Podcasts

Ben Leonard joined HSBC as a graduate, and was an internal success story, reaching the level of former Head of Financial Institutions at HSBC. Having spent 20 years working for the organisation, he left in 2016 and went into partnership with a friend. They have launched the app FirstHomeCoach (with more related titles to follow). Listen as he talks about the change from corporation to entrepreneur, and how his house now operates the ‘one cereal at a time rule’ owing to his shift in salary!

The polls show that while previous generations became more conservative with age, millennials are staying left wing for longer. And age and education now seem to be the big dividing line in our politics, replacing class as the key division. So what’s going on? And what are the political implications of Generation Left? That’s our big question on the Weekly Economics Podcast this week and to help us answer it, Ayeisha is joined by Keir Milburn, author of Generation Left, and lecturer in political economy and organisation at University of Leicester, and Shelly Asquith, a political advisor at Unite the Union.

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson discuss the recently published ‘Augar Review’ of Post-18 education and funding; explaining what it is, how it came about, and what the main recommendations are. Franz and Matt consider the impact changes the HE funding system might have on students, in particular whether this would be a good or bad thing for social mobility, and whether or not politics may intervene to prevent these recommendations being implemented in any case. In light of recent public debate around whether social mobility should even be a policy objective, the discussion moves on to considering what social mobility entails and how it relates to the broader concept of social justice.

Adam talks to Helen Parker, a money saving expert and passive income coach, about how to create an income outside of the typical employment model. They talk about models of passive income including multi-level marketing and why this model has a bad reputation. They explore how this model can work and what kind of people would work well in a system that allows for personal flexibility and therefore requires self-discipline and a desire to influence others.

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 episode, Morgan Housel from the Collaborative Fund is back to share lessons you can learn from all the different kinds of stupid in the world.

It's official: IHT is the country's most hated tax. That's according to the Office of Tax Simplification, who have been looking into the quirks of the system at the request of the Chancellor. What needs to change – and could a Labour plan, bubbling away in the background, really be the answer? Editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost take a look. Whatever happens with IHT, most want to leave as much of their wealth as possible to loved ones when they pass away – so just how do you do it and how many bend the rules? Elsewhere, we update on what's going on at Deutsche Bank as thousands of jobs across the globe are axed. Eon goes green and says millions of its customers will now receive 100 per cent renewable electricity – but what does that mean? And on the topic of green, we have details of the first all-electric Mini – how much will it cost, what is its range and most importantly... is it any good?

What's going on at Silverstone and why was its place on the Formula One calendar in doubt? That's the question assistant editor Lee Boyce and broadcaster Georgie Frost tackle this week. It looks like the future of the F1 race in Northamptonshire has been secured – but what's behind the economics of the iconic track and its owners? We are joined this week by former British F1 driver Mark Blundell – 1992 Le Mans winner and three-time F1 podium finisher. He gives us his views on Silverstone, how technology has changed the face of motor racing substantially since the 1990s and why – aged 53 – he decided to get back behind the wheel, competitively. We look into the Silverstone contract, new races for 2020, the threat of a London Grand Prix, why it is important to the economy – and the impact paid-for TV is having on sport.

Political commentator Mike Indian examines the resignation of Sir Kim Darroch, the UK's American ambassador and wonders whether Donald Trump's suggestion of Nigel Farage in the post might come to pass. He considers who came out on top in the Tory leadership debate on TV and mulls over Labour's latest shift on Brexit and its response to the Panorama programme on anti-Semitism in the party.

Steve Caplin takes a look at the latest developments in the automotive world, with the first electric Mini Cooper, 130 Lotus e-cars, Tesla upping production, a Tel Aviv company reinventing electric cars with a common platform, Jaguar Land Rover monitoring drivers' facial expressions, Scotland Yard using a military drone to catch dangerous drivers. He also explains why people are hiring cars in Japan but going nowhere. Uber launches a helicopter service in New York, it's 40 years of the Walkman, The BBC is using AI for assessing the highlights of Wimbledon and Amazon joins forces with the NHS.

Helal Miah of The Share Centre looks at recent news from housebuilders Barratt Developments and Bovis Homes, recruiters Robert Walters and Page Group, Ocado and Micro Focus. He also looks forward to what we might expect from BHP and Rio Tinto, Burberry, Hays and Royal Mail.