Economics

Episode 1 | Inside the Bank of England

Filmed with unprecedented access, this episode goes inside the Bank to show how it prints our cash, ensures our money holds its value ...

Episode 2 | Inside the Bank of England

From preparing the British financial system for the possible impacts of Brexit to keeping billions of pounds worth of gold secure, thi...

Cuba with Simon Reeve | This World

Simon Reeve heads to Cuba to find a communist country in the middle of a capitalist revolution and asks if the new economic openness could...

The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

The extraordinary story of how a small Scottish bank grew to become the biggest in the world before collapsing and triggering the largest ...

11: The Metropolis | The Age of Uncertainty

Prof Galbraith looks at the economic and social forces that turned the magnificent conception of the princely city step by step i...

Privatisation of the water companies | Joe Lycett vs Sewage

Looks at the impact on performance from the privatisation of the water companies in the UK.

Smart Motorways: When Technology Fails | Panorama

The government says new technology will make existing stretches of smart motorway safe. But what happens when the technolog...

London's Stock Exchange: why aren't companies listing in Britain anymore? | The Bottom Line

After a year in which a number of big companies decided to list in New York rathe...

How Safe is Your Car? | Dispatches

With new evidence that some cars might not perform as well in real world crashes as their safety rating suggests, Dispatches asks: could m...

12: Democracy, Leadership, Commitment | The Age of Uncertainty

Prof JK Galbraith sets out on a physical and figurative journey to recapture his experience of democracy, comp...

02: The Manners and Morals of High Capitalism | The Age of Uncertainty

Professor Galbraith looks at the ideas that sustained the rich in the 19th century and how they still ...

Regulatory Capture | Joe Lycett vs Sewage

Impact of regulatory capture on the water market

The regulation of credit card companies | Panorama

Explains how the lack of regulation of credit cards can impact debt.

Reducing information gaps to reduce vet bills | Panorama

Reducing information gaps to reduce vet bills

Regulator intervention to reduce vet prices | Panorama

intervention to keep prices low

Intervention by regulators | Panorama

Understanding that rising prices and consumer exploitation in the vet industry are due to lack of competition.

Did Lloyds Bank Fail My Business? | Panorama

For 15 years, reporter Steve Brodie has been following the cases of dozens of entrepreneurs who say Lloyds Bank failed their bus...

Lord Mervyn King Remembers... The Age of Uncertainty | Remembers…

Former governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King looks back on the BBC's 1977 series on the history of ...

How should energy be priced? | Wake Up to Money

The government is due to decide very soon whether to adopt “zonal pricing” - i.e. whether people should pay different amounts...

The Torture Trail | Dispatches

Pfizer's Covid vaccine has saved millions of lives around the world. But with rising prices and record profits, is the drug firm profiteering ...

Surviving the Cost of Living Crisis | Panorama

Panorama follows three families, as they try to cope with what is predicted to be the biggest fall in living standards since t...

Episode 1 | Streets of Gold: Mumbai

India's one-percenters throw open their doors on a life of unparalleled luxury and decadence in the boom town of Mumbai, with vertical pa...

01: The Bank That Bust the World | The Love of Money

Statesmen and CEOs describe why the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 sparked a global recession.

Fruit and Veg | What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day

Ed Balls, Ade Adepitan and Cherry Healey delve into the hectic world of Britain's imports and exports. Ed is at London G...

Counting the Cost

Climate change, the COVID pandemic and now the crisis in Ukraine, have disrupted supply chains and exacerbated the soaring cost of living, leaving people o...

05: Lenin and the Great Ungluing | The Age of Uncertainty

JK Galbraith examines WWI as an instrument in changing the old social order, and especially Lenin, who spent most o...

Can Rachel Reeves Grow the Economy? | Newsnight

The chancellor says growth will drive every government policy. But can she deliver? And president Trump announces he'll house...

Is Britain Broke? | Panorama

Ros Atkins sets out to discover the truth about how our money is spent and why politicians keep running into trouble when they try to cut spending.

Immigration: Who Should We Let In? | Panorama

With concerns about immigration forming a key part of the vote to leave the EU, Nick Robinson explores what immigration the pub...

Green Politics | A-Z of Belief

Six young people challenge Andrew Simms on the practicality of creating a greener world today, while the Thompson Twins share their journey of...

02: Power | Thatcher: A Very British Revolution

Mrs Thatcher struggles to cling to power as the economy collapses, riots break out and she is subverted by members of her own...

