In the October 2018 Taxcast: we speak to Nicholas Shaxson about his new book "The Finance Curse: How Global Finance Is Making Us All Poorer" released alongside new research from the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute on the true costs of the City of London's oversized finance sector to the British economy - £4.5 trillion in lost economic output over a 20 year period – that's equivalent to £67,500 for every person in the UK, not far off $90,000. This research has serious implications for oversized financial centres everywhere. Also, we discuss the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the hypocrisy of the 'west' and corruption of democracy by dark money and national and international security threats not only from Russia, but also from China and, the most overlooked - the United States.