Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Share Radio's technology editor Steve Caplin tells Simon Rose about the new EU requirement for all small and medium portable electronic devices to have a standard USB-C cable from 2024. Amazon have brought out a raft of new devices, Google are closing Stadia, Tesla has demonstrated a prototype humanoid robot – which can't walk, a work of art has been destroyed to promote NFTs, a next generation razor may not work and scientists have worked out how animals can be used to create batteries, degrade plastic and create hydrogen.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Russ Mould of A J Bell is slightly puzzled by some of the market reaction to the UK mini-budget, given how little debt, relatively speaking, is being added to the whole, though realising how poorly it was presenting. He thinks investors should get rid of anything causing discomfort in their portfolios as that discomfort could get much greater. He offers advice on the sort of stocks investors should be holding and, for reasons of diversification, wonders if short-term bonds might be worthwhile. But if there's a big shakedown, he says, then bargains will appear.
Guests: Russ Mould
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson celebrates a box office take which has more than doubled with the Julia Roberts, George Clooney comedy Ticket to Paradise at #1. Sadly, James found it charmless and excruciating. At #2 is Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling with Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, which James found intriguing but ultimately a cop-out. He was more enthusiastic about the rerelease of Avatar which he thought better and more topical than he remembered. He also tells Simon Rose about the top 10 foreign language releases in the UK.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Technology guru Steve Caplin talks to Simon Rose about a record-breaking running robot, a clever seabed camera, repairing the tops of tall buildings with extruding drones, how to make driverless cars safer for pedestrians, a lamp that not only follows you but also offers emotional companionship, turning plastic into diamonds and how VR goggles can be used for sedation.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses with Simon Rose the Chancellor's mini-budget and the market turmoil it caused, as well as criticism from the International Monetary Fund. Arguing that previous dashes for growth didn't end well, he asks if there really is a correlation between the tax burden and growth and whether the level of regulation in the UK really is too high? He also looks at the Labour Party conference, understanding the confidence but pointing out that Keir Starmer is still missing a narrative of excitement.
Guests: Mike Indian
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Victoria Scholar of Interactive Investor discusses with Simon Rose the Fed's hiking of interest rates by 75 basis points, with indications they have further to go. The move strengthened the dollar still further. In the UK, the Bank of England opted for a 50 basis point rise, rather than 75 (the highest level since 2008), with the MPC split over the decision. With the pound continuing to weaken, she also discusses why former ratesetter Danny Blanchflower has said investors should short sterling.
Guests: Victoria Scholar
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University discusses what we might expect from Liz Truss as Prime Minister. He points out how long it has been since the Government (or Opposition) had a clear strategy. He also wonders where the Russian economy is heading now that Europe appears to be weaning itself off the country's energy. And he reflects on the late Queen and her funeral, surprising himself with the realisation that her death appears to have taught many of us something about ourselves.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson laments a further decline in the UK box office, off another 31%. See How They Run is still #1 with Bowie doc Moonage Daydream at #10. The worthwhile but uncomfortable drama Both Sides of the Blade with Juliette Binoche only managed #48. Cleaned up for a Blu-Ray release is Antonioni's 1982 provocative arthouse film Identification of a Woman. James was pleasantly surprised by I Came By, an unsettling dystopian view of Britain today with George Mackay and Hugh Bonneville, which is on Netflix.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Share Radio's technology editor Steve Caplin reveals to Simon Rose the winners of the Ig Nobel prizes for science. There's also news of how AI can change the accents of cold callers, of a giant simulated moon you can visit, how building blueprints can be interpreted by robots, how cockroaches can be turned into cyborgs for dangerous situations, how concrete buildings can be easily constructed using inflatable forms, a motorless food blender, a clever camping lantern and why Janet Jackson might crash your laptop.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
With Ben van Beurden stepping down as CEO of Shell, Russ Mould of A J Bell looks at the tenure of senior chief executives. With 9 years at the helm, he's the 24th-longest serving FTSE100 boss, the average currently being 6 years. Perhaps it was just a good time to leave. Russ also looks at the growing list of companies showing signs of demand ebbing or cost pressures building – or both.
Guests: Russ Mould
Published:
