The Rest Is Money

Episodes page 2 of 6

1. 277. How to make green energy a vote winner

   10 May 2026 · 50 min

   Why is the UK’s energy pricing system so broken? Why must the transition to green energy be accelerated? And how can we make clean, renewable power the most affordable option for those on low incomes? Robert joins…

2. 276. Will bond market vigilantes see off Starmer’s rivals?

   6 May 2026 · 53 min

   Could the government’s creditors protect Starmer and Reeves, even if Labour is humiliated in the elections? How high are UK interest rates going to rise because of Trump’s Iran war? Has monetary policy stopped working?…

3. 275. The Debt Paradox: Britain’s Hidden Credit Crisis

   3 May 2026 · 43 min

   If household debt as a percentage of GDP is at its lowest since 2002, why are debt charities seeing record levels of demand? Is this a temporary problem because of the cost of living crisis or about much bigger…

4. 274. Would rejoining the EU be the best growth strategy?

   29 Apr 2026 · 44 min

   How much did Brexit cost the UK? Would rejoining make us much richer? And if US managers are PSG players, are British ones more like Aston Villa’s? Robert talks to Stanford Professor Nick Bloom about his influential…

5. 273. How angry are business leaders with the government?

   26 Apr 2026 · 53 min

   How long will Starmer cling on for? Will politicians sucking up to Northerners make any difference to the North South divide? What’s the latest with the Strait of Hormuz and how is it impacting global prices? How is…

6. 272. Is Anthropic holding businesses to ransom?

   22 Apr 2026 · 53 min

   Is it fair that only some businesses have access to Anthropic’s super-powerful Mythos AI, given its ability to pierce cyber defences? Will OpenAI go bust? Will Demis Hassabis win the AI wars? Robert Peston talks to…

7. 271. Youth unemployment - a national emergency?

   19 Apr 2026 · 51 min

   Why are one million young people not in education, employment or training? Is the benefits system part of the problem? Are schools out of date? What’s the alternative? Steph talks to former health minister Alan…

8. 270. AI minister: How we build a trillion dollar AI company

   15 Apr 2026 · 47 min

   What’s the point of the government’s new £500m sovereign AI fund? How is the government planning to avert AI Armageddon? Isn’t it time for AI to be permanently in the classroom not banned from it? Robert talks to AI…

9. 269. Monzo founder: AI will kill income tax

   12 Apr 2026 · 54 min

   Why are governments failing to notice how AI is replacing many jobs now? If AI replaces all or most jobs, how can governments replace all the lost taxes? Who will pay for public services and stop us from starving?…

10. 268. The price of financial hype

    8 Apr 2026 · 41 min

    What’s a ‘finfluencer’ and why are they getting in trouble with the regulators? How much of a problem is dodgy tax advice given on social media? What part does financial literacy play in all of this? And is the law…

11. 267. Can AI save the public sector?

    5 Apr 2026 · 37 min

    What difference would wider adoption of AI have in our struggling public services? Is it the answer to the UK productivity problem? Why does the government struggle to "buy British" when it comes to tech? And could a…

12. 266. Trump Turmoil: An investor's perspective

    1 Apr 2026 · 48 min

    A month into the war in the Middle East, what are investors thinking? Are we heading for a global recession? Who is most exposed? What are the options central banks and governments have for getting through it? What…

13. 265. Are we due another financial crisis?

    29 Mar 2026 · 56 min

    What does Lloyd Blankfein - former boss of Goldman Sachs - think is the biggest threat to financial stability? What did he learn from the credit crunch about dealing with risk? Was the investment bank the ‘vampire…

14. 264. Why the chair of Iceland Foods is not worried about their energy bills

    26 Mar 2026 · 44 min

    What is retail boss Richard Walker telling Kier Starmer to do in his new role as the PM’s Cost of Living Tsar? Why does he want a temporary cap on the profits of energy and oil companies? How does a supermarket like…

15. 263. Iran War: protecting the UK economy from the energy crisis

    23 Mar 2026 · 52 min

    Why is the UK economy the most exposed to the harm from Trump’s Iran war? How should Reeves respond? And with resources so tight, which families should be bailed out from rising energy prices? Steph and Robert explain…

16. 262. Does the Chancellor have a growth plan at last?

    19 Mar 2026 · 50 min

    The Chancellor claims she is finally focussed on growth, but is it too little too late? Will the EU agree to improve access for British exporters? How much of our taxes will she transfer to metro mayors and what will…

17. 261. Dire straits: Should the Royal Navy end the Iran oil blockade?

