The Rest Is Money
Goalhanger
Robert Peston and Steph McGovern bring you insightful business and finance stories.Join Robert Peston and Steph McGovern as they delve into the key challenges and opportunities facing today’s business world. From the complexities of tech investments to the impact of political decisions on global markets, this podcast offers valuable perspectives on current financial topics. Whether discussing business funding, economic policies, or corporate strategies, they provide listeners with the tools to understand today’s fast-evolving market.Each episode brings expert analysis on important issues, including market regulations, economic recovery, and the forces shaping the future of work. Robert and Steph bring you the latest insights from influential leaders and top entrepreneurs, making this podcast a must-listen for anyone interested in business growth, financial trends, and the evolving economic landscape.For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
34 snips
May 12, 2026 • 45min
278. Can any Starmer rival rescue the economy?
They debate whether Labour can deliver real growth amid political turmoil and rising borrowing costs. They unpack how bond markets and the pound react to instability. They weigh policies like shifting tax from wages to assets, equalising capital gains and income tax, and the pros and cons of nationalising steel. They explore leadership choices and what would convince markets of fiscal credibility.
22 snips
May 10, 2026 • 50min
277. How to make green energy a vote winner
Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of the Climate Change Committee and former head of Energy UK, explains why the UK’s energy pricing feels broken. She breaks down how renewables cushion price shocks and why marginal pricing can misfire. They explore faster demand-side fixes like insulation and heat pumps, political hurdles, and how to craft bill-relief plus infrastructure that voters will accept.
May 6, 2026 • 53min
276. Will bond market vigilantes see off Starmer’s rivals?
Could bond markets protect a fragile government even after electoral humiliation? They unpack Bank of England scenarios for oil shocks, inflation and who shoulders higher rates. They debate whether green policies can revive growth and how defence and welfare costs strain public finances. They also explore AI’s potential to both create demand and displace jobs, using Jevons Paradox as a historical lens.
42 snips
May 3, 2026 • 43min
275. The Debt Paradox: Britain’s Hidden Credit Crisis
Vikki Brownridge, CEO of StepChange with 20+ years in debt advice, explains Britain’s hidden credit crisis. She discusses rising priority arrears, more working families seeking help, coerced debt and the strain on advice services. The conversation covers policy fixes, energy and council tax arrears, and how tech and early support could help people get back on track.
70 snips
Apr 29, 2026 • 44min
274. Would rejoining the EU be the best growth strategy?
Nick Bloom, Stanford economics professor known for work on productivity and Brexit costs, discusses his 6–8% GDP loss estimate. He explains methods for measuring the hit, how trade frictions and long uncertainty hurt growth, why an orderly approach might have reduced damage, and what rejoining the EU would mean economically and politically.
14 snips
Apr 26, 2026 • 53min
273. How angry are business leaders with the government?
They dig into vetting scandals and why personality can blind organisations to past misconduct. Political turmoil and succession questions swirl around recent Whitehall leaks. Shipping tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and global oil risks get linked to rising inflation and markets. Debate over North Sea drilling, energy bills and long-term policy trade offs rounds out the conversation.
37 snips
Apr 22, 2026 • 53min
272. Is Anthropic holding businesses to ransom?
Sebastian Mallaby, author and historian of finance and technology, discusses his book The Infinity Machine about Demis Hassabis and DeepMind. He covers Anthropic’s Mythos and its cyber‑capabilities. He debates restricted access to powerful AI, OpenAI’s finances and culture, the AI race and DeepMind’s sale to Google. He also traces Hassabis’s rise from chess prodigy to scientific leader.
26 snips
Apr 19, 2026 • 51min
271. Youth unemployment - a national emergency?
Alan Milburn, former UK health secretary and social mobility chair now leading a review into youth NEETs. He outlines who the one million young people are and where they live. They explore links from early childhood to mental health and lifetime scarring. They discuss labour-market bottlenecks, reforms like wage subsidies and apprenticeships, and local taskforces and sports foundations reaching young people.
18 snips
Apr 15, 2026 • 47min
270. AI minister: How we build a trillion dollar AI company
Kanishka Narayan, the UK’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Online Safety, leads AI policy and the sovereign AI fund. He discusses the £500m sovereign AI fund, plans to anchor and scale homegrown AI firms, balancing public and private finance, and national strategies on skills, safety, compute and catastrophic-risk preparedness.
112 snips
Apr 12, 2026 • 54min
269. Monzo founder: AI will kill income tax
Tom Blomfield, fintech entrepreneur and Monzo cofounder now at Y Combinator, outlines how AI could reshape work and taxation. He discusses AI matching the internet revolution, coding models writing most code, and professional services being automated. He proposes taxing compute and building sovereign data centres to fund public services and preserve economic leverage.
