A Thousand Episodes of the Same Good Advice

On the day Motley Fool Money recorded its 1,000th episode, Scott Phillips and Andrew Page sat down to reflect on nearly a decade of weekly conversations about investing, the economy, and the same handful of pet topics they've been banging on about since episode one. The first episode aired on May 27, 2016 — a fully scripted 25-minute pilot that nobody expected to go anywhere. "We were so worried about it," Page recalls. "We literally scripted the entire thing." Episode two covered economy whinges, the Oliver Curtis insider trading scandal, exchange traded funds, and why you should be trying to pay more tax. "We have not changed much," Phillips says.

The boring message that keeps being right

The central argument that has held the podcast together for a thousand episodes is deceptively simple: the market climbs a wall of worry, quality businesses grow in value over the long term, and the best thing most investors can do is stay patient. It is not exciting content. Page acknowledges this directly: "It's against our self-interest to do it. The incentives are such in this space that it's just a boring message. What gets eyeballs is things like fear and greed — here's the action that you need to take, here's what the smart money is doing. It sounds smart and informed, as opposed to passive, boring, repetitive."