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In this week's podcast, we were joined by the IEA's Head of Political Economy, Kristian Niemietz, the author of a recent paper which ventures into the realm of fiction to examine the fundamental flaws of socialism. Kristian and Editorial Manager Madeline Grant discuss the popular meme that socialism is a great idea in theory, but only fails due to bad implementation, or corrupt officials - as advocated by trendy millennial socialists today. Kristian debunks this idea, but explores how it has been extremely influential in art, culture and fiction over the last century. We look at why it has proven so compelling, and whether free marketeers need to do more to make the moral and philosophical case for capitalism - as well as arguing on raw economic grounds.

Adam talks to business psychology coach Chris Richards about how the right beliefs can help make you good with money and successful in business and conversely other beliefs can sabotage any attempt to do well. They look at why the truth of beliefs is less important than if they are useful and how it’s possible to change beliefs that are limiting.

Political commentator Mike Indian, author of The Groucho Tendency blog, looks back over a momentous few days in British politics. He discusses the Meaningful Vote that never was and the vote of no confidence in Theresa May as Conservative leader. Whither Brexit, now, though Will the ECJ ruling on Article 50 be used. Is another referendum or general election on the cards and, if the former, what could possibly be on the ballot paper?

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, discussing new films The Old Man & the Gun, Sorry To Bother You and Tulip Fever, adversely affected by its links with Harvey Weinstein. As James points out, two movies - Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse and Mortal Engines - don't even show up in the figures. He also reviews for home release the French film The Workshop, which he recommends strongly.

If you're searching for Christmas gift ideas, Steve Caplin has suggestions from the sublime to the utterly ridiculous, from the cheap to the eye-wateringly expensive. Tripods, tyre inflators, exploding air rifle targets, cassette players, bluetooth buttons, sock clips, ipod stands for watching video in bed, an impressively powerful phone charger and even an underwater villa to stay in in the Maldives.

Helal Miah of The Share Centre pores through recent announcements from Hollywood Bowl, Ashtead, British American Tobacco, Dixons Carphone, Superdry and Osado, while looking ahead to forthcoming results from Petrofac.

Adam talks to Winston Ben Clements an international speaker who was born with a condition that has confined him to a wheelchair. Despite this disadvantage Winston shares his wisdom on the importance of resilience and that overcoming struggles and setbacks can actually give a huge edge. They also discuss what extreme ownership means and how doing more than you should can promote someone to a genuine leader.

As the Brexit crisis becomes ever more unpredictable, Ed asks whether now is a good time to buy some cheap UK shares. Do long-term investors need to worry as they see their portfolios sway up and down? Ed speaks to Oliver Smith, Portfolio Manager at IG Smart Portfolio, and Howie Li, Head of ETFs at Legal & General Investment Management. Howie tells Ed about a new UK ETF that LGIM has just launched which has a management charge of just 0.05% a year and takes a slightly different approach from the more established UK ETFs. There’s more to this ETF than just being cheap. Howie also explains more about five other ETFs that LGIM launched last month.

In this episode of Live from Lord North Street, Kate Andrews, Associate Director of the IEA was joined by Zoe Strimpel, a Sunday Telegraph columnist and historian of gender and relationships, and Madeline Grant, Editorial Manager at the IEA, to analyse the role of market forces in shaping our dating habits and personal relationships. Zoe and Madeline look at the early history of dating, and how economic, as well as cultural, trends have determined popular conceptions of romance. They also examine how the digital age - and the arrival of apps like Tinder, Happn and Bumble - have changed the landscape (for better and for worse). Does our data-and-algorithm centric approach help bring people together and make for happier relationships? Or have we instead removed the romance and humanity from the dating world? And what does the future hold for dating, in this new environment?

It might not be on the top of your to-do list when you have a child, but investing and saving for them to build a tidy nest egg for when they reach adulthood is best done sooner rather than later. In the latest This is Money podcast, editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor (and new parent) Lee Boyce alongside host Georgie Frost look at the best ways to save for your children. We discuss investment options, Junior Isas, a pension and other ways, and why 'the hardest step is the first, but it is also the most powerful'. Lee has a target of a £50,000 pot to build up for his new daughter ahead of her 18th birthday in 2036 – and discusses how he plans to achieve this, with a little help from Einstein's eighth wonder of the world, compounding. Elsewhere, we talk about how invest for your own retirement and Fidelity's 'Power of Seven' matrix, as it looks like the pensions dashboard is finally moving ahead. We talk about the collapse of online estate agent Emoov and the future of the industry with the Bank of England's latest Brexit predictions suggesting property values could fall 30 per cent in the worst case scenario. Finally, we reveal the latest British Gas rip off and whether could we have found the answer to expensive boiler replacements.