The Bottom Line

Anti-Biotic Resistance

01 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Antibiotic resistance is a global problem but there have been no new drugs produced since the 1980s. So who is to blame? The public's over-consumption...

Planning for uncertainty

28 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Every business faces uncertainty. In the final programme of the series Evan Davis and guests ask what businesses should do when faced with uncertaint...

Feedback frenzy

21 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's hard to buy anything these days without being asked to rate or review it. Evan Davis and guests look at how have businesses such as Tripadvisor,...

Internships

14 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For many graduates an internship has become the default route to full-time, paid employment. But getting a good placement is competitive and in some c...

The personalisation revolution

07 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Technological advances have made it easier for businesses to offer us more personalised goods and services, from customised cars to clothes that fit b...

Magazines

28 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There are more than two-and-a-half thousand consumer and business magazine titles on sale in the UK. What is the appeal of magazines and how does the...

Are auditors fit for purpose?

21 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What's the point of an audit if it fails to detect when a company's about to go under? The sudden collapse of BHS, Carillion and Patisserie Valerie ha...

Behavioural science in the workplace

14 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Understanding how humans think and what makes them tick can be enormously helpful if you're running a company. Luckily behavioural science is on hand...

University Businesses

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Higher education in the UK is an astonishingly successful British industry, with an income of almost £35 billion a year. Universities have expanded h...

The Internet of Things

31 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Internet of Things promised to revolutionise the way we live and work but what has it delivered and what more is it capable of doing? Join Evan D...

Business in the era of #MeToo

22 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Has the #MeToo movement made businesses change the way they deal with sexual harassment and gender equality claims in the workplace? Does the law arou...

Super-premium drinks

15 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There has been an explosion in the number of craft ale breweries and small-scale gin distilleries in recent years. The so-called super premium alcoho...

The Experience Economy

01 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There is some evidence to suggest we are falling out of love with buying material things. Instead, we want to splash out creating memories that last ...

Plastics

25 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Plastic is arguably one of the world's greatest inventions. Its' qualities allow it to be used in everything from food packaging to clothes and cars....

Shortages

18 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

No supply chain is immune from disruption and shocks. From extreme weather to strikes and cyber crime, what causes a supply chain to fail? Join Evan ...

Rewriting the rules of Business

04 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Business has undergone seismic changes over the past decade; do the rules of business need to be re-written? If so, who should write them and what sho...

The Festival Business

26 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There are thousands of festivals in the UK each year and millions of us go to them. But as an organiser how do you make any money? Do logistics and th...

Advertising

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The UK has been a global leader in the Advertising Industry since the end of the last century. But like many businesses it's now facing disruption fro...

How does the commodities business work?

12 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Commodities are the raw materials which oil the wheels of the modern economy. From minerals to crude oil to coffee, Evan Davis and guests look at how ...

Why do companies do bad things?

05 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Social media giants mishandle data, banks mis-sell PPI insurance, engineers arrange for cars to cheat emissions tests. Why do companies sometimes do b...

Should CEOs have term limits?

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In some countries politicians have fixed term limits. What would happen if the same principle applied to CEOs? On average bosses in the UK stay for ju...

Franchising

21 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Is becoming a franchisee a good way to start your own business? Evan Davis and guests discuss the ups and downs of franchising. GUESTSKen Deary, Franc...

Is any company ever invulnerable?

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook, Apple, Google, or Amazon. Dominant companies that today look unassailable. But similar claims were made about MySpace, Tesco, Microsoft, Kod...

Co-working Spaces

08 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show.

Will 5G revolutionise our lives?

08 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The next generation of mobile technology - 5G - will be rolled out from 2019. It will enable faster streaming on our mobile phones and tablets and spe...

Teenage Business Entrepreneurs

10 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As children few of us have had experience of running a business. But this week we'll be hearing from four teenage entrepreneurs who have been honing t...

The EU after Brexit – A special programme together with The Briefing Room

29 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Radio 4’s Bottom Line and Briefing Room will combine in a special hour-long programme examining the economic and political future of the EU once Bri...

Do corporate headquarters still matter?

15 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The tech giant Apple has just spent five billion dollars building a campus in California's Silicon Valley. It's not alone in its architectural ambitio...

Is strategy necessary for success?

09 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What is strategy and why do businesses need it? What distinguishes a good strategy from a bad one or a non-strategy? Not to be confused with goals or ...

The Ethics of Business

01 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Are 'ethical' businesses all they're cracked up to be? Evan Davis and guests discuss the newest type of certification in ethical business, the B Corp,...

Who Owns British Companies?

23 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What has happened to Margaret Thatcher's dream of creating a nation of shareholders? Over the last decade there's been a big increase in the amount of...

Turning Tables

15 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Evan Davis and guests discuss why some restaurant chains thrive and others fail. Why are so many chains closing down branches now? GUESTSPaul Campbell...

The Shock of the New

09 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Evan Davis and guests discuss the relationship between three important pillars of modern society: science, business and the consumer. Is the public ri...

