Share Sounds

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson look back at some of their favourite episodes from 2020, highlighting the things they found most interesting about the research shared by a selection of different guests.

Share Radio's technology editor Steve Caplin looks back over 2020 with Simon Rose. Here he looks back over the first six months of the year, marvelling over such things as the fake social network that loves its users, Japanese drinking crisps, the world's first flat wine bottle, 5G underpants, the robot toilet roll dispenser, the voice of a 3,000-year-old Egyptian priest and the Aston Martin DB5 with copies of all James Bond's gadgets - a snip at £2.75m, even if you aren't allowed to drive it on public roads.

Adam Cox looks back at some of his most inspirational interviews from 2020.

Low-tiered James Cameron-Wilson managed to get to see Wonder Woman 1984, one of the only blockbusters released this year. He also reviews Netflix's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, with Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman tipped for Oscars. He is less enthusiastic about Dreamland with Margot Robbie or Victorian melodrama Gone Away. However, he strongly recommends Nothing To Hide, a hilarious French comedy, which is one of several remakes of a recent Italian film.

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: Teladoc and Livongo join forces in a mega-merger; Airbnb, DoorDash, and Snowflake headline a red-hot IPO market; Jose Andres and Jack Dorsey set a high bar for benevolence; Medtronic shares its design for ventilators with the world; Disney makes a successful pivot to streaming video; And DraftKings and Rollins score big returns for investors. Host Chris Hill and Motley Fool analysts Ron Gross and Jason Moser discuss some of the year’s top stories and explain why Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, and Zoom CEO Eric Yuan get their votes for CEOs of the year. We talk about some of the year’s more questionable investments, including Lululemon’s purchase of Mirror and Viagogo’s purchase of StubHub. We reflect on two of the year’s big surprises: Bed Bath & Beyond and Cloudflare. And Jason and Ron share two stocks on their radar: Alarm.com and Editas Medicine. Plus, Motley Fool cofounder and CEO Tom Gardner talks with Appian founder and CEO Matt Calkins about the big business of low-code software.

Is buy now, pay later the demon it’s made out to be? Klarna, Laybuy and the rest of the delayed spending crew are coming in for lots of scrutiny at the moment. Shoppers love them and shops pay them, but there are concerns on over-spending and the cost of not meeting payments. Yet, surely spreading the cost of a purchase interest-free is a sensible financial move? On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss the rise of the buy now, pay later firms, how they work, how they make their money on interest-free credit, and why there are worries over what on the surface looks like a great deal. On the topic of shopping, the team also talk trying to avoid Amazoning everything this Christmas – and where to turn to get things from local shops with convenience. Also, the team looks at why the Bank of England held interest rates even as more tiers pain descended on Britain, the website that matches start-up ideas and the people who can do the work and finally Grace Gausden joins the show to discuss her Grace on the Case consumer column.

James Cameron-Wilson, overjoyed to be back in a cinema again, discusses the boost to the box office just as restrictions in many areas will reverse it. He reviews Netflix's female assassin movie Ava, starring Jessica Chastain. He looks at the Argentinian film Murder Me, Monster on Curzon Home Cinema. And he delights in the exuberance of The Prom, another Netflix title, starring James Corden Meryl Streep.

Share Radio's tech guru, Steve Caplin, is delighted - in a week of space failures - that NASA had some success on Mars by playing a high-tech game of whack-a-mole. The Royal Mail delivered a parcel to the Isle of Mull by drone. Basketball hoops have become "smart". The first ever computer mouse is being auctioned off. A Kickstarter project aims to end trips to the optician. The UK unveils its first electric forecourt. And Shanghai launches its fully autonomous taxi fleet - with no safety drivers.

Graham Spooner of The Share Centre looks back at recent news from Bunzl, one of the beneficiaries of the pandemic, WPP and Dixons Carphone, which has benefitted from the success of its online business. With little company news to look ahead to as the holidays approach, Graham discusses the latest on banks paying dividends and on how the market is still prone to reacting to the latest news on the Brexit talks.

Adam Cox is joined by Christine Gouldthorp from PriceRunner, to discuss new research findings that show how older consumers lack trust and confidence in online retailers. They look at why more older people are shopping online, despite the worries and concerns that they have, and what consumers should look out for to ensure they are staying safe when shopping online.