Reality Check

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Reality Check

The Spectator

14 episodes

1 week ago

Reality Check – the new podcast from The Spectator – cuts through the spin and explains the numbers behind the noise. In each episode, The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons and in-the-know guests will make a data-driven case on a story hogging the headlines.

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All content for Reality Check is the property of The Spectator and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Business News

News,

News Commentary

Episodes (14/14)

Reality Check

2025: a year of tears, tariffs & taxes

Michael Simmons reflects on some of the economic highs and lows of 2025.

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3 days ago

33 minutes 30 seconds

Reality Check

Electrify everything! Octopus boss on Britain's energy problems

The Spectator’s Michael Simmons in conversation with Greg Jackson, CEO & Founder of Octopus Energy and non-executive member of the Cabinet Office Board

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1 week ago

18 minutes 56 seconds

Reality Check

Why Wes Streeting is right about junior doctors

Junior doctors, now known as resident doctors, will strike from December 17 to 22, which Wes Streeting has said will 'wreck Christmas'. The doctors are demanding a 26 per cent salary rise over the next few years to make up for the erosion in their pay in real terms since 2008 – this is on top of a 28.9% increase they have had over the last three years. Michael Simmons takes a look at their claim over the erosion of their pay in real terms, explains why Wes Streeting is right to call them 'moaning minnies' and offers an alternative solution instead.

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1 week ago

8 minutes 27 seconds

Reality Check

Are thousands of kids really living in poverty?

The Chancellor laid our her plans to scrap the two-child benefit cap in the Budget last week. Previously Rachel Reeves and the Prime Minister were against lifting the cap, but pressure from Reform and the back benches meant the government u-turned. The Resolution Foundation has backed this policy, arguing that it will help lift children out of poverty. But is this based on dodgy data? Michael Simmons investigates.

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2 weeks ago

9 minutes 28 seconds

Reality Check

Christopher Snowdon: the truth about Ozempic, obesity & the NHS

Lifestyle economist Christopher Snowdon joins Michael Simmons to explore how weight-loss drugs like Ozempic could reshape health, policy and the economy. From the WHO’s call for mass production to flawed obesity cost estimates, failing ‘nanny state’ interventions and the future of food companies, Snowden argues that these drugs are a genuine game-changer — and warns that much of current public health thinking is fast becoming obsolete.

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2 weeks ago

23 minutes 31 seconds

Reality Check

Rachel Reeves’s Budget is a shambles

As Budget days go, today was unprecedented. The complete list of measures announced by Rachel Reeves – along with their costings and economic impacts – was leaked by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) an hour before the Chancellor took to her feet. The OBR apologised and called it a ‘technical error’. The headline is tax hikes to the tune of £26 billion, income tax thresholds will be frozen again and the tax burden will hit a record high at 38 per cent of GDP. Was this the most farcical Budget in history?

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4 weeks ago

23 minutes 43 seconds

Reality Check

Benjamin Disraeli to Rachel Reeves – how each Chancellor drank their way through the Budget

Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her budget this Wednesday. Throughout the years, the only person permitted to drink inside the House of Commons is the Chancellor. What has been the tipple of choice for each Chancellor dating back to Benjamin Disraeli? Michael Simmons and James Heale drink their way through the ages, discuss the historical context of each budget, and question whether Rachel Reeves has the toughest job yet.

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1 month ago

34 minutes 31 seconds

Reality Check

Why British business is doomed to fail - and how to fix it | Entrepreneur Luke Johnson

Entrepreneur and investor Luke Johnson joins Michael Simmons to discuss what is going wrong for Britain's business. From soaring taxes and the Employment Rights Bill to net-zero regulation, planning failures and the rise in economic inactivity, Johnson argues the UK is becoming hostile to entrepreneurs — and warns that many are already leaving for good.

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1 month ago

28 minutes 9 seconds

Reality Check

Rory Sutherland: Britain isn’t working – here’s how to fix it

Advertising legend and Spectator columnist Rory Sutherland joins Michael Simmons to explain why he thinks Britain’s economic problem isn’t income, tax rates or even inequality — it’s property, rent extraction, and a national belief that housing is the safest and smartest place to store wealth.

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1 month ago

30 minutes

Reality Check

Datageddon: Britain's stats have become dangerously unreliable

Britain is facing a quiet crisis — its data is breaking down, and the government’s numbers are increasingly unreliable.

In this episode of Reality Check, economics editor Michael Simmons asks what happens when the state can’t count properly. How can the Bank of England set interest rates or the Treasury balance the books when the data they rely on is wrong? And why are so many “official” statistics now being stripped of their trusted status?

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1 month ago

12 minutes 8 seconds

Reality Check

Is Brexit to blame for Britain’s economic doom loop?

Rachel Reeves is preparing for her first major Budget – but is Brexit really to blame for Britain’s black hole?

Host Michael Simmons speaks to independent economist Julian Jessop about the OBR’s productivity downgrade, Labour’s tax plans, and whether Reeves is right to point the finger at Brexit.

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1 month ago

21 minutes 41 seconds

Reality Check

The rich are leaving Britain – and making you poorer

Are the rich fleeing Britain? That's what the numbers suggest, but some activist groups have hit back that the data is dodgy. For the second episode of Reality Check The Spectator's economics editor Michael Simmons explains why the data shows that the wealthy are leaving Britain, and why this matters for everyone else.

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1 month ago

13 minutes 56 seconds

Reality Check

Arthur Laffer: Britain is taxing itself to death

Reality Check, The Spectator’s new data-driven show hosted by economics editor Michael Simmons, kicks off with a big name: Arthur Laffer. The man who taught Reagan to cut taxes tells Michael why Britain’s economy is 'disappearing', why the Bank of England shouldn’t exist, and why he still believes low taxes – and a little optimism – can send Britain 'to the moon and the stars.'

Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.

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2 months ago

44 minutes 33 seconds

Reality Check

Reality Check – Trailer

Introducing... Reality Check – the new podcast from The Spectator – that cuts through the spin and explains the numbers behind the noise. In each episode, The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons and in-the-know guests will make a data-driven case on a story hogging the headlines. Follow to never miss an episode.

Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.

For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 months ago

35 seconds