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Tom and Don are Talking Real Money

Money and funny? Yes, the two can go together. Toss in honesty and transparency, mix with true financial science, and you have the most unique investing podcast in America. Listen as two of the country's top financial broadcasters and educators show you how to stop playing with your hard-earned money and start investing it for YOUR future. Tom Cock was the host of the PBS-TV show “Serious Money” for many years, and Don McDonald hosted a nationally syndicated financial talk show since 1988. Today, Tom and Don are still dishing out simple, straightforward financial advice on one of the most popular investing podcasts in the world.

Recent Episodes

Free Money?
May 27, 2026

Free Money?

Tom and Don dismantle the myth of “free money” from high-dividend stocks and ETFs, explaining why chasing yield often leads to poor diversification, lower total returns, and disappointing long-term performance. Using examples...

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Infinite Bubbles?
May 26, 2026

Infinite Bubbles?

Tom and Don tackle the impossible task of spotting market bubbles in real time, leaning on insights from Jason Zweigand Eugene Fama to argue that if bubbles were truly predictable, they wouldn’t exist. They discuss soaring se...
Q&A and Book Day
May 22, 2026

Q&A and Book Day

Don opens the show with a deeply personal announcement: the release of his first novel, The Line Uncrossed , inspired by the life of his great-great-grandfather, a teenage Union soldier captured at Chickamauga and imprisoned ...
Indexes Gone Wild
May 21, 2026

Indexes Gone Wild

Don and Tom take on the uncomfortable reality that even supposedly “rules-based” index investing is starting to look suspiciously active, as major indexes like the S&P 500 consider bending long-standing rules to admit massive...
Fear Sells
May 20, 2026

Fear Sells

Don and Tom unload on sensationalized financial journalism, taking aim at recent articles claiming the 4% withdrawal rule and classic 60/40 portfolios are “failing” retirees. They argue that the media increasingly prioritizes...
The Great and Powerful AI
May 19, 2026

The Great and Powerful AI

Tom and Don explore whether artificial intelligence is truly ready to replace financial advisors, sparked by a recent Wall Street Journal experiment using ChatGPT to build a long-term investment portfolio. They break down the...