Podcasts presented by Simon Rose

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University looks at recent but growing protests in Russia and why they spell problems for Putin. He looks at the dangers for democracy of even more deeply negative interest rates. And he ponders the coming global challenges and whether China's strength will turn out to be sustainable.

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, still dominated by the rampaging Lion King. He recommends the 80s-set Blinded By The Light which enters at #4 though is less keen on The Art of Racing In The Rain, which didn't even make it into the top ten. For home release, his tip is Gloria Bell, starring Julianne Moore.

Graham Spooner of The Share Centre looks at recent news from Prudential and Tui and at the 6-year high for the gold price. He looks ahead to what we might expect from Persimmon, BHP and the John Wood Group.

Steve Caplin on Sony selling 100m Playstation 4s, on contact lenses that can zoom in, on harvesting electricity from walking, on how one person can drive two trucks at once, on an autonomous pod with wheels that rotate 360 degrees, on an e-bike with blindspot assistance, on snail slime's effect on ageing and how tickling your ear can slow the ageing process. All this and the Cobham tea room with a robotic waitress called Theresa.

Political commentator Mike Indian discusses what lessons we can take from the Lib Dem win at the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election. He looks at Boris Johnson's tour of the Union and the Scottish swing in favour of independence. He considers the options left to Remainers to stop the country leaving the EU on October 31st and the role that Dominic Cummings is playing in the new government.

Ian Forrest of The Share Centre looks at recent news from HSBC (including the loss of its CEO), Glencore, Intercontinental Hotels and Burford Capital and looks ahead to what we might expect from Admiral, Prudential and TUI.

James Cameron-Wilson examines the UK box office, still dominated by Disney, even though they lose the #1 spot to Universal's Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs and Shaw. The only other new entry in the top 10 is Angry Birds 2, towards which James is not kind. He is far more supportive of his DVD/Blu-Ray of the week, The White Crow, about Rudolf Nureyev and directed by Ralph Fiennes, who also appears.

Steve Caplin on the return of the troubled Galaxy Fold, decoding brainwaves into words, paying in cheques with photos, a wearable air conditioner, digital baggage tags, a "smart" plant pot with an expressive face, a 4K projector, transcribing interviews in real time and a Tokyo hotel with its own Boeing 737 cockpit simulator.

Helal Miah of The Share Centre looks at recent news from BP & Shell, Lloyds & Barclays, Next and Centrica. He also looks ahead to what we might expect from HSBC, Glencore, Rolls Royce and WPP.