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Business Daily Meets: Nico Rosberg Nov 14, 2022

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Theo Leggett meets Nico Rosberg, who found fame and fortune in the fossil-fuelled world of F1, but is now reinventing himself as a champion of green technology. As a driver he reached the pinnacle of world motorsport, taking the F1 title in the final race of 2016, and then retired just days afterwards.

Nico tells Theo just what it takes to become a world champion in the white heat of motorsport and how those skills are now being used on a new mission, to protect the planet.

Presenter/producer: Theo Leggett

(Photo: Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP celebrates after securing the F1 World Drivers Championship during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Business Daily Meets: Boyan Slat Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

How do you clean the world's oceans of plastic? 10 years ago, when he was just 18, Dutchman Boyan Slat thought he knew how to do it, and set out his vision at TED talk.

The journey from theory to reality has proved difficult, but he is now extracting plastic from the Pacific and a number of rivers around the world. We speak to Boyan about the scale of the task at hand. Is it even an achievable goal? How is he raising enough money? What does he make of the accusation he’s helping multi-nationals ‘greenwash’ their reputations by taking sponsorship cash?

Presenter/producer: James Graham Image: Boyan Slat on a plastic-strewn beach in Honduras (Credit: The Ocean Cleanup)

Rebuilding lives after flooding in Pakistan Nov 10, 2022

Show notes

Many communities in Pakistan were completely destroyed when vast areas of the country were hit by catastrophic flooding this summer. 33 million people were affected and in this episode of Business Daily we hear from three of them. Bilawal, Sassi and Abdul Majeed all lost everything in the floods and are now trying to rebuild their lives. We also hear from the charities and business leaders attempting to help rebuild communities, including Jemima Goldsmith, former wife of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and current UK ambassador for UNICEF.

Presenter / producer: Emb Hashmi

Image: Flood-hit families in Sindh province, Pakistan October 2022; Credit: Getty

The Morality of Machines Nov 08, 2022

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From search engines to chatbots to driverless taxis – artificial intelligence is increasingly a part of our daily lives. But is it always ethical? In this episode, Katie Barnfield explores some of the moral questions raised by new developments in smart technology. Leading researcher Dr Kate Crawford tells us about the powerful AI art software that reinforces gender stereotypes. We’ll hear from Bloomberg technology columnist Parmy Olson about the eyebrow raising conversation she had with Meta’s new chatbot. As driverless 'robotaxis' become more popular in China and the US, we’ll look at the difficult moral choices involved in their design. And how would you feel about AI that can read your emotions? We’ll hear why some companies have decided it’s a step too far. Presenter/ producer: Katie Barnfield

(Image: Robot using AI. Credit: Getty)

Africa’s Middlemen: Rent-seekers or cultural brokers? Nov 07, 2022

Show notes

Middlemen are intermediaries who facilitate business interactions for a commission, but in Africa their role is more complex. Africa's middlemen divide opinion on whether they are predatory rent-seekers or invisible but ever present cultural brokers who are actually crucial to the economy.

We hear from local businessman Bola Omololu - based in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria, and Tony Alabi an architect also based in Nigeria, in the commercial capital of Lagos. They share their experiences of interacting with middlemen.

Cocoa farmer Dimeji Green holds middlemen directly responsible for the dire conditions of farmers in the multi-billion pounds industry whilst Josephine Favre of the African association of vertical farming thinks middlemen are actually necessary for the economy to thrive.

Presenter / producer: Peter MacJob Image: Bolarinwa Omololu; Credit: Bolarinwa Omololu

How much is it costing fans to go to Qatar? Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

About 1.5 million fans, a little more than half the population of Qatar, are expected to arrive in the tiny Gulf state for the 2022 World Cup.

Two weeks before the start of tournament, Sam Fenwick speaks to fans about how much they are willing to spend to support their team and hopefully watch them lift the iconic trophy.

There are concerns that fans have been priced out of attending this year’s tournament. The Ghanaian government is subsidising some ticket prices. It will be the first time many Welsh fans have had the opportunity to see their team in a World Cup, they last qualified in 1958. Around 3,000 are expected to travel for the group stages of the competition. Many have spent thousands of dollars on flights, accommodation and tickets. Argentina fans are also spending big to see Lionel Messi line up for his country in a World Cup, possibly for the very last time.

Presenter / producer: Sam Fenwick Image: Welsh football fans; Credit: BBC

Women in business in Qatar Nov 03, 2022

Show notes

How easy is it for a woman to start and run a business in Qatar?

In the past few years, there have been changes to the constitution and laws which have made it easier for women to work and run businesses.

We ask whether that’s filtered down to 'street level' or whether cultural constraints still restrict women.

We visit a project in Doha where Qatari women have set up a business in a cultural centre, and Sheikha Mayes bint Hamad bin Mohamed bin Jabr al-Thani explains the important role women can play in Qatar's economy.

Rothna Begum, senior women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch explains how things have changed for women in Qatar - and what barriers and challenges still remain.

Presenter and producer: Sam Fenwick

(Image: Women walking through Doha. Credit: Getty)

Qatar’s World Cup tourism gamble Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

Will a boost in visitors for the Qatar World Cup lead to more visitors in the long run?

Qatar has spent over $220bn on preparations for the football World Cup, and there are hopes the tournament will draw visitors for years to come.

We take a tour of Doha, looking at the dow boats and some of the common tourist sites that fans will experience, and hear from Berthold Trenkel, COO of Visit Qatar.

We also hear from economists who think the strategy of hosting a “mega-event” such as this can be a gamble.

Plus Oman Air, which is going to be putting on dozens of extra flights so that fans can commute in for matches, tell us how that matches up with a ‘climate friendly’ World Cup.

Producer/presenter: Hannah Bewley

(Image: Dow boats in Doha. Credit: Getty)

Qatar: The migrant workers behind the World Cup Oct 31, 2022

Show notes

Workers from countries such as Nepal have done the bulk of the work to build the stadiums and infrastructure for the Qatar World Cup. But there are difficult questions still to be answered about the treatment of these people, and how compensation for those workers who have been badly treated, or even died in Qatar, is being paid.

In this episode, Ed Butler speaks to a man from Nepal who worked on a bus depot project in Doha and an investigative journalist in Nepal who says he is speaking to workers who are being sent home from Qatar because the World Cup is happening.

Human Rights Watch explain the issues with compensation payments that they are still hearing about, and James Dorsey, a specialist on the politics of Middle East football, gives his view on the gamble the Qataris are undertaking to host the event, in a hope that they gain ‘soft power’.

Producer/Presenter: Ed Butler

(Image: A Qatari stadium with workers climbing up. Credit: European Pressphoto Agency)

Business Daily Meets: Jason Bell Oct 28, 2022

Show notes

Samira Hussain visits the New York studio of one of the most in demand photographers in the world, Jason Bell.

Jason has photographed some of the world’s most famous people - including Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio and the British Royal Family. His work has been featured in Vanity Fair and Vogue and he’s shot campaigns for The Crown, Billy Elliot and The Revenant.

Jason takes us behind the lens on some very famous photo shoots, explaining how his career progressed. Plus he gives his top tips for taking a truly memorable photograph.

Presenter: Samira Hussain Producer: Carmel O’Grady

(Photo: Photographer Jason Bell Credit: Getty Images)

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