Podcasts

Could you train your brain to get richer? Behavioural economics tells us that we regularly behave irrationally – and nudge theory has been used by governments and organisations around the world to try to make us better people. But could you take matters into your own hands, tackle your own temptations and make yourself wealthier, or just happier? On this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost look at some tricks you can deploy – and whether you can actually turn that old chestnut about not spending money on coffee into hard cash in your bank account, pension or ISA. Also on this week’s show, we discuss why Britain is bottom of the world pension league and whether that is actually as bad as it seems.

Former plumber Joseph Valente is one of a dozen former winners of TV's The Apprentice, having won the show in 2015. His prize was a substantial business investment and partnership with Lord Alan Sugar. His business - Impragas - was three years old when he took part in the programme. His partnership lasted for a year before he and Lord Sugar decided to stop working together. He's now masterminding a rapid expansion of Imragas. He's just published a book about his life so far: Expelled From The Classroom to Billionaire Boardroom.

The housing crisis is a hot topic at the moment. We often talk about who can buy, sell and rent houses – and how much they cost – but we rarely talk about the land beneath them. Lots of land in the UK is owned by the government and local authorities – public land. But a load of it is being sold off, from old hospitals to sites owned by the Ministry of Defence. The government says that we should sell it to developers to build houses on to deal with the housing shortage. But is that really happening? Is selling off our public land really helping to solve the housing crisis? This week host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith welcomes back NEF’s Subject Lead on Housing, Alice Martin, to talk us through these thorny questions. She’s joined by NEF researcher Duncan McCann and journalist and author Dawn Foster, both experts on the issues of housing and land.

In this episode, Adam Cox speaks to Angus Dent, CEO of Archover, a P2P lender which has conducted research into how different generations perceive financial risk. Is there a difference in the way millennials think about money, compared to generation X or the baby boomers? And because of their circumstances, do millennials need to take more risks with money?

From the Government’s Help To Buy and Shared Ownership schemes to the recent reduction in stamp duty and Bank of Mum & Dad, just how easy is it for first time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder? In this edition, we hear from Laura about buying her first home and Jack’s aspirations to become a landlord or developer. Expert guests are on hand to offer help and advice: Kate Faulkner, MD of Property Checklists, Investment Coach Damien Fogg of theepinvestor.com and Financial Adviser Jay Rooney from One And All Financial. Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association.

In the latest Money Makers episode, Jonathan Davis talks to Dr Paul Jourdan, the CEO of Amati Global Investors, who run two small cap funds and an AIM portfolio service from their headquarters in Edinburgh. Since last speaking to Paul a year ago, his small cap fund has risen more than 35% and collected a number of new awards for its performance. Jonathan finds out how.

Left-wing movements in Britain, and further afield, are increasingly citing the Scandinavian or Nordic economic model as a desirable alternative to capitalism. But is Scandinavian socialism really all its cracked up to be? Today, Dr Steve Davies and Kate Andrews of the IEA put the Nordic model under the spotlight – and examine to what extent these countries are indeed socialist, or even ‘left wing’.

Ian Forrest, Investment Research Analyst at The Share Centre, discusses news from Cineworld, Saga and the Hammersmith and Intu Merger, as well as looking ahead to results from Ashtead.

Tim Evans, Professor of Business and Political Economy at Middlesex University, talks to Simon Rose about the rise of Bitcoin, the effects of Portugal decriminalising drugs and the attitude towards the City of shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

With Paddington 2 back on top, James Cameron-Wilson reviews Wonder, The Star and The Man Who Invented Christmas and the resurgence in the charts, in a modest way, of Loving Vincent.