Podcasts

Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University asks whether, in the wake of the pro-democracy success in the recent elections, Hong Kong has become the new Berlin Wall. He also explains why EU rules mean the NHS has long been "for sale". And he looks at the shakiness of Labour's northern "Red Wall" in a time of shifting political loyalties.

James Cameron-Wilson looks at the UK box office chart, where the amazing success of Frozen 2 freezes out Knives Out, which only manages the #2 slot. The new version of Charlie's Angels enters at #5. For home viewing, James recommends the documentary Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound, which showcases the often-overlooked importance of sound in creating movies.

Helal Miah of The Share Centre looks at recent company news from Cineworld, Ferguson, D S Smith, M&C Saatchi and Dunelm, a rare retail success story. He then looks ahead to what we might expect from Ashtead, John Wood, Ocado, Dixons, Ted Baker and Superdry.

Steve Caplin tells Ed Bowsher about cows that wear VR headsets mimicking rural scenes, as well as plans by the European Space Agency to put astronauts into hibernation before they travel to Mars.

Steve Caplin tells Ed Bowsher about Google's new online gaming service: Google Stadia. If successful, the service may kill the gaming console. Steve also discusses Tesla's disastrous launch of its new pick-up truck.

With less than two weeks until the election, Ed Bowsher gets the lowdown from political expert, Mike Indian. Ed and Mike discuss the ongoing anti-semitism crisis in the Labour Party as well as the manifestos from all the major parties. Mike also explains why the YouGov MRP poll is seen as the Gold Standard of opinion polls.

James Cameron-Wilson runs down the top ten films at the UK box office with Ed Bowsher. James says that 'Last Christmas' is 'just terrible' but is more positive about 'Frozen 2' and 'Judy and Punch.' For his home entertainment release of the week, James focuses on 'Werewolf' which he says is 'definitely not a werewolf movie.'

Ian Forrest from The Share Centre gives his overview of current markets and discusses updates from Compass, Pets at Home, De La Rue and Marstons. He also looks ahead to resutls from Cineworld, Berkeley Group and DS Smith.

Adam Cox is joined by financial adviser, Tim Morris, to discuss the growing trend for Ethical Investing. Tim explains that due to climate, environmental, and controversial policies many investors are choosing investments that are ethical and sustainable; that avoid companies involved in things like military funding and pollution, or those that contribute to poor health such as tobacco. They explore why some governments, such as in the US, appear to be in defiance of this positive trend – and share their predictions for the future of ethical investing.

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson talk to Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government. Gemma was previously the economics correspondent at the Financial Times and also worked for many years as an academic economist and so has broad experience of economists’ work from a variety of angles. Firstly, Gemma discusses the work of the Institute, and how the demands that Brexit has placed on the government has hindered domestic policymaking. Given her experience as both a researcher and economic journalist, Franz and Matt go on to discuss with Gemma how economics is reported in the media, the difficulty of explaining the complexities of the economy in ‘public-friendly’ ways and what economists can learn in this area from other sciences. The discussion then turns to thinking about how economists interact with policymakers and how this has evolved over time, before Gemma talks about the policies that she would like to see considered in public and policy debate, whoever is developing the domestic policy agenda in the post-Brexit UK.