Business Daily
Episodes
Men and cosmetic surgery
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More men have considered cosmetic treatments during the pandemic. Has spending more time at home staring at ourselves in video conferencing made us mo...
Moon missions and space junk
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
2021 was another year of firsts in the ever-expanding industry around space, as we moved towards space tourism as a reality. But what about NASA, and ...
Harry Potter and the phenomenally profitable franchise
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's 20 years since the first Harry Potter film was released and the movies and books have spawned a world of wizard-related retail opportunities. Eli...
Business Weekly
25 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this edition of Business Weekly, we’re looking at the rising cost of energy across Europe, and hear from Emma Pinchbeck of Energy UK on how produ...
The ghost of Christmas yet to come
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What will be left of human civilisation in the geological record 100 million years hence?Justin Rowlatt speaks to the geologist Jan Zalasiewicz of Lei...
China prepares to face down Omicron
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The new variant poses a particular threat to China's hitherto successful zero-Covid strategy at a time when the country's economy is looking vulnerabl...
Lockdown, rebound, lockdown
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
2021 has seen some extraordinary economic changes. First a global economic rebound, then a global supply chain crisis, then inflation of a kind not se...
Millions still not back at school
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The World Bank says this could cost the global economy $17 trillion. Coronavirus brought education systems across the world to a halt. At its height m...
End of the roads
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Roads? Where we’re going, do we need roads? Some countries think they've already got too many. In the face of a climate catastrophe, the Austrian an...
Business Weekly
18 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this edition of Business Weekly, we’re looking at rising inflation in Turkey, and hear how different communities are trying to live during a peri...
High risk investing
17 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why has it become so popular for millions of young people? Has the failure of conventional nest-eggs, rising student debt and high property prices for...
The Turkish lira and red hot inflation
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The official inflation rate in Turkey is above 21% and the value of the lira has plunged by nearly half this year. Victoria Craig hears from families,...
The Meta data centre dilemma
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What is at stake when a big company like Meta comes knocking on your door? The small Dutch town of Zeewolde is grappling with this. Meta - the parent ...
The pet food gold mine
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The pet food industry is a multi billion dollar business but are premium brands - with premium ingredients - worth spending more money on? And could i...
The problem of parasites: who pays for neglected tropical diseases?
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Leishmaniasis may not be a household name in much of the rich world, but the parasitic disease is found in over 90 countries, and can lead to agonisin...
Business Weekly
11 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this edition of Business Weekly, we look at Germany to see how the change in chancellor from Angela Merkel to Olaf Scholz may impact the direction ...
Blacklisted in China
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lithuania has provoked China's rage by going too far in recognising Taiwan. Beijing is now apparently blocking Lithuanian imports and is even threaten...
The arms race in cyberspace
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Will the next war be waged online? Ed Butler talks to Nicole Perlroth, winner of the 2021 Financial Times Business Book of the Year for This Is How Th...
Healthcare workers are burnt out
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What can be done to stem the tide of carers quitting the industry? Before the pandemic the healthcare sector struggled to recruit enough workers. Toda...
Super-fast grocery delivery apps are booming
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
But are apps that deliver from the shop floor to your front door in minutes just a pandemic-era fad or are they here to stay? Have you ever been in a ...
Why private adoption is big business in the US
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At any given time, about a million American families are looking to adopt and most prefer newborns. The industry is regulated on a state-by-state basi...
Business Weekly
04 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The world’s biggest clothing retailer, Inditex, has a new boss, the 37-year old daughter of the company’s founder. Will Marta Ortega manage brands...
The Omicron variant and vaccine inequality
03 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Could a more equitable global vaccine rollout have stopped the new variant? As the world waits for more information about just how contagious and dang...
The collapse of Enron: Did we learn the lessons?
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The collapse of the US energy giant Enron remains one of the most dramatic scandals in modern capitalism, but 20 years on did we learn any of the less...
Wind of change in Germany
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can the ambitious renewable energy plans of the incoming government overcome domestic nimbyism and Russian gas politics?Ed Butler hears from one membe...
