Business Daily
Episodes
The diverse economy of the Lone Star State
30 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Texas is the second-largest state economy in the United States and if it were a country it would be the 11th largest in the world. Although it produce...
Can airlines pivot fully to biofuels?
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As pressure grows on airlines to reduce their climate change impact, and “flight shame” grows among people concerned about their own impact, ever ...
Goodbye Super Mario
28 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week marks a changing of the guard at the European Central Bank, one of the world’s most important financial institutions. The bank, under the ...
A meatless future?
25 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The food we'll be eating in the future may look the same, it may even taste the same, but it may well have been grown in a lab. In today's programme w...
Industry awards - worth the effort?
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Does coming second in a prestigious professional competition still boost the bottom line? Is it worth the time, money and emotional investment?Manuela...
What is the Green New Deal?
23 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The radical plan to transform the economy and tackle climate change has taken off in Washington DC, with the backing of the left-wing Congresswoman Al...
Bringing Uber back to Earth
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Investors are losing faith in Uber's promise of rapid growth and market disruption, and are demanding to see actual profits. Oracle's founder Larry El...
The business case for sleep
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The demands of the working day and our 24-hour economy mean many of us don't get the recommended seven to eight hours sleep a night. Experts say all t...
Is the sun setting on Saudi oil?
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is the Saudi state oil company Aramco finalising its much-delayed share offering just as financial markets are losing faith in the future of fossil fu...
Concrete's dirty secret
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Cement and concrete have one of the biggest carbon footprints of any industry, and eliminating it is no easy task.By volume concrete is the most heavi...
How China slam-dunked the NBA
16 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Does the China-NBA bust-up mean that the Chinese are falling out of love with US basketball - and US business in general?One thoughtless tweet in supp...
Is the West really meritocratic?
15 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We hear the arguments of leading US academic and author, Daniel Markovits, whose book The Meritocracy Trap argues that meritocracy in the United State...
How to be angry
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
From hotheads to curmudgeons, is anger always bad for business? Can anger management techniques help? Or should we put our wrath to profitable use?Lau...
The vaping scare and big tobacco
11 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why health concerns over vaping is bad for cigarette companies. In the US hundreds of illnesses and even some deaths have been linked to vaping. That'...
Losing your mind at work
10 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On World Mental Health Day, we hear the experiences of people who've suffered a mental health breakdown at work, and ask what employers can do to supp...
Why whistleblowers need protection
09 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A new EU directive grants new legal rights to those reporting corporate and government misbehaviour.Ed Butler asks David Lewis, professor of employmen...
Choose your own pay
08 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a company lets its employees decide what their salaries should be? Will anyone ask to be paid less?A number of tech companies are fi...
The George Soros conspiracy
07 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why one financier is the target of a global conspiracy theory. Manuela Saragosa speaks to the BBC's Mike Rudin, who made a recent documentary on the S...
End of the road for US truckers?
04 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Truck drivers and the robots that could replace them. Jahd Khalil visits a truck stop in the US state of Virginia to find out why there's a chronic sh...
The right to repair
03 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why is it so hard to fix your own things? Ed Butler speaks to those campaigning for manufacturers to make it easier for us to fix our electronics good...
The search for sustainable fabric
02 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Modern textiles are environmentally problematic. Cotton needs gallons of water to produce, while polyester comes from crude oil. So could organic mate...
The onward march of Chinese debt
01 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is the rapid build up of consumer and corporate credit a threat to China's economic wellbeing?On the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's ...
Brexit and the currency speculators
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Some traders are betting on the UK crashing out of the EU without a divorce agreement. Should we be concerned that they wield too much political influ...
WeWork and the cult of the CEO
27 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How WeWork's Adam Neumann lost his job after a disastrous attempt to list the company on the stock market. Manuela Saragosa speaks to the Wall Street ...
Climate Action: Should we plant more trees?
26 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ed Butler speaks to Professor Tom Crowther from the Swiss university ETH Zurich, who says planting billions of trees around the world is by far the bi...
