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Simon Evans Goes to Market: The Complete Series 1-5
Simon Evans Goes to Market: The Complete Series 1-5
Dec 6, 2024 2:45 AM

Author:Simon Evans,Tim Harford,Simon Evans,Tim Harford,Full Cast

Simon Evans Goes to Market: The Complete Series 1-5

All five series of Simon Evans’ BBC Radio 4 show explaining economics through comedy

How do you make money funny? How do you put the comedy in commodity? In this BBC radio show, Simon Evans sets himself the challenge of making economics entertaining through comedic lectures, with the help of special guests including investment gurus, financial journalists and economists.

In Series 1 and 2, he examines the chequered social and economic histories of eight important commodities: land, gold, oil, grain, alcohol, tobacco, coffee and sugar. By looking at these fundamental products, Simon brings us to a closer understanding of how global economic forces have a far-reaching and often surprising impact on our lives.

Series 3 sees him exploring four of the stages that mark our journey through life – youth, marriage, birth and death – and how economics is part of every one of those stages, whether we like it or not. In Series 4, Simon looks at the concept of the ‘free lunch’ and shines a light on new ways of making money in the 21st Century, from social media and multinationals that appear to be operating tax-free to philanthropy and the cost of health.

Finally, in Series 5, he points his jokenomics lens at the competing theories of Macro Economics and the ‘Big Beards’ who devised them – Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes – and reflects on how they shape our world today, and how they can help us out of our current economic predicament.

Among his regular guests are Financial Times columnist and presenter of Radio 4’s More Or Less, Tim Harford; Timandra Harkness, author of Big Data: Does Size Matter?; and the Queen of investment know-how, editor-in-chief of MoneyWeek Merryn Somerset Webb.

Produced by Tilusha Ghelani (Series 1), Claire Jones (Series 2 and 3), Richard Morris (Series 4 and 5)

Reviews

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is a unique book, brave because it is personal. With unflinching honesty, John Perkins narrates his moral awakening and struggle to break free from the corrupt system of global domination he himself helped to create. This book possesses an immediacy which separates it from the numerous studies we already have of American Empire. It comes from the heart. I highly recommend it.

—— Michael Brownstein, author of World on Fire

When I read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, I could not have known that, some years later, I would be on the receiving end of the type of ‘economic hit’ that Perkins so vividly narrated ... Perkins has, once again, made a substantial contribution to a world that needs whistle-blowers to open its eyes to the true sources of political, social, and economic power

—— Yanis Varoufakis, former Minister of Finance, Greece

Must reading for those that know another world is possible! Perkins' story, however, is less about individual guilt and more about the systemic programming and tempting of males in patriarchal societies and their global power elites. Perkins' revelations shock us and illuminate how these same incentives in academia keep reproducing the compartmentalized worldviews and sophisticated economic models rationalizing inequity, greed, egotism, competitive self-interest and global expansionism via GDP-growth and debt.

—— Hazel Henderson, author of Beyond Globalization and Building a Win-Win World

I was hazy on the precise details of how third world debt came about, but after reading Confessions of an Economic Hit Man I consider myself rather better informed. And a lot more dismayed… it’s all here in toe-curling detail

—— Guardian

A sassy, genuinely hilarious and poignant tale... This marvellously addictive read is worth the cover price for its insider account of Obama's presidency alone.

—— Caroline Sanderson , Bookseller

Love and heartbreak, ambition and jealousy, whirlwind travel to exotic locales and more page-turning drama than your favourite addictive novel. Consider yourself warned: this is not your father’s White House memoir.

—— Camille Perri, author of The Assistants

An entertaining behind-the-scenes memoir of a young Obama White House staffer.

—— Lorraine Candy , Sunday Times Style Magazine

As someone who loves The West Wing, From the Corner of the Oval Office spoke to my geeky heart and gives great, sometimes surprising, insights into what it’s like to work for one of the most powerful person on the planet.

—— Sarah Shaffi , Stylist

Bright pink and zinging with energy and sparkle...this book beautifully recaptures those vanished days of Obama's gentle wisdom. What makes it stand out among fly-on-the-wall accounts of the White House is Beck's honesty about the roller-coaster love affair she embarks on with a senior staffer, a grade-one, Jilly-Cooper-novel rotter.