    16 Mar 2026 · 36 min

    How will Keir Starmer protect our living standards from the soaring energy costs caused by Trump’s Iran war? Can the Chancellor afford to subsidise our heating bills? And should the Prime Minister say yes to Trump’s…

18. 260. Iran War: why the poor will suffer

    12 Mar 2026 · 51 min

    Why are financial markets still failing to price in the true economic costs of "Trump’s war"? How is the UK facing a "double whammy" of both higher interest rates and declining living standards? Why is it considered…

19. 259. BONUS: Trump's War - why it's making us poorer

    10 Mar 2026 · 31 min

    Trump appears to be chickening out again, but has he stopped the wild market fluctuations? Is there another way to move vital energy and commodities that doesn’t involve going through the Strait of Hormuz? How much…

20. 258. How AI changes everything we should teach kids

    9 Mar 2026 · 54 min

    Why is AI changing every job? Why is it insane that schools ban students from using it? How did Marc Warner grow his British tech leader Faculty AI into a £1bn-plus company? Robert and Steph talk exclusively to Marc…

21. 257. Iran War: Are investors getting it wrong?

    5 Mar 2026 · 33 min

    Why hasn’t there been a dramatic increase in the price of oil since Iran’s retaliation aimed at key oil facilities and waterways? Are investors right not to worry too much yet? What will it take to end this? And…

22. 256. Will Trump’s war on Iran sink markets and the global economy?

    2 Mar 2026 · 37 min

    What are the consequences for oil and gas prices of Iran’s retaliation? Will the primary impact be higher inflation or lower growth, and what does this mean for interest rates? And are we heading for a stock market…

23. 255. Trump trade tariffs - who is calling the shots?

    26 Feb 2026 · 43 min

    Did Trump’s two hour ‘state of the union’ speech tell us anything we didn’t know? What’s next for trade tariffs? Will anyone get a tariff refund? And where does all this leave Keir Starmer and his 2025 trade deals with…

24. 254. The outsider’s edge: How Sir Michael Moritz built a billion-dollar empire

    23 Feb 2026 · 47 min

    What is the secret to scaling a startup into the next Google, Youtube or Airbnb? Why do you need an American on your board to be as successful as them? And what is Trump really motivated by? Plus why being an outsider…

25. 253. The truth about immigration - who is coming and who is leaving?

    19 Feb 2026 · 53 min

    What impact does migration have on the UK economy? Are we heading for net-zero migration and does it matter? Is the so called ‘brain drain’ a real thing? And why do politicians love talking about immigration so much?…

26. 252. The £1 trillion war chest: why the UK is stronger than you think

    16 Feb 2026 · 47 min

    Why can’t the UK shake its "confidence rut" despite having a £1 trillion savings buffer? How are global "populist" spending trends forcing the bond market to act as a fiscal referee? And is the UK actually poised to…

27. 251. The man who rumbled Mandelson: Dan Neidle's Epstein files investigation

    12 Feb 2026 · 47 min · Explicit

    How did friend of the show, tax lawyer Dan Neidle, manage to discover the true extent of Peter Mandelson’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein? What crucial information has Dan pieced together using Blackberry signatures…

28. 250. Business Secretary Peter Kyle: being let down by Mandelson & the UK-China relationship

    9 Feb 2026 · 51 min · Explicit

    Why does Peter Kyle think Mandelson was as brilliant as he was flawed? What impact will the new China deals have on UK growth? And does he care what Trump thinks about them? Plus Kyle’s plans to get the UK’s first…

29. 249. Epstein, Mandelson & the system that failed survivors

    5 Feb 2026 · 43 min

    How far does Jeffrey Epstein’s dark web extend into the global financial system? How much damage might Peter Mandelson have done by sharing confidential market sensitive details with Epstein? And why, despite decades…

30. 248. How Iran’s uprising has been driven by economic failure

    2 Feb 2026 · 54 min

    How is the mass civil unrest in Iran, and the brutal killing of protestors, linked to the collapse of living standards? Why have Western sanctions been a blunt tool? And how rife is corruption in the Tehran regime? In…

31. 247. Sir Keir in China & will there be aftershocks from Japan’s bond quake?

    29 Jan 2026 · 58 min

    What links Japan’s new prime minister with Liz Truss and Margaret Thatcher? Can Keir Starmer balance relations with Beijing without jeopardising ties to Washington? And why are Steph and Robert so worried about the…

32. 246. Why we need more businesses to go bust

    27 Jan 2026 · 43 min

    Why have US productivity and living standards outstripped the UK’s? Why is it good news that more British businesses are failing? And why is the challenge now to make sure younger, more productive businesses get the…

33. 245. The TACO president - Why Trump Always Chickens Out

    22 Jan 2026 · 47 min

    What is it that makes Trump back down? Why is Mark Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England, one of the only ones standing up to him? How strong is the EU’s hand in all of this? And why is the UK’s dependency…

34. 244. Why Lord Frost wants a Thatcher revival

    19 Jan 2026 · 42 min

    Does the negotiator of Britain’s exit from the EU accept Brexit has failed? What in Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget does he still endorse? What are his plans to revive the think tank that gave us Thatcherism? In…

