Kalshi, Polymarket, and gamifying the future
Top Comment
BBC
4.0 • 545 Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Over the past year, prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have exploded in popularity, as users bet on everything from battles in Ukraine to sex toys being thrown at sports games. So with concerns over both regulation and the prevalence of insider information inviting intense scrutiny, Matt has been examining how these platforms really work.
Also on this episode, is the recent rise in measles cases in London down to disinformation? With several proponents of vaccine scepticism being welcomed back to social media, Marianna explains how these often discredited accounts are being amplified online.
And, as the viral story of Punch the monkey and his orangutan companion drives mass sales of an Ikea soft toy, we consider how brands are increasingly looking to profit from organic content through 'trendjacking'.
Top Comment is hosted by Marianna Spring and Matt Shea. The series producer is Laurie Kalus. The social producer is Sophie Millward. The technical producer was Jonathan Greer. The editor is Justine Lang. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
If you want to get in touch about something that's popped up on your feed, our email address is topcomment@bbc.co.uk or you can send us a WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.2 | Savings, credit cards, car finance, reclaiming, insurance, investing, power of attorney, decision, |
| 0:12.2 | indecision, analysis, paralysis. |
| 0:15.4 | Don't panic. |
| 0:16.4 | The Martin Lewis podcast is twice weekly, helping you navigate our complex consumer world. |
| 0:21.2 | I'll walk you through a big money saving topic step by step. |
| 0:24.5 | Then in question time, you set the agenda and ask whatever's on your mind. |
| 0:28.6 | Would you rather be locked in an empty shocking centre with a thousand snakes or just one gorilla? |
| 0:33.6 | Within reason. |
| 0:34.6 | The Martin Lewis podcast, listen on BBC Sounds. I'm really curious what your chair |
| 0:39.9 | feels like. Your chair's so bad. At some point I want to try that. By the way, if you're just |
| 0:44.5 | listening to this, Mariana, who's senior at the BBC to me, has a giant, luscious chair, |
| 0:50.1 | and I have a tiny pink one that forces me into the fetal position. You're chairmogging me. |
| 0:55.5 | And if you don't know what chairmogging means, |
| 0:57.8 | you have to listen to our previous episode, |
| 0:59.9 | the first episode of Top Comment, where we discuss clavicular. |
| 1:03.4 | We also spoke all about this concept of decline porn. |
| 1:06.6 | And I tracked down this guy who's made these AI-generator videos of Croydon in South London. |
| 1:12.9 | Now, in response to our episode, he has actually made a new video, |
| 1:16.6 | an AI-generated video showing Roadmen, as he calls them, taking over the BBC. |
| 1:21.2 | What, just like storming into the BBC? |
| 1:22.4 | Yeah, storming the BBC, climbing around on the news sort of desk, everything. |
... |
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