We don't hear about Japan's economic miracle so much any more. Bubble Trouble (Sunday, 8.00 p.m., BBC 2) tells what happens in the last two decades when the yen went through the roof, the country's economy went off the rails and the bubble burst.

The most influential leaders in the fields of agribusiness, politics and farm organisations are brought to the fore in Ear to the Ground (Monday, 8.30 p.m., RTE 1). It reflects on how Irish agriculture has changed radically over the past 100 years and in particular the last 50. Mr Horace Plunkett, founder of the co-op movement and first minister for agriculture was voted farm leader of the century by readers of Irish Farmers Monthly and Mr Ray MacSharry, architect of the CAP reform was another award winner.

It's Your Money (Tuesday, 8.00 p.m., RTE 1) a new 13-part series starts January 11th and the first programme will examine car financing: what are you getting when you opt for one of the many packages on offer?

As homelessness and the use of bed and breakfast accommodation grows alongside house prices, Home Sweet Home (Tuesday, 11.05 p.m., RTE 1) looks at the story of local authority housing in the Republic. This six-part series recalls the State's attempts at solving the housing crisis early last century with the building of estates such as Marino and Crumlin in Dublin and Kileally in Limerick.

Your Money or Your Life (Wednesday, 8.00 p.m., BBC 2) that's what it can feel like in January after the seasonal excesses. Financial expert, Alvin Hall, is brought in to help three twenty-somethings who have a financial hangover.

sokelly@irish-times.ie