The World of Business

Latest Episodes:

Adapt to Survive May 14, 2020

Show notes

2020 hasn't been good for British business - certainly not since Covid-19 showed up. The global pandemic and the lockdown imposed to try to fight it have affected individual livelihoods and those of many companies. John Murphy talks to some business owners from different sectors of the economy - a family-run pub, a fruit farm, a fabric and haberdashery shop and a multinational - to see what changes they've experienced and how they have had to adapt during the crisis. They explain what they think the future will hold and, indeed, whether they will survive.

Presenter: John Murphy Producer: Lizzy McNeill

Photo by: Victoria Connolly, MacCulloch and Wallis Ltd

Economic Recovery in the USA May 07, 2020

Show notes

With the highest Covid19 death toll in the world, and 26 million Americans claiming unemployment insurance, the US economy has taken a massive hit. But how quickly can it bounce back?

Will America’s economy will be strong enough to pull its weight in the global economy? Economist Jim O’Neill explores the current scale of the problem and asks how resilient are US businesses and the country’s economy.

In Business hears how Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer has devised A Roadmap to Responsibly Re-opening America, which seeks to balance the health priorities with the pressure to open up the economy again.

The story of a small bakery in Brooklyn, which has had to lay off its workers, is illustrative of the damage that has been inflicted on businesses across America. Has the fiscal response from the authorities been sufficient to protect businesses so that they can recover once lockdowns end?

Is American manufacturing sufficiently flexible to pivot and adapt to the changing circumstances of the Covid health crisis? And will one of the longer term consequences of the crisis be a re-thinking of the character of American capitalism?

The answers to these questions will shed light on whether American will still be able to play its traditional crucial role in the global economy.

Presenter: Jim O'Neill Producer: Philip Reevel

Picture Credit: Getty

Economic lessons from pandemics past Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

In the 14th century the world was devastated by plague, known as 'The Black Death', in the 20th century a deadly form of influenza struck infecting around a quarter of the world's population. Since then HIV, Ebola and more have stricken nations. With each epidemic and pandemic comes a huge human cost but each also carry an economic cost. In this programme John Murphy visits pandemics past to see what history can teach us about economic cost and recovery.

Presenter: John Murphy Producer: Lizzy McNeill

Picture: An American street cleaner during the influenza epidemic in 1918 Credit: Getty

Working From Home Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

Since the Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ began, vast numbers of people have been toiling away at home for the first time: converting living rooms and bedrooms into makeshift office space, wrangling with technology, and juggling family life with working hours. How are we doing? Caroline Bayley explores the delights and challenges of "WFH".

Produced by Beth Sagar Fenton.

Could carbon offsetting save the world’s forests? Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

Honey bees, cow dung and mulch - the company in Zimbabwe that is protecting the forests in order to offset carbon emissions. As Charlotte Ashton wrestles with ‘flight shame’, she wants to find out where her money goes if she chooses to offset her flight. She lives in Zimbabwe, but is from the UK and doesn’t have the money or time to spend three weeks at sea, sailing home to visit relatives. She focuses on a company based in Zimbabwe that runs one of the largest projects of its kind in the world and discovers how carbon credits work. Carbon Green Africa’s project focuses on protecting existing forests, rather than planting new trees and her journey takes her to some surprising places. In a programme recorded last November, Charlotte finds that preventing deforestation not only helps her offset her carbon emissions, but helps give people in a remote part of Zimbabwe new jobs and access to international markets.

Guests: Charles Ndondo and Rory Muil, Carbon Green Africa Christian Dannecker, South Pole Presenter: Charlotte Ashton Producer: Phoebe Keane

Supply Chains vs Covid-19 Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

Ruth Alexander examines whether the complex global web of supply chains can hold up under the enormous pressure of the coronavirus pandemic.

Looking further into the future, she and Jonty Bloom ask whether this global shock has shown that the days of the speedy delivery of a huge choice of cheap goods from all over the world is over.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producers: Caroline Bayley and Lizzy McNeill

Indonesia’s new capital Jan 25, 2020

Show notes

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is sinking, and struggling with traffic and pollution. The government’s solution? To build a new capital on the island of Borneo instead, better known for its jungles and orangutans. How will this work? Former BBC Indonesia correspondent Rebecca Henschke travels to the proposed new capital site and meets families, environmental campaigners, and local indigenous people to find out how they feel about being included in the proposed new capital territory. Can the indigenous villagers carry on getting their medical remedies from the forest? Will an orangutan sanctuary survive? And do nearby businesses welcome or fear the future competition? Rebecca also meets the family of an 11-year old girl who drowned in a disused mine pond that should have been cleaned up, but wasn’t, due to widespread impunity for mining companies. Will the government honour its promises about protecting the environment this time? Will the new capital really be a “forest city”, as the Minister of National Development Planning insists?

Presenter: Rebecca Henschke Producer: Arlene Gregorius

Photo: Borneo. Credit: BBC

Making fashion sustainable Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

Fashion is a hugely polluting industry and is under enormous pressure to become more sustainable. From the way cotton is grown, to the use of synthetic materials and the conditions in factories where our clothes are made - these are all challenges facing the sector. In this programme Patrick Grant, the British menswear designer, factory owner and judge on the Great British Sewing Bee, asks how the fashion industry should respond and what we, as consumers, should be doing too.

Presenter: Patrick Grant Producer: Caroline Bayley

Picture Credit: BBC

Hydrogen: The answer to Climate Change? Jan 18, 2020

Show notes

Hydrogen is a volatile gas with an image problem, but hydrogen evangelists think this could be the ‘magic molecule’ which will solve the world’s air pollution and cut carbon emissions dramatically. Manuela Saragosa presents the final part of this special series on energy from Italy, where hydrogen has been pumped into the existing gas network. Could a hydrogen boat replace the diesel belching cruise liners and ships along the canals of Venice?

Presenter: Manuela Saragosa Producer: Nina Robinson

Photo Credit: Nina Robinson/BBC

Is the UK up for sale? Jan 16, 2020

Show notes

Jaguar Land Rover, Cadbury, Weetabix are but some of the many British brands now owned by foreign corporations. The UK has one of the highest rates of company takeovers by new overseas owners. Sometimes these deals rescue a struggling business and save jobs. And sometimes they provide welcome investment for fast growth. But is there also the risk of Britain suffering a permanent loss of technology and know-how, or even a threat to national security, such as when the company targeted for takeover is in the defence industry? And what about the emotional side of takeovers? Research suggests they can be a huge burden for executives, and staff may be reluctant to cooperate with previous competitors, jeopardising the sales targets of the new owners. Ruth Alexander asks if the UK is selling its family silver, and whether this matters in a globalised world. Is Britain for sale, or inviting investment? Or has Britain already been sold, with 54% of shareholdings of UK public companies now foreign-owned? She talks to current and former CEOs and to academics, to find out why so many British companies are being bought, what this says about the UK,, and what impact it has on jobs and the future of the economy.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander Producer: Arlene Gregorius

Picture Credit: Getty

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected