Podcasts

The National Health Service is 70 years old this year and most of us are proud of the British institution, leaning on it in our times of need. However, we’re living longer with more complex problems and the service keeps crying out that it needs more money. Where does it come from? Do we make cost-cuttings or plough lots of money in, do we increase income tax, make the rich pay, or introduce a new special ring-fenced tax? Theresa May announced plans for £20.5billion-a-year cash boost – but was a little short on the detail. She hinted at tax rises and mentioned a ‘Brexit dividend’. This is Money editor Simon Lambert, along with consumer affairs editor Lee Boyce and presenter Georgie Frost look at ways to fix the NHS in the latest podcast.

Migration matters. It has risen to near the top of concerns expressed in opinion polls in the UK and across Europe. For many politicians, the EU referendum result was a clear instruction from the British people that they wanted to reduce immigration levels. But is it all as clear cut as that? Joining us today are Daniel Pryor, Head of Programmes at the Adam Smith Institute, and Kristian Niemietz, Head of Health and Welfare at the Institute of Economic Affairs. Interviewed by Digital Officer Madeline Grant, Daniel and Kristian examine how people in Britain really feel about migration and where the nuances lie. They discuss the economic benefits of immigration – as well as its impact on culture and social cohesion.

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson are joined by Professor Paul Gregg from the University of Bath to consider the prospects for today’s young people leaving education and entering the labour market. We hear a lot in the news about the job market challenges facing young people; and yet employment rates are at record levels, recent generations are the most educated ever with more and more people going to University and then enjoying a graduate wage premium – so what’s the problem? Paul provides an insight into how the economy has been changing over the last decade or so, the ways in which the recession following the 2007/8 financial crisis was unlike anything we’ve had before, and how young people have suffered the most. Matt and Franz then discuss with Paul the ways in which the challenges for policy are different now to what’s often been the case in the past, and consider what government policy can do to improve the prospects for young people today.

Linda Lewis and former Labour MP Tom Levitt are back for their third discussion in a series inspired by Tom’s latest book, ‘The Company Citizen: Good for Business, Planet, Nation and Community’. In this episode, they discuss how business can be a force for good both in combating hunger and in the better management of resources through the “circular economy”. Tom shares how he came to write the book, why engaging with smaller businesses is crucial to the cause and how Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, has emerged as a leader of the responsible and sustainable business movement.

Adam Cox talks to Saadia Valasarie Sultan, an entrepreneur who walked away from a family business worth millions to pursue her passion. Saadia has founded Mind Flow Surfer: a business that uses applied psychology techniques to create rapid change in clients. She is an avid believer in consciously living life in an emotional state that is most conducive to achieving success – both personally and professionally. From morning meditation to thinking about the future in specific ways, she provides mindset tips to unlock the potential she says we all have within us.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University considers recent NHS scandals and wonders whether the monopolistic nature of medicine is largely to blame. He also considers how culture wars are replacing class wars and what this might mean for British politics and the debate over legalisation of cannabis. Finally, he considers whether Brexit might lead to more and better immigration.

Graham Spooner of The Share Centre looks at recent figures from Ashtead, Ferguson and the Berkeley Group, as well as looking at market reaction to the mounting trade wars. He also looks ahead to forthcoming numbers from Carnival, Whitbread and Tullow Oil.

With the UK box office already suffering from the effects of the World Cup, James Cameron-Wilson reviews the new horror film Hereditary. He also discusses the DVD release of I, Tonya, a film he recommends strongly, with a raft of extras that make the film more fascinating still.

Steve Caplin casts his eye over pothole-fixing drones, a robot chef, vegan-friendly fake meat, carrots impersonating avocados, an app to solve quadratic equations, a new pocket tool he's dying to have and the plane where you won't be able to see out of the windows IF you're in first class.

Another month and another set of mixed messages about the state of the housing market is revealed. First-time buyers who have a deposit and home movers in the North are doing fine. But London is on the ropes and second and third movers are staying put, bringing the market to a standstill. In this week’s This is Money podcast, editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Rachel Rickard Straus and money broadcaster Georgie Frost get into the aural attic to unbox the facts. The villain of the piece, they agree, is stamp duty. It used to be a 1% tax on purchases but it got tweaked into a giant cash cow for the Treasury by successive Chancellors. Stamp duty is stalling the market and needs to change but how? Also on the show: Paddington Bear 50p Gate.