Business Daily

When you’re conducting a scientific experiment, you must prepare for it to fail. Lab researchers work by this motto. But for Dr Natalie Kenny, founder of international lab testing and medical training firm BioGrad, it’s proved true in every aspect of life. It’s been a whirlwind ride: from growing up in a working-class family in Liverpool, England, to battling tropical diseases in the Amazonian rai...

We hear from some of the many small-scale farmers in Kenya who are using apps like What’sApp, Facebook and Instagram to share information about the best way to grow fruit and veg and sell direct to consumers. From the vibrant markets of Nairobi to the lush green slopes of Mount Kenya Sam Fenwick investigates how farming entrepreneurs are using smartphones to grow profits as well as peas. But runni...

University sport in the US has become huge business. For decades, students' share of those earnings only came in the form of scholarships. As television contracts got bigger, so did the calls for change - and last year students were granted the right to earn off their name, image and likeness. A year on, Will Bain explores how it’s shaken up college sports, providing opportunities and unforeseen c...

As many as 7 million Americans who could work, aren’t. These are people who have dropped out of the workforce - they have given up on finding a job or are simply not looking. And similar trends can be seen in other wealthy countries. So what is going on? Ed Butler speaks to Nicholas Eberstadt, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute. He’s recently updated a book which examines the extrao...

Greensill Capital was a UK based finance firm and a darling of investors which made its money by lending to businesses. It went into administration in March 2021, leaving investors facing billions in losses. What went wrong with Greensill? Why did leading politicians like former British Prime Minister David Cameron get involved? And what does it teach us about the way modern entrepreneurs, like Au...

New York’s Penn Station is the busiest transport hub in the United States - as many as 650,000 people pass through it in a day. But this intercity hub is widely agreed to be outdated and unloved. Now there are plans to pour billions of dollars into a station facelift - in the hope it will attract Americans back to trains. In this episode, Laura Heighton-Ginns hears from key stakeholders Amtrak and...

In this episode we explore mental health provision in Pakistan. Pakistan has a population of more than 200 million people but only around 500 working psychiatrists. This means around ninety percent of those with common mental health issues go untreated. We hear from Mahira Kahn, a multi award winning Pakistani actress, in April this year Mahira was appointed as an Ambassador for the British Asian...

A British businessman has come up with a bold plan to turn the floating seaweed sargassum into cash, and tackle global warming at the same time. In this episode, Justin Rowlatt meets John Auckland. He is the man behind Seafields, which aims to create a floating farm 'the size of Croatia' far out in the South Atlantic ocean. The plan is to harvest the seaweed, sink it to the seabed and earn cash fr...

The use of robots in North American workplaces has increased by 40% since the start of the pandemic and the small to medium sized businesses, which never automated before, are getting in on the act. The robotics industry has responded to the global increased demand by creating more and more customisable robots, which can be leased or hired. Ivana Davidovic explores what effect this has had - and c...

Is space the final frontier for meat grown from animal stem cells? Elizabeth Hotson asks whether growing steaks under micro gravity conditions could help in the quest for food security and whether, back on earth, consumers could be persuaded to stomach meat reared in labs. We hear from Didier Toubia, the CEO of Aleph Farms who defends his space meat mission from accusations of gimmickry. Seren Kel...

When women's tennis world number one Ash Barty suddenly announced in March 2022 that she was retiring from tennis, it was huge shock. Barty, a three time grand slam champion, was only 25.At the time she said she was leaving professional tennis to pursue other life goals. Quitting is often seen as a negative thing to do, but in this episode we explore the positive side. PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes...

Now that borders have opened up post pandemic, backpackers have been slow to return to Australia. Despite a number of initiatives, the number of travellers is low. And that’s having an impact on businesses who need staff. David Reid explores the Australian working holiday visa scheme, which was set up fifty years ago to encourage young people to travel and work. It's not been without problems, and...

