After Decades On Seattle Radio, Financial Show Shifts Fully To Podcasting.

The financial program “Talking Real Money” has been on Seatle radio for decades, but hosts Don McDonald and Tom Cock say they will end the broadcast and instead focus on distributing their show as a podcast. 

"We've loved being on the radio in Seattle for more than three decades, but the podcast format is the future of broadcast audio, in the same way streaming is the future of television," said McDonald. "Our podcast is the same show, the same conversations, the same advice, but our listeners can join anywhere, anytime, not just Saturdays at noon.” 

The weekly “Talking Real Money” has most recently aired on Lotus Communications-owned “Northwest NewsRadio” KNWN-FM & AM (97.7/1000).

“We know this might feel unfamiliar for some of our listeners, but anyone who has a smartphone is already walking around with a podcast player," McDonald added. 

The series was an early adopter, launching in the early 2000s before podcasts became mainstream. It has become a top 100 show on Apple Podcast’s ranking of investment-related podcasts.

"When we launched our first podcast back in the 2000s, we never imagined it would get this big," said McDonald. "Today, podcasts can be heard on every phone, in every car, anytime. In many ways, they're easier to listen to than broadcast radio, our original environment." 

Another plus for the podcast, it means what would have been a local-only radio show now reaches listeners around the world.

"The best part about going podcast-only? A bigger audience for my bad dad jokes," said Cock. "But seriously, this format lets us spend more time on what matters, helping people make smarter decisions with their money, without a clock telling us to wrap it up." 

The final radio broadcast will air on March 28.

McDonald earlier hosted the nationally syndicated financial talk series "The Don McDonald Show" for more than 20 years. Cock programmed and owned business talk radio stations for years as well as hosting the PBS television program “Serious Money.”