The kleptocrats club
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Authoritarian regimes are working closer than ever to keep each other afloat - with plenty of help from the West's financial system.Ed Butler speaks t...
The plight of girls under the Taliban
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Afghanistan, high schools are currently closed to girls, and women have been banned from TV dramas. So how hard is life for the female half of the ...
Business Weekly
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Business Weekly, we look at inflation in different countries, and in particular, how price rises are hitting the citizens of Turkey and the United ...
The coming cleantech mining rush
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can the minerals needed to decarbonise the global economy be dug up fast enough? And can it be done without the human rights and environmental abuses ...
Why is Turkey's currency collapsing?
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Turkey's currency has been in free fall this week, reaching a record low against the US dollar. The Lira's collapse has been sparked, in part, by Pres...
Baristas of the world unite!
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York, are this month balloting to join a union - part of a surprise post-pandemic trend in union activism across Ame...
How to live to 150
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Would you want to live to 150? With leaps in technology, science and medicine, it's becoming an increasingly realistic possibility.Elizabeth Hotson ta...
Texas abortion laws
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Texas has introduced the most stringent abortion law in America. Tamasin Ford assesses some of the reaction to this law by employers and employees who...
Business Weekly
20 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Business Weekly, we look at the new wave of Covid-19 that’s hitting several European countries. We hear how the different take-up rates of vaccin...
Why toilets matter
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Happy World Toilet Day! It is that day of the year when we all need to overcome our embarrassment and discuss what is normally a taboo topic. Hundreds...
Hunger crisis in Afghanistan
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is it time to stop the freeze of the country's financial assets and donor aid or will that just legitimise the Taliban? Ed Butler speaks to John Sifto...
Period pants, poverty and the environment
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can this multi-million dollar industry help the climate and fight period poverty? Tamasin Ford speaks to Marisa Meltzer, a writer in New York who rece...
Stalkerware: Tech-enabled domestic abuse skyrocketing
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the number of devices infected with stalkerware rising by over 60% in a year, many are worried about the consequences. Ivana Davidovic speaks wit...
What did the climate talks achieve?
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What was really at stake at the COP26 negotiations in Glasgow, and how much have the politicians done to avert a climate disaster?Justin Rowlatt speak...
Diversity at the top
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why is the black community still so poorly represented in leadership positions? We speak to the changemakers who are doing something about it. Kike On...
Business Weekly
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Business Weekly, we take a look at the splitting up of a 129-year old behemoth. General Electric announced that it will divide itself into three se...
Hong Kong, business and the national security law
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are Hong Kong's days as a major financial centre now numbered? The end of the pandemic has seen renewed economic growth. But some say tough anti-Covid...
Corruption in Afghanistan
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The former finance minister from the collapsed Afghan government, Khalid Payenda, tells Ed Butler that it was brought down by rampant corruption at a ...
EU's green new deal and Africa
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Will Africa’s economic development be held back for the world’s net zero climate targets? And could banning investment in their fossil fuels do mo...
Can sewage spewing into UK waters be stopped?
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sewage entered British waters for around 3 million hours in 2020 in over 400,000 pollution incidents. Hugo Tagholm, chief executive of Surfers Against...
Business Weekly
06 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As global leaders jet out of Glasgow, leaving the hard bargaining to their delegates, Business Weekly looks at what the pledges made so far really mea...
Nigeria's eNaira: Africa's first digital currency
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Central Banks around the world are introducing digital currencies and last month Nigeria became the first African country to launch one - the eNaira. ...
Is inflation making a comeback?
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Inflation has hardly been seen in the developed world economies for the last three decades. But now some economists are warning it could be returning ...
Guy Hands on deal making and private equity
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Guy Hands, the founder of Terra Firma, opens up on the highs and lows and risks involved in deal making and private equity. From being bullied at scho...
Buy now, pay later
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The future of credit for the young, or just another way of getting into debt? Would you pay for a product now, when you could simply delay payment for...