Seafood | What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day

Ed Balls, Ade Adepitan and Cherry Healey look at seafood. Surprisingly, the fish caught off British shores are largely dispatc...

Episode 3 | Streets of Gold: Mumbai

As India looks to the coming century, a new generation is hoping to become the super-rich of tomorrow, and the actions they take today wi...

Immigration: The Inconvenient Truth | Dispatches

Rageh Omaar investigates how immigration has affected Britain. Using Enoch Powell's explosive 'Rivers of Blood' speech as a ...

What factors cause inflation? | Masters of Money

Explaining the hayekian view of how inflation is caused by a rise in the supply of money within an economy.

08: The Fatal Competition | The Age of Uncertainty

JK Galbraith visits the ruins of postwar Berlin, the corridors of power in the Pentagon and 'the world's largest used plan...

German exports | Europe on the Edge with Katya Adler

What goods does Germany export?

Corruption and crime | Europe on the Edge with Katya Adler

Looks at the impact of crime on economic growth.

The impact of pollution from economic growth | World's Busiest Cities

Looking at the impact of rising pollution on people of Delhi.

03: Back from the Brink | The Love of Money

The series on the global crash tells the extraordinary story of how politicians reacted to the crisis, and asks what has been lea...

Cabinet Confidential

One-off documentary providing an inside view of how Tony Blair and former prime ministers have run their cabinets. Featuring interviews, archive footage...

Episode 1 | Inside the Bank of England

Filmed with unprecedented access, this episode goes inside the Bank to show how it prints our cash, ensures our money holds its value ...

Episode 2 | Inside the Bank of England

From preparing the British financial system for the possible impacts of Brexit to keeping billions of pounds worth of gold secure, thi...

The role of the MPC | Inside the Bank of England

Inside decision making at the Monetary Policy Committee, with an introduction to the transmission mechanism of monetary policy.

Rising cost of elderly in the UK | Panorama

Explains the impact of an ageing population on public sector spending.

Black Wednesday

Five years ago Britain was in financial crisis. On a day when speculators made fortunes and the Bank of England lost billions propping up the pound, the prim...

Infrastructure spending on HS2 | HS2: End Of The Line?

The need for significant government spending on an infrastructure project is due to a lack of investment over many yea...

07: The Mandarin Revolution | The Age of Uncertainty

JK Galbraith looks at the influence of John Maynard Keynes, who drew the blueprint for the postwar economic boom, and re...

Introduction to inflation | Inside the Bank of England

Explains the MPC target for inflation and different types of inflation.

Sir Kier Starmer, Labour Party | Election 2024

Nick Robinson interviews Sir Keir Starmer in the run-up to the general election.

13: Weekend in Vermont | The Age of Uncertainty

Over a relaxed weekend, a distinguished international gathering at John Kenneth Galbraith's Vermont farm offer their views on...

Government spending | Masters of Money

Presents a case for increases in government spending in a recession.

Keynes v Hayek | Masters of Money

The arguments between government and non government intervention in the economy

The case for no government intervention | Masters of Money

Explores the arguments for governments not intervene in the economy.

Overview of Hayek | Masters of Money

A brief overview of the views of Hayek and why governments shouldn't intervene in the economy.

Government failure | HS2: End Of The Line?

Government failure in the provision of merit goods.

The cost of HS2 | HS2: End Of The Line?

Detailing the rising cost to build HS2 - a major new high-speed railway network connecting London to the West Midlands.

The UK economy and taxation | Panorama

The impact of tax increases on the UK economy.

The impact of increasing government borrowing | Panorama

Looking at the impact of rising government borrowing on government debt.

The UK benefits system | Panorama

Who claims benefits and what is the impact of a rising benefit system?

Cadbury Exposed | Dispatches

Undercover in Ghana, Antony Barnett investigates Britain's best-loved chocolate brand and reveals for the first time child labour in its supply ...

The Debt Saviours

Access-all-areas documentary following Christians Against Poverty, asking whether the charity's motivation is debt relief or bringing people to Jesus.

Episode 1 | Made in Britain

Evan Davis busts the myths that Britain was wrong to let manufacturing go abroad, and that it has become a nation of shopkeepers.

Episode 2 | Made in Britain

Evan Davis looks at how Britain's focus on the knowledge economy contributes greatly to the nation's bank balance.

03: Marx | Masters of Money

Stephanie Flanders examines the revolutionary and controversial ideas of Karl Marx which, as the global financial crisis continues, are once agai...