Fashion is one of the world’s most polluting industries – more than half of everything we wear is still made from plastic. In the search for more sustainable ingredients – designers are now turning to those you would normally find on your plate. Katie Barnfield travels to Sherwood Forest in England to meet Ashley Granter and Aurélie Fontan from Mykko – a company making leather from mycelium, the r...

Home solar – putting panels on your roof or side of your house, used be something fairly unusual. However, rising energy costs means that people are increasingly looking for alternatives. Presenter Rick Kelsey explores why the trend for solar panels is happening across Europe – and asks whether the industry has the infrastructure to cope with increasing demand. Rick travels to south east England w...

Brompton makes 100,000 foldable bikes in London every year and exports about 75% of them. Chief executive Will Butler-Adams tells us how he grew the business around the world. He also explains how he's navigating inflation, and the prospect of recession. Plus, why he believes his mission is not simply to sell more bikes, but to change how people live in cities around the globe. Producer/presenter:...

Comics are a multi-billion dollar industry and comic conventions - or cons - attract thousands of fans, desperate to meet their heroes and splash some cash. Elizabeth Hotson visits the MCM event in London to find out what’s hot and what people are spending their hard-earned money on. We hear from Joëlle Jones, a comic book writer and illustrator, Jenny Martin, Event Director at MCM Comic Con and M...

Margrethe Vestager is the European commissioner for competition. Ms Vestager has been spearheading the landmark Digital Markets and Digital Services Acts aimed at regulating the global technology industry. The new rules passed the European Parliament in July and will start to be implemented in the spring. Victoria Craig sits down with Ms Vestager to ask about the commission’s win against Google in...

Could building more homes and offices out of wood instead of concrete help tackle climate change? We travel to Finland, where growing numbers of homes and offices are being built using wood, and the industry is booming. We’ll hear how it can help improve sustainability in cities and take a look at the challenges and benefits of using more wood inside our offices and homes. And we'll also hear conc...

Millions of people, mainly women, sign up for jobs as domestic workers overseas. Yet much of this work is informal, with households enforcing their own terms behind closed doors - leaving the workers vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. In this episode, Laura Heighton-Ginns meets domestic workers who escaped modern slavery. Jackie was forced to work extreme hours, sleep on a hard floor, and given...

The global events industry was valued at more than $1.1 billion in 2019, before the start of the covid-19 pandemic. Live music and concert events alone lost $30 billion in 2020 and most outdoor festivals were cancelled. This year, in 2022, with more people vaccinated around the world, many festivals have managed to return but are having to cope with rising prices and staff shortages, as well as pe...

For online influencers getting verification - a blue tick next to their social media account name - is the ultimate prize. It brings credibility and elevates their status online. Presenter David Harper investigates how accounts can become 'verified', what it means, and if you make your money through online platform, how much is it actually worth? David speaks to Matt Navarra, a social media consul...

The sport of lacrosse has a long history, being one of the oldest sports in North America. But, for a long time, many players couldn't earn a living in the same way athletes could who were playing in established leagues like Major League Soccer or the National Football League. After a time as one of the best lacrosse players in the world, Paul Rabil, along with his brother Mike, an established bus...

The coronavirus pandemic allowed many people worldwide to work in new and radical ways. It brought some of the biggest changes for computer-based office workers, many finding themselves working from home for the first time. Research from McKinsey Global Institute, the international management consultancy firm, suggests remote work in some form, is likely to remain for this group of employees. We d...

Tabasco sauce has been around since 1868, Lea and Perrins’ Worcestershire Sauce since 1837. So how have these brands managed to survive for so long? David Reid explores why some brands outlive their founders by more than a century. David speaks to Harold Osborn, CEO of McIlhenny Company which makes Tabasco. Patrick Barwise, emeritus professor of management and marketing at London Business School e...

For years women working in certain jobs, such as banking or retail, have had to wear high heels as part of the company’s dress code. But now women around the world are fighting for the right to choose their own shoes at work. Elizabeth Semmelhack, the director and senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in the Canadian city of Toronto tells us the history of the high heel and its journey from the b...