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This is Capitalism

This is Capitalism

A BBC Economics Collection

Summary

Five eye-opening BBC documentaries about the hidden economic framework that surrounds our every move.

Capitalism is all around us, affecting almost everything we do and impacting our daily lives in myriad ways. This comprehensive collection takes an in-depth look at this all-pervasive economic system, examining its triumphs and disasters and revealing how it puts money and markets at the centre of our world.

In the explosive 10-part series The New Age of Capitalism, Newsnight's David Grossman probes the factors driving the turbo-charged growth in contemporary commerce. Exploring aspects ranging from the 'intangible economy' and AI to the trillion-dollar tech giants, he asks key questions about the way modern capitalism works, and the consequences for society.

Insecure Overachievers sees leaders of elite City firms divulging the secret epidemic of anxiety and insecurity among elite professionals. Exceptionally capable and fiercely ambitious, they are driven by a deep belief in their own inadequacy, fostered by a competitive work culture that takes advantage of their vulnerabilities.

The Bailout tells the compelling story of the race against time to agree a rescue plan to save Britain's banks from going bust. Told by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with contributions from Alistair Darling, Mervyn King and Robert Peston, this is a blow-by-blow account of how events unfolded during one incredible week in October 2008.

The Money Clinic goes behind the scenes as families and couples open up about their finances and their feelings with a relationship counsellor. In frank, intimate discussions, they learn how to deal with the financial issues that are coming between them, and receive practical tips on managing both their cash and the emotional side of money.

And in Our House, we meet young Brighton couple Tacita and Charlie, who are desperate to buy their first home - but a property on the south coast is out of their reach. We follow them as, guided by a team of financial experts, they travel back in time to 1968, 1979, 1988, 1997 and 2009 to see which decade would have given them the best chance to get on the housing ladder.

Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The New Age of Capitalism
Presented by David Grossman
Produced by Diane Richardson and Matthew Chapman
Editor: Hugh Levinson
With: Jonathan Haskel; Stian Westlake; Tim Wu; James Williams; Diane Coyle; Andrew McAfee; Dr Asa Cusack; Professor Ricardo Hausmann; Fran Boait; Professor Sir Charles Bean; Brad Katsuyama; Professor Donald MacKenzie; Edward Luttwak; James Bloodworth; Joshua Kurlantzick; Dr Linda Yueh; Rana Foroohar; Joshua Ryan-Collins; Adam Lashinsky; Barry Lynn
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10-21 September 2018

Insecure Overachievers
Presented by Professor Laura Empson of London's Cass Business School
Produced by Jonathan Brunert
With: Jeremy Newman; Alex Michel; Jessica Carmody; Gerry Grimstone, Baron Grimstone of Boscobel; David Morley; Yuval Atsmon; Nigel Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 September 2018

The Bailout
Presented by Gordon Brown
With: Alistair Darling; Mervyn King; Robert Peston; Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera; Kirsty McNeill; Tom Fletcher; Nicolas Sarkozy; Sir John Kingman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 6 October 2018

The Money Clinic
Presented by Ruth Alexander
Produced by Smita Patel
Editor: Emma Rippon
Relationship counsellor: Dee Holmes from Relate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3-24 August 2019

Our House
Narrated by Katherine Press
Written and produced by Rosamund Jones and Paul Kerley
Production co-ordinator: Janet Staples
Sound engineer: James Beard
With: Charlie Chatwood; Tacita French; Jonathan Cribb; Professor Sharon Collard; Professor Claire Langhamer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26-30 August 2019

About the authors

David Grossman

David Grossman is the bestselling author of numerous works, which have been translated into thirty-six languages. His novel, A Horse Walks into a Bar, was awarded the International Man Booker Prize 2017. Grossman is also the recipient of the French Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the 2010 Frankfurt Peace Prize.
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Aditya Chakrabortty

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Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown served as Prime Minister of Britain from 2007 to 2010, during which time he is widely credited with having prevented a second Great Depression in the wake of the financial crash. Previously, he was Britain's longest-serving Chancellor from 1997 to 2007, masterminding many of Labour's proudest achievements including the Minimum Wage, debt cancellation for the world's poorest nations and major reform of Britain's monetary and fiscal policy. Since leaving office, he has dedicated himself to charitable work and is now United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Infrastructure Investors Summit and a Distinguished Global Leader in Residence at New York University. He lives with his wife, Sarah, and two sons, John and Fraser, in Fife, Scotland.

All Gordon Brown's proceeds from My Life, Our Times will go to the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory and Theirworld children’s charity.
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