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Actor Natalie Grady explores the ingredients that make a good story become a timeless classic with David Ricardo Pearce, who is now on stage in the West End as Harry Potter. This programme was originally broadcast on 12 February 2015.

You may have heard recently that it's possible to use ETFs to invest in crypto-currency: but what are ETFs? They're a cheap and simple way to invest in markets. Trouble is, there are more than two thousand listed on the London market alone. So how do you pick the right ones for you and your circumstances? In a '[Big Call' programme originally broadcast on 1st February 2019, Ed Bowsher gets tips on how to do it from two experts in ETF selection: Oliver Smith from IG Smart Portfolios and Hoshang Daronga from Copia Capital.

Time is the scarce resource in human lives, and technology in its various forms swallows a lot of it for many of us. When its absorption into our lives becomes almost a habit or an addiction, it can cause us to miss opportunities and it can impact our character and even our identity. Whether it's gaming, social media or other online activity that turns you on, the emotional appeal is generally that instant gratification which pulls us away from experiencing real life and relationships. If you're concerned about being drawn into this trap of gaming and virtual experience, this episode could help you restore balance into your life. Originally broadcast on 4th February 2023

Excess intake over Christmas and the New Year often leads to constraint in January, but how best to exercise self-control? Adam Cox helps to temper that urge to overeat by resorting to a technique called 'Neuro-Linguistic Programming', through which those compulsions can be collapsed as a result of switching them to a disassociated third person.

Adam Cox is joined by Rob Sherry and Katie Smith, the Co-founders of The Jump Digital School, to explore the potential for a lucrative and fulfilling career in the tech industry, emphasising its accessibility to individuals regardless of their current skill level or background. The discussion delves into the feasibility of individuals without existing digital skills becoming successful software developers and the diverse career paths that retrained individuals may pursue. The trio also sheds light on optimal approaches to learning software development and outlines the qualifications one might consider pursuing to advance their career in the field. https://www.thejump.tech/

Big-time institutions are jumping into newly-approved Bitcoin spot ETFs, and that could create trouble for some of the bigger players in crypto. Jason Moser and Matt Argersinger discuss why there’s so much cash sitting on the sidelines right now, and why it may or may not work back into the market, Blackrock and Fidelity getting in on the newly available Bitcoin spot ETFs, and how they could create problems for Coinbase, and earnings updates from industry leaders Prologis, Taiwan Semiconductor, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Then, 19 minutes in, best-selling Author Dan Pink takes ideas from his books and applies them to the modern topics of AI, employee motivation, and what the modern office is really for in an increasingly hybrid world. Finally, 32 minutes in, Jason and Matt break down two stocks on their radar: Globus Medical and RPM International. Stocks discussed: IBIT, FBTC, COIN, PYPL, PLD, TSMC, MS, GS, RPM, GMED. Host - Dylan Lewis; Guests - Jason Moser, Matt Argersinger, Dan Pink, Shannon Jones

Ricky Mulvey caught up with Jules van Binsbergen, a finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, to talk about market sentiment, savings goals, and how to prepare for periods with lower rates of return. They also discuss disconnects between the real economy and financial markets, whether the US stock market is merely a “lucky survivor”, and the dangers of institutional thinking – in investing and academia. Tickers discussed: NOK, BTC. Host - Ricky Mulvey; Guest - Jules van Binsbergen

After a good year for Premium Bonds when the only way was up for the prize fund rate, savers got a blow this week as a cut arrived. The prize fund rate is being cut to 4.4% from 4.65%. That edges the average return - which you may or may not get - from Premium Bonds further below the best savings deals, so should you save instead? Or would many Premium Bond holders be better off investing? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss whether Premium Bonds stack up. Plus, as the US securities regulator approves bitcoin ETFs, is the price now headed for $200,000 as some suggest, or could this be enticing more naive investors into the volatile world of crypto that's been dogged by fraud? Later, Lee reveals his car insurance woes - and shares tips on how to deal with your own renewal quite pain-free. And finally, find out who on the podcast team is not drinking for January, who is taking an extremely haphazard approach to it, and who is planning to go all the way to Easter, as we discuss the no and low-alcohol beer boom and the ones we rate the best.

The Government wants us to get heat pumps fitted in our homes and it's offering up to £7,500 for us to do so. Now Worcester Bosch is bumping that up by an extra £2,500 - if you pick one of theirs of course. But with the devices cost between £8,000 to £30,000 to buy and fit, would it tempt you? Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Lee Boyce reveal all... and talk the 'boiler tax'. Is inflation back on the rise? How worried should we be by the latest figures? And where next for interest rates? And millions face a big price hike for their mobile and broadband from March. Isn't it time these inflation-busting mid-contract increases were banned? Also, following campaigning by This is Money for years for fair treatment for parents who do not qualify for child benefit, parents denied state pension credits WILL get them. Tanya Jefferies explains all you need to know. Tanya also talks about a bungled handover to a new administrator that has left BAE Systems retirees suffering drastic cuts of up to 50% in their pensions. And Crane is on the Case, this time over a robot vacuum cleaner...

The UK sub-postmasters' scandal is not just an issue for politicians: it deeply questions the quality and integrity of corporate governance, auditors and the legal profession: for example, surely The Law Society should have monitored the quantum of convictions and cried 'wolf'? The huge quantum of unclaimed adult-owned Child Trust Funds is a similar massive injustice for young people from disadvantaged and low-income backgrounds. Politicians, account providers and regulators need to take urgent action to tackle the £2 billion challenge: however, The Share Foundation is crying 'wolf' in this case — but will people listen? Background music: 'Missing Persons' by Jeremy Blake