10 Years Old & Living in Poverty

Brand new documentary following three families coping with very challenging financial circumstances, all told from the unique perspective of...

Cars | What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day

Ed Balls, Ade Adepitan and Cherry Healey explore how much we really know about the logistics that enable Britain to buy and sell ...

How containerisation reduces costs | Why...?

Explores the benefits of economies of scale to reduce costs for globalisation.

Episode 3 | Made in Britain

Evan travels to Dubai to explore how the country's service expertise has been successfully exported around the world.

05: Downfall | Thatcher: A Very British Revolution

Mrs Thatcher's leadership style and judgement on Europe and the poll tax create splits in her cabinet and public anger, le...

Inside Assad's Syria | Unreported World

Ramita Navai spends two weeks undercover in some of the most dangerous parts of Syria with members of the opposition movement determi...

20/12/24 - Global economy 2025 | Talking Business

What's in store for the global economy in 2025? Will the spending of US consumers continue to be the bright spot that keep...

04: That Bloody Woman | Thatcher: A Very British Revolution

As Mrs Thatcher's government transforms the British economy, tensions erupt within her inner circle and personal ...

Containerisation | Why...?

Highlights the importance of shipping to globalisation.

The importance of tourism | Colombia with Simon Reeve

Explains the importance of tourism for a developing economy.

26/09/25 - India economy | Talking Business

Ben Thompson looks at India's economic options as it copes with 50 per cent tariffs on its imports to the United States and forg...

Episode 4 | The Americas with Simon Reeve

Simon Reeve travels through Texas and Mexico. In Texas, Simon joins the US Border Patrol, who pick up migrants who have illegally c...

Counting the Cost

Climate change, the COVID pandemic and now the crisis in Ukraine, have disrupted supply chains and exacerbated the soaring cost of living, leaving people o...

Wealth inequality | Simon Reeve's South America

Highlights how the use of local projects can combat wealth inequality within some of the poorest communities in South America.

Government intervention to support growth | Colombia with Simon Reeve

How do government policies to support economic growth?

Is University Really Worth It?

Comedian Geoff Norcott investigates universities to find out if a degree is still worth it. He meets students at war with their institutions a...

Should We Still Be Working from Home? | Panorama

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the way we work has been transformed, with many more of us working from home. But is that good ...

03: Enemies | Thatcher: A Very British Revolution

Mrs Thatcher confronts her enemies, leading the country to war, taking the economic fight to her opponents in the trade uni...

Driverless taxis | Panorama

Explores the costs and benefits of use of robots for everyday jobs

Will Robots Take My Job? | Panorama

As Silicon Valley plans massive changes in the workplace, reporter Richard Bilton investigates the rise of the robots and what it could m...

Episode 1 | Britain's Hardest Workers: Inside the Low Wage Economy

20 volunteers test their skills against some of the jobs in Britain's low-wage sector. In this episode, th...

03: The Dissent of Karl Marx | The Age of Uncertainty

JK Galbraith investigates the impact of Karl Marx on our economic interpretation of society. The life and work of Marx ...

Will all jobs be completed by robots? | Panorama

Exploring the issues that come with using robots in the workplace.

Food delivery robots | Panorama

Demonstrating the use of robots to deliver food in USA

Robots in the workplace | Panorama

Explores how robots may be used in the workforce.

The impact of growth on the supply of labour | Europe on the Edge with Katya Adler

Looks at the use of immigrant labour to support growth in an economy.

Inez: A Challenging Woman

Award-winning documentary exploring the life of renowned Northern Irish trade union leader and human rights campaigner Inez McCormack.

03: Breakthroughs and Backlash | The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland

Kirsty Wark navigates the devolution era and reveals what happens when women take the lead, from the s...

02: Having It All | The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland

Kirsty Wark explores the 1980s and 90s, when legislative leaps enshrined new rights for women. But with sexism rife...

01: The Disruptors | The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland

Kirsty Wark reveals how pioneering women of the 1960s and 70s seized the baton from previous generations and surge...

A Very Singular Man: A Film Portrait of Edward Heath

Edward Heath was one of the most controversial prime ministers of the 20th century. He took Britain into Europe, but was...

Britain's Lowest Paid Jobs - Part 4 | Britain's Hardest Workers: Inside the Low Wage Economy

20 volunteers take part in an experiment to test their skills against some of th...

Britain's Lowest Paid Jobs - Part 3 | Britain's Hardest Workers: Inside the Low Wage Economy

20 volunteers take part in an experiment to test their skills against some of th...

