A Long Time In Finance

"Let us be, say I, a free Nation deep in Debt.. rather than a Nation of Slaves owing nothing.” So wrote a pamphleteer in 1720 about the remorseless rise of Britain's National Debt.

At a time of mounting concern about the public finances, we launch a two part series on the National Debt, starting with its ups and downs over two centuries with historian James Macdonald.

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With James Macdonald.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s not often when a start-up fails that taxpayers end up getting a bill for £6.5bn - equivalent to a penny on income tax. But that’s what happened with Bulb, a venture that tried to bring the economics of Deliveroo and Uber to the staid business of selling power to domestic customers. Energy expert Nick Butler helps us unpick the Bulb shaped mess that ensued, how it happened and what should happen now.

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Nick Butler.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Sponsored by Briefcase.News

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US politician Dean Acheson once said of Britain that it had lost an empire but not found a role. Could the same be true of the City of London? Out of the EU, it needs to find a new mission to retain its slot as one of the world's top financial centres. Neil and Jonathan talk to economist (and top Frenchman) Nicolas Veron about EU competition, HK's future, global opportunities and risks.

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Nicolas Veron.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Sponsored by Briefcase.News

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The sudden collapse of Sam Bankman Fried's $16bn crypto trading empire has caused even the most bored of apes to sit up and take notice. Investors in these digital currencies have exhibited an incredible stoicism, soaking up their punishment and "HODL-ing" through past crypto collapses, but could this be the end of Satoshi's children? Neil and Jonathan talk to crypto expert Izabella Kaminska about why crypto exchanges are like 19th century prairie banks, whether the newbies will keep coming and what currencies might survive the turmoil. 

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Izabella Kaminska.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Sponsored by Briefcase.News

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the world gathers at COP27 to demand further action on emissions, what role can wind and solar really play in helping us hit global temperature targets? A sceptical Michael Shellenberger, US author and environmental activist, talks to Neil and Jonathan about the renewable "religion", the need for more nuclear and gas, and how much renewable capacity you can really put on an electricity grid.

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Michael Shellenberger.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Britain facing "eye-watering" decisions about public spending, many have set their sights on HS2 as the sort of gilded "grand projet" the UK can no longer afford. But does scrapping it make sense, and what sort of infrastructure should Britain invest in instead? Neil and Jonathan talk to rail expert Tony Berkeley and Tom Forth, industrial strategy thinker, about the bizarre way infrastructure spending decisions are taken and how the country might do it better. 

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Tony Berkeley and Tom Forth.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Additional producing by Ewan Cameron.

Sponsored by Briefcase.News

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of our series on Northern Rock, Neil and Jonathan pick over the lessons from the 2007 collapse of the world's most famous ex-building society with former chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling, Stanford finance professor Anat Admati, and bank expert Dan Davies. As interest rates rise, and tremors course through financial markets, how much more robust is our banking system, and could the same meltdown happen again? 

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Alistair Darling, Anat Admati and Dan Davies.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Additional editing by Ewan Cameron.

Sponsored by Briefcase.News

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a few weeks in 2007, a small ex-building society in Newcastle became the world's most famous bank as TV news cameras showed customers queuing at branches for their cash. Initially seen as a Victorian throwback, it later became clear that the collapse was a warning of much wider problems to come. As worrying tremors again strike our financial system, Neil and Jonathan ponder the lessons of Northern Rock's failure in the first of a two part series with former chancellor Alistair Darling, ex regulator Howard Davies and banking expert Dan Davies.  

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Dan Davies, Alistair Darling and Howard Davies.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Additional editing by Ewan Cameron.

Sponsored by Briefcase.News

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The market panic that followed Kwasi Kwarteng's mini budget last month has been blamed on pension funds doing something called LDI. But what is this strange practice, what is its purpose, and how has it led to a £65bn meltdown in the pensions market? Neil and Jonathan talk to pensions expert (and grand wizard of LDI) John Ralfe about the fallout and whether Neil, as a pensioner, should be worried.

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With John Ralfe.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is hard to find a worse reaction to a British Budget than the one accorded Kwasi Kwarteng's "special fiscal operation". Neil and Jonathan talk to Howard Davies, former financial regulator and Treasury Mandarin about why it got such a huge raspberry, what Kwarteng can do now, and how his effort rates in the roll-call of past fiscal fails, including George Osborne's "omnishambles" and Denis Healey's emergency budget of 1974. 

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Howard Davies.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.