Business Daily

Does the global economy need to start dismantling 'global white privilege'? The Black Lives matter protest movement has focussed lots of attention on racial attitudes in rich western countries. How easy is it for instance, for people of black or Asian heritage to get on the ladder to business success in those countries? But is the economics of what's now called 'white privilege' a global problem too? Ed Butler speaks to Chandran Nair, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Global Institute for Tomorrow, an independent think-tank in Hong Kong and the author of ‘Dismantling Global White Privilege: Equity for a Post-Western World’. And also to Lucinda Platt, from the London School of Economics, who has recently written a report for the IFS on the degree of social and economic mobility being achieved among the UK's minority racial and ethnic groups.

Psychedelic therapy could provide a major breakthrough in the treatment of mental health disorders like depression, and now it's caught the attention of start-ups and venture capitalists.Laurence Knight hears from one man whose life was transformed by a single dose of the drug psilocybin - the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms - after he volunteered for a research project exploring whether it could cure depression. He also visits the research team at King's College London, who have just wrapped up the latest trials of the drug. The trials are being sponsored by the healthcare start-up Compass Pathways, and its founder and chief executive George Goldsmith explains why he hopes to use them to bring this therapy to the general public. Plus Amanda Eilian of venture capitalists Able Partners describes how quickly attitudes in the investor community are changing.(Picture credit: Getty Images)

On this edition of Business Weekly, we’re looking at the tech giant Apple. Its value tipped over the $3 trillion mark on the New York stock Exchange at the start of the year. We hear from Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities on possible further avenues of growth for the company. We’ll take you to the United States to hear from different communities all hoping to benefit from President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan. We focus on projects designed to improve the quality of drinking water, and public transport. The BBC’s Will Bain covers examples from Alaska, Michigan and California. Plus, we remember the work of the world renowned Kenyan paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey, who died at the start of the year. We hear from Dr Paula Kahumbu who knew him from childhood, and now runs one of the organisations he founded. Business Weekly is presented by Sasha Twining and produced by Clare Williamson.

Mapping the human genome led to big advances in diagnosing rare disease. But diagnosis is only the first step in dealing with an illness. So what do you do if your child is found to have a condition that has no treatment? We hear from Michelle Teng, a mother who co-founded a biotech firm called SynaptixBio, that is looking to find the world’s first treatment for a rare neurodegenerative disease. Also in the programme, the Chief Medical Officer at Genomics England, Dr Richard Scott, tells us his hopes for the future of genomics medicine. And Dr Segun Fatumo of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explains why Africa is so important when it comes to genetic research. Presented by Vivienne Nunis and produced by Sarah Treanor. Image: Scientists look at a DNA model. Credit: Getty Images.

The rise of electric vehicles could see traditional service stations closing across the planet over the next two decades, and replacing pumps with fast chargers is unlikely to save them. Justin Rowlatt speaks to one entrepreneur hoping to profit from the rollout of EV chargers in every home and parking space, Erik Fairbairn of Pod Point. Meanwhile Isabelle Haigh, head of national control at the UK's National Grid, explains why she is confident they can meet the electricity demand from all these new vehicles.Across the Atlantic, another entrepreneur - Sanjiv Patel of National Petroleum - says the writing is clearly on the wall for his chain of 25 gas stations in California - but maybe not for a while yet. But could he turn them into restaurants or use them to hold séances? That's the fate of one petrol station in Leeds that is now an arts centre. We hear from its owner, Jack Simpson.This is a repeat of an episode first broadcast on 2 June 2021.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: Abandoned gas station along old

Richard Leakey died at his home outside Nairobi, Kenya, earlier this week. World-famous for his fossil discoveries, the 77-year-old had many careers - paleoanthropologist, wildlife defender, politician and anti-corruption campaigner. Business Daily's Vivienne Nunis met Richard Leakey late last year and recorded this interview with him. He looks back on his life and shares his as yet unrealised plans for a 'cathedral of life with no God', a museum dedicated to evolution on the edge of Rift Valley. Image: Richard Leakey with a pile of elephant ivory, confiscated by the Kenyan government and due to be burnt in 1989. Credit: Getty Images.