—— Daily Mail

Set against the backdrop of a White House full of glamour, drama and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman making unlikely friendships, getting her heart broken, learning what truly matters and discovering her voice in the process.

—— Glamour's best books to read in 2018

This memoir is good and gossipy, will make you wish that you got to hang out with Barack and Michelle on a daily basis and is the missing link between The West Wing and Bridget Jones’s Diary.

—— Red

An apolitical, fundamentally human story, and one with which many women will identify.

—— Refinery29

An entertaining, relatable and refreshingly frank guide to life in the orbit of the President... This lively, entertaining story offers a joyful nostalgia trip back to more hopeful times.

—— Express

An extraordinary behind-the-scenes glimpse into Obama's White House, from a young woman who stumbles her way almost by chance into a job as a stenographer amongst the inner circle of the West Wing. Dorey-Stein’s memoir navigates intimate liaisons and world history, from hotel gyms to Air Force One.

—— Vogue

This memoir by a former Oval Office stenographer is equal parts racy, pacy and funny. From barely keeping her head above financial waters in Washington DC to hopping on board Air Force One with Barack Obama and his elite team, Dorey-Stein doesn’t so much dish the dirt as mop up the mess left at her feet by the drama of politics and the heartbreak of romance.

—— Irish Independent

An incredible story

—— GQ

Delightful... a bit Legally Blonde. What's most surprising about this isn't the hot pink cover, it's that we haven't had such a book before. Washington DC is famously a city of eager twentysomethings who work and date within the same pool. Where has the workplace relationship comedy been this whole time?

—— Mail on Sunday

Hilarious . . . [Beck] Dorey-Stein writes with honesty and panache.

—— Publishers Weekly

If you’re like me and you pour yourself a cocktail and look at pictures of Obama and cry, you will adore From the Corner of the Oval. If you’re a normal person who ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in a singularly historic place in time, you will find this book fascinating. Beck Dorey-Stein’s warmth, humor, and keen view made me wistful, happy, hopeful, and only sad when the book ended.

——
Julie Klam, author of The Stars in Our Eyes

An insider account of Obama's presidency in this fascinating memoir by former White House staffer Beck Dorey-Stein

—— Good Housekeeping

Intriguing and funny

—— Prima

A White House story with shades of Bridget Jones... Dorey-Stein is perceptive and has made an unusually interesting contribution to the groaning shelves of presidential history.

—— Evening Standard

For five years Beck Dorey-Stein was a stenographer in the White House, giving her a front-row seat as US political history was made.

—— Observer

[This] breezy page turner is essentially Bridget Jones goes to the White House.

—— New York Times

Hilsum is a former colleague, well placed to chart her friend’s life, with an especially brilliant account of her final week, where Colvin’s exposure to peril again went beyond the call of duty

—— Strong Words

Superb and moving

—— Emma Lee-Potter , Independent, **Books of the Year**

[Hilsum’s] tone is admiring but never adulatory, and her book is richly informed by her close knowledge of the events described… [an] excellent book

—— Caroline Moorehead , Times Literary Supplement

Lindsey Hilsum… in this account… [shows] just how brim full of life and heart Colvin was: from the start to the finish of her brilliant career, and of her sassy, rambunctious life

—— Barney Bardsley , On: Yorkshire

[An] excellent biography… I found it inspirational

—— Ann Treneman , The Times

This is a remarkable book, deeply moving, disturbing in its sometime intensity… such is the power of Lindsey Hilsum’s book

—— Tony Jasper , Methodist Recorder

Colvin’s tumultuous life has inspired a number of recent accounts… it is Hilsum’s biography, written by a woman who both knew Colvin and had access to her unpublished reporting notes and private diaries, that seems to most closely capture her spirit.

—— The New Yorker

Hilsum writes with admiration and compassionate understanding of her colleague, and of their collegial friendship that gets close to what we can, without sentiment, call love.

—— The New York Review of Books

A refreshing take on the ecology of modern economics . . . This book serves as a fascinating reminder to business leaders and economists alike to stand back at a distance to examine our modern economics.

