The Why? Curve

The COP28 was big on promises, but can they be taken seriously when the location the president and so many of the participants are signed up to big oil? Is the secret to getting serious on mitigating climate change, getting capitalism on board? So that making money from saving the planet can become a real option? Julian Caldecott, Director of Creatura, an environmental consultancy, guides Phil and Roger around the necessities and mechanisms of making capitalism a true friend of the earth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The COP28 was big on promises, but can they be taken seriously when the location the president and so many of the participants are signed up to big oil? Is the secret to getting serious on mitigating climate change, getting capitalism on board? So that making money from saving the planet can become a real option? Julian Caldecott, Director of Creatura, an environmental consultancy, guides Phil and Roger around the necessities and mechanisms of making capitalism a true friend of the earth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All eyes have been on Gaza since October, but what has been happening in the confrontation between Ukraine and Russia - the biggest European land war since 1945? Has the West lost hope of defeating Vladimir Putin here, and is President Zelenskyy being persuaded to turn a stalemate into some sort of truce? Ukrainian doctoral research scholar and security specialist Igor Shchebetun at Sumy State University, tells Phil and Roger his country is deliberately being starved of weapons to make such a settlement inevitable - containing Russian ambitions but not defeating them Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn statement this week, with 110 policy measures. The most significant of those was a 2% cut in National Insurance contributions. Roger and Phil ask Simon French, Chief Economist and Head of Research at UK investment bank, Panmure Gordon, whether the main aim of the cuts was to bolster the chances of a win for the Conservatives at the next election? On this week’s podcast Simon says that, political cynicism aside, there is a need to boost growth in the economy, and administering cuts in tax through National Insurance ensures that it is the working population that benefits. But will it make that much difference, when those same people face higher tax contributions through the freezing of the income tax thresholds? A wide-ranging discussion that includes the need for more comprehensive tax reform, plus a snapshot on the economic wellbeing of Phil’s barber. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drill, baby, drill - but does it make sense to hand out, every year, new North Sea extraction licences for oil and gas as the UK government has promised? Aren’t we supposed to be ending our reliance on fossil fuels? Or is it essential for energy security to harvest what we have on our doorstep? And is the cost of a more rapid transition to renewable sources of energy too high for hard-pressed families struggling to pay their bills? Phil and Roger quiz Gavin Bridge, Professor of Economic Geography at the University of Durham, and Fellow of the Durham Energy Institute, on the costs and benefits of more North Sea extraction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should animals have rights? Should dogs and cats be able to sue you for not feeding them on time? Should farm animals be able to get an injunction to stop us eating them? There’s a growing movement to recognise that many of our fellow creatures are sentient, feel pain and loss, and therefore, perhaps, should have legal rights. But how could this work? How would it change our lives? And where do we draw the line - fairness for fleas? Justice for microbes? Phil and Roger consult Dr Stephen Cooke, associate professor of Political Theory at the University of Leicester. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere - and politicians and business leaders are rushing to get on top of what could be an advance bigger than the Industrial Revolution. But could it also be a risk to human life on the scale of an asteroid collision or nuclear war? Is there any practicable way to control something we barely understand? Or will caution stop us from reaping the huge benefits for universal prosperity? Tony Prescott, Professor of Cognitive Robotics at Sheffield University lays out to Phil and Roger both the risks and gains from AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Accusations of attempted genocide from one side of the current Middle East crisis, and furious claims of anti-semitism from the other, show how deeply perceptions of racism still inform global conflicts. But what causes racism? What is the basis of the fear and anger it creates? Has it always been part of human society? How do we deal with it in a world where borders signify less and less, and communities increasingly come from many diverse backgrounds? Phil and Roger get guidance from Professor Alastair Bonnett of Newcastle University, author of “Multiracism: Rethinking Racism in Global Context” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a dangerous moment in one of the world’s most volatile regions. How far will Israel go to avenge the brutal killings inflicted by Hamas? Will the slaughter of innocent Palestinian civilians change global sympathies? Will Israel get bogged down in a long bloody battle inside Gaza. And will Iran and Lebanon get dragged into a widening conflict that brings violence from angry Muslims onto the streets of Europe and the US? Michele Groppi of the Defence Studies Department at King’s College, London, tells Phil and Roger about what went wrong at the start of the latest violence, and what could happen next Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour has a real chance of forming the next government, but does it have the sense of mission, the “vision thing” to carry voters with it? Matthew Flinders, Professor of Politics at Sheffield University tells Phil and Roger that Keir Starmer is still on course to lose next year’s election, unless he and his party can uncork some of the spirit that brought Tony Blair into Number 10 in 1997 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where are the Conservatives going? Into opposition next year, almost certainly. But what sort of party will it be? Are the Tories becoming a far-right populist fringe, wedded