Business Daily

Vatican reforms see a cardinal on trial

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ten people, including an Italian cardinal, will face a Vatican trial for alleged financial crimes. Cardinal Angelo Becciu has become the highest-ranke...

Chefs call time on abusive practices

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is it time the old trope of the brilliant, angry chef gets retired for good? Michelin-starred chefs are often famous for their skill, precision and pa...

Business Weekly

17 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Global economies are starting to see the return of inflation after a long period of low prices and low interest rates. Central bankers seem pretty cal...

Amazon's fake reviews problem

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Online marketplaces are being flooded with bogus reviews. Is the whole model of ecommerce under threat? Rebecca Kesby speaks to Neena Bhati from UK co...

Carlos Ghosn speaks out

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Carlos Ghosn was the superstar chairman of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance, one of the largest automakers in the world. Now, he’s an exile fr...

Why gin is still fizzing

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From its early reputation as mothers’ ruin to its prime spot in upscale cocktail bars, we tell the story of the juniper-infused spirit. And as the ...

Tokyo Olympics: Battle of the super shoes

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As we head towards the postponed Tokyo Olympics, the world’s eyes will be on athletics. But huge controversy is brewing over a new type of super sho...

Business Weekly

10 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Authorities in China ordered Didi to stop taking new ride sharing customers, and banned the sale of the app, because of data sharing issues. Investors...

Climate change: the financial fight

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to climate change, what is the world of finance doing? Manuela Saragosa speaks to Jan Erik Saugestad, executive vice president of Norweg...

Bustling or bust: How is the City of London coping after Brexit?

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been six months since the UK’s transition period from the EU ended. While the two sides hammered out arrangements for how various goods-produ...

The tyranny of merit

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Can anyone make it in the modern western world with hard work and good education? No, says Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel in conversation with Ed ...

Player power

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Footballers and other athletes are standing up to the sponsors who subsidise them. Ed Butler speaks to Laurence Halsted, a former British Olympic Fenc...

Tapping the sun beneath our feet

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Could geothermal energy provide a big missing piece in the puzzle of how to decarbonise the world economy? And do we need the help of oil companies to...

Business Weekly

03 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Global tourism has lost trillions of dollars during the pandemic, leaving communities who rely on the sector desperate. Now that parts of the world ar...

Do oil companies have a future?

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Shareholders and courts pile pressure on the oil majors. Amid falling demand for oil and targets to cut carbon emissions, what role if any do companie...

The rise and rise of plant milk

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There's a bewildering world of milk alternatives. From oats, to tiger nuts, the list of varieties keeps growing but not everyone’s delighted about t...

How would we trade with aliens?

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A US government report on UFOs has said there was no clear explanation for the unidentified aircraft, but did not rule out extra-terrestrial origin. H...

Menopause - the last workplace taboo?

29 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Women across the globe are leaving their jobs and sometimes careers because they are unsupported at work when they go through the menopause. But could...

How to be Idle

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is crushing office boredom a curse or an opportunity?Manuela Saragosa hears from David Bolchover, a writer who spent years at major insurance firms wi...

Business Weekly

26 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On this edition of Business Weekly, we look at Tokyo 2020 and hear how the organisers of the Olympic Games are trying to get spectators into the venue...

Co-ordinating intimacy

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There is a new job on film sets, a job that has grown out of the #MeToo movement. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Ita O’Brien, the woman who created the ...

Can we trust Big Tech with our health data?

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Big Tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft are moving into AI healthcare services in a big way. But can we trust private, for-profit, com...

How to communicate

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Communicating with people from different cultures is a potential minefield. We’ll discover what can happen when things get lost in translation and w...

Healthcare's digital future

22 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is medicine about to be transformed by digitisation and artificial intelligence?Ed Butler has his cognitive abilities assessed by a computer app. Thom...

The economic life of Gaza

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Israel's military says it struck a thousand targets in Gaza last month, in response to more than 4,300 missiles it claims were fired into Israel. With...

