Podcast Review: Gaby Dunn Explores Germany, the Holocaust, and Finances in Episode 5 of Bad With Money

So Much More Than Money

By Ghia Vitale

Photo Credit: Stitcher.com

Bad With Money is a hip financial podcast hosted by Gaby Dunn, a comedian, YouTuber, and New York Times best-selling author. In this podcast, she discusses finances in a social justice context. Recently, I listened to episode 5 of the podcast called “Should I Hate Germany?” and it was incredibly eye-opening. Where else can I hear a conversation between a Holocaust survivor and her granddaughter?

If the name “Gaby Dunn” rings a bell, it’s probably because you’ve heard about her before. Gaby Dunn is a famous comedian who runs Just Between Us (a YouTube channel) with Allison Raskin, another comedian who’s also a writer and director. She and Raskin co-authored two popular books: I Hate Everyone But You and Please Send Help. I Hate Everyone But You was so successful, it made it to the New York Times’ bestselling list. Now, Dunn is also the host of Bad With Money and episode 5 will blow your mind with insight.

Dunn starts off the episode by explaining German attitudes about money. She says German people are wary of taking on debt. I learned that unlike Americans, German people have historically distrusted the idea of spending money they don’t have. For this reason, credit card sales didn’t become popular in Germany until very recently

Then Dunn confesses that she hates Germany, but for a reason: She is Jewish and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. This podcast is her way of processing her bias against Germany. In fact, she admits that while Germany has taken responsibility for the Holocaust, the United States government still denies many of the atrocities it has committed against its own people as well as people abroad.

Dunn then interviews a German journalist named Jill Petzinger about German attitudes towards money. For example, she starts off by asking Petzinger about the German phrase, “Geld stinkt nicht.” (It’s German for, “Money doesn’t stink.”) Petzinger describes the origins of this phrase how money is especially important to German culture. In fact, the German word for “debt” (“schuld”) literally means “shame.” 

This episode also features Dunn’s interview with Dana Newman, an American expat who lives in Germany and discusses German culture on YouTube. Newman describes German attitudes towards the Holocaust and how much education German children receive regarding the Holocaust. Dunn discloses personal details regarding how her family members escaped Nazi Germany. Based on listening to Newman, it seems to me like Germans have it better than Americans in terms of finances. For example, compared to students in the United States, German students attend school for virtually nothing. 

Towards the end of the episode, She also listens to a conversation she had with her grandmother. She was taken to a concentration camp at age 14. (However, she never uses the term “concentration camp” herself.) Her grandmother describes how money changed when WWII started and the ways in which the Nazi government negatively affected German lives. This is some of the most authentic content I’ve ever experienced by far. I felt honored to listen in on such an important conversation. I highly recommend you check out this particular episode for this.

I also recommend you check out the other episodes as well. Dunn doesn’t always discuss Germany or the Holocaust, but she does talk about how finances and social justice topics intersect with one another. Ultimately, it’s a good podcast to listen to when you’re in the mood to put your thinking cap on and think about money through a social justice lens.

Listen to episode 5 when you can! Overall, Bad With Money is an incredibly enlightening and unique podcast that I recommend listening to it. You’ll find all of the episodes at the aforementioned link. For more updates, follow Gaby Dunn on Twitter.

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