Podcasts

The UK has come a long way since the early Equal Opportunities legislation of the 1970s, high-profile cases in the 1980s and 1990s identifying institutionalised discrimination, and the subsequent focus on celebration of diversity and promotion of inclusion. However, the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements are reminders of how far we still need to travel. In this episode, Peter Urwin is joined by Emma Parry, Professor of Human Resource Management at Cranfield School of Management, to discuss how to further move the dial on diversity in the workplace. Asking whether research provides clear lessons for managers, they identify a number of similar messages across the economics and HRM literatures. However, whilst recent debates over the value of unconscious bias training caution against untested approaches, evaluation of “solutions” such as Inclusion present a real challenge. Peter and Emma debate these tensions, and consider possible ways forward. For an accompanying blog post on this issue, go to https://www.propelhub.org.

Adam Cox is joined by style consultant Olivia Igwe, who discusses the psychology of style and fashion. Olivia talks about her background in fashion, and what it is that inspires her. She explains how fashion can influence mood and perception, and why colour makes so much difference in impacting emotional states.

Saving, spending, planning — you've got money questions and we've got answers. Every week host Alison Southwick and personal finance expert Robert Brokamp challenge the conventional wisdom on life's biggest financial issues to reveal what you really need to know to make smart money moves. In this week's show, whether you’re learning to budget, looking to geek out on your investment returns, or wondering if you’re on track to retire early, there’s an app, tool, or website for that. We’re joined by a couple money nerds at The Motley Fool with their personal reviews of tools like Mint, Personal Capital, various retirement calculators, and more.

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: Ulta Beauty’s CEO steps down; Docusign and JD.com decline on earnings; Bumble bounces higher; Poshmark misses the mark; Roblox has a big debut; And Dick’s Sporting Goods and Funko deliver on earnings. Motley Fool analysts Emily Flippen and Jason Moser discuss those stories, take stock of the sports betting market, and share two stocks on their radar: DexCom and Coupang. Plus, bestselling author Walter Isaacson talks about his new book, The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race.

Is the economy primed to bounce back? That might sound like a strange question when you’ve just had the news that UK GDP fell by 2.9 per cent in one month, but January’s lockdown slump was nowhere near as deep as expected. It seems that despite a tough lockdown being imposed, shops and big chunks of the economy being shut and schools being closed, the UK has adapted to restrictions better than thought when it comes to doing business. On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Jayna Rana and Simon Lambert discuss the prospects for recovery and also the businesses that have pivoted and started-up over the lockdown year. While economies have suffered, stock markets have rebounded strongly – and in the case of the US and its growth star stocks, repeatedly surpassed previous record highs. That’s been good news for UK investors backing the growth story, particularly the legions of savers with money in the giant Scottish Mortgage investment trust. But a growth stock wobble in the US has sent Scottish Mortgage sliding – with the trust down 27 per cent at one point on its January peak – followed by a rapid bounce back to erase some of those losses. Should investors be worried or is it a buying opportunity – and what is the one key investing lesson that Simon says this highlights? Also on this week’s show, the mortgage that lets you fix for life – bringing potentially a 40-year fixed rate until 2061. And finally, would you buy your local pub to rescue it from the threat of closure? If the answer’s ‘yes’ then there’s some good news: Rishi Sunak wants to help you.

James Cameron-Wilson turns his attention away from Netflix, examining a new film about Gloria Steinem starring Julianne Moore called The Glorias. He also looks at The United States vs Billie Holiday, starring Andra Day. And he wonders about Wander Darkly with Sienna Miller in the lead role. He looks at the nominations for this year's BAFTAs, remarking at the well-known names who have not made it onto the shortlist.

Steve Caplin, Share Radio's technology expert, looks at the auction of the first ever tweet by Jack Dorsey and discusses how non-fungible tokens are a thing of the future. He looks at how the MGM lion is going CGI, how sports advertising hoardings can be localised, at colon cameras that will replace endoscopes, at a giant TV that lives below the floor, an amazing new drone, a 3D hologram printer and why Earth's oxygen running out might not be a problem for us.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University looks at the political economy of royalty in the light of current events, discussing time preference and governance and examining the link between constitutional monarchy and prosperity and stability. He discusses why the PM's mantra is fast becoming infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure. And he ponders what might happen if inflation leads to rising interest rates.

Russ Mould, Investment Director of A J Bell, asks whether markets are currently in a bubble. If they are, what are the various stages common to bubbles over the years and the centuries and what stage have we reached? For those investors concerned we ARE now in bubble territory, what are the options? And, as an aside, why do the regulations (and blame) always concentrate on short selling and not the overenthusiastic buying that drives the bubble in the first place?

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson are joined by Colin Green, Professor of Economics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Colin’s research interests cover a range of areas in applied economics and public policy, including education, the labour market, health, personnel economics, and political science. We first hear from Colin about how the pandemic has been in Norway over the last year and how this compares to the experience in the UK and in his home country of Australia. This leads into discussion of Colin’s research on the impact of the London congestion charge on traffic accidents in the city and some of the intended and unintended consequences for pollution. Next, we hear about the relationship between the election of anti-immigration politicians in Italy and the location decisions of migrants, before Colin tells us about the positive long-term impacts immigration can have on an area’s social capital, exploiting a specific migration event into Italy during the 16th Century. Colin then sheds light on why the performance-related pay element in Franz’s employment contract might not be the best thing for his health, before the programme closes with a discussion of Colin’s research on the concerning relationships between MPs’ jobs outside parliament, their involvement in law-making, and the economic value of the firms for whom they work.