Business Weekly

19 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, two Americans went on trial in Japan, accused of smuggling former Nissan chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, out of the country in a music equip...

China's birth rate problem

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After decades of restrictions, China's leaders want women to have more children. But will a 'three-child' policy prevent a decline in China's populati...

Game over for test cricket?

17 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Do audiences, sponsors and broadcasters still have the patience for five-day matches? Or is the future now with the shorter one-day and Twenty20 forma...

Sexual harassment: Can smart tech help?

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Can technology help victims of sexual harassment feel more confident in reporting their perpetrators?Ed Butler hears how the #MeToo movement inspired ...

Gretchen Carlson: My fight to stop sexual harassment

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago she successfully sued her former boss at Fox News, Roger Ailes, for sexual harassment. Now, American broadcaster Gretchen Carlson tells...

The global youth unemployment crisis

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UN has predicted it could take two years for the world job market to recover from the Coronavirus pandemic. The hardest hit could be young jobseek...

Can bad news be delivered well?

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

No one wants to be told they’ve lost their job, or that their entire department is disappearing, but the way that message is delivered can have cons...

Business Weekly

12 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this week the FBI, in conjunction with the Australian authorities, used an encrypted messaging app to swoop in and arrest more than 800 suspec...

Rich and frugal?

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why do some of the super rich describe themselves as frugal? Is it something about the inner psyche that makes us natural savers or spenders? Elizabet...

Diversity in the US tech industry

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ibrahim Diallo got his first computer when he was five, which triggered a lifelong passion for programming. He has worked as a software engineer in th...

The booming ransomware business

08 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hackers are making millions from ransomware attacks. What can be done to stop them? Ed Butler speaks to professional ransomware negotiator Kurtis Mind...

Noisy decision making

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Nobel prize-winning economist and professor of psychology Daniel Kahneman focuses his latest research on the high cost of inconsistent decision ma...

Business Weekly

05 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Chinese government is pleading for young people to have more babies. On Business Weekly we ask whether this new “three-child” policy will help...

A Chinese immigrant living the American Dream

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mei Xu is a Chinese American entrepreneur who made it big in the US by setting up a global candle business. She grew up in Chairman Mao's communist Ch...

Lebanon sinks further into crisis

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The World Bank has declared Lebanon's to be "enduring a severe and prolonged economic depression" and said it is one of the worst economic crises sinc...

The death of the petrol station

02 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The rise of electric vehicles could see traditional service stations closing across the planet over the next two decades, and replacing pumps with fas...

Family tree DNA data crack cold cases

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the US - but increasingly in other countries too - cold case murder, sexual assaults, and unidentified person cases once thought unsolvable are be...

Business Weekly

29 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In Africa, malaria is far more widespread than Covid-19 - so what would it mean to African economies if it was eliminated? We speak to the man whose t...

How to be mediocre

28 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Not everyone can be special, so should we embrace our mediocrity?In a programme first broadcast in August 2016, Manuela Saragosa investigates the appe...

Dogecoin or bust

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Will the craze for the cryptocurrency started as a joke end in tears? We delve into the world of Dogecoin and ask why people are investing and what th...

Sexual harassment in the workplace

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Does it pay for vicitms to complain? Ed Butler speaks to Emi Nietfeld about her experiences at Google who says she suffered this for years and claims ...

The fight for San Francisco's Chinatown

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

San Francisco is home to the oldest and largest Chinatown in North America. But with boarded up businesses and an upsurge in anti-Chinese attacks, the...

Business Weekly

22 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The International Energy Agency has added its voice to those calling for the end of fossil fuels. The dramatic intervention from the body which helps ...

Lifting the burden of malaria

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A new vaccine could help eliminate the disease. What would that mean for African economies?Manuela Saragosa speaks to the man who led the team behind ...

