Podcasts

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 show: The ChooseFI Guys are back to talk about their new book and a documentary about the growing FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement.

More and more of us are renting for longer – not by choice, but by necessity. In cities especially, more people are renting into their thirties, forties and beyond, sometimes raising children in rented flats with no long-term security. Rents are sky high. Saving for a deposit can take a decade or longer. And for many people, property ownership seems unachievable. But what if we could do something about it? Could rent controls be the answer? To help answer this question, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Hanna Wheatley, researcher at the New Economics Foundation and co-author of a NEF report on rent controls, and Eva Freeman, private renter and member of the London Renters Union.

Peter Urwin is joined by economist Vicky Pryce to talk about her latest book, discussing gender equality. Vicky argues we cannot rely on the free market to bring about gender equality. In theory we might expect discrimination to be short-lived in competitive markets, as it is an inefficient use of resources; this is clearly not happening, however, and Vicky makes a strong case for more forceful intervention to rectify the market failures that perpetuate gender inequality. An inherent short-termism in the capitalist system, a continuing level of support for motherhood that is insufficient, and various conscious/unconscious forms of bias all contribute to this failure of markets. The proposed solutions are radical, but without significant public intervention we will continue to waste vast amounts of female potential.

Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the latest development in the UK General Election. Why will Nigel Farage not be voting and what will his standing down of so many candidates mean? Why will the election be won or lost in England? How accurate are the pollsters likely to be? What will be in the party manifestoes?

Technology editor Steve Caplin ponders the feasibility of the first-ever robotic milk round in Milton Keynes. He also looks at Facebook's rebranding, the new Echo Dot, bad news for drone users, Google shaming slow websites, Trainline's automatic refunds and a way to turn any smartphone into a conventional computer for £150.

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office, where Joker tops the box office for a sixth successive week, breaking records not seen since Avatar did the same a decade ago. The Good Liar enters at #5 with Midway managing #6. For home viewing James recommends the Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis comedy Yesterday, an opinion seconded by presenter Simon Rose.

Ian Forrest of The Share Centre looks back at the latest news from ITV, Vodafone, British Land and Burberry. And he looks ahead to what we might expect when Easyjet, Kingfisher and Centrica report soon.

What’s the best new or used electric car on the market, would buying your insurance on the day you need it drive up the price, and does London’s diesel-crunching ULEZ make sense? Those are the questions and more on this motoring special edition of the This is Money Podcast. On it, Georgie Frost and Simon Lambert are joined by deputy motoring editor Rob Hull to talk cars and money. First up, is our exclusive on how insurers are sneakily pushing up prices for those who buy cover close to when they need it - bad news if you want to choose and buy a car and then drive it away. The team also look at attempts to crack down on older petrol and diesel cars, such as London’s ULEZ. Simon argues that one of the key problems is not how good new electric cars are (albeit they are now pretty good) but the issue of buying second hand and the limited choice and consumer concerns. Meanwhile, Rob says that although a brand new electric car may be tempting to those committed to greener motoring, many buyers are likely to sit on their hands expecting a better choice of longer range vehicles to arrive soon.

Want to keep up with the latest earnings updates from the States? Well join Chris Hill and the Motley Fool Radio Show team here on Share Radio, direct from Washington DC, for news, views and analysis of the US stocks that matter. In this week's show: Disney earnings produce some magic; Gap gets a new look; And Zillow raises the roof. Motley Fool analysts Emily Flippen, Ron Gross, and Jason Moser discuss those stories and weigh in on the latest from Roku, Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, Match Group, Booking Holdings, Tripadvisor, Expedia, Uber, and Papa John’s. They also share why they’re keeping an eye on Adobe, Boston Omaha, and Baozun. Plus, The Facebook Effect author David Kirkpatrick talks Mark Zuckerberg, tech breakups, and the future of Facebook.

Vicky Sayers is joined by film critic and broadcaster, James Cameron-Wilson, to discuss some of the most influential musicals of all time. They explore the recent return to popularity of the “musical movie”, and whether some stage musicals adapted to film have ended up becoming lost in translation.