Britain's Lowest Paid Jobs - Part 2 | Britain's Hardest Workers: Inside the Low Wage Economy

20 volunteers take part in an experiment to test their skills against some of th...

Britain's Lowest Paid Jobs - Part 1 | Britain's Hardest Workers: Inside the Low Wage Economy

20 volunteers take part in an experiment to test their skills against some of th...

02: Chocolate | Made in Great Britain

This episode traces our love affair with chocolate back to York. Chocolate was transformed here from a luxury drink for the rich into t...

Infrastructure spending | World's Busiest Cities

Japanese government spending on Subway system in Delhi

06: Shoes | Made in Great Britain

The makers discover how Northampton dominated the shoe industry for centuries, becoming the shoe capital of Britain and exporting fancy foo...

05: Cheese | Made in Great Britain

The makers arrive in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, home of one of Britain's most loved cheeses, to discover its surprising story.

04: Pottery | Made in Great Britain

Exploring how Stoke-on-Trent dominated the global pottery industry, transforming from a collection of rural villages to a city that becam...

03: Hats | Made in Great Britain

This episode looks at Luton's glamourous secret. While today the town is famous for its airport, it is a little-known fact that it once led ...

01: Steel | Made in Great Britain

The makers experience Sheffield's transformation into an industrial powerhouse known as 'Steel City', famous throughout the world for makin...

Episode 1 | Britain’s Housing Crisis: What Went Wrong?

How politicians promised home ownership, but with policies that sent prices out of reach. Key figures from governmen...

The Truth About Long Covid | Dispatches

It's estimated that 500,000 people have long Covid in the UK. In Bradford, one of our worst hit cities, Dispatches asks if the NHS ca...

Government planning and building in New Delhi | World's Busiest Cities

The impact of central planning on infrastructure spending in Delhi.

Episode 2 | Britain’s Housing Crisis: What Went Wrong?

How the strain on Britain's housing - from new builds to social homes - reached breaking point. Key figures from gov...

01. The Prophets and Promise of Classical Capitalism | The Age of Uncertainty

John Kenneth Galbraith tells the story of the men who laid the foundations of economics, includ...

Beyond Utopia: Escape from North Korea

A documentary that takes a suspenseful, immersive look at the lengths to which people will go to gain freedom, following various indiv...

Rewiring Britain: The Race to Go Green | Panorama

With huge clean energy projects stirring anger across Britain, Justin Rowlatt meets the people taking sides in the battle o...

Renewable energy and policy targets | Panorama

Meeting energy targets with renewable energy.

Communism | A-Z of Belief

Six young people in a warehouse in Belfast pose many questions about communism to Mary Browning. Simon Booth also shares his ideas on the subject.

Market failure of salmon farming in Chile | Simon Reeve's South America

Externalities caused by salmon farming.

Tax the Fat | Panorama

With Britain now the fattest nation in Europe, reporter Shelley Jofre investigates the idea of a tax on junk food, travelling to Denmark where it has ...

Irrational Humans: How Our Behaviour Shapes the Economy (Professor Richard Thaler) | Radical with Amol Rajan

A Nobel Prize winning behavioural economist tackles some of the ...

Make Up | The World, My Stuff and Me

Short film exploring the secret life of a teenager's stuff - relating global consumer and economic issues to their everyday things.

Cash | The World, My Stuff and Me

Short film exploring the secret life of a teenager's stuff - relating global consumer and economic issues to their everyday things.

Jeans | The World, My Stuff and Me

Short film exploring the secret life of a teenager's stuff - relating global consumer and economic issues to their everyday things.

Negative externalities from water spills | Joe Lycett vs Sewage

Human and animal illnesses that are caused by dirty water spills.

Spillover costs from growth | World's Busiest Cities

Looking at the problem of rubbish pollution in Delhi.

Positive externalities in Brazil | Simon Reeve's South America

Learn about a local charity's efforts to stop land slides and improve education in Brazil.

The rising costs of vet bills | Panorama

Vet bills price inelastic good.

The Water Company’s Murky Business | Panorama

Reporter Joe Crowley investigates how Severn Trent hits environmental targets while dumping large quantities of sewage and as...

Lord Mervyn King Remembers... The Age of Uncertainty | Remembers…

Former governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King looks back on the BBC's 1977 series on the history of ...

RBS: Inside the Bank That Ran Out of Money

Charting how the Royal Bank of Scotland nearly collapsed in 2008, suffering a record corporate loss of 24 billion pounds. Featurin...

