Podcasts

There is widespread concern after British Airways and the Post Office joined Southern Rail in striking over the Christmas period. According to the latest figures by the Office for National Statistics, 281,000 days were lost to strike action up until the end of October 2016, which is over 100,000 more days than the same time last year. Share Radio’s Matt Cox investigated this new era of strike action with industrial action expert Professor Chris Rowley, Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, and Professor Emeritus at Cass Business School.

Cyber-insurance was an incredibly niche sector, but after high profile cyber attacks, such as the recent Yahoo scandal, where the company revealed a billion users' details had been compromised, businesses may be looking into cyber-insurance as a new norm. To understand the ins and outs of this pioneering part of the traditional insurance sector, Matt Cox has been speaking to tech consultant, Chris Green.

Gadgets and Gizmos with Share Radio's technology editor Steve Caplin.

Killian Connolly, investment manager of the VT Price Value Portfolio joins Simon to discuss What value investing is, Is inflation returning? How to find value companies?

Share Radio's Alex Clark teams up with Chris Bishop, Managing Editor of Forbes Africa Magazine, for Conversations from Africa - a weekly look at the biggest stories from across the continent. On today's programme: the Congo sits on a knife edge as the incumbent president receives an ultimatum to resign. Meanwhile, in the Gambia, a would-be democrat has had a change of heart. Chris and Alex discuss what these two rough transitions mean for democracy in Africa. Also on the program: an anti-apartheid activist remembered. And Alex gets a sneak peak at Chris's new book.

Despite all the political uncertainty this year, the housing market has been relatively unaffected in 2016, with house prices and lending continuing to grow. Gregor Watt was joined by Bernard Clarke of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Sue Dougan is joined on the line with Hannah Maundrell, editor of money.co.uk. Today on the agenda, they discussed potential Christmas electricity blackouts, a 51% alcohol tax and have you finished your Christmas shopping if you're under 40? A poll says three quarters haven't. All these stories and more on The News Review.

In the careers clinic, we discuss how it's not always easy to find a new job, but changing your career is even more challenging. For many burned-out or multi-talented folks who are sitting on skills they're not getting a chance to use, changing fields is the only way to keep from losing their marbles. To discuss this further, Sue joined by James Innes, founder of the CV centre and author of five best-selling careers books.

Office perks may be a thing of the past, with less than a quarter (24%) of companies planning to throw an office party this Christmas. New research reveals almost a third of Brits (31%) will work until Christmas Eve this year and just under one in five (18%) will be in the office throughout the Christmas period. Tom Hellier from Willis Towers Watson, a human resources consulting firm told Share's Melanie Wray what they had found.

We are being urged to check our energy prices and consider fixing, as experts warn that gas and electricity prices are likely to continue rising in 2017 by as much as 5%. According to energy comparison website Energyhelpline.com, over the past six months the cheapest energy prices have risen from £734 a year in June to £870 a year now. This all comes as customers of Big Six energy provider EDF are facing the first bill hike in three years as power costs rise. To find out more, Sue Dougan spoke on the line to Energyhelpline's Mark Todd.