Podcasts

Steve Caplin looks at some of the weirdest ideas at the CES, including Segway's 24 mph armchair, augmented reality windscreens, a robotic chef that can't open the fridge and a loo-roll-fetching bear. He also covers a lung kit for snorkelers powered by the swimmer's legs; the Fingerbot for pressing buttons on dumb devices; the headphones that turn into loudspeakers; and how to get a VR theatre experience without leaving home.

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: Costco reports some holiday cheer thanks to the strong trifecta of toys, candy, and alcohol; Bed Bath & Beyond sinks; Lennar raises the roof; And Grubhub delivers a denial. Motley Fool analysts Andy Cross, Emily Flippen, and Ron Gross discuss those stories and weigh in on the latest from Constellation Brands, Luckin Coffee, Pier 1 Imports, Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Taco Bell. Our analysts share three stocks on their radar: Accenture, Livongo, and Meituan Dianping. Plus, The Motley Fool’s Rex Moore shares some insights from CES 2020 and talks 5G, driverless cars, and 3D printing.

Savers had a resoundingly duff deal over the decade that just ended, as they paid the price for the borrowing binge that proceeded it. Understandably, many feel somewhat aggrieved – like a moderate drinker who got the hangover that should have gone to the party animal. But it’s not just ‘emergency’ low interest rates that turned permanent that delivered the pain, banks and building societies paying little respect to loyal customers and undermining them with rock bottom rates on legacy accounts has also played a major part. Now, the financial watchdog has a plan to deal with the so-called loyalty penalty. A standard savings rate across all easy access accounts and Isas, with the ability to offer better rates over limited periods, for example, 12 months. When bonus time was up, that standard rate would act a floor to protect savers against the 0.01 per cent-paying accounts of this world. Is this a solution to the problem, or just some tinkering that all but mandates bonus accounts and does nothing to tackle saver inertia? Simon Lambert, Sarah Davidson and Georgie Frost tackle the plan to improve the savings market on this week’s podcast – and discuss whether this is a wise idea for a new decade or a recipe for more of the same. Also, on this week’s podcast, as a decade ends and one begins, we look at the property market: what happened to house prices in the 2010s and how did it compare to the 2000s, 1990s and 1980s, and also what will happen this year and in years to come?

The last four decades have been a roller-coaster ride for economic liberalism. Riding high from the early 1990s, falling trade barriers boosted international trade, integrated countries such as China into the global economy and significantly reduced the number of people in absolute poverty. Developments in technology ‘supercharged’ these impacts, radically altering our lives as workers and consumers. In this interview, Peter Urwin speaks to economist Vicky Pryce about where it all went wrong – is the rise of populism simply a reaction to the 2007-08 financial crisis, or is it a wider backlash against liberalism? Not everybody welcomes the changes brought about by globalisation, and change always implies disruption – is there a case for government compensation, targeted at those who bear the brunt of disruption and are less able to take advantage of the gains from liberalisation?

Adam Cox speaks to Sahar Hooti BSc (Hons), Alternative Medicine Practitioner and founder of AcuCare Clinic, about the benefits of acupuncture. Sahar talks about the growing popularity of this kind of treatment, and how not all acupuncturists are equally qualified or have the same level of competency. She shares how, when done correctly, acupuncture can relieve everything from stress to muscle tension, to digestion, and even hay fever symptoms!

Our public services are in dire need of investment. And it is time to ask what we want our public services to actually do for us. That’s the view of group of economists and campaigners who are pushing for something called ​‘Universal Basic Services’ – a radical expansion of high-quality public services for all to areas like transport, childcare and social care. More than 70 years after the creation of the welfare state and the NHS, is it time to reimagine the public services we should all expect? Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by NEF Principle Fellow Anna Coote and openDemocracy Economics Editor Laurie Macfarlane.

Political commentator and author of the Groucho Tendency blog Mike Indian talks to Simon Rose about the political ramifications across Europe of the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. He looks at the various candidates vying for leadership of the Labour Party, how the process works and how the party might recover from its election defeat. And he discusses the different nature of Parliament with a new Speaker and a Conservative majority.

Steve Caplin looks at a lavatory intended to discourage employees from sitting there for long. He also covers Facebook banning deep fakes for the US election (but not shallow ones); Microsoft's new Xbox; breathalyser strips to test the skin rather than breath; robots painting white lines on motorways; how to stop your drink freezing while ice fishing; and reducing water use in showers.

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the latest UK box office figures, finding grounds for optimism in the state of Britain's cinemas. In the charts, the new Star Wars film still rules the roost. Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen enters at #3 while Hitler satire Jojo Rabbit debuts at #5. For home viewing, James recommends Norwegian drama Phoenix.

Ian Forrest of The Share Centre looks at the impact on the stock market of the tensions between Iran and the United States. He looks at recent company news from Morrison's, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Gregg's. Looking ahead, he tells us what we might expect from Boohoo, Taylor Wimpey, Whitbread and Associated British Foods.