02: Power | Thatcher: A Very British Revolution

Mrs Thatcher struggles to cling to power as the economy collapses, riots break out and she is subverted by members of her own...

Cigarettes | The World, My Stuff and Me

Short film exploring the secret life of a teenager's stuff - relating global consumer and economic issues to their everyday things.

09: The Big Corporation | The Age of Uncertainty

JK Galbraith explores the modern large corporation - 'the most relentless force for change in modern economic life'.

Barriers to entry in the water market | Joe Lycett vs Sewage

An insight into the barriers to entry that exist in the water market.

The power of big business in the vet market | Panorama

How dynamic efficiency and rising prices in the vet market improves outcomes for sick animals.

Why Are Vet Bills So High? | Panorama

Over half of UK households have a pet, but vet bills have rocketed in recent years, increasing by almost 50% since 2020. Richard Bilton...

Did Lloyds Bank Fail My Business? | Panorama

For 15 years, reporter Steve Brodie has been following the cases of dozens of entrepreneurs who say Lloyds Bank failed their bus...

Digital Dominance: How to Limit the Power of Big Tech (Sir Nick Clegg) | Radical with Amol Rajan

Sir Nick Clegg reflects on the power and influence of tech companies, arguin...

The Torture Trail | Dispatches

Pfizer's Covid vaccine has saved millions of lives around the world. But with rising prices and record profits, is the drug firm profiteering ...

Killed by My Debt

Docudrama about 19-year-old Jerome Rogers, who found himself under a crushing debt and who eventually took his own life as a consequence.

04: That Bloody Woman | Thatcher: A Very British Revolution

As Mrs Thatcher's government transforms the British economy, tensions erupt within her inner circle and personal ...

The Highest Court in the Land: Justice Makers

In a film offering a glimpse of the human characters behind the judgments, four Justices of the Supreme Court talk about the na...

03: Marx | Masters of Money

Stephanie Flanders examines the revolutionary and controversial ideas of Karl Marx which, as the global financial crisis continues, are once agai...

Maxed Out: The Credit Card Trap | Panorama

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, millions are leaning on credit cards to make ends meet. Are regulators doing enough to pro...

The role of the Bank of England | Inside the Bank of England

Explains the role that a central bank has in the running of an economy.

The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

The extraordinary story of how a small Scottish bank grew to become the biggest in the world before collapsing and triggering the largest ...

Deciding the Bank of England Base Rate | Inside the Bank of England

A look inside to see how the MPC votes on changes of interest rates

Printing notes and coins | Inside the Bank of England

A look inside the Bank of England's underground vaults, where cages of freshly printed bank notes are stored ready for ...

The bailout of the Royal Bank of Scotland | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

Interviews with Mervyn King and Andrew Bailey, detailing the intervention taken by the Bank of...

Role of the Bank of England | Inside the Bank of England

Discovering how decisions are made inside the Bank of England.

06: The Rise and Fall of Money | The Age of Uncertainty

From the elegant banks of 17th-century Amsterdam to the dark days of the Great Depression, Prof Galbraith traces the ...

Bubbles and market failure | Masters of Money

Bubbles in the financial sector

The causes of the Great Depression | Masters of Money

Explaining the history of the Great Depression, the longest, most severe economic downturn of the 20th century.

The 2008 global financial crisis (part 3) | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

Explanation of the credit crunch, including subprime lending in US.

The 2008 global financial crisis (part 2) | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

Explanation of the credit crunch, including subprime lending in USA.

The 2008 global financial crisis (part 1) | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

An explanation of the credit crunch, including subprime lending in USA.

Why was RBS nationalised? | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

Understanding the reasons why the Royal Bank of Scotland was nationalised during the global financial crisis.

Communicating changes to interest rates | Inside the Bank of England

How interest rates are communicated with secrecy to the press.

Episode 2 | The Major Years

Tonight looks at Black Wednesday and the damage it did to Major's leadership. Both Major and Norman Lamont speak very frankly about their roles i...

Shareholder objectives | Joe Lycett vs Sewage

How is investment in the water companies affected by shareholder objectives?

When mergers go wrong | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

In 2007, RBS led a consortium to acquire Dutch bank ABN AMRO- a deal widely considered one of the biggest banking ...

Diseconomies of scale | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

When is a bank is too big to fail?

Innovation and dynamic efficiency | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

Innovation at RBS.

The problems arising from business mergers | The Bank That Almost Broke Britain

Explains how different cultures affect the effectiveness of business mergers.