Michael Badger Avery

Background

About Michael Badger Avery

I've spent the past two decades making sense of the often unnecessarily baffling world of financial markets, first under the legendary (and delightfully cantankerous) David Gleason, then as the host of Classic Business, which I’ve helmed for 13 years, now airing on Fine Music Radio 101.3fm in the Western Cape.I write Badger, a weekly column in Business Day that has earned me a reputation for hard-hitting commentary on the political economy (and the occasional strongly worded email). Online, I’ve grown Business Talk, hosted on BusinessTech, South Africa’s largest business news site, to over 6 million views since Covid, proving that people still care about smart business journalism (even if they consume it between doomscrolling).In 2022, I won Best Podcast at the SA Radio Awards for Hot Business on Hot102.7fm, and my latest venture, The Monocle Banking Podcast, is now South Africa’s #1 banking podcast.Beyond broadcasting, I spearheaded South Africa’s first-ever Water-Energy-Food nexus event (SAWEF), had a foray into mass newspaper publishing with the now-defunct Second Business (RIP), and have a Dionysian-level appreciation for good wine.At my core, I love crafting and delivering business content that’s compelling, and cuts through growing noise, whether for a boardroom full of executives, a radio audience, or a podcast listener on their morning commute.Let’s tell a story together.