Climate Action: The moral imperative
25 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is our ethical duty to eliminate carbon emissions? Was Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg right to express such anger at the UN Climate Action ...
Climate Action: Uninhabitable Earth
24 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Just how bad will it get if the world fails to get to grips with climate change?On day two of the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, Justin Rowlatt...
Climate Action: Greta Thunberg's mission
23 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg explains how she aims to get the world's governments gathered for the UN Climate Action Summit in New York...
The future of Facebook
20 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What next for the social media giant? Jane Wakefield speaks to one former mentor of Mark Zuckerberg, and a British member of parliament about what cha...
Robot race cars and AI
19 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What robots driving cars can tell us about artificial intelligence. Ed Butler speaks to Bryn Balcombe, chief strategy officer of the autonomous vehicl...
Trading tinned fish and powdered milk
18 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How economies spring up in extreme places from refugee camps to prisons. Ed Butler speaks to economist Richard Davies, author of a new book called Ext...
Whom should the corporation serve?
17 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Should shareholders come first? Or should companies also serve their employees, customers, and society in general?Ed Butler explores the growing backl...
Africa's mobile credit revolution
16 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Will the roll out of online lending stimulate economic boom or just a credit binge in Africa?Ed Butler speaks to many of the businesspeople providing ...
The cost of sending money home
13 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why it's time to start paying attention to the global remittances industry. Ed Butler speaks to Monica, a nurse from the Philippines working in the UK...
The cannabidiol craze
12 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The cannabis extract CBD or cannabidiol is legal in many countries, and now it's finding its way into everything from soaps to cosmetics. But is it ju...
Going after Google
11 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The attorneys general of 48 out of the 50 US states have come together to challenge the control of the search giant over what we buy or view online.Ma...
Tackling the male fertility crisis
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sperm counts worldwide have been in steady decline for decades, and a group of tech start-ups are finally giving the problem attention.Manuela Saragos...
The world is running out of sand
09 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The global construction boom is fuelling an illegal trade in sand used to make concrete, causing environmental degradation and spawning sand mafias in...
Can technology read minds?
06 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The business of brain data. Real-life mind-reading technology is being developed right now, and it's already being used in places like China. Ed Butle...
Brand Britain and Brexit
05 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What the rest of the world makes of the UK's Brexit crisis. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Jane Foley, head of foreign exchange strategy at Rabobank, abou...
The hipster company that wants to save the world
04 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is WeWork an exciting new tech firm with lofty ideals worth $47bn, or is it just an over-priced office rental business?Manuela Saragosa speaks to two ...
Air pollution gets personal
03 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Can a greater understanding of how poor air quality harms us, enable us to tackle this urgent problem?Jane Wakefield meets British artist Michael Pins...
Hollywood vs Netflix
02 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How are movie producers making money in the age of online streaming? In Hollywood, if you produce a hit show or blockbuster movie, a cut of the profit...
Can we trust Rwanda's data?
30 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is Rwanda's economic success story really all it's cracked up to be? Ed Butler speaks to Tom Wilson, east Africa correspondent at the Financial Times,...
Dying for insulin in the USA
29 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why do Americans have to pay so much for this life-saving drug? There are reports of some uninsured diabetics dying as a consequence. Even the health ...
How can women take charge of their finances?
28 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is the wealth management industry still too geared towards male clients? And how do women plan their finances in countries where they don't even have ...
Why not buy Greenland?
27 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What does Donald Trump's shock proposal to buy the island from Denmark tells us about modern-day sovereignty and Arctic geopolitics?Manuela Saragosa p...
The challenges facing Syrian refugees in Turkey
23 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As authorities in Istanbul start evicting undocumented migrants from their city, we look at the challenges facing Syrians generally in Turkey. Shrinki...
Ecommerce in Africa - still finding its way
21 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Will Jumia and other online retailers overcome a lack of infrastructure, wealth and consumer trust to conquer the African market?Jumia is widely seen ...
Helping Africa feed itself
20 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Much of east Africa has the potential to be a food basket for the region. But 250 million Africans remain undernourished and many depend on internatio...
