Dreading Tax Season? These 4 True Crime Podcasts Will Keep You Sane
From worrying about retirement savings to balancing your budget, finances can be incredibly stressful. And if that isn’t enough, there is that dreaded phenomenon that comes this time every year. Yes. We are talking about…
Tax Day.
They say there are only two sure things in life: death, and taxes. To some, call from the Internal Revenue Service might be a fate worse than death. Working on your taxes might summon anxious visions of complicated forms, frightening penalties, and ominous warnings from tax preparation advertisements.
If you need some true crime therapy to get you through this worrisome time of year, we have just the cure. With stories of grifters, swindlers, and con-artists, these true crime podcasts will make any accidental typos you made on your tax forms suddenly seem incredibly insignificant. We’re talking about some of the most fascinating true crime stories the business sector has to offer.
Take a breather from your W2s as we count down the best true crime podcasts to help you survive tax season.
True Crime Podcasts to Cure Tax Day Anxiety
The Grift
From card counters to carnival row, The Grift Podcast offers a unique perspective on the brilliant minds behind white-collar crimes. Host Maria Konnikova takes you inside the fascinating thought processes of con-artists. She is wise on the subject, and has even written several books on how to think like a genius, including “Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes” and “The Confidence Game.” You will revel at the insider’s look at how some of the world’s most brilliant schemers operate, even if you cringe at how diabolical their machinations may be.
Scamwow
As you do your taxes, you might experience a rather unpleasant realization common to many: you realize you owe more money than you thought. Soon, you anguish over the plans you had for that extra bit of cash–perhaps you had hoped for a trip to Fiji? A new goldfish? Rounding out your vintage Led Zepplin LP collection?
Instead of going red with rage, this might be the perfect time to turn on Scamwow. Hosted by comedians Sue Smith and Caitlin Brodnick, this true crime podcast makes you feel like you are hanging out with friends. Their good-natured ranting about the oddest scams you’ve never heard of will leave you laughing at times, slack-jawed at others, but mostly give you a mood boost with its lighthearted approach. This is the kind of podcast that will help you overcome any tax day blues.
Popping the White Collar
From insider trading to identity theft, Popping the White Collar covers all the crimes you haven’t even thought about–but probably should be. The hosts, Tommy and Cody, have a combined background in investing and cybersecurity, making them the perfect people to educate you. Their discussions are not only timely (check out their episode on scams surrounding the Australian wildfires) but educational; every episode includes advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of many of these crimes yourself. And unlike the IRS, their to-do list is one you will actually enjoy thinking about.
Swindled
It is a strange truth that the origin of the word “swindle” comes from the German word schwindeln, which means to ‘be giddy’ or to ‘tell lies’ — two feelings that hopefully aren’t coinciding as you fill out your tax forms. If they are, it might be time to take a breather and listen to this true crime podcast instead. Swindled feels like it came straight out of the Wall Street Journal or Business Insider, making it not only perfect for tax season, but for water-cooler chatter as well. As you commiserate with your co-workers about the vagaries of tax season, and someone jokes that an audit is similar to winning a horrific lottery, you can impress them with your rock-star knowledge on how lottery fraud works.
Tax anxiety is real, but it won’t kill you. With these true crime podcasts, it can feel like a little bit less of a big deal. Don’t forget, April 15th is tax day–we’ll see you on the other side for (we hope) a little bit of tax return celebration. We hope you got a good refund.
Finished up your paperwork and ready to crawl into bed? We have a list for that too!
