The Why? Curve

Do we have the right to protest? What are we allowed to do, to show we don’t approve? And is it right to disrupt other people’s lives and businesses to make our point? The arrests during the coronation showed the new powers police have to deal with demonstrators, but are they too draconian, or just a reasonable response to the new disruptive ways protesters have found to draw our attention to their cause? David Mead, professor of human rights law at the University of East Anglia tells Phil and Roger what they now can and can’t do to make their point.

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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Singalonga Europe - a festival of colour and music that unites a continent and spreads colour and joy to a dull and damp May? Or an orgy of naff tunes, high camp and absurd self-regard that shows up all the bitterest national rivalries Europe has nurtured? Does it even matter? It does, says Dr Dean Vuletic, author of “Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest,” and he tells Phil and Roger it provides an invaluable insight into modern Europe’s cultural and political history. 

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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What are the prospects for the man about to be crowned? As Charles formally receives the insignia of the monarch and the blessing of the church, how long can a thousand year-old principle of hereditary succession be sustained? Is Britain still not ready to elect the man or woman who is head of state? Or is continuity itself a measure of national maturity? And would we really prefer to have a ceremonial president who would likely be - on present form - a footballer or a reality TV star? Alice Hunt, associate professor of history at Southampton University, gives Phil and Roger guidance from the the time England did become a republic in 1649, and some thoughts about our monarchical future.

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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What’s the problem with our water? Untreated sewage is pouring into our rivers and onto our beaches. Despite the wettest March for 40 years, a hosepipe ban has been imposed in Devon. Something is going badly wrong with the companies that run our privatised water system. Is it just a lack of investment? Dr Kevin Grecksch lectures in Water Science Policy and Management at Oxford University - he gives Phil and Roger the details on what has gone wrong and what needs to change.

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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Bitcoin, dogecoin, etherium - cryptocurrencies are part of our world, and they seem to be a store of value, but are they actually WORTH anything? The price fluctuates wildly and there are plenty of stories of theft, fraud and criminality in crypto exchanges. They coins are largely unregulated and have no backing from states or central banks, so is their notional value a kind of mirage? Is it all a scam? Professor Brian Lucey of University College Dublin sets out the basis of blockchain and the cryptos based on it, and the likely future of this monetary innovation.

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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How should Britain deal with migrants crossing the Channel in small boats? The government’s ideas include expulsion to Rwanda, and housing asylum seekers in barges moored off the Dorset coast. They have been accused both of failing to live up to promises to cut the numbers arriving on our shores, and also being cruel and vindictive towards those who are seeking safety or a better life. So is there a policy that is humane, effective, practicable and, at the same time, legal? Phil and Roger ask Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University.

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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It's a quarter of a century since the Good Friday Accord was signed, but is Northern Ireland now at its most perilous moment since then? With the main unionist party refusing to go back to Stormont, there seems little chance of devolved government resuming, and tensions are building in a way that hasn't been seen in 25 years - the threat level level has been raised to "severe" and a senior policeman is still in hospital six weeks after being shot by dissident republicans. The post-Brexit border issue seems impossible to resolve without either a hard border between Belfast and Dublin, or the Windsor Framework arrangements that, in unionist eyes, damage the bond that keeps the province inside the UK. Dr Peter John McLoughlin, senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Queen's University, Belfast, takes Phil and Roger through the risks to peace and the prospects for Northern Ireland's future.

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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What is the Metaverse? Why are tech firms and big finance houses buying into it with billions of dollars? Will we all have to learn to live and play and bank in virtual worlds? Or is it all hype? And with the current concern about artificial intelligence, is it all just too dangerous? Phil and Roger try to get the answers to all this from Steve Benford - he’s the Dunford Professor of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham and cofounder of the Mixed Reality Laboratory.

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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How much interest you pay on your home loan is determined largely by the unelected representatives in the world’s central banks. This week the Bank of England took its turn in announcing rate hikes in their bid to keep prices under control. They also have a mandate to ensure stability in the banking sector. The way things are right now, you might question whether they’re up to either task. Phil and Roger ask Dr Supriya Kapoor (Assistant Professor in Finance at the Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin) whether central banks are pursuing the right approach, whether we have the right people in these jobs, and whether it makes sense to keep the functions of monetary policy (by the banks) and fiscal policy (by the government) separate, particularly at times like these.

This episode is supported by Wigmore Associates, who provide portfolio management services on both a discretionary and advisory basis, together with pension, tax planning and inheritance tax advice to Individuals, Trusts, Pension Schemes, Family Offices, and Charities.

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

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