Dollars & Sense Podcast

Economists make easy targets.  Their work is an inexact science that frequently produces misguided calls, prompting sneers and ridicule from the investing class.  Enter Brian Wesbury, an economist who has often proved the skeptics wrong.  He’s been rewarded  with “top forecasting” awards while going against the grain from many of his colleagues.  Hear of Brian’s background, his opinion on the poli...

Loudmouth, antagonistic, arrogant.  And those are some of the nicer things said about Kevin Slaten!  King Kevin, as his legions of fans call him, has been stirring it up on St. Louis airwaves for more than 30 years.  This enlightening and provocative interview digs into, among many subjects, Kevin’s long running feud with Tony LaRussa, his role in the Joe Paterno scandal that made national news, a...

1984.  It’s more than the name of a famous book or rock album.  For Dave Simons, 1984 marks a compelling story that close friends have suggested that he share.  And he does so for the first time in this week’s Quick Hit.  Get ready.  You’re about to hear a story of homelessness, alcohol abuse, violence, panic attacks, and despair.  But ultimately this is a story of redemption and God’s unfailing l...

Eight people gather in a St. Louis home in 1989 to talk about doing church a little differently.  Decades later thousands call this church home, including thousands more who watch online around the world.  How does that even happen?  Dave introduces us to the man behind much of the church’s growth and its impact in underserved areas across the globe.  Just don’t credit him for the church’s impact....

Imagine telling your wife that there’s a good chance you’ll be coming home in a body bag.  That was “the talk” that Jay Humphrey and Chad West had with their wives as they headed to places like Afghanistan and Iraq.  In this Simons Simons episode, the military veterans discuss everything from what it’s like to survive boot camp, to the "band of brothers” mindset, to politics and wokeism in th...

”I love you.”  Three words that Dave’s mom has never spoken in her 80 years.  Not to her three kids.  Not to her three husbands.  In a compelling, and at times painful, conversation, Dave has a heart-to-heart talk with his own mother about a number of life events that shaped her.  A sexual assault that produced a child (and that would be Dave himself), a 45-year affliction with rheumatoid arthriti...

We all know how difficult, even complicated, it can be to maintain a healthy diet in today’s fast-paced world.  In this Simons Says episode, author and licensed nutritionist Jennifer McDaniel tackles issues ranging from obesity drugs to fad diets to superfoods.  A must-see for anyone who takes their nutritional health seriously, and that should be all of us! Jennifer's Website - www.mcdanieln...

First Trust Portfolios is one of the largest providers of exchange traded funds (ETF’s) in the world, and yet many investors have never heard of the privately held company.  That’s not a mistake.  It’s intentional!  Dave interviews Jim Bowen, the outspoken CEO and Chairman of First Trust, a man who’s not afraid to mix it up politically and who admits he’s an “acquired taste."

Dave goes public for the first time with an affliction he battled for more than 30 years.  This will not only be an eye-opener for those who personally know Dave, but hopefully this episode will serve as a tool to help others who may be suffering from the same issues.

Do you fear that robots could someday destroy humanity and take over the world?  That would’ve seemed farfetched....until the sudden explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities.  Dave interviews a leading expert on AI and ChatGPT, separating fact from fiction and digging into the realities of AI and where we may be heading.

Dave gives an update on the early success of the podcasts, and then jumps into an important investing topic.  We are bombarded with a 24/7 news cycle that is creating unfounded fear, much of it based on conspiratorial nonsense.  Stop bending down picking up pennies when there are hundred dollar bills floating overhead!

After a stop in Boston, where he literally had egg on his face and became best friends with Bill O’Reilly, the zany Zip Rzeppa took his show on the road to St. Louis in 1984.  The “wacky wonderful world of sports,” to coin a Zip phrase, was never the same in the Gateway City.  Before becoming a financial advisor, Dave Simons worked with Zip in the late 1980s and early 90s.  The two former colleagu...

When you are born with the name of John Hancock, it’s pretty much ordained that you enter the world of politics.  The St. Louis native served as a state representative before being named as Executive Director of the Missouri State Republican party.  Hancock gladly takes the right side of the well-known “Hancock and Kelley” show which airs on both radio and television.  In this episode, Hancock opi...

The son of a powerful union leader in St. Louis, Michael Kelley rose to become one of the most influential figures in Missouri state politics.  The lifelong Democrat gives his take on everything from workers’ rights, to abortion, and to his hot button topic these days, gun control.  Kelley gladly takes the left side of the long-running “Hancock and Kelley” show which airs on both radio and televis...

Imagine being told to leave your hometown and don’t come back. That’s what David Hawkins and his 11 siblings heard growing up in East St. Louis, Illinois.  But David ultimately pushed back on that narrative and is not only making a difference in his birthplace but in impoverished places around the world.  Dave and David discuss everything from their trip to Africa together to race relations in the...

A self-described “hick” from Tennessee, Frank O. Pinion would become one of the most successful hosts in the history of St. Louis talk radio.  Sit back and enjoy Frank hold court as if he’s hosting his old “Large Morning Show”, complete with the retelling of some of his favorite jokes, as well as his take on everyone from Howard Stern to Casey Kasem to J.C Corcoran.