Jane Goodall, the famous primatologist, has set us a challenge: Is it possible to tackle climate change whilst also lifting people out of extreme poverty?Her question - posed to the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt - is inspired by her own experience of tackling deforestation in Tanzania. As her colleague Emmanuel Mtiti explains, they convinced local villagers to stop felling trees, and to restore the natural habitat of chimpanzees, by offering them an alternative path to prosperity.So could an equivalent path be available that avoids increasing carbon emissions? If so then it would break with the pattern seen in Europe, America and China, where economic development was almost entirely fuelled by burning coal, oil and gas, according to Hannah Ritchie, head of research at Oxford University's Our World in Data team. But the micro-finance pioneer Muhamad Yunus says that solar power does now offer a carbon-free way forwards.The programme contains audio from the 1965 National Geographic documentary film Miss Go

Most flowers sold in the florists and supermarkets of Europe are grown in East Africa, where the warm climate supports roses and other plants to grow year round. But is it sustainable? Vivienne Nunis follows the international supply chain from a Kenyan flower farm to the hub of the global flower trade near Amsterdam, where every morning stems are sold at auction before being transported in cold storage trucks to buyers across Europe. The Dutch have been trading flowers since medieval times, when speculators paid enormous prices for tulip bulbs. We pay a visit to Amsterdam's Tulip Museum to find out why. The worldwide flower market is worth $40bn a year, but as growing numbers of consumers start to question the true environmental cost of what they buy, some growers are advocating for a return to seasonal, local blooms. We visit English grower Tess Wardman of Iris and Wilf flowers. Producer: Sarah Treanor. Image: Bouquets of roses for sale. Credit: BBC

On Business Weekly, we look at the problems faced by companies affected by the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Are staff shortages just a blip or could they be more long term? Professor Joshua Hausman at the University of Michigan gives us his view. Plus, we look at efforts being made in the textile industry to move away from “fast fashion" using traditional, slow and more sustainable methods. Also, it’s 20 years since the schoolboy wizard Harry Potter first appeared on movie screens; which businesses are still feeling the marketing magic? And we shake and stir with some of the world’s top mixologists to find out about the trends in cocktails for 2022. Business Weekly is presented by Matthew Davies and produced by Clare Williamson.

Our love for cocktails has surged during the pandemic. Nisha Patel speaks to mixologists and bar owners from all over the world to find out what's inspiring them and what concoctions we may see across global bar menus. Hanky Panky bar in Mexico says lockdown sent everyone back to their books and emerging are pairings inspired by cook books. Two Schmucks in Barcelona say the diversity of their staff has led to a range of cocktails you'd usually see in your main meal and cocktail aficionado Lynette Marrero shares how she's seen her cocktail masterclasses filled with customers who have a thirst for premium alcohol. Phil Tate from CGA strategy analyses cocktail trends worldwide and explains how the pandemic has influenced and changed the global cocktail trend, and how this will continue into 2022.This programme is produced and presented by Nisha Patel(PIC: Vodka with cranberry and grapefruit CREDIT: Getty)

In the remote mountain villages of Guizhou, China, indigenous people have been handmaking clothes for centuries. But with so many young people leaving rural areas for jobs in China's manufacturing centres, those ancient skills are disappearing. Angel Chang tells us how she quit her job in the designer fashion houses of New York to start her own clothing line, employing indigenous craftspeople to grow organic cotton, use natural dyes and sew her collection by hand. It’s part of a wider shift away from the highly-polluting fast fashion industry. We also hear from Nicole Rycroft, founder of the NGO Canopy, which is changing the way popular brands source the world's third most popular fabric: viscose, which is traditionally made from the wood-pulp of trees. Vivienne Nunis asks if this more environmental approach can be adopted by the wider fashion industry. Producer: Sarah Treanor. Image: A woman dressed in handmade clothing typical of the Dong indigenous community in Dimen, Guizhou, China, holds some handwoven c

