Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
Medication makes few inroads into the anxiety that people can experience with flying. This episode seeks to banish the fear by expanding and contracting the comfort zone, aiming particularly to settle the mind for long-distance flights. Adam Cox even uses video game metaphors for this very different approach.
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Original Broadcast: The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors
Russ Mould of A J Bell says that in the past five years, banks have been the second best UK performers after Aerospace & Defence. The five in the FTSE are forecast to generate almost a quarter of its profits for 2026 and pay out a fifth of its dividends. This year, though, the banks are in the middle of the pack and down for the year. They certainly earned their run, making record profits when, half a decade ago, you could barely give them away. But the valuations now aren't as compelling as they were, buybacks are being withdrawn, US and European banks have been weak and there are worries about exposure to private equity. As a result, markets are not taking any chances and investors must balance valuation and returns against potential risks.
Guests: Russ Mould
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian says that in the light of the Iran war, the interests of Western nations are diverging sharply, with increasingly erratic American foreign policy – "muscular isolationism" – straining UK-US relations. The US President doesn't seem to see a need to keep allies onside and looks increasingly out of touch. The huge increase in the price of oil and gas is having an effect worldwide, but particularly in the UK, where we rely on natural gas for heating but have little storage and rely on imports, posing problems for Ed Miliband. However, if Starmer's government could show strong leadership in an economic emergency, it could be the making of him. A sharp rise in inflation, though, could put the government under incredible pressure, as could more Mandelson files and low pay growth. Mike feels Angela Rayner will return to the Cabinet after the May elections but what role could she be offered and what would she be willing to accept?
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin tells Simon Rose that AI agents can now rent human beings to carry out tasks they can't manage themselves. Brain cells in a petri dish have been taught to play the 90s shooter game Doom. BYD's Dena Z9GT can charge from 10% to 70% in just 5 minutes; unfortunately the UK doesn't have any of the required chargers. Tesco is experimenting with replacing bar codes with QR codes; Steve isn't convinced it will work. Pager sales have leapt in Russia after the internet was turned off. There's a collapsible cool box, a laundry chair with arms and a computer mouse that splits into half to become a game controller for your phone. And scientists in Edinburgh have genetically engineered bacteria to break down plastic bottles into a medicine for Parkinson's Disease.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: The Business Of Film
James Cameron-Wilson laments box office down 32%. #2 Reminders of Him, a Colleen Hoover adaptation, is complete trash and yet, predictable though it is, it has relatable characters and is hard to dislike. #3 How to Make a Killing is an adaptation of the famous Ealing comedy, Kind Hearts and Coronets. Sadly, this lacks the wit or appeal of the original and is to be avoided at all cost. As ever, James was excited by the Oscars, with most of his predictions coming good. It was, he says, the most predictable ceremony for a long time. Although One Battle After Another won Best Picture, it was really the year of the horror film, which has perhaps become respectable again. One of the highlights was the great speech given by Jessie Buckley.
Guests: James Cameron-Wilson
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
For the past fifty years the world's conflicts have been powered by our addiction to oil, while the climate has continued to suffer. If concern about our environment is insufficient to break this addiction, perhaps the straw that breaks the camel's back is more likely to be the immense geopolitical and economic instability which results from relying on regions such as Russia and the Middle East. Could the current conflicts be the birth pangs of a new world order without fossil fuels? Background music: 'Addicted' by VYEN
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Original Broadcast: This is Money
Mortgage rates have shot up this week as the impact of the conflict with Iran for inflation and interest rates sinks in. Banks and building societies have been racing to raise their fixed rates — with some even pushing them up twice in the space of a few days. It comes in response to a sudden switch around in expectations for the Bank of England base rate, but will this flurry of hikes continue or are the concerns overdone? Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert look at what's going on in the mortgage market — and what you can do about it if you are buying a home or need to remortgage. Plus, Simon has broken with the habit of a lifetime and actually fixed his energy bills for once. He explains why you should too - and how there are still potentially price cap-beating or matching deals out there. Helen outlines the nine biggest mistakes you can make with your pension — and what they could cost you. And finally, if you have a Nationwide current account and are hopefully in line for some free money from Fairer Share, this is what you must do in the next two weeks.
Guests: Helen Crane
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Original Broadcast: Motley Fool Show
GDP data released this week shows an economy that slowed to a crawl in the fourth quarter of 2025 as inflation picked up. That’s not a good sign now that oil prices have nearly doubled this year and job cuts continue. We discuss what this data says about the economy and what we’re doing as investors. Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Jason Moser discuss Q4 2025 GDP data, Uber’s autonomous momentum, Adobe’s earnings, executive free agents, and stocks on our radar. Companies discussed: Alphabet (GOOG), Adobe (ADBE), Tesla (TSLA), Target (TGT), Costco (COST), Best Buy (BBY), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), NVIDIA (NVDA), Boeing (BA), 3M (MMM), Netflix (NFLX), Globus Medical (GMED), Aerovironment (AVAV). Host — Travis Hoium; Guests — Lou Whiteman, Jason Moser.
Guests: Lou Whiteman,Jason Moser
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Original Broadcast: Motley Fool Show
Amazon is fighting Perplexity over the startup’s shopping agents, showing the legacy tech companies may not be as comfortable with AI innovation as we may think. We also discuss Meta’s AI strategy and why Oracle is growing and taking a big risk in its buildout. Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Rachel Warren discuss: Amazon goes after Perplexity’s agents, Meta’s scattered AI strategy, and Oracle earnings. Companies discussed: Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META), Oracle (ORCL). Host — Travis Hoium; Guests — Lou Whiteman, Rachel Warren.
Guests: Lou Whiteman,Rachel Warren
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Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
There are many types of addiction — drugs (the basis for this session), smoking, alcohol — and there's often a real will to break that fixation. This episode is about reaching for the point of threshold at which that can be achieved. As the proverb in the title suggests, it may be a very small thing that brings about a very big change. It's worth asking yourself, 'What happens if I never change?' So, if you've become a slave to addiction, look for that point of threshold and break free!
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