Thirty years ago, in 1992, a call to the Economics Department at the University of New Mexico was forwarded to me. The caller was TJ Trout, a local celebrity disc jockey who had the morning drive time show. He was very popular on 94 Rock radio (FM 94.1 KZRR). He had called the department looking for an economist to go on the radio and explain to his listeners what the heck Ross Perot, the independent candidate for US President, was talking about. Perot was talking about the US Government deficits and debt, and the presentation was confusing, especially when he started referring to the debt as the grandma in the basement!
As an Assitant Professor, I was at work, unlike many of my senior colleagues, and so, as the only economist in the building, the call was passed to me. Thus begun a 30 year stint on the radio, as a guest of TJ Trout, initially with 94 Rock and lately with 96.3 News Radio (KKOB).
The moniker Economist to the Stars came after being dubbed The 94 Rock Economist, and stuck around even after TJ had retired from radio, moved out of state, and then returned and rejoined the workforce with News Radio (where The 94 Rock Economist would NOT have worked.)
I was not a regular guest, more an occasional guest, but I got on well with TJ and managed to share a little economic theory and insight with his listeners over the years. Radio is tough, and I usually got to speak for about 15 minutes out of the hour, having to compete with the news, traffic and weather reports, and advertisements.
I recently decided to hang up my headphones. Thirty years was a good innings, but no more.
Previous posts about my radio days:
My Alter Ego
Talk about a rock star economist