The singing president who disappeared
20 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Turkmenistan's authoritarian president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow mysteriously vanished for a few weeks, while his country faced economic crisis. Then ...
Are stock buybacks a corporate scam?
16 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Share buybacks are when a publicly-listed company uses some of its spare cash to buy up shares in itself, in order to drive the share price up and ben...
Has 3D printing met the hype?
15 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A few years back 3D printing was seen as the ground-breaking technology that promised a new industrial revolution. The revolution has not arrived yet....
Should workers be offered unlimited paid leave?
14 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A new idea has emerged in the business world over the last few years: maybe employees should take time off whenever they feel like it, and get paid wh...
Vanuatu's sacred drink
13 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Kava is a traditional drink that's popular across the Pacific. It's made from the root of the Kava plant. Proponents say it's a recreational beverage ...
Radical toilets
12 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What can music festivals teach us about toilet technology? Vivienne Nunis tries out some portaloos at a music festival in the UK and asks if the same ...
A Brexit game of chicken
09 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is the UK's government really serious about a 'no-deal' Brexit? Ed Butler speaks to Brexit blogger Professor Chris Grey and Charles Grant, director of...
How to be ambitious
08 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We hear about the negative effects ambition can have, and the tools you need to relieve them, with Neel Burton of Oxford University. Author Rachel Bri...
The smart home hype
07 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Has technology really made our homes better? Ed Butler talks to Henry Shepherd from the company Cornflake, which installs high-end smart home systems ...
Vanuatu's missing women
06 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a country has an all-male parliament? Vanuatu is one of only three countries on the planet with zero female elected representatives....
Sunscreen under the microscope
05 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sunscreen is a multi-billion dollar industry. We’ve long been encouraged to apply it daily, to block out the sun’s rays. But one dermatologist arg...
A global gig economy
02 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Are freelancing sites threatening worker's rights? Manuela Saragosa and Edwin Lane investigate the rise of platforms like Upwork, which allow anyone i...
Gas-powered politics
01 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
America's fracking revolution has made the US the world's largest oil and gas producer and that's had political consequences the world over. Manuela S...
A lesson in pioneering education
31 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We look at the disruptive models of educating young minds across the globe. Is traditional schooling, the detailed study of literature, history, and s...
Can our planet afford meat?
30 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A battle between the US and Latin American producers has ensued, to feed an increasingly beef-hungry world – mostly people in Asia. We assess who is...
When a work colleague dies
29 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How companies and staff deal with death at work. Manuela Saragosa hears from Carina, an employee at a global marketing company who saw the mistakes he...
Are we too scared of nuclear energy?
26 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The world needs sources of low-carbon fuel, so why are we so afraid of nuclear energy? Justin Rowlatt speaks to Geraldine Thomas, professor of molecul...
The truth about natural gas
25 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A bridge to a renewable future or just hot air? The energy industry touts natural gas as the cleanest of all fossil fuels and a bridge to a renewable ...
Britain's Brexit saviour?
24 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson has promised to get the UK out of the European Union by 31 October,"do or die" - but can the incoming Prime Minister deliver anything mo...
The death of Venice?
23 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Many Venetians say cruise ships and tourist hordes are killing their city - almost literally after one gigantic liner crashed into the harbour on 2 Ju...
Is air traffic control fit for purpose?
22 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Our system for keeping planes in the sky dates back to the 1940s, and still relies on a patchwork of national authorities using radar and VHF radio.Vi...
Life on Mars
19 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What are the obstacles are for a permanent base on the Red Planet? Ed Butler puts that question to Dennis Bushnell, the chief scientist at Nasa's Lang...
Rome: Drowning in rubbish
18 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Italian capital is in the midst of a waste management crisis as mountains of uncollected rubbish are left to rot on the eternal city's streets. Ma...
Why has Italy fallen out of love with the euro?
17 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Italy's economy remains in the doldrums, with many Italians blaming the European single currency. Meanwhile the Italian populist government has taken ...
A degree from a screen?
