Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that with Rachel Reeves facing a £50 billion black hole, he can't understand why the government is enacting or considering policies that will worsen our economic position. We are now surely in a doom loop and both Labour and Tories are making huge mistakes in carrying on with an unsustainable big state. He considers the strategic errors of the EU, which subcontracted its energy supply to Russia, its supply chains to China and its defence to China. Europe's policies are not rooted in sound economics or governance and its recent trade deal massively benefits the USA. Others may complain about Trump's tariffs but the EU has over 4,000 in force. He discusses a forthcoming book from demographer Paul Morland which claims that the human race is in danger of dying out. Despite some vigorously reproducing countries, too many are ageing and shrinking, putting pressure on welfare states and losing innovation and inventiveness. Without a massive change in course, many parts of the world are in terminal decline.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
With Fantastic Four still #1, the reboot of The Naked Gun with Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson could only manage second place. Much as he enjoyed the original movies, James found the continual running gags in this version soon became tiresome while the film was so silly silly and surreal it undermined the comedy. He was more impressed with The Legend of Ochi which only limped in at #18. With Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson it's a visually spellbinding fable but, being both magical and barmy, it may struggle to find an audience, even if it eventually becomes a cult classic. Apple TV+ add to their many music documentaries with Bono: Stories of Surrender, in which the star tells stories of his life with a few songs. He's a charismatic storyteller with an unexpectedly poetic turn of phrase.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is puzzled by Jack Dorsey's new messaging app – with a range of just 300 metres. A clip on your ear can improve your fitness. Tiny, edible micro lasers can help with food safety. With bricklayers in short supply, robots could be pressed into service. A 3D-printed house made from soil, lime and fibres could be returned to the earth when no longer needed. Cigarette butts can be used to strength road surfaces. And AI can help interpret incomplete Roman inscriptions.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron Wilson says box office is up 17%, though most films have dropped as #1 The Fantastic Four: First Steps took in £8m. The plot may not be unduly original but there are lots of incidental pleasures, with a humorous script and a realistic family dynamic: Vanessa Kirby gives the film a human dimension as her character is expecting. #3 The Bad Guys II is an animated sequel in the mould of Ocean's Eleven but the dialogue is lazy and the film noisy and frenetic. However, James celebrates a glorious 4K restoration of 1952's High Noon, "the Western for those who don't like Westerns" starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. It looks wonderful and some of the extras are superb.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin laments Google's new AI search which means far fewer people will ever click on links. ChatGPT apparently causes psychosis but could also be far more useful for admin tasks such as planning holidays. Meta is to build a data centre the size of Manhattan and has developed a wristband that can control a computer. The first UK air taxi flight has just taken place. The Sirius AI robotic dog can do tricks and is trainable, but cuddly it is not. An atomic clock is now accurate to 1 sec in 57.6bn years.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the move by Macron, Starmer and Carney towards recognising a Palestinian state. While largely a symbolic gesture which presents a number of complicating factors, the Netanyahu goverment is clearly losing support in the West. Discussing the doctor's strike, with a call for a 29% rise after getting 22% last year and Wes Streeting's tough language, Mike feels they may be overplaying their hand. He finds Donald Trump holding court during his UK visit fascinating but thinks Starmer is better than most leaders at handling Trump. As the ONS confirm the second highest population increase since WW2, Mike points out that without migration the population of many Western countries would fall. He finds himself deeply suspicious of the rhetoric of many politicians on the right on this topic.
Guests: Mike Indian
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Russ Mould of A J Bell explains the impressive performance of the UK stock market, with the FTSE passing 9,000 for the first time. UK equities have outperformed those in the US this year despite the dollar having fallen 10%. As Russ has said regularly in this spot, unloved can mean undervalued and that appears to be the case. With regular M&A activity and buybacks, it's estimated the All-Share is on an effective 6.6% yield so a good deal of cash is coming back to investors. The economic picture in the UK may be dire, but don't forget that two-thirds of the FTSE's earnings come from overseas.
Guests: Russ Mould
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that we are living in changeable times and that the major political parties we have known all our lives may not hold sway for much longer. Jeremy Corbyn has finally agreed to join a new hard-left party with Zara Sultana, although the name won't be announced until its first conference. Pollsters suggest 10% of voters could support it, mirroring what is happening on the right with the Conservatives and Reform. Kemi Badenoch's reshuffle is instantly forgettable and confirms something is going seriously wrong with the Tories. Meanwhile Reform remains consistently ahead of Labour and is now trying to add form and structure, building a board and ensuring it is ready for the next election, which Tim feels could be in 2028.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
With UK box office up slightly as schools break up, James Cameron-Wilson found #5, a new version, 28 years on, of I Know What You Did Last Summer wildly implausible, very silly and undermined by a limp script. He thought #15 Four Letters of Love beautifully made. Starring the likes of Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter and Gabriel Byrne, it's a love story with a touch of Mills & Boon and, although it will have its fans, it isn't always believable. He also revisited 2007's Superbad, rereleased at #28. A time capsule with the likes of Michael Cera, Jonah Hill and Emma Stone in her first film, it's somewhat misogynistic and would never be made nowadays. But there are great performances, much about it still feels fresh and funny and it was a template for much to come.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin discusses an electric MPV, an e-scooter with a treadmill, a bike charging pad, a 100 mph e-scooter with faster acceleration than a Tesla and a humanoid robot that can change its own batteries. An Instagram influencer at Wimbledon turns out to be AI-generated while AI is gradually taking over from traditional film and TV effects. Peter Jackson is spending £11m on trying to recreate the extinct 12-foot, flightless moa bird of New Zealand. And scientists claim they can use nuclear fusion to turn mercury into gold.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
