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Enjoy Adam Cox's story-based hypnosis episode, designed to fill in those gaps, and make those changes, that might not happen in our authoritarian world. Here's an opportunity to link a story into our everyday lives and find it filling the gaps.

Danni Hewson of A J Bell discusses the latest inflation numbers with Simon Rose (with reference to her early record collection) and what might yet happen with interest rates. While many retailers are under pressure, she points out that life is different for those at the luxury end of the market. She discusses the bid, finally, for Ted Baker and what is probably the start of a massive bidding war for cybersecurity company Darktrace. She points out how cheap the UK market is for American investors and explains why it is so difficult growing complicated tech firms within the UK.

James Cameron-Wilson reflects on the UK box office down for the 3rd week with a loss of 26%. Jordan Peele's "deliciously strange" Nope, starring Daniel Kaluuya, is at #1 with a take of £1.9m. James's DVD of the week is the Blu-Ray release of King Vidor's 1955 Western Man Without A Star, starring Kirk Douglas. And on Disney+ he found Prey a feminist action thriller which, although better than the rest of the franchise, ultimately just becomes another Predator film.

Steve Caplin talks tech with Simon Rose, warning all Zoom users they should update the app. He links it to Wordle, where there are now books and poems. There's also a car park machine that only talks Welsh, a funeral where guests could quiz the deceased, problems with Meta's chatbot, the physicist who convinced people chorizo was a star, woodless pencils, three different stories about robot dogs and a paper battery that is biodegradable.

As the first proper A-level results arrive since 2019, political commentator Mike Indian explains how education must be the answer to solving the UK's productivity puzzle. In the wake of the latest rise in inflation, he says that targeted support and state intervention will be needed to get things back onto an even keel. And with the Tory leadership contest continuing, he asks where the big, transformative ideas are and wonders if an absent Boris Johnson is simply abrogating responsibility.

Janice Turner's strikingly clear article in Saturday's Times (13/8/22) sets out why young people from low income households have such a struggle finding stability and economic security, after years of student debt, soaring house prices, and a much higher risk of split parents. In 2010 David Willetts' book 'The Pinch' was published, setting out the huge generational divide at that time: but over the past 12 years, the position has deteriorated significantly. Will Liz Truss call for change? Background music: 'Land of My Fathers' by The 126ers Links via https://www.shareradio.co.uk/thinkingaloud/newsletters/comment-wc-2022-08-15/

Rising bills and the cost-of-living crisis are forcing many to dip into savings pots, if they have one to begin with. At the same time, with base rate rising to try and curb inflation, savings deals have become far better than they have been in the last decade. Georgie Frost and Lee Boyce are joined by a special guest: James Blower, AKA The Savings Guru, who gives his take on where savings rates are heading next. With lesser known challengers paying the best rates, how do you know they’re any good? And should you fix now or wait? He explains how savings rates set, why big banks are slow to pass on base rate movements and with savings deals improving, James explains why a cash ISA might be a good home for your money once more. Elsewhere, times are tough with plenty of misery on the horizon thanks to rising energy bills. Latest predictions suggest the price cap could land somewhere between £4,000 and £5,000 a year. Much has been said this week about households, but what about businesses which are slowly being crushed under the weight of rising costs? Not protected by an energy cap, some hospitality bosses are said to be considering closing down due to unprecedented energy bills while three quarters are thinking about reduced opening hours. And with household prices set to soar, a 'Don’t Pay' UK movement has grown suggesting cancelling direct debits – but is that a wise idea?

The House of Mouse is firing on all cylinders, and now its total number of subscribers for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ is greater than Netflix. Dylan Lewis and Maria Gallagher (00:21) discuss Disney’s pricing power and streaming fatigue, how Coinbase is faring through a Crypto Winter, and what Softbank is telling investors about the private markets. Plus, Nick Sciple interviews Tim Johnston, Co-Founder of Li-Cycle Holdings (15:41), a lithium-ion battery recycler. They discuss how Li-Cycle can meet some of the growing demand for the metals that go into electric cars, and the company’s partnerships with major energy providers. Stocks mentioned: DIS, NFLX, COIN, UBER, SFTBY, LICY; Host - Dylan Lewis; Guests - Maria Gallagher, Nick Sciple, Tim Johnston

While some tech companies announce lay-offs, others are posting blowout earnings. Deidre Woollard and Tim Beyers discuss how a decrease in consumer spending is hitting SaaS companies in unexpected ways, why The Trade Desk is thriving in a tough environment, a “cautious” view on tech layoffs (and why we aren’t hitting the panic button), why Walmart might join the streaming wars, and a brilliant, tiny company that’s not getting enough attention from investors. Plus, Jason Moser and Matt Argersinger look at how companies are managing their share count, and one homebuilder that’s outperformed Amazon for more than a decade. Stocks mentioned: DDOG, TTD, WMT, SNAP, GRPN, JAMF, META, NVR, LOW, NVDA, AMZN. Host - Deidre Woollard; Guests - Tim Beyers, Jason Moser, Matt Argersinger

Adam Cox is joined by Professor Martin Stringer, Pro Vice Chancellor of Education at Swansea University, to discuss new research revealing the public's understanding of higher education, and attitudes towards universities. Martin explains why so many people are still unsure of the clearing process, and provides advice to students, and parents of students, going to university in September. https://www.swansea.ac.uk/