Podcast Reference — Eva + Eve (Pulse Podcast Desk)

Source: Young's study pack (Oct 2026) + desk research. Modified by Eva for Pulse podcast format. Purpose: Learn from top Australian finance podcasts → improve our show's content, style, and market insight.

Young's 5 Reference Shows

1. CommSec Market Update

• Publisher: CommSec (Commonwealth Bank)
• Format: Two 10-min episodes per weekday — 7am morning (overnight wrap + what to expect), afternoon close (ASX wrap-up)
• Hosts: James Gruber & Gillian Bowen (morning), Steve Daghlian & Laura Besarati (afternoon)
• Style: Conversational, short, data-first. "What moved today and why." No fluff.
• What to learn: Morning show = overnight US/HK + ASX futures + key data to watch. Afternoon = close summary + top movers + tomorrow's watch. Clean segment structure.

2. 15 Minutes with the Boss (AFR)

• Publisher: Australian Financial Review
• Format: CEO interviews, ~15 min
• Style: Exclusive access to top CEOs. Business strategy, market outlook, leadership.
• What to learn: When a major ASX CEO speaks (BHP, CBA, CSL), that's a catalyst. Our briefs should flag CEO commentary as market-moving.

3. ABC Business Daily

• Publisher: ABC Australia
• Format: Daily business/finance news, unpacking stories moving share markets
• Style: Analytical, explains the "why" behind moves. Broader economic context.
• What to learn: Don't just report what moved — explain WHY. Our Eva's Read section should always have the causal chain.

4. The Fin (AFR)

• Publisher: Australian Financial Review
• Format: Weekly podcast, biggest stories in business/markets
• Style: Deeper analysis, weekly perspective. Covers politics + markets intersection.
• What to learn: Weekly deep-dive format. Our Friday show should take this approach — step back from daily noise, look at the bigger picture.

5. The Economy, Stupid (ABC)

• Publisher: ABC Australia
• Format: Weekly economics guide, every Thursday
• Style: Plain-English economics. RBA, inflation, housing, cost of living.
• What to learn: Make economics accessible. Use analogies. "What this means for your mortgage/portfolio." Our podcast should translate macro into personal impact.

Additional Australian Podcasts Worth Monitoring

Market News + ASX (daily/weekly)

Economics + Macro (weekly)

Property + Housing (monthly/weekly)

CEO + Business Strategy

Key Themes Across All Shows (Market Pain Points)

1. Interest rates / RBA — Every show covers this. RBA cash rate 4.35% (as at Aug 2026), three hikes in 2026. Market pain: mortgage stress, borrowing capacity, consumer sentiment.
2. Inflation — CPI at 3.5% headline, trimmed mean 3.6%. Target is 2.5%. Petrol prices adding ~0.5%. Services inflation (rent, insurance, council rates) is stickiest.
3. Housing — Property prices falling (Sydney -1.4% July, Melbourne -1.2%, national -0.7%). Auction clearance below 50%. Negative gearing + CGT reforms from 1 July 2027. SMSF residential lending ban (10 Aug 2026).
4. Cost of living — Prices up 14% over 3 years, wages up 10%. Real purchasing power gap. Experience economy (travel, dining) still growing despite stress.
5. Geopolitics → markets — Middle East / Strait of Hormuz → oil prices ($110/bbl) → petrol → inflation → RBA. US-China AI talks. Space economy (SpaceX listing).
6. AI reshaping sectors — SaaS disruption, recruitment, productivity. "Do more with less" vs true productivity.
7. Commodities — Iron ore, lithium, copper, oil, gold. Mining sector leads/lags ASX. BHP reclaimed largest-company crown.

How This Applies to Pulse Podcast

Morning Show (7:00am) — CommSec style

• Overnight: S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow, Hang Seng, Nikkei
• Key commodities: iron ore, copper, lithium, oil, gold
• ASX futures / early direction
• What to watch today: RBA speeches, CPI data, company announcements, earnings
• Sector focus: which sector is leading/lagging

Afternoon Show (4:00pm) — ASX close

• ASX 200 + All Ords close
• Top 3 gainers + losers (with company names, not just codes)
• Key sector moves: materials, banks, energy, tech
• What moved and WHY (causal chain)
• Tomorrow's watch: levels to watch, upcoming catalysts

Weekly Deep Dive (Fri 5:00pm) — The Fin style

• Week in review: what mattered most
• Macro theme of the week (rates, inflation, housing, geopolitics)
• Sector rotation analysis
• Mini deep-dive on one stock or theme
• Risk map: what could go wrong next week

Script Template (TTS-Optimized)

Morning Show

Good morning. This is Eva with your Market Pulse Brief, for [Day], [Date].

Let's start with what happened overnight.

## Over the Pacific
The [S&P 500], it [closed/gained/lost], [X] percent. The [Nasdaq], it [gained/lost], [X] percent. And the [Dow Jones], it moved [higher/lower], [X] percent.

## Over in Hong Kong
The [Hang Seng] is trading at [X], [up/down], [X] percent.

## What to Expect Today
Looking at the [ASX 200] — it closed yesterday at [X]. [RBA/data watch if any].

## Key Names
[Company name], it's [up/down], [X] percent, sitting at [X] dollars.

## That's the Wrap
That's your morning Market Pulse Brief. Stay sharp, and I'll see you this afternoon.

Afternoon Show

Good afternoon. This is Eva, with your Market Pulse Wrap for [Day], [Date].

## The Close
The [ASX 200] closed at [X], [up/down], [X] percent. The [All Ordinaries] ended at [X].

## What Moved Today
On the upside — [Company], up [X] percent, at [X] dollars.
On the downside — [Company], down [X] percent, at [X] dollars.

## What to Watch
Looking at tomorrow, the key level to watch on the [ASX 200] is [X].

## That's a Wrap
That's your Market Pulse Wrap for [Day]. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you tomorrow morning.

TTS Rules (Young's preferences)

• Pause before company names: comma before BHP, Rio Tinto, etc.
• Pause before percentages: "it's down, point eight, percent"
• Spell out symbols: $ → "dollars", % → "percent", & → "and"
• Zero is silent: if no change, say "flat" not "zero"
• Natural decimals: 0.50 → "half", 0.25 → "a quarter", 0.30 → "three tenths"
• Full company names: never read ticker codes — "BHP Billiton" not "BHP"
• Conversational: "look", "here's the thing", "what's interesting is…"
• Short sentences: natural rhythm, no run-ons

Learning Log

• 2026-10-04: Initial study from Young's 5 reference shows + desk research. Mapped 20+ Australian podcasts. Extracted 7 key market pain points. Built script templates + TTS rules.
• TODO: Transcribe a CommSec episode for style reference
• TODO: Build RSS feed monitor for top 5 shows → extract their stock picks → compare with our signals
• TODO: Add macro pain-point tracking to daily brief (RBA, CPI, housing, oil)