Podcasts

What is the best way to measure poverty? Intuitively, this question might not seem necessary – surely, we know poverty when we see it. But while we can probably agree that the inhabitants of Victorian slums were in poverty, in many cases today things aren’t so clear cut. Our Chief Economist Julian Jessop examines this question in light of recent research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, warning of rises in child and pensioner poverty.

Personal debt is at record levels with one in six of us at risk of a debt crisis. Credit cards, overdrafts and payday loans are propping up households across the country as wages continue to fall in real terms. And many people are struggling under the pressure of paying back what they owe. But what is the effect on the wider economy? And what should we do about it? Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is back with us this week and is joined by Sarah Lyall, NEF’s Social Policy Lead and special guest Dr Jo Michell, Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of the West of England.

Adam interviews two identical twin sisters, Raissa and Joyce de Haas, who founded the drinks company Double Dutch. In just a few years they have won awards, used innovative approaches into investment and have created surprising new flavours of drinks. They discuss the emotional power of flavours and the benefits of working with someone with identical genetics.

Political commentators Mike Indian and Alex Clark look back on 2017. Did it bring what we expected? How was Trump's first year? Will UK politics change in the wake of the election and Brexit? What happened to the apparent wave of European populism and where is the EU heading. And what will 2018 bring?

Graham Spooner of The Share Centre looks at HSBC as it emerges from a 5-year fine shadow, supermarkets in the wake of the latest Kantar data and results from Ashtead and TUI. He also looks ahead to figures from Carnival.

Steve Caplin makes some tech suggestions for presents good and weird, among them a bike compass, a car luggage holder, cheap non-Apple bluetooth watches, wireless chargers, a foldable washable hat, light bulbs with speakers and an ecologically cool aquarium.

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the worst week for the UK box office since October 2013, reviewing The Disaster Artist and Stronger and looking at the Golden Globe nominations.

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: YouTube gets into the music business; Starbucks opens a venti-sized roastery in China; Disney and Fox get closer to a deal; And Walmart makes a change.

This week on Mobile News, Matthew Cook discusses how 5G will affect the mobile landscape for good or ill, and what possible legal battles could surface as networks come to an understanding. Matthew speaks with Simon Rockman, founder of Fuss Free Phones and member of the editorial team at Cambridge Wireless, which is the leading international community for ambitious technology organisations. Matthew will also be speaking with GFK Director of Technology, Imran Choudhary, to give us an idea of the potential of 5G.

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.