to harsh rhetoric on immigration, culture, crime, gender and Europe? Or will a heavy defeat at the ballot box force the most successful political organisation in Europe to move back toward the centre to rebuild its attraction to voters? Phil and Roger get the views of Dr Christopher Kirkland, senior lecturer in politics at York St John University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should we be able to be anonymous online? If we all knew who we were, would the conversation be more civil? Would the bots and trolls be exposed for what they are? Or would it open vulnerable people to attack - dissidents pursued by hostile regimes? Would the free speech at the heart of the net disappear? Dr Catherine Flick, reader in Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University tells Phil and Roger what works in trying to clean up the online world, and how hard it is to police especially with trans-national actors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After eighteen months of fighting in Europe’s biggest conflict since 1945, is there any sign of an end? Tens of thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars spent, but the frontlines have barely moved. The weather will shortly bring land warfare to a halt - when it resumes in the spring, will Ukraine’s new western weaponry deal a knockout blow to Russian forces? Or will patience run out among Kyiv’s allies and force a deal with Vladimir Putin? Christoph Bluth , professor of International Relations and Security at Bradford University sets out the prospects for Phil and Roger and the likely timescale Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should the NHS be buying anti-obesity drugs? Should councils be subsidising fruit and vegetables? Or is it better to spend scarce resources on antibiotics and cancer medicines? How do we weigh up the best purchases to get the healthiest outcomes for all of us? With a health service in a deepening crisis of resources, Joan Costa-i-Font, Professor of Health Economics at the London School of Economics, lays out to Phil and Roger what we can afford to do, and what we can’t afford NOT to do, to keep Britain healthy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are museums showing their age? Displays of dusty objects, looted or stolen during the imperial past, now, it seems not even safe in their cases. Is it time to reconsider what our museums should hold? And how we represent our past - and the past of other cultures? Dan Hicks, Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at Oxford University and Curator of World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers tells Phil and Roger that we don’t even know much of what our museums hold, and we need to rethink what we are doing with the collections. Brought to you by Wigmore Associates Wealth Management Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 45th president of the United States will go on trial next March just as the campaign hots up to install the next chief executive of the world’s most powerful democracy. It will be the most turbulent election year since the civil war, with the prospect that Donald Trump could be competing from inside a prison cell. Joe Biden will be the oldest person ever to serve in the White House if he succeeds. And if he does, few think Trump supporters will accept the result. So what will happen? Thomas, Gift, associate professor in political science at University College London and founding director of the Centre on US Politics, guides Phil and Roger through the likely outcomes Brought to you by Wigmore Associates Wealth Management Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where have they all gone? The UK’s economically active workforce has shrunk. More of us are staying at home - some from ill-health, some retired early, some have given up looking for employment. At the same time, businesses are complaining they can’t fill posts, and unemployment is at a record low. So wages have to rise to attract the few who might actually apply. What’s happening to the workers? Naomi Clayton, deputy director of research and development at the Learning and Work Institute explains to Roger and Phil how we got here, and what needs to be done to get Britain back to work. Brought to you by Wigmore Associates Wealth Management Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China is dealing with deflation and stagnation - the world’s second biggest economy has failed to bounce back out of Covid, and that will affect us all. So why is this happening, just as most other major economies are beginning to emerge from post-Covid inflation? Is it the iron control of the Communist Party on a capitalist system? Is it Chinese consumers failing to consume? And what happens when the state fails to deliver on the social contract with its people - that prosperity is the reward for staying out of politics? Kent Matthews, Professor of Banking and Finance at Cardiff Business School tells Phil and Roger what to expect as Beijing tries to get to grips with the problem. Brought to you by Wigmore Associates Wealth Management Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are there any Conservative MPs confident of keeping their seats in next year’s election? The awful poll numbers keep rolling in, along with gloomy economic headlines and a sense of a government in office, but not in power. Can the Tories pull out of their nosedive? Or is Europe’s most successful vote-winning political force doomed to a defeat as spectacular as the one they handed Labour back in 2019? Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, outlines the Tories’ challenges to Phil and Roger, and how all this will shape the next decade of UK politics. Brought to you by Wigmore Associates Wealth Management Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should a business be able to choose its customers? If a bank doesn’t support your politics, should they be able to de-bank you? Nigel Farage’s closed account has seen the resignations of the heads of NatWest and Coutts, but will it also see a change in the rules to prevent discrimination on grounds of political opinion? Dr Aine Clancy of Liverpool University tells Phil and Roger what the law says, and how far any company can or should refuse to do business with those it doesn’t like. Brought to you by Wigmore Associates Wealth Management Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.