Podcasts

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson are joined by Dr George MacKerron, senior lecturer in economics at the University of Sussex. George is an expert in the economics of happiness and wellbeing and the man behind the ‘mappiness’ project. George explains the importance of looking beyond financial measures of individual and national wellbeing and discusses the extent to which the cliché that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ holds true. Franz, Matt and George then discuss the findings from the ‘mappiness’ project which collects real-time data on individual’s self-reported happiness, allowing detailed analysis of the activities that have the greatest impact on how we feel and the way this also depends on where we are and who we’re with. George goes on to explain a number of ways in which public policy can have real impact on individual’s happiness and wellbeing.

Whether preparing a meal that takes 15 minutes or 50, home cooks can be forgiven for taking a moment to applaud their own efforts after plating up. Social data from HelloFresh shows that nearly 30,000 customers paused before eating their home-cooked meals and shared photos demonstrating feelings of pride and a sense of achievement. Dr Christy Ferguson discusses how taking time to appreciate the food that we have made can be beneficial to our mental wellbeing.

The high street, once a popular choice for shoppers, has faced many changes in recent years. The increase of online shopping is a clear indicator, as 1 in 3 of us will exclusively use the internet to shop this Christmas. Annette Picardo, Managing Director in the UK for Etsy, explains how people are moving towards a more mindful and conscious way of shopping. New independent research finds that people feel happier when supporting their local community and local businesses.

This is Money has relentlessly campaigned to fight online fraud – and in a major victory, Britain's biggest banks are now trialling a new system to trace stolen money. Is the end nigh for scammers? Editor Simon Lambert and host Georgie Frost talk about bank fraud and our long-running campaign to help protect our readers from the growing crime. We also talk through new rules to come in early next year that will spell out exactly what banks have to do to help prevent customers falling victim of bank transfer scams and why we launched our Beat the Scammers section in 2016. Elsewhere, if you are in the market for a credit card, one of the more eye catching is Virgin Money's offering which could get you a trip to New York with its new bumper sign-up offer – but what's the catch? We also talk about the property market and how estate agents – especially across London and the South East - have come under pressure since the Brexit vote, which has triggered a considerable slowdown. This has seen Foxtons announcing branch closures this week. And rather than the gloom and doom predictions of a potential house price crash, Simon asks: are house prices preparing to go on something of a run?

Chris Dyer runs his own background and intelligence checking service in the US, and speaks and writes widely on company culture. He’s also a podcast host and a regular contributor to Forbes.com. As well as his deep interest in employee engagement, he’s also a musician. He says simply saying ‘thanks’ and showing your gratitude to a workforce in very small ways can boost morale and company confidence – but says it’s not all about the free perks at work and having a corporate Sabbuteo table!

This year, Saturday November 10th was Equal Pay Day – the day the Fawcett Society calculates that women, on average, essentially start working for free, because of the gender pay gap. But Office for National Statistics calculated just a few weeks back that the pay gap is the lowest it’s ever been on record. Yet Equal Pay Day hasn’t moved. It’s the same day as it was last year. A new IEA briefing, written by Associate Director Kate Andrews and Chief Economist Julian Jessop, argues that this is a result of calculating the gender pay gap in order to obtain a figure nearly 60% higher than the official data. Kate Andrews has put together a podcast to provide ‘alternative listening’ for those who don’t want to engage in fear-mongering around women in the workplace. Kate brings together women from across the political spectrum, with diverse background and views, but who all agree on one thing – that’s that there’s a positive story to tell about women who work. She asks them all: ‘What positive message do you want to send to women today’, and also asks them for a practical policy proposal to help tackle the issues that working women still face.

Steve Caplin tells us about the cyber security minister who has never used a computer, the launch of electric scooters in London (limited use only), the folding phone more like a brick, why a kilogram usually isn't, the AI news anchor and the collapsible bike helmet (in a good way).

James Cameron-Wilson examines a bumper week for new releases at the UK box office. He reviews The Grinch, Widows (highly recommended), Overlord, the World War One documentary They Shall Not Grow Old from Peter Jackson and Wildlife. For home viewing, he looks at Harry Dean Stanton's last film, Lucky.

Graham Spooner of The Share Centre looks back at numbers from Experian, Vodafone and Royal Mail and looks ahead to forthcoming results from compass, Centrica & United Utilities, Easyjet and Kingfisher.

How should UK investors behave when the political and economic outcomes are so uncertain? Tim Price, fund manager with Price Value Partners and author of Investing Through The Looking Glass argues for the benefits of diversification and traditional "value" investing. He considers the possible implications of a second Brexit referendum and a future Corbyn government and looks at the worsening prospects of world trade.