Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University wonders, now the wheels are coming off the Government's bus, if Labour is pivoting to the right, with rumoured welfare cuts, implementing the university free speech law and scrapping the banning of gas boilers by 2035. If so, how will the Conservatives react? He strongly recommends Peter Turchin's book, "End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites an Indicators of Revolution" and what it means for our times. And he discusses the probable change in government in Canada in the autumn and whether a new Conservative government will reconsider the role of the state.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson says that yet again 6 films took £1m at the box office, with Mufasa replacing Nosferatu as #1. Racy drama Babygirl is #5, with Nicole Kidman amazing as a businesswoman whose perfect life is threatened by an affair. James found it almost too much, so real and voyeuristic did it feel. Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain at #6 has him and Kieran Culkin mismatched cousins tracing their European heritage. It's original, deftly realised, witty and well acted. Although perhaps aimed at younger viewers, Amazon's White Bird has Helen Mirren explaining her experiences under the Nazis to her grandson. Made by the great Marc Forster, it is poignant and touching and had James on the edge of tears at times.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin tells the salutory tale of a woman conned out of a fortune by a fake Brad Pitt online before turning to a second batch of wacky gadgets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show. There's a solar beach umbrella and a (giant) solar hat with charging ports. A new AI robot is essentially just a lamp on a walking coffee table. A flying motorcycle might not work but a helicopter carried in a van appears to. The head of an AI app confesses he has no idea how his product works. The Power Mole will transmit wireless power through windows. And the Chinese Yangwang U9 hypercar will jump potholes or metal spikes - providing it is going fast enough.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Russ Mould of A J Bell explains that private investor interest in gilts has soared of late, now that they provide a good interest rate and are relatively risk-free, providing that they are held to maturity. They are reckoning, presumably, that inflation will not rise although some of the Budget measures have yet to have their effect, while oil and international food prices are currently rising. Russ points out that the weaker pound is a potential pressure valve for the UK, with UK assets more attractive to overseas buyers. He is concerned, though, that the primary purpose of the UK stock market, to raise capital for businesses, is of far less importance than the secondary, trading, function.
Guests: Russ Mould
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Neil Shah of Edison Group discusses the latest bid for a UK company, Team Internet, which he discussed here recently as trading at a discount to its international peers. He points out that UK companies are vulnerable to takeover; the worry is that the UK market will keep shrinking, although he feels that value investing will return. With activist Saba Capital trying to replace the boards of 7 investment trusts, he feels that private investors must exercise their voting rights. Details are here on the AIC website. https://tinyurl.com/3ad9np9u.
Guests: Neil Shah
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a healthy box office, up 42% YoY. New #1 Nosferatu is Robert Eggers' take on the 1922 Murnau classic with Bill Skarsgard, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult. The design and photography is brilliant but the ripe dialogue caused giggles in the audience. At #3 is We Live In Time from the director of the brilliant Brooklyn. A non-linear telling of a relationship, James found it an amazing and rewarding emotional investment. On Netflix, he admired the Six Triple Eight, a surprisingly true WW2 tale of African American servicewomen in Europe. Although it's not subtle, it is very emotive and well-acted.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
In our tech show, Steve Caplin discusses some of the mistakes made by Apple's new AI and how Meta is getting rid of fact checkers. He reports on some of the devices on show at Las Vegas's annual CES. There's a TV to keep an eye on children and pets, a robot with an arm for picking up shoes and socks – slowly, a lamp that is also a projector, a toaster-like phone battery swapper, a giant monitor with a shoulder strap, a way to keep all your rechargeable batteries in order, an air purifier that doubles as a cat perch, and a tiny, cat-shaped robot for cooling your coffee. Only one of these tickles his fancy as a possible purchase.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the Chancellor's options in face of the rise in UK borrowing costs and fall in sterling. Will Keir Starmer retain confidence in her? His own future will be determined by her fate. He also addreses the grooming inquiry call and vote, worrying it all feels like too little too late. We owe it to the victims to see that the Jay Report's findings are implemented and that failings in the system need to be addressed. He also discusses Elon Musk's intervention and his relationship with Reform.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson celebrates box office soaring 113%, though he can't be dragged to #1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He finds the animation in the photo-realistic #2 Mufasa: The Lion King astonishing. A prequel and sequel modelled on Butch Cassidy it is wonderful, being both moving and very powerful. Better Man is a musical memoir of Robbie Williams with him narrating, though on screen he is represented as a chimpanzee. It's very original and inventive and is surprisingly engaging and moving. On Netflix James recommended Carry-On, a thriller with Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman which sucks you into the terrifying action.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
As 2025 begins, Professor Tim Evans takes the opportunity to discuss the political economy of seasonality and time and reflect upon the importance of time, which some political regimes have tried to amend. He feels we are starting to see the birth of a new "New Right", 45 years on from Reagan and Thatcher. While Milei, Trump and Farage have many different ideas, it appears that they are consulting each other, which might make 2025 a rollercoaster year. He also considers the unintended consequences of the push to electric vehicles, with a divide growing between those who have driveways (and cheap charging) and those who do not. If the US brings down the price of oil, the attraction for EVs will decline and further embolden those who oppose the rush to Net Zero.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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