Silicon Valley and the climate crisis
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the world focuses its attention on climate, we’re looking to the money that could create real change. Venture capital is the type of financing th...
Business Weekly
30 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As world leaders gather in Glasgow in Scotland for the UN’s global climate conference, COP26, we ask if a new project partnering with the private se...
Trophy hunting: Money and morality
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Trophy hunting – paying to kill large animals, often in African game reserves – promotes strong feelings. Many oppose it, but some conservationist...
The $200,000 starting salary
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How does a $200,000 starting salary sound? That’s now the industry standard for newly qualified lawyers at big corporate law firms in the US and the...
Net zero: Do corporate pledges make any difference?
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Around one fifth of the world’s 2000 largest public firms have committed to net zero targets in the coming years. Most are pledging to something cal...
Can global shipping go green?
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fergus Nicoll travels to the port of Workington in the north west of England, where he hears from port manager Sven Richards about how small regional ...
Saving the Amazon with economics
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest but this crucial carbon sink is facing increased deforestation. Land clearing for mining or agriculture h...
Business Weekly
23 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the Swiss bank Credit Suisse is fined $475m for participating in Mozambique’s tuna bonds fraud, on Business Weekly we find out how the southern A...
Big fat Indian weddings
22 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are the days of the big fat Indian wedding over? Since Covid Indian weddings have got a lot smaller. But will they go back to what they once were? Rah...
'Fixing' Facebook's algorithm
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The social media giant's algorithm has been accused of amplifying divisive content and disinformation. Could regulating it make Facebook a kinder plat...
Ticking timebomb in the Red Sea
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Decaying oil tanker could trigger an environmental and humanitarian disaster. The FSO Safer is marooned off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, close t...
Bug burger anyone?
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is the Western diet ready for farmed insects in food? Although insects are consumed by more than two billion people worldwide, acceptance of them in t...
Rethinking the future: cleaning up big emitters
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We report from the Countdown summit in Edinburgh where fresh ideas to fight climate change are taking centre stage ahead of the UN climate talks, star...
Business Weekly
16 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of people in Afghanistan are living in extreme poverty as prices rise and salaries go unpaid. There are warnings that hunger will follow the ...
Eyes on climate: new ideas to fight global warming
15 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the world turns its attention to addressing climate change, Business Daily is in Edinburgh. We bring you an inside glimpse of the conversations set...
The supply chain's weak link
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How disruption in a single port, factory or freight centre can cause global chaos. Ed Butler speaks with Stavros Karamperidis, an expert in maritime e...
China's gaming crackdown
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why the government doesn't like video games, and what's next for China's gaming culture. Ed Butler speaks to Josh Ye, who covers gaming for the South ...
The economics of older mums
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why many women are delaying motherhood, how is technology helping, and what does the law say about all things fertility and the workplace. Zoe Kleinma...
The economics of donkeys
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are an estimated ten million donkeys in sub Saharan Africa, many providing crucial roles supporting the livelihoods of low income families. We ...
Business Weekly
09 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Business Weekly, with the site down and a whistle-blower’s testimonial, was this Facebook’s worst-ever week? We hear what went ...
Working in your 80s: The Artist
08 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Geraldine Robarts is a painter based in Kenya who has been exhibiting since 1958 and who still paints everyday, aged 82. Whether it’s a passion for ...
Life at Kenya's Dandora rubbish dump
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We go to Dandora, one of Africa’s largest rubbish tips. A court in Nairobi has ordered the dumpsite to come up with a concrete plan to close by Febr...
Big tech and carbon
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Google pledges to be carbon free by 2030. Ahead of next month's UN Climate Summit, the company has come out with new targets to become greener than ev...
Living in the metaverse
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are virtual online worlds the future of the internet? Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg thinks so. He is among the tech leaders who say we'll increasingly li...
Can technology transform emergency services?
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Getting to hospital in a medical emergency, in countries without a centralised ambulance service, can be critically slow. In rapidly urbanising Kenya,...