The new inflation threat

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Faster price rises are coming as countries recover from the pandemic. But how painful will it be for consumers and the global economy? Mohamed El-Eria...

Syria: Failed state or narco-state?

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How ten years of conflict have destroyed the country's economy. As Syria prepares for largely symbolic elections to re-elect its President Bashar Al-A...

Pandemic preparedness

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to pandemic preparedness the United States was once one of the world’s best prepared countries. Today it has one of the world’s wors...

What happened to driverless cars?

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why hasn't the autonomous car revolution happened yet? A few years ago industry figures were predicting driverless cars would take over our roads by t...

Business Weekly

15 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the vital Colonial Pipeline in the US comes under cyberattack, Business Weekly hears how vulnerable infrastructure and companies are to being hacke...

Who should control the vaccines?

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Calls are rising for a waiver of patent protections on Covid-19 vaccines - but would it do anything to accelerate their rollout in the developing worl...

What is the real death toll in India?

13 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The chief scientist for the World Health Organisation acknowledges the frailty of the official numbers. Ed Butler speaks to Anthony Masters, the stati...

The dirty business of old car batteries

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The recycling of lead acid batteries poses a growing health hazard in many developing countries.Vivienne Nunis looks at the case of Bangladesh, where ...

The battle for football

11 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why plans for a European Super League won't go away. Ed Butler speaks to James Montague, author of the book The Billionaires Club: The Unstoppable Ris...

Can flying go green?

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Paying extra to offset your carbon emissions may sound like a good idea. But does planting trees or paying to save a rainforest actually reduce your c...

Business Weekly

08 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On this edition of Business Weekly, we look at the battle between the makers of one of the world’s biggest computer games, Fortnite, and the world’...

Who owns colour?

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists, artists and some of the world’s biggest companies are carving up the visual spectrum, and claiming certain colours as their own, so who ...

Life after Jack Ma

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What next for China's giant tech companies? Ed Butler speaks to China watcher Richard McGregor at the Lowy Institute in Sydney about why China's leade...

Electric vehicles hit the big time

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The car industry is preparing to go fully electric sooner than you might imagine - and not just because of the climate crisis.Justin Rowlatt speaks to...

Will Covid decimate India's middle class?

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of Indians risk being knocked back into poverty by the current explosion in coronavirus infections.Rahul Tandon hears from Radhika, who abrup...

Making multinationals pay

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It could be the biggest shake-up of corporate taxation in history. But can President Biden's push for a minimum global rate succeed? He wants multinat...

Business Weekly

01 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A “once in a generation investment” is what Joe Biden offered the American people this week. He presented his American Jobs plan and American Fami...

Men and cosmetic surgery

30 Apr 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...

Biden's trillions

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The US president announces a massive spending plan for the US economy, with trillions of dollars earmarked for jobs and infrastructure. But is it too ...

Changing a city's name

28 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What’s in a name? It’s something that Shakespeare’s Juliet pondered. But what’s in the name of a city? And what are the economic and social co...

Does business travel have a future?

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why fly when you can videoconference? After a year of Covid lockdowns, that's the question many business executives are asking themselves.Manuela Sara...

Covid in paradise

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How are small island tourist destinations like the Caribbean island state of Antigua and Barbuda coping with the shutdown of global travel?Manuela Sar...

Business Weekly

24 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As India battles a surge in Covid cases and hospital beds become scarce, Business Weekly hears how social media is helping connect patients with medic...

Big Data, conspiracy theories and ‘Magical Thinking’

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Filmmaker Adam Curtis questions the value of Big Data in society. In his latest BBC series, 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head', Curtis explores "Love, pow...

Is the digital ad market overvalued?

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Large companies have slashed their digital marketing budget. Airbnb and Procter & Gamble made such a cut in recent years, after coming to believe ...

Can Biden woo the world on climate change?

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

President Biden hosts a virtual summit this week as the US seeks global climate action. But can he convince the rest of the world to go further and fa...

