Podcasts

As the National Grid launched its report into the future of energy networks yesterday, it's also rather concerned with a power connection perhaps more important to the present. The National Grid is investigating damage to the The Interconnexion France-Angleterre, which gives the UK access to French power and vice versa. Power capacity has been cut in half and, as winter approaches, so grows the UK's energy demands. To find out more about the causes and consequences, Share Radio's Matt Cox spoke to Diarmaid Williams, International Digital Editor of publications Power Engineering International & Decentralised Energy.

OPEC has reached a deal to cut oil supplies for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008, prices are expected to rise above $50 a barrel as countries with large oil reserves like Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies accepted big reductions in production. OPEC decided to cut 1.2m barrels a day to about 32.5m b/d for six months from early 2017 after six hours of talks in Vienna. Our energy expert in Vienna Peter Bild joined the show to discuss.

President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly already held at least two phone calls with Vladimir Putin - more than with any other world leader and the same amount of briefings he's had with American intelligence experts. Mr Trump praised the Russian president during the election campaign and has promised closer co-operation between the two countries. Share Radio's Robert Van Egghen spoke to Sergey Aleksashenko, former deputy governor of the Russian central bank.

Movies and Money is Share Radio’s look at the world of film. James Cameron Wilson joins Simon for an irregular look at different movie genres and all in all we look at the business of film.

It's a common scene in offices across the country; a computer that refuses to connect to the internet in one corner, an annoying colleague wittering on about their weekend plans in another and an air conditioning system that blasts icy cold air in the middle of winter. Workplace annoyances might seem insignificant in isolation, but new research released by Samsung Electronics reveals that UK small business workers are losing 5.5 hours' office time a week because of minor irritations. To find out more about this Greg Watt spoke to Sir Cary Cooper Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the Manchester Business School and started by asking him what the biggest office pet peeves are.

Should the language of technology be considered as important, if not more so, than learning French, German or Spanish? One man who thinks it is, is Jordan Poulton from coding school, Makers Academy. Earlier today, Olivia Demetriades spoke to Jordan to discuss why it's now becoming one of the most important skills being taught in schools, and she began by asking what coding actually is.

A new report has revealed that hearing loss is costing the UK economy £1bn a year. And with people working for longer an aging workforce means that that figure is set to rise. To find out more about this Jinan Rahma spoke to Professor Les Mayhew of Cass Business School and author of the 'Listen Up! Hearing Loss in an ageing society' report and started by asking about why they carried out the research.

The OPEC nations have agreed their first cut in production since 2008. The alliance of oil production companies have agreed to reduce production by around 1.2 million barrels a day, with Saudi Arabia set to shoulder the biggest portion of the cut, as well as agreeing to accept Iran continuing to produce at its pre-sanction level. Simon Rose was joined live from the OPEC conference in Vienna by energy expert Peter Bild.

Growing fears for the UK economy has caused consumer confidence to fall. It's that time of the month when GfK's consumer confidence barometer is released, and it recorded a 5 point drop this month, with all categories measured experiencing a decline. Among the results was the forecast for personal finances over the coming year, dropping four points, and the general economic situation measure falling six, which is 19 points lower than November last year. As always when we discuss GfK's consumer confidence barometer, Simon was joined live in the studio by Joe Staton, their head of market dynamics.

2017 has been a good year for the small company index AIM, to date up 12% as compared to 8% for the FTSE All-Share. Why have small companies been fairing so well? To find out, Share Radio's Steve Clarke was joined in the studio by David Thornton, Editor of Growth Company Investor.