—— Best Business Books of 2017 , Forbes

I am loving Kate Raworth’s book Doughnut Economics. It puts inequality in a far broader context, connecting a great many 21st century problems with a single vision. Every business leader and every policy maker should read it.

—— Tim O’Reilly

What if it were possible to live well without trashing the planet? Doughnut Economics succinctly captures this tantalising possibility and takes up its challenge. Brimming with creativity, Raworth reclaims economics from the dust of academia and puts it to the service of a better world.

—— Tim Jackson, author of PROSPERITY WITHOUT GROWTH

Kate Raworth makes a powerful argument to look beyond economic growth alone for a true measure of prosperity and progress . . . The doughnut offers a vision for an equitable and sustainable future.

—— Intelligent HQ

This book gave me faith that there is an alternative story to tell to the neoliberal narrative.

—— Marcus de Sautoy

Finding a healthy alternative to the prevailing growth model that has strained the planet to bursting is the holy grail of environmental economics. And it looks like maybe we’ve found it . . . It’s hard to understate how exciting this revelation is

—— Inhabitat

This is truly the book we've all been waiting for. Kate Raworth provides the antidote to neoliberal economics with her radical and ambitious vision of an economy in service to life. Given the current state of the world, we need Doughnut Economics now more than ever.

—— L. Hunter Lovins, president and founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions

I read this book with the excitement that the people of his day must have read John Maynard Keynes’s General Theory. It is brilliant, thrilling and revolutionary. Drawing on a deep well of learning, wisdom and deep thinking, Kate Raworth has comprehensively reframed and redrawn economics. It is entirely accessible, even for people with no knowledge of the subject. I believe that Doughnut Economics will change the world.

—— George Monbiot, author and Guardian columnist

Raworth’s groundbreaking book hand-picks the best emergent ideas – ranging from ecological, behavioural and institutional economics to complexity thinking, and Earth-systems science – to reveal the insights of eclectic economic re-thinkers . . . Revolutionary.

—— Judges' Statement, The Transmission Prize 2018

In Doughnut Economics Raworth takes on the enormous task of sketching out a new approach to the economy in 290 pages . . . A dizzying whirl through the 300 years of economic theory, and challenges to their fundamental principles

—— City A.M.

One of last year's most important books on (fixing) economics

—— Best Books on Innovation , Nesta

A good starting point for a much needed debate about economic policy priorities.

—— Reuters BreakingViews

Highly informed and intelligent.

—— Socialist Review

[Raworth’s] business-friendly 2017 book Doughnut Economics advocated meeting the needs of all within the means of the planet.

—— 1000 Most Influential Londoners , Evening Standard

Powerful and radical

—— Building.co.uk

It's an absolute must-read about the circular economy and an economic model beyond capitalism.

—— Sam Galsworthy, co-founder of Sipsmith , The Grocer

Excellent

—— Ben Cooke , The Times

It’s the first book about the future economy that I can’t put down!

—— Frances Morris , ELLE Decoration

A fascinating look at future economic policy

—— U2’s The Edge , Daily Telegraph

Kate is not the first person to try to reconcile economic growth with our world's finite resources . . . but her book makes a complex thesis accessible.

—— George Alagiah , New Statesman

One of the best books I have read in the last year or two was Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth, an economist. She puts economics into the framework of society and the environment, rather than at the top. I recommend it to all.

—— Lord Greaves

In Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth's economics serve life - not the endless growth of late capitalism. Compellingly, she invites us to see the economy as an organism rather than a mechanism. By referring to our knowledge of natural systems instead of the machine models of Newtonian mechanics, she offers us a way to reimagine money in order to regenerate rather than degenerate. In this wonderful, readable book, Raworth completely rewrites the textbooks of economic theory in language that is lucid and inspirational: a must read!

—— Antony Gormley , GQ

Raworth radically redraws the system, putting people's needs at its heart . . . with growth bound by an ecological ceiling, the outer edge of the circle, beyond which there is climate change, freshwater stress and biodiversity loss. The doughnut is the safe space where there can be sustainable development.

—— Conde Nast Traveller

An accessible, relatable account that relays academic thinking back to everyday lives and communities.

—— Best Books on Climate Change , Independent
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