can’t decide which is more embarrassing. So zero stars for that episode. Three stars for the show on the whole because sometimes the subject matter is interesting and the points valid, but without fail Felix interrupts and mansplains his way through the whole thing. Just. Stop. Talking. For. Once.
  • misfit_too
    Felix
    I like the subject matter of the show. Felix is nearly offensive in the manner he speaks to others on the show. The dynamic is: Felix will explain to the women whether their female viewpoints are correct or not. I truly wonder how they feel about the interactions on the show. It’s almost embarrassing. Do they feel empowered when they get a “I think you’re right” or “you’re mostly right”?
  • egwugwu
    Felix Salmon Upstreaming
    Listened to Money for the first in some years on Saturday. Felix Salmon is a hard-to-listen-to host. He drones on and on in an “as-I-discuss-in-my-book” sort of way, mansplaining at length—in a British accent, no less. It’s very unclear why Elizabeth Spiers and Emily Peck appear on the show: Salmon’s job is to collaborate in discussions with and make them seem smart. He fails in both of these jobs, meandering in his own remarks in such a way that his co-hosts find themselves in cul-de-sacs when he deigns to allow them to speak. Ironically, Salmon’s stemwinders are so obscure and nonlinear that it’s not clear what he or anyone else knows or is trying to say, in this case about Fox’s dismissal of Tucker Carlson or Elon Musk…blowing up rockets and social media platforms and stuff. Two stars because, who knows?, Emily and Elizabeth might actually have something to say.
  • SoccerNinjaPirateRockstar
    Man interrupts women over and over
    Some video conferencing software has an option to display the percentage of time you’ve been speaking. I really want that for the guy host. At any rate he can’t help himself from talking over the women hosts and guests. I generally like the mix on this show of topics vaguely related to finance covered more conversationally than, say, a blooomberg podcast. But the dynamic where one person talks over everyone else, sometimes when they’re making great points is low key triggering.
  • Petey283
    Please find a new host
    Felix Salmon is the worst part of the podcast. He constantly interrupts and offers opinions that, while may seem to follow conventional wisdom, don’t track with reality. It seems like the hosts are phoning it in.
  • sl108
    I love the show, but I’m about to quit it
    I’ve listened to the show for a few years now. It is smart, informative, and often has novel takes on current economic issues. In so many ways, it has been my favorite financial show for years. But—and this is a big ‘but’—Felix is becoming increasingly domineering where I find myself as of late yelling at him over the podcast to just shut up and let the other person speak. I understand that this is “his show”—and deservedly so, given his breadth of knowledge and novel viewpoints of several issues. But over the last year or 18 months, he has increasingly cut his co-hosts off in the middle of speaking, repeatedly told them they are wrong (often they are not, but it is a matter of interpretation… sometimes his being more convincing, but often times not), and he almost always makes sure to get the last word. He also often misinterprets what the other person is saying to jump in and assert his viewpoint. That his co-hosts are female makes this especially unpleasant (hello: mansplaining anyone?). Podcasts are often driven by the personalities and how those personalities cohere together: this show is starting to become a dinner party where the smartest-person-in-the-room (or so he thinks; and it is always a ‘he’) is holding court. I very rarely put up with that in person and I’m fast losing reasons to put up with that in a podcast.
  • charliebytheriver
    Cohost dynamic is a real problem
    I have listened to this show for years and have really valued it. I admire Felix’s expertise and I will continue to read his journalism. However, I’m considering unsubscribing from this podcast because the way Felix talks to Elizabeth—and the dynamic between the cohosts as a result— is just really, really hard to listen to and ultimately leads to much worse discussions. I don’t know if Felix reads these reviews, but if he does, I really, really beg him to listen to some of the recent episodes (particularly this latest one on banking) and listen to the way he responds *whenever* Elizabeth says something. Even if I mostly agree with Felix, the tone, the aggression and condescension is super uncomfortable to listen to. In many episodes, it seems like Elizabeth has been cowed into speaking just 1-2 times an episode. This combination of cohosts really doesn’t work— since no one else has Felix’s level of expertise (the way Anna or Stacey did) and because Felix consistently undermines Elizabeth—this threesome is *really* not working.
  • TTF22145
    Good but frustrating at times
    Good podcast but not quite great. Elizabeth always does her homework and Felix has a ton of technical expertise. Emily, however, seems to not have a lot of background in the topics discussed and often goes with “I feel like” or “that seems [good/bad]” without supporting evidence. It’s almost like they grabbed someone off the street to react in real time to financial news headlines. As a side note: in the piece on First Republic’s problems, I don’t recall hearing any disclosure that the bank is (or was?) a long-running show sponsor. If I missed that, my apologies. If it was omitted, not good.
  • Sean in virginia
    Sad
    Felix talks like an 80s capitalist and occasionally lets a woman speak for 30 seconds so he can explain how he’s always right and the free market fairy dust magically fixes everything.
  • Keerios
    It’s Mostly Great
    I listen every week and really enjoy it. I don’t know why Emily is on this show? She says the most mindnumbingly dumb things it actually hurts. Her answers are based on feelings and her own personal political views rather then reality. Listen, I don’t like the way the world works all the time, but this podcast shouldn’t really be about personal feeling…it should be about economics. I could listen to Felix and Elizabeth all day, and truly they’re the reason to listen to this show.
  • Jack of 1 Trade
    Babbling
    People babbling. What’s the differentiator you’re going for? Feels like an airport layover run on sentence.
  • trillionshelper
    MOST INTELLIGENT CONVERSATION
    Every week the most intelligent conversation anywhere is on the podcast, without question. Intelligent and also insightful, informative and witty . A+++. Thank you
  • pattiocon
    I love this podcast
    I really like the three regulars and Slate money is one of my must listen podcasts. The guest strongly influences the quality of the the show. I just finished listening to the episode with Taffy Brodsser-Akner and please don’t ever have her on again. She interrupts, does most of the talking and despite taking the lion’s share of the discussion she does not make any sense. She never makes her point and overall ruined the episode. The three regulars - keep up the good work!
  • Mr_Wick1995
    Felix deserves a stand-alone show
    Is Emily’s sole role in the podcast to stand-in as the “dumb listener”? She asks the most remedial questions and adds no value. It’s beyond irritating and makes the show unbearable.
  • YourPodcastReallySucks
    Horrible
    There’s no diversity of thought. Just a bunch of left-wingers regurgitating The NY Times and NPR.
  • JuliaListensDaily
    Quiet Quitting from Reality?
    The discussion about childcare in the context of “quiet quitting” made me furious. The level of idiocy comparing a pie company to a child care center should be so embarrassing as to keep you from airing this recording. If you do not know the pain of paying the actual equivalent of a college tuition in childcare to be able to attend your workday, your opinion is irrelevant. To say “people don’t realize their value while they stand in line …” it was like listening to a teenager pontificate on the pointlessness of retirement savings. Spare us.
  • LppCo
    Great podcast, absolutely love it!!
    For a show about money, this show is surprisingly funny and entertaining, and also informative. Love it!!
  • Redbankr
    Sovereign Debt - or What I Owe Slate Money
    I have loved this show from its inception & through its panelists’ comings and goings—never one who didn’t widen my perspective. I was an English/Classics major and never took an Economics course so this is pretty much all news to me. I now at least know when to roll my eyes, e.g. when the WeWork guy got a new gig. I am such a Felix fan and there is no extreme take or reaction that I will not welcome. Extra points for saying from the get go that the Musk/Twitter deal was vaporous. Also, extra thanks for teaching me not to sweat it about rosé. That alone has saved me some real bucks.
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