Podcasts

Some projections suggest a third of UK jobs are at high risk of computerisation. The impact of technical progress has been debated since Karl Marx predicted advancement of the means of production to the point where abundance would end the division of labour. J. R. Shackleton, Professor of Economics at the University of Buckingham and Editorial and Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, considers the modern debate in Robocalypse Now?. Prof. Shackleton argues that estimates of the number of jobs-at-risk are excessive; that regulatory and legal barriers to automation will result in slower than anticipated change, and that the last 200 years show how new employment opportunities are created to replace jobs lost to automation. We consider these various debates and ask whether the emergence of AI and robotics mean that, this time it’s different.

There are troubling signs that the new data-driven economy is inheriting all the same problems as the old one: power imbalances, monopolies and a lack of accountability. How gloomy should we be? Will technology inevitably lead us to a digital dystopia? Or could there be a whole range of potential futures, some of them shiny and welcoming, others dark and scary? Hanna Wheatley is joined by New Economics Foundation researcher Duncan McCann, and Carl Miller, research director for the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation.

Adam talks to Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe, an expert on medical conditions related to radio frequency and Brian Stein of the Radiation Research Trust about the growing scientific evidence that mobile phone radiation and WIFI are now linked to various cancers. They discuss why there is an unwillingness to talk about the dangers as mobile phones and WIFI is often ranked as the things we want and need most in our lives. They discuss why the government and the telecoms industry have a vested interest in not warning people of dangers and what you can do if you’re worried about the health risks but still want to keep using WIFI and your phone.

As the UK's MPs head off for their summer hols, political commentator Mike Indian looks at the latest Brexit developments including Justine Greening's call for a second referendum, the Lib Dems absence from a Commons vote and Jeremy Hunt's debut as Foreign Secretary. He also examines what the row about antisemitism and the Labour Party demonstrates about Jeremy Corbyn's leadership and looks at what Boris Johnson has been up to since leaving the Foreign Office.

Steve Caplin looks at car locks preventing drunk driving, at a 3D printable gun, at Amazon's patent for fulfilment centre robots throwing objects to each other, at Uber fraud, the bluntly honest HiMirror, at the world's largest 3D printer which can make houses and at the Spanish submarines too heavy to float!

James Cameron-Wilson casts his eye over a revived UK box office, with the new Mamma Mia film storming into the No. 1 spot, pushing the highest grossing US animated film ever, Incredibles 2, into second place. With a Spitfire documentary producing an extraordinary per-screen average, James also looks at the DVD release of Filmworker, a highly-recommended documentary about Stanley Kubrick and his longstanding right-hand man.

Graham Spooner of The Share Centre discusses recent numbers from Shell and ITV and looks at the latest supermarket market share numbers. He also looks ahead to results forthcoming from Barclays and RBS as well as from Centrica and Taylor Wimpey.

Working out what to do with a life-changing sum of money is a nice problem to have but that doesn’t mean it’s not tricky. We’ve all read the stories of inheritances, lottery wins and other windfalls squandered - and even if you have spent a lifetime building your wealth, whether through investing or business, it would still be all too easy to rattle through the cash. On this week’s podcast, we look at a question from This is Money’s new Wealth Check section on what to do with £1.2million from a business sale: how to spend some enjoying life and invest the rest so that it is not at too much risk but still grows. From there, Simon Lambert, Tanya Jefferies and Georgie Frost dive into what a life-changing sum of money might be, why more people are getting them, and what you might do with it. For those without that luxury, we look at why engaging with your pension investments is being tipped as a way to retire early - and whether a bit less time panic scrolling on social media might buy you the time to do that.

Want to keep up with the latest earnings updates from the States? Well join Chris Hill and the Motley Fool Radio Show team here on Share Radio, direct from Washington DC, for news, views and analysis of the US stocks that matter. In this week's show: Microsoft shares hit an all-time high thanks to strength in the company’s cloud business; Netflix falls on concerns over subscriber growth; American Express doesn’t get rewarded; And Skechers gets kicked around.

Today we're joined by one of the world's most decorated economists, Professor Vernon Smith - Nobel Prize winner in economics, and a long-time friend of the Institute of Economic Affairs. Professor Smith gives his analysis of current economic trends in the US and throughout Europe, including his take on Donald Trump's tariffs and obstacles to free trade. If you like what you hear, be sure to watch Professor Smith's lecture at this year's THINK conference.