The Readback Barrons

Respectfully, Barron’s March podcast about the problems surrounding Boeing’s 737 Max is itself entirely flawed, so overly-optimistic as to be pollyannaish, and just sloppily inaccurate, that it deserves a full podcast follow up retraction and update based on the actual facts and the “shoe-leather” reporting by The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Based solely on this podcast, it would seem that Barron’s goal is apparently to buttress or even cheerlead a particular cover-story stock, rather than convey Pulitzer-worthy troubling facts about a flawed Max 8 design process, reports of poor fit-and-finish upon delivery, manufacturing process flaws, fired and reprimanded employee whistleblowers, the withholding of information about the *existence* of the MCAS system in the first place, the fact that a safety warning light was only available as a paid upsell, and other reported shortcomings that were all readily available at the time of this March podcast episode’s recording. Shameful.

I just listened to the History of Finance episode. Well done. Am very glad Barrons is offering audio content - current and historical - for investors (long-term oriented, not traders/speculators). Please keep it up,

It seems like you’re trying to sound like NPR. But NPR shows are goofy and somewhat annoying. We just want to hear financial commentary. I suggest turning down the background music (or turning it off) and just do serious, mostly unedited interviews.

Addendum 5 months later—I really want to like this podcast—I love Barron’s—but your music is killing me and I cannot bear it.