Demille and the gig economy

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2016 when producer Georgia first met him, Demille was a cycle courier in his early twenties, taking his company to a tribunal over better working c...

Meeting expectations

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every day 55 million meetings take place in the United States. But just how effective are they at actually getting stuff done? British comedian David ...

Business Weekly

17 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The US is making overtures to China about working together to save the planet. On Business Weekly, we hear what concessions each side would like the o...

A part-time return to the office?

16 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A hybrid model mixing home working with office time is being favoured by major companies. But critics worry it will create divisions in the workplace....

President Biden and his strategy for China

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Will the US President continue with an increasingly hostile attitude towards China? Or does economic common sense demand that Washington should back o...

Boom time for scammers

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

During the Coronavirus pandemic, people have been spending more time at home, and online, than ever before. This has given online scammers a golden op...

A conversation with Greta

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The world’s most famous climate activist has just turned 18 and is as uncompromising as ever.In an extended interview, Justin Rowlatt asks Greta Thu...

Telegram in the spotlight

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After becoming the most downloaded non-gaming app earlier this year, Telegram messaging app has amassed half a billion users – a quarter of WhatsApp...

Business Weekly

10 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Voters in Greenland have backed a party which opposes a rare earth mining project. On Business Weekly, we ask what this means for the security of the ...

Mega ships

09 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal last month, we ask: are container ships too big? How much bigger can they get? To answer those questions w...

Mining the ocean

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How rocks on the ocean floor could be key to the transition to electric cars. Justin Rowlatt speaks to Gerard Barron, boss of DeepGreen, a company tha...

Tracing cotton’s DNA

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Can technology help eradicate forced labour from global cotton supplies? A confrontation continues to rise between Western powers, global brands, and ...

Where art and cryptocurrency meet...

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When the world of crypto currencies met with the world of art, they created what's called a non-fungible tokens or NFT. Some say NFTs could redefine w...

What happens to whistleblowers

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How exposing the truth at work can cost you your career. Theo Leggett speaks to whistleblowers Ian Foxley and Bianca Goodson, both of whom found it im...

Business Weekly

03 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the world’s biggest investment banks have been left exposed as a hedge fund collapsed, leaving multi-billion dollar losses in its wake. Arch...

How to complain

02 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this programme, Elizabeth Hotson looks at the art of demanding good service. From dealing with customer services to having conversations with chatb...

Josephine's story: Bouncing back

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Josephine is a single mother of four in Kibera, the sprawling slum in Nairobi, Kenya. At the beginning of the pandemic she was working as a cook, but ...

Feminist cities

31 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why do so many women still feel unsafe walking the streets of our cities? We take a look at the idea of a feminist city. What is it and what could it ...

Hydroelectric power in focus after disaster in India

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In February a devastating flash flood in India's northern state of Uttarakhand killed at least 70 people and trapped workers in underground tunnels. W...

Palm oil politics

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An EU ban on the vegetable oil's use in biofuel has upset Indonesia and Malaysia. Meanwhile critics say it will only worsen the problem of tropical de...

Business Weekly

27 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a giant container ship gets stuck in the Suez canal, we examine at the vital role the waterway plays in global shipping. We also hear from Chicago,...

Nigeria's kidnapping industry

26 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Since December, more than 600 students have been abducted from schools in north-west Nigeria, highlighting a worrying development in the country's kid...

Josephine’s story: Debt

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Josephine is a single mother of four in Kibera, the sprawling slum in Nairobi, Kenya. At the beginning of the pandemic she was working as a cook, but ...

The rise of food delivery apps

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How the growth in food delivery apps could change the restaurant industry forever. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Moe Tkacik from the American Economic Li...

Could China pull the plug on coal?

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A letter sent to the Bangladeshi government suggests that Beijing may be clamping down on the biggest source of carbon emissions.Justin Rowlatt speaks...