16 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As more of daily life gets taken over by technology, we ask what technology’s place is in the future of education. Pearson, the world's largest educ...
Banning foreign home buyers - the New Zealand experiment
15 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been a year since New Zealand put all but a stop to foreigners buying houses. The near-total ban followed years of astonishing price increases ...
How will China's credit binge end?
12 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Hasty borrowing by Chinese consumers and corporates may leave the country's economy with a debt hangover.That's the contention of independent China ec...
The US consumer debt pile
11 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Payday loans, auto loans and student loans are overwhelming a sector of American society - what can be done to help them dig their way out of their de...
Brand Rainbow
10 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
From Pride-inspired cappuccinos to LGBT supermarket sandwiches, you can’t walk down the street in some cities without seeing the multi-coloured mark...
The economics of Indian cricket
09 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With the Cricket World Cup reaching its final stages we look at the current state of the sport in India. In this episode presented by Rahul Tandon, we...
Should we be ashamed of flying?
08 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The aviation industry is one of the world's biggest contributors to climate change - but does a social movement begun in Sweden now threaten to stigma...
Hong Kong crisis: The business impact
05 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After a controversial extradition law sparked mass protests, is Hong Kong's position as a global financial centre under threat? Vivienne Nunis speaks ...
The truth about cookies
04 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Should you let websites track your online movements? Vivienne Nunis speaks to Frederike Kaltheuner from Privacy International and investigates the spl...
Fast fashion: The ugly side of looking good
03 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The hunger for quick short-lived clothes is bringing garment sweatshops back to the UK and harming the environment. Katie Prescott travels to Leiceste...
Isolating Iran
02 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
New sanctions from the Trump administration are forcing European and Asian firms to choose between their US and Iranian business interests.The EU has ...
Money management for millennials
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The financial literacy gap. Manuela Saragosa talks to US podcaster and writer Gaby Dunn about why millennials like her are so bad with money. Regan Mo...
Making money out of music festivals
28 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's not as easy as it looks. Dominic O'Connell reports from the biggest festival in the world Glastonbury, which kicks off this weekend. Manuela Sara...
Shutting down the internet
27 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Governments in Africa and elsewhere are routinely shutting off the iInternet in the name of national security. It is having a significant economic imp...
Protecting kids from porn
26 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The UK plans to introduce compulsory age verification for anyone in the country to access online porn - but is this a good way of restricting children...
Get a job?
25 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is unemployment in the developed world so low because people have simply given up on finding work? Ed Butler speaks to economist Danny Blanchflower of...
Life in an unrecognised state
24 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How do you do business with the rest of the world when nobody officially accepts that your nation state even exists? Rob Young looks at the struggles ...
The Facebook currency
21 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why Facebook's Libra project will attract the attention of regulators. Rob Young hears from the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones about...
The next agricultural revolution
19 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We need to transform the way we grow food if we are to head off disaster - so say leading agronomists. But can it be done?The modern agricultural indu...
Istanbul's vexed elections
19 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Turkish commercial capital must vote again for a new mayor after March's election result was overturned by the government.Ed Butler visits the cit...
Hostile environment for immigrants
17 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The attitude towards immigration in Europe and America is hardening under a wave of populist politics, and businesses are finding that despite labour ...
The next financial crisis
13 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's more than a decade since the global financial crisis. Central banks have pumped trillions of dollars into the financial system to support markets...
The global trade in trash
10 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Asian countries have told the West to stop dumping its plastic waste on them - and it could spell the end of the recycling industry. China imposed a b...
Oil, guns and pollution
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Niger Delta is Africa's biggest oil producing region. It has also become a security and environmental nightmare thanks to dozens of spills and the...
Is it time to tax robots?
04 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With ever more jobs at risk of automation, should the automatons be taxed the same as humans?Ed Butler speaks to Dr Carl Frey of the Oxford Martin Sch...
Jobs for prisoners
31 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The challenge of getting ex-offenders back into work. Vivienne Nunis hears from Lester Young Jr, an ex-offender in the US where low-paid work for pris...