Podcasts presented by Simon Rose

Chris Thomason author of The Idea Generator joins Simon for our new slot ‘In My Experience’ where he talks about he went from working in mining in Mozambique at the height of the civil war to founding Ingenious Growth a company that helps develop new services and customer experiences.

Annual house price growth slowed to its lowest rate since January. However, according to the Nationwide, there are now signs that demand in the market is beginning to strengthen. Prices in November were 4.4% higher than the same time last year, compared with a 4.6% increase in October. To discuss the findings in more detail, Olivia Demetriades spoke to Nationwide's Chief Economist, Robert Gardner.

What would contribute most towards narrowing the north-south divide? Better school results or transport links? According to Britain's biggest business lobby group, the Confederation of British Industry, improved school results are in fact more important. While the government has prioritised faster road and rail links in the Midlands and north of England, ensuring that pupils get good qualifications would be the most effective way of tackling productivity differences across the UK. The CBI's new campaign, 'Unlocking Regional Growth', aims to improve productivity outside London and the south east, as London is 30% more productive than the national average. To comment on the findings, Simon was joined by Patrick Woodman, head of research for the Chartered Management Institute.

Movies and Money is Share Radio’s look at the world of film. James Cameron Wilson joins Simon for an irregular look at different movie genres and all in all we look at the business of film.

It's a common scene in offices across the country; a computer that refuses to connect to the internet in one corner, an annoying colleague wittering on about their weekend plans in another and an air conditioning system that blasts icy cold air in the middle of winter. Workplace annoyances might seem insignificant in isolation, but new research released by Samsung Electronics reveals that UK small business workers are losing 5.5 hours' office time a week because of minor irritations. To find out more about this Greg Watt spoke to Sir Cary Cooper Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the Manchester Business School and started by asking him what the biggest office pet peeves are.

Should the language of technology be considered as important, if not more so, than learning French, German or Spanish? One man who thinks it is, is Jordan Poulton from coding school, Makers Academy. Earlier today, Olivia Demetriades spoke to Jordan to discuss why it's now becoming one of the most important skills being taught in schools, and she began by asking what coding actually is.

A new report has revealed that hearing loss is costing the UK economy £1bn a year. And with people working for longer an aging workforce means that that figure is set to rise. To find out more about this Jinan Rahma spoke to Professor Les Mayhew of Cass Business School and author of the 'Listen Up! Hearing Loss in an ageing society' report and started by asking about why they carried out the research.

The OPEC nations have agreed their first cut in production since 2008. The alliance of oil production companies have agreed to reduce production by around 1.2 million barrels a day, with Saudi Arabia set to shoulder the biggest portion of the cut, as well as agreeing to accept Iran continuing to produce at its pre-sanction level. Simon Rose was joined live from the OPEC conference in Vienna by energy expert Peter Bild.

Growing fears for the UK economy has caused consumer confidence to fall. It's that time of the month when GfK's consumer confidence barometer is released, and it recorded a 5 point drop this month, with all categories measured experiencing a decline. Among the results was the forecast for personal finances over the coming year, dropping four points, and the general economic situation measure falling six, which is 19 points lower than November last year. As always when we discuss GfK's consumer confidence barometer, Simon was joined live in the studio by Joe Staton, their head of market dynamics.

And as part of our series with Financial Journalist and Author Rodney Hobson, we'll be talking about pyramid scams.