The professional services firm EY reportedly spent hundreds of millions of dollars preparing to split itself into separate audit and advisory companies. Then earlier this month it abruptly called the divorce off. EY is not unique. All of the "big four" accounting firms - including PwC, KPMG and Deloitte - combine the stodgy traditional business of audit with a fast-growing free-wheeling consultancy wing. 

On this week’s podcast, hosts Tom Lee-Devlin, Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird ask whether all four firms find themselves stuck in unhappy marriages. Professor Laura Empson of Bayes Business School retells how these one-time frumpy low-margin audit firms were beguiled by the glamour and big fees of corporate advisory work. Meanwhile Tom Rodenhauser, managing partner at Kennedy Research Reports, explains why the consulting units have now outgrown their auditing counterparts, and would do well to ditch them and go it alone.

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Fans of the popular television show “Succession” have been gripped by the family battle to take control of the fictional patriarch Logan Roy’s sprawling media empire. But across Asia family businesses are worried about their own, very real, succession battles as a new generation of plutocrats look to take over from their fathers.

On this week’s podcast, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin delve into the challenges facing some of Asia’s wealthiest families. Author, Joe Studwell, talks about some of the characters worrying about their legacy and Kevin Au from the Chinese University of Hong Kong explains how succession challenges can be overcome.

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Video game makers used to look to Hollywood for their inspiration. But in recent years, the market for games has grown to nearly $200bn, five times more than people spend at the box office and more, even, than they spend on streaming services like Netflix or Disney+. And that has caught the attention of the movie industry, which is now looking to game makers for its ideas.

On this week’s podcast, hosts Tom Lee-Devlin, Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird examine how gaming took over media. Bad Robot is one of the film and television production companies that has expanded into gaming. Tanya Watson, president of Bad Robot Games, explains what game makers can learn from cinematographers but also what she has to teach them. And former Spotify executive Nick Lightle discusses why it could take some time before the streamers take over gaming.

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Hosts Alice Fulwood, Mike Bird and Tom Lee Devlin take to the road this week with a single aim: bring economics to life. The mission takes them to some unexpected corners of the world and forces them to don some interesting attire. 

Inspired by The Economist’s A-Z guide, Tom travels to one of the UK’s largest sandwich factories for a lesson in efficiency. Alice visit’s George Washington’s estate to understand how mercantilism made America the country it is today. And Mike learns how Singapore has overcome the limits of its sea border.

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Few would have predicted that the demise of Silicon Valley Bank, a niche Californian lender, would be followed by the failure of Credit Suisse. But on March 19 the banking crisis reached Zurich, where regulators brokered a fire sale that saw the ailing 167-year-old bank sold to rival UBS.

On this week’s podcast, hosts Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird chart the spread of the crisis and examine its fallout. Richard Berner, a former advisor to the Treasury Secretary, explains: “Silicon Valley Bank was not systemic in life, but proved to be systemic in death.” And Huw van Steenis, who used to advise the chief executive of UBS, explains how the crisis has roiled bond markets.

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Until last week, most people beyond California and the tech world probably hadn’t heard of Silicon Valley Bank, but its swift collapse made headlines across the globe. 

On this week’s podcast, hosts Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird examine what brought the bank down and to what extent the panic has been contained–or might still be spreading. Peter Conti-Brown from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School says incompetence was behind the bank’s collapse. And former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers tells them the US government’s decision to guarantee deposits should be enough to restore confidence in the banks and prevent fear spreading.

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Robots are getting better and cheaper—and that means they will play a much larger role in our lives. They are already reaching beyond the car plants and warehouses, where they have become commonplace, to turn their mechanised hands to making cocktails and cooking chicken. But what will that mean for the economy?

On this week’s podcast, hosts Tom Lee-Devlin, Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird examine whether the rise of the machines is good for workers and hear from Korea, where there are more robots per factory worker than any other country on earth. Kim Povlsen, the boss of robot-maker Universal Robots, says greater automation is needed as populations age and labour shortages become increasingly severe. And Susanne Bieller from the International Federation of Robotics, a global industry group, gives a glimpse of what the future might have in store.

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China was the source of $1trn-worth of electronic goods and components in 2021, roughly a third of the global total. And it’s not just consumer electronics that begin their life in China. The country is the source of everything from childrens’ toys to medical equipment—it dominates the global supply chain. But manufacturers are increasingly looking elsewhere to make their products as China’s rising wages and growing tensions with the US make its factories less attractive than its neighbours.

On this week’s podcast, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin look at Asia’s alternative manufacturing hubs. Manmohan Sodhi, professor of operations and supply chain management at Bayes business school in London, tells them that manufacturing requires more than just factories—it also needs universities, labs and designers. Former diplomat and trade negotiator Wendy Cutler, who is now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, says today’s China-centric supply chain structure is no longer sustainable.

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The rise of Korea’s musicians from local celebrities to international superstars is credited to Lee Soo-man, the godfather of K-pop. The industry he developed gave rise to groups like BTS, which has been the biggest-selling band in the world for two years running. Now, Lee has sold most of his stake in SM Entertainment, the company he founded, to one of its biggest rivals.

On this week’s podcast, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Tom Lee-Devlin delve into the world of K-pop and examine how the businesses making one of Korea's newest export industries operate. Author, Mark Russell, tells them how K-pop went global. Analyst, Bokyung Suh, breaks down the secret to its commercial success, and explains whether fans should fear a potential K-pop commercial monopoly.

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Quantitative investors are known for their cool, mathematical approach to investing. They build models which search for patterns across huge data sets to discern where they should invest. The frenzied “bubble in everything” wrongfooted many quants in 2020–but the stock markets return to Earth, which crippled many traditional funds, generated huge returns for the quants in 2022. Nowhere was this clearer than in the performance of AQR Capital Management, a quant fund run by Cliff Asness. Its long-running strategy returned 43.5% last year, net of fees. 

On this week’s podcast, hosts Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird speak to Cliff Asness, the co-founder and chief investment officer of AQR, one of the world’s biggest quant fund managers. He tells them why he’s more open than his competitors and what still keeps him up at night. Sign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks  For full access to print, digital and audio editions, subscribe to The Economist at www.economist.com/podcastoffer

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