Business Weekly
02 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As China suffers its worst blackouts in over a decade, on Business Weekly we ask what’s causing the power shortages and what they mean for the rest ...
Smart cities and broken dreams
01 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do smart cities live up to the hype? Urban centres from New York to South Korea’s Busan are rebranding themselves as ‘smart’. From real-time cri...
Evergrande and China's property woes
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
China's second largest property developer, Evergrande, is at risk of financial collapse, saddled with billions of dollars of debt. It's already defaul...
Inside an influencer house
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We’re off to an influencer house, a luxurious mansion where social media personalities are temporarily living together to create content on behalf o...
Decentralised Finance on the rise
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Regulators are taking a close look at new crypto-trading environments, known collectively as Decentralised Finance, or DeFi. advocates say the technol...
Climate weighs on German elections
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The fight to succeed popular German chancellor Angela Merkel could not be tighter. In late July the country’s climate policies shot to the top of th...
Business Weekly
25 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In just over a month world leaders will meet for a decisive climate change summit - we’ll ask if politicians are willing to accept the end of expone...
Can Ethiopia be brought back from the brink?
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The country is embroiled in an internal war which has taken a huge humanitarian toll with thousands killed and millions displaced. But that's not the...
US war on e-cigarettes
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Food and Drugs Administration has withdrawn nearly a million e-cigarettes from the US market. Does this signal a turning point for the vaping indu...
World gas prices surge
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today small energy firms among those struggling to stay afloat as world gas prices spiral. Ed Butler hears from Peter McGirr, who runs Green energy, a...
Lebanon in dire need
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The new Lebanese government has been in place for a week, but with the economy still spiraling, Lebanese people lack confidence anything will be done ...
Business Weekly
18 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Business Weekly, we hear how internal research at Facebook found that social media was harming the mental health of teenage girls. In the UK, the R...
The business of seed banks
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Increasingly scientists are using genetic material from wild plants to make agricultural crops more resilient to climate change. To find out how, Rebe...
The US and its trillion dollar infrastructure bill
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The physical infrastructure of the United States is crumbling and businesses there are feeling the effects. So why is this bill that aims to restore r...
The future of vaccines
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The founders of German biotechnology company BioNTech were researching how to fight cancers using messenger RNA, "the unloved cousin of DNA", when cov...
Rethinking tourism in Africa
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tourism in Africa, even before the pandemic, was still not bringing in as many visitor dollars as it might. But, from stargazing trips to plans for a ...
Does sustainable investing make any difference?
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is corporate social responsibility, so called "greenwashing", really changing carbon emitting businesses or just making it look that way? Canadian bus...
Business Weekly
11 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this edition of Business Weekly, we look at why one of the poorest countries in Latin America, El Salvador, decided to make Bitcoin legal tender. W...
Where have the UK's lorry drivers gone?
10 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The UK's suffering a huge shortage of lorry drivers, but where have 100,000 drivers gone? The shortage is now having an impact on everything from chic...
Reviving Kenya’s ancient trading port
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lamu, once a bustling gateway to the Indian Ocean, has seen its fortunes decline in recent decades, not least because of its position near the border ...
Where next for AI?
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
AI will be the defining development of the 21st century and in the next two decades it is set to transform our lives. Kai Fu Lee, a former CEO of Goog...
Kenya and coronavirus
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
During coronavirus, while case numbers have seemed relatively low, there’s been a huge economic impact on many Kenyans. We hear from the BBC’s Mic...
Business Weekly
04 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Business Weekly, we hear from the World Meteorological Organisation which has been tracking weather-related disasters for the last 50 years. We loo...
Should you trust reviews?
03 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When are reviews real and when are they fake? We'll be asking a range of guests whether it's ok to be paid to do a review and how online sites can det...
OnlyFans flip flops on porn
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why did one of the world's best-known porn provider platforms, OnlyFans, decide to ban porn? The controversial site has become a global phenomenon ove...