Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University gives a fascinating analysis of Latin America's problems, with political instability and a growing macro-economic crisis. He also looks at the under-reported Vortex of Doom in South Africa, where there's a huge energy crisis and law and order is breaking down. Lastly, he turns to the UK, which now appears to be one of Europe's most nannying states when it comes to food, drink and health; is it a case of NHS demand management, he wonders?
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Russ Mould of A J Bell looks at the rise of the Japanese stock market, which has hit a 33-year-high. He points out that it is still a quarter below its all-time high, hit on the last day of 1989. After debt-fuelled craziness saw the land of the Imperial Palace worth more than all of California before a collapse, and with decades of QE since, foreign investors have long neglected the market. Japanese companies have become more shareholder-friendly than they used to be. Russ explains that it could be wisest for UK investors, if considering Japan, to use active or passive collective investments, rather than relying on individual shares.
Guests: Russ Mould
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin enlightens Simon Rose on the latest tech. Which? says that facial recognition on cheap smartphones can be unlocked by photos. Disney is shutting its Star Wars hotel, K9 Jets will let you travel with your dog – for a price, Tesla's bot Optimus is upgraded, AI can now create 3D-models, even from text, Google's AI is having trouble creating music, free WiFi on trains may disappear and the Spanish government want to develop an app to ensure that husbands do their fair share of housework.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
An ebullulient James Cameron-Wilson guides Simon Rose through the UK box office chart, welcoming FastX, the 10th in the franchise, to the #1 spot. He found it has plenty of laughs, shocks, surprises & thrills, though its opening of £5.9m is well down on previous iterations. He also recommends Are You There, God? It's Margaret, which opened at #4. Based on the Judy Plume novel, he thought it a touching and charming gem. His DVD of the month is the Belgian Oscar-nominated drama Close, which won last year's Grand Prix at Cannes. James thought it one of the most remarkable films he has seen for some time.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the news that net immigration hit 606,000 last year and explains why the UK is proving such a magnet for incomers. He looks at the call from the Covid inquiry for Boris Johnson to hand over his WhatsApp messages and the controversy over Suella Braverman and her speeding offence. And he looks across the Atlantic at the malfunctioning Twitter interview with Ron DeSantis and considers how unlikely it is that he can unseat Donald Trump as the Republican Presidential candidate.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that Labour's ideas are becoming clearer, with Starmer's promise to boost housebuilding outmanoeuvring the Conservatives and setting the cat among the pigeons. He discusses whether immigration is out of control in a world where people are moving more than ever and explains why he thinks Labour will take exactly the opposite stance to the Tories. And he picks up on a largely unreported comment by Donald Trump, that America will eventually default on its debt, to highlight the battle that is looming over the future of money and the banking system.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson takes Simon Rose through the latest box office charts, with Guardians of the Galaxy 3 still ruling the roost, though down 56%. Book Club 2: The Next Chapter is #4 with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. James found it awful and surprisingy smutty, treating the elderly as alcoholic bubblebrains. He found Brainwashed: Sex - Camera - Power fascinating, being a persuasive documentary about how cinema technique has disempowered and objectified women. He found action thriller The Mother, with Jennifer Lopez, utterly implausible and pointless.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin updates Simon Rose on the latest tech. NASA have developed autonomous EELS to see if there's life on one of Saturn's moons. There's an extinction level event camper trailer to keep you safe in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse, a gadget to make sea water drinkable, a wheeled suitcase that is supposed to operate your hotel aircon, lights & TV while a US company is giving away free tellies in return for bombarding you with ads. There are claims that Uber charges more if your phone battery is low while American scientists have found that airborne DNA is sufficient to identify people.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
With UK box office up 80%, James Cameron-Wilson waxes lyrical about Guardians of the Galaxy 3 which he found great fun throughout and impressively inventive. He also recommended two films using non-professional actors. Rodeo (#32) is an impressive insight into the lives of dirt bikers, almost their version of Fast & Furious and is on Curzon screens and at home. Oscar-nominated Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom is an utterly absorbing Bhutanese film about a teacher sent to a remote community. James also discusses a 2016 Italian film which has already been remade 20 times, with the French version, Nothing to Hide, on Netflix.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
After the Bank of England raise interest rates to their highest since 2008 Russ Mould of A J Bell points out that the last time inflation was in double digits, so were interest rates. At present, real interest rates are heavily negative. He also discusses share buybacks, illegal in the US until 1982. They're now being used heavily by FTSE100 companies and Russ discusses their pros and cons and whether they gerrymander figures. He also explains why Next is a company that does it right.
Guests: Russ Mould
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