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How much should we worry about inequality? With ongoing Corbyn-mania in UK politics, and the popularity of books like Thomas Piketty’s Capital in The 21st Century, it seems like we’ve never cared more about promoting equality of outcome. But is our concern justified? Is economic disparity a characteristic of modernity – or a persistent feature of human civilisation? On our podcast this week, Dr Steve Davies, Head of Education at the IEA, and News Editor Kate Andrews, examine this controversial topic.

Adam Cox is joined by Ionut Iulian Ungureanu – author of Live, Love, Dream – a man who was forced to be the breadwinner for his family at 10 years old, before being abandoned by his parents at the age of 14 with a younger sister to care for. Ionut shares how he was able to transform his life from being homeless and then living in an orphanage, to becoming a successful motivational speaker and author. A powerful and inspirational discussion on why it's important to live life to the full.

Steve Caplin looks at a Californian firm printing chicken and fois gras, at an exoskeleton for skiers, at a drone blood delivery service, a great scanning app, how autonomous cars will mean more compact car parks and a way of uploading your brain to the cloud that is "100% fatal"!

James Cameron-Wilson examines the continuing success of Peter Rabbit ("this year's Dunkirk") and reviews new releases A Quiet Place, Love Simon, Ghost Stories and Wonderstruck, failing to understand why the new Todd Haynes' film should be doing so badly at the UK box office.

Graham Spooner, Investment Research Analyst at The Share Centre, looks at the latest numbers from Tesco as well as recent movements in the price of oil and gold. He looks ahead to forthcoming results from Associated British Foods, RELX, Unilever and Reckitt's.

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University discusses the reality of Russia's ailing economy and the possible future for Putin, why our top universities are not asking tougher questions about the EU and what a new centrist party in the UK would have to look like if it were to succeed.

Facebook deals with a growing crisis as Mark Zuckerberg prepares to testify before Congress. Spotify makes its Wall Street debut via a direct public offering. Our analysts discuss these stories, and share some stocks on their radar.

Adam Cox is joined by Alexandra Badita, author of Write Your Way To Happiness, to discuss how the simple act of writing can help with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression – as well as even helping to process relationship breakdowns. Plus, can writing be an effective tool for becoming more successful in finance and in business?

Good news. Chances are you just got a tax cut. Well an income tax cut at least, problem is your council tax is likely to be rising and if you are an investor the Government is after more of your dividends, or if you’re a landlord it wants your rental income. So who are the winners and losers of the new tax year that rolled round on 6 April? And what are the candidates for dumbest bits of Britain’s tax code. In this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and George Frost take a look at who is getting the biggest tax cut and who is being hit.

The deadline for large companies to report their gender pay gaps has now passed. We are left with a huge influx of data, most of which fails to give us any meaningful comparison between men and women in like-for-like circumstances. What is the best way to calculate a gender pay gap? Today we’re joined by the IEA’s former Head of Tech, now policy analyst at the CATO Institute, Diego Zuluaga to analyse the case of ride-sharing app Uber, and what its data can teach us about the gender pay gap. Interviewed by the IEA’s Digital Officer Madeline Grant, the pair look at the issue of the gender pay gap more broadly: where does it originate, what does it mean for women, and has public policy been successful throughout the world in addressing pay gaps?