How to Build a Bridge

02 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Civil engineers would argue they are the unsung heroes of the railways, roads and bridges we all take for granted. But building major infrastructure p...

Sir Terry Leahy

23 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In the final programme of the current series Evan Davis will be talking to Sir Terry Leahy, former Tesco CEO, in front of an invited audience at Sir T...

Department Stores

16 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Are you being served? Where do you shop - online, a department store or one of the large shopping centres around the country? Evan Davis looks at the ...

Foreign Investment in the UK

10 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What makes the UK an attractive place for foreign companies to invest in? Britain has tended to enjoy high levels of inward investment thanks to its o...

Pets Mean Pounds

09 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In the UK we spend £4.5 billion a year on domestic pets. Where does the money go? Evan Davis and guests discuss the business of keeping pets. GUESTS ...

Agents

26 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week the programme looks at the business of agents. What exactly do they do and are they adding value to their clients' careers? Evan Davis discu...

Is there a business case for having a diverse workforce?

20 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What is the business case for having a diverse workforce? Evan Davis and guests debate whether a mix of talents in the workplace leads to better compa...

Shake-up in the skies

12 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What's behind the recent collapse of airlines such as Monarch, Alitalia and Air Berlin? Is it a case of supply outstripping demand or is there a large...

Batteries

05 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Is battery technology the key to decarbonising energy and reinventing transport? If so, can the current technology, Lithium-Ion batteries, evolve quic...

There's no business like show business

27 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

There's no business like show business. Evans Davis and guests explore the success story that is UK theatre. From splashy musicals, and classic reviva...

Cost cutting and business transformation

20 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What is the best way of cutting costs and transforming a business? Bosses often have to prune their operations - either to reinvest the cash to grow t...

One Company, Many Brands

06 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Evan Davis discusses the reasons why some companies have multiple brands. Is it to bamboozle or does it help consumers navigate the wide variety of ch...

Land - the mother of all monopolies

29 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Evan Davis presents the business magazine.

When Robots Take our Jobs

22 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Are white collar workers under threat from the new robotic workforce? Manufacturing companies have been replacing production line workers with robots ...

Corporate Espionage

15 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Corporate theft has played a big part in business history from Porcelain and Tea from China, to the French attempting to get their hands on the bluepr...

The Future of Farming

08 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What's the future for UK Farming? Evan Davis meets three food producers from across the country to talk about the daily challenges of farming in Brita...

The Bottom Line: Can We Trust Big Business?

02 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Business and its place in society is a prominent issue at the moment. Zero hours contracts, executive pay, tax avoidance are all issues where opinion ...

Britain's nuclear future

30 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Britain's multi-billion pound nuclear dream. EDF is building the country's first new nuclear power station in decades at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. ...

Migrant Entrepreneurs

23 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Migrant entrepreneurs create one in seven businesses in the UK. This week Evan Davis talks to three entrepreneurs who all arrived from overseas with v...

Fintech

16 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The UK is a world leader in financial services technology, otherwise known as fintech. Presenter Evan Davis asks how Britain has beaten Silicon Valley...

The Secrets of Fixing a Price

09 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

From budget airline seats to insurance, Evan Davis discovers the secrets of pricing.

How does stuff get to us?

02 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How does a can of Italian tomatoes reach the supermarket shelf and a car manufacturer receives its parts in time? Evan Davis finds out about the hidde...

The UK Space Industry

23 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The UK space industry is growing faster than the wider economy. Its application is broad - from manufacturing satellites, earth observation projects, ...

Managing Workplace Relationships

16 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We spend a third of our life at work so it's inevitable that relationships blossom, whether it's a one night stand at the Christmas party or one that ...

The Challenges of Running a Charity

09 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How can people running charities balance doing good, maximising income, while retaining public trust? The sector is undergoing changes in regulation i...

Care Homes

02 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The care home business is heading for a crisis according to Evan Davis's guests in this edition of The Bottom Line. The cost of providing care in this...

Negotiating a Trade Deal

27 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Brexit means the UK government will have to negotiate trade agreements with the EU and the rest of the world. Trade deal experts share their tips with...

17/11/2016

17 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

If the word auction conjures up pictures of a man with a gavel in a packed room shouting 'going, going, gone' - think again. These days governments an...

The Future of the Car Industry

11 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The future of the car industry. How car manufacturers are joining forces with "ride hailing" companies like Uber and why the future might be driverles...

The Youth Market

03 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Evan Davis and guests explore the fast moving world of selling to 18-24 year olds. Collectively, that age group has billions to spend. Individually, m...

Selling Corporate Baby

27 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Starting a business is often compared to bringing up a baby, and with good reason: it's costly, gives you sleepless nights and requires your attention...

Activist Investors

20 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Are activist investors good or bad for the firms they target? They hunt down companies they think are underperforming. They buy a stake in the busines...

Careers without College

13 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Why are more top employers offering school leavers a fast track career without the need to go to university? Applicants for the top Degree Apprentices...

Brexit: What Next?

06 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How do you do business when you can't see into the future? This may be what businesses always have to do, but Brexit has undeniably made the future ev...