35. 243. Identity crisis: why the government can't make up its mind about Digital IDs

    15 Jan 2026 · 56 min

    Are the u-turns on ID cards and business rates bad for the economy? Can the Northern Powerhouse Rail deliver what it’s promising? And why is Donald Trump strong-arming banks and oil companies in a way that looks more…

36. 242. Ignore the doomsayers - the UK is innovating

    12 Jan 2026 · 48 min

    Why is Britain’s innovation economy is the strongest in Europe? What can the government do to strengthen it further? And can the UK outperform even America and China? Steph and Robert sit down with 'professional…

37. 241. Greenland’s magnetic attraction: why Trump wants it all for himself

    8 Jan 2026 · 44 min

    Why is the Trump land grab as much about the economic war with China as it is about defence? How is his obsession with Greenland linked to magnets vital to energy, missiles and communication? And why are the PayPal…

38. 240. Levelling Up 2.0: What Actually Works for Regional Growth?

    5 Jan 2026 · 40 min

    Why is Slough twice as productive as Mansfield? What’s the secret to reviving the economy in the North? Can we save the high street in 2026? Steph and Robert speak to Andrew Carter, CEO of Centre For Cities, a leading…

39. 239. 2026 Predictions: a bubble bursts, Starmer’s only hope & Trump’s vulnerability

    1 Jan 2026 · 44 min

    Will Starmer survive? Who will win the economic war between China and America? Is 2026 when hope returns to Britain? Robert and Steph weigh up 2025 economic results and make some predictions for the year ahead.…

40. 238. How to prepare the UK workforce when 3 million jobs are at risk

    29 Dec 2025 · 42 min

    How much should school education be about workplace skills and how much about knowledge? Should businesses be more involved in education? Is the assessment of education all wrong? And should learning and qualifications…

41. 237. The extraordinary story of Britain’s first tech titan

    25 Dec 2025 · 56 min · Episode 237

    Who was Mike Lynch and how did his tech companies make him a billionaire? How did he avoid prison in an American fraud trial when he’d only given himself a 0.4% chance of winning the case? Why did his tragic death…

42. 236. What M&S can teach Starmer (Part 2)

    22 Dec 2025 · 35 min

    How Chairman Archie Norman and CEO Stuart Machin are turning round one of the UK’s oldest and most iconic businesses, and how the government should watch and learn from it. If M&S can be great again, so can Britain.…

43. 235. How M&S saw off the cyber criminals and its plan for the next 100 Years (Part 1)

    18 Dec 2025 · 47 min

    Is there any worse trauma for a business than a cyber attack? What should you do if it happens? Plus how do M&S decide when to close a store and, if it does, is that the final nail in the coffin for that town centre?…

44. 234. Is GB Energy Starmer’s missing growth plan?

    15 Dec 2025 · 51 min

    How is GB Energy building a third of Britain's daily energy requirements? Can it hit the government’s clean energy target? And how is it creating high skilled jobs and new cutting edge businesses? Steph and Robert…

45. 233. The Trump Doctrine: Why Europe Is Failing & Who Wins the Warner Bros Bid?

    11 Dec 2025 · 45 min

    What are the economic and business consequences for Europe of Trump’s National Security Strategy? How is the US president shaping Hollywood’s future as Netflix and Paramount fight for ownership of Warner Bros? And who…

46. 232. How British AI is inventing new materials

    8 Dec 2025 · 45 min · Episode 232

    How is AI being used to transform how we create new materials? Why did the young British AI company doing it raise most money outside the UK? How might this solve some of our biggest problems like climate change and…

47. 231. Can The NHS Afford The UK-US Pharma Deal?

    4 Dec 2025 · 52 min

    Why is the NHS paying more for new medicines? Will the government at last buy from British tech companies? How can the UK life sciences be more entrepreneurial? Lord Patrick Vallance, the government's Science,…

48. 230. Dan Neidle on how Reeves’ tax reforms will work

    1 Dec 2025 · 43 min

    Why wasn’t the chancellor more radical? How will the new mileage tax for electric vehicles be collected? Is the new mansion tax fair? Robert and Steph deconstruct the budget with tax expert Dan Neidle. Email:…

49. 229. BUDGET BONUS: Did the Treasury Lie?

    29 Nov 2025 · 37 min

    Why did the Chancellor and Treasury suggest the public finances are a disaster when they weren’t? Why did the Office for Budget Responsibility call them out? What is the true story behind the income tax u-turn. Steph…

50. 228. BUDGET SPECIAL: Where's The Growth?

    27 Nov 2025 · 41 min

    Do Reeves’s budget sums add up? Who will be hurt by her tax rises? And has she put saving her job above reviving the economy? Steph and Robert discuss. Find out how Google AI is helping fuel the UK's growth and…