Theresanomics

29 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Theresa May has promised a bigger role for the state in business. The previously unfashionable concept of a comprehensive industrial strategy is back ...

How to Build an Olympics

21 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Olympics Games is the biggest sporting event on earth. But the road to a successful Olympics can be more gruelling than a marathon. With less than...

Brave or Naive?

14 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Is escaping the rat race always a good idea? Many people dream of giving up the day job to start their own business - and we often hear about the succ...

The Price of Life

07 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It's hard to put a value on a human life. When you're well, perhaps you don't think about it. But if you're ill, getting access to the right drugs, wh...

Life after Brexit

30 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How will the vote to leave the EU affect big and small businesses in the UK? Evan Davis and guests discuss trade deals, tariffs and 'passporting' righ...

How to Negotiate

23 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us negotiate in some form or other every day - whether it's about who walks the dog, how much screen-time the kids can have or when to visit t...

The Finance of Films

16 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The business of film. Evan Davis follows the money trail from script to screen. With the help of a top independent film producer, a film distributor a...

Old Dog, New Tricks

09 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It is not easy to teach new tricks to the business world's old dogs. The latest fashionable solution for big corporations slowed down by bureaucracy a...

Profit or plunder?

02 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Asset management - or asset stripping? This week Evan Davis asks when making a profit from running a business becomes simple plundering.In business, t...

EU Referendum

26 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What does EU membership mean for UK business and how might that change if Britain votes to leave? Business leaders join Evan Davis to discuss how trad...

Life after a Blockbuster

04 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it's creating Angry Birds, the best-selling mobile app, or developing the best-selling Alzheimer's drug or discovering one of the world's bigg...

Lonely at the Top?

17 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Many senior executives now employ personal coaches to help them through their toughest business challenges. Coaches can provide confidential, independ...

Horse Racing

10 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Horse racing is the second most popular spectator sport in the UK but it is also a business. Presenter Evan Davis and guests discuss who makes the mon...

Tax Avoidance

03 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Global firms like Amazon, Google and Starbucks have been criticised for using clever accounting tricks to reduce their tax bills in the UK. But how mu...

Now We Are Ten

25 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Bottom Line first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2006. At the time, Tony Blair was Prime Minister, interest rates were 4.5%, petrol was 90 p...

Data Privacy

18 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When you enter personal details onto any website or smartphone app, what happens to it? Where does it get stored, who owns it and who has access to it...

Customer Service

11 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

All businesses rely on customers. So, why do some businesses bend over backwards to keep customers happy, and why do some of them appear not to care? ...

Renewable Energy

04 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

After the Paris summit on climate change and the global commitment to cut carbon emissions, The Bottom Line is going green - with businesses that gene...

Managing the Boardroom

28 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

After recent corporate scandals like VW's emissions' cheating, Tesco's accounting irregularities, Barclays interest-rate rigging, many asked why compa...

The Northern Powerhouse

19 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Can the Northern Powerhouse solve Britain's North-South economic divide? For now, the Northern Powerhouse is a concept: an idea that towns and cities ...

Breaking the Mould

12 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Rewriting the rules: what does it take to be a non-conformist? Evan Davis is joined by a banker, a brewer and a tech entrepreneur as they discuss how ...

Financial Engineering

06 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What does a financial engineer do? A mechanical engineer may design a machine, one that does a task or overcomes an obstacle, but what problems does m...

Fast Fashion

05 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

From the design desk to the shop window, how do fast fashion brands deliver the latest trends in double-quick time? Evan Davis and guests discuss fabr...

Sponsorship

22 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it's high-profile sports events or blockbuster art exhibitions, companies like Adidas and Unilever spend millions of pounds on sponsorship - t...

Going Public

15 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Companies like Royal Mail, Saga and the AA have recently listed their shares on the stock market. It gives them access to plenty of money to help them...

Crisis at VW: A Bottom Line Special

07 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Volkswagen is dealing with a corporate crisis following the emissions rigging scandal. Evan Davis and guests discuss. Guests: Sir John Egan, former CE...

Art and the Business of Taste

01 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How do you value something like a painting? What makes one artist worth more than another? Who decides what is in vogue and why do they have so much p...

Supermarkets

23 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Food deflation, the rise of the discount grocers and continuing price wars. Evan Davis and guests discuss who are the long-term winners in the superma...

Entrepreneurs and Education

16 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Who needs qualifications for success? Three business leaders tell Evan Davis how they made it to the top after leaving school with just one A'Level be...

Newspapers - to pay or not to pay?

09 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Despite widespread predictions of their demise and amid falling numbers of readers, newspapers are still with us. How are they adapting to the challen...

Newspapers - to pay or not to pay?

09 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Despite widespread predictions of their demise and amid falling numbers of readers, newspapers are still with us. How are they adapting to the challen...

Burger Battles

02 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The British love fast food. Each year we munch our way through thirty billion pounds worth. On The Bottom Line this week Evan Davis and guests discuss...

Angel Investors

25 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How to spot the next Google, Paypal or LinkedIn? Three successful entrepreneurs tell Evan Davis how they use their own money to back promising start-u...