More men have considered cosmetic treatments during the pandemic. Has spending more time at home staring at ourselves in video conferencing made us more worried about our appearance, and have the pressures of ageism in the workplace also had an impact. Ed Butler speaks to psychologist Helena Lewis Smith, and Past President of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons Dr Alan Matarasso about just what’s motivating men to make more changes. Plus, he tries a treatment for himself. (Picture of man having cosmetic surgery. Picture via Getty Images).

2021 was another year of firsts in the ever-expanding industry around space, as we moved towards space tourism as a reality. But what about NASA, and its plans to return to the moon? We hear all about it, and the space agency’s ambitious plans for not just the moon, but mars; from NASA’s Carlos Garcia-Galan. We also hear about the increasingly urgent issue of space junk, which is causing serious safety issues in orbit. University of Texas at Austin professor, and chief scientific officer at Privateer, Moriba Jah explains. Plus Katie Miller from Skyrora tells us about the company’s space tug; a nifty idea to clean up unwanted objects in space.Presenter Jane Wakefield Producer Sarah Treanor(Picture: Earth from space, Credit: Getty Images).

It's 20 years since the first Harry Potter film was released and the movies and books have spawned a world of wizard-related retail opportunities. Elizabeth Hotson asks Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter films, how he dealt with the pressure of bringing the boy wizard to life. And we travel to Edinburgh for The Potter Trail tour which starts with a spell and ends in a graveyard. We step inside the magical Museum Context shop, and hear form owner, Andrew McRae. Plus, Scott Mendelson, a film critic and box office pundit at Forbes, tells us why he thinks the franchise has been so successful. And we end with a look at the most hallowed of magic artefacts, the philosopher's stone itself.Presenter: Elizabeth Hotson Producers: Elizabeth Hotson and Sarah Treanor(Picture of a boy dressed as Harry Potter, Picture by Stephen Chernin for Getty Images)

On this edition of Business Weekly, we’re looking at the rising cost of energy across Europe, and hear from Emma Pinchbeck of Energy UK on how producers and consumers are coping, plus Tom Wilson from The Financial Times analyses the causes behind the price hike. We hear about how some countries are scaling back their road building projects in the face of climate change and ask how best to get people out of their cars? Plus, we go to Ghana, where consumers are unhappy with a new tax the government wants to add to electronic money transfers made using mobile phones. And the BBC’s Michelle Fluerry is in the US state of Kentucky to meet people who have decided to quit their job, and reevaluate their lives during the pandemic. Business Weekly is presented by Sasha Twining and produced by Clare Williamson. (Image: cooking gas ring with blue gas flame; Credit: BBC)

What will be left of human civilisation in the geological record 100 million years hence?Justin Rowlatt speaks to the geologist Jan Zalasiewicz of Leicester University in an extended interview, speculating on the durability of the human legacy. We may take pride in our cathedrals, technologies and feats of engineering. But what strange fragments will survive long enough for aliens visiting our planet in the distant future to discover? And will it be enough for those future geologists to figure out what caused the mass extinction we will leave behind in the fossil record?This is an extended version of an interview recorded for Justin's Geochemical History of Life on Earth, also available on the BBC World Service.Producer: Laurence Knight(Photo: Skull fossil artwork from the Modern Fossils collection by Christopher Locke. Credit: Christopher Locke/Heartless Machine)

The new variant poses a particular threat to China's hitherto successful zero-Covid strategy at a time when the country's economy is looking vulnerable.Ed Butler gets the latest on the fast-moving Omicron variant from Boston University epidemiologist Eleanor Murray. One new development is a recent study in Hong Kong that found that one of the two main Chinese vaccines offers very little resistance against it. Health security expert Nicholas Thomas of Hong Kong's City University says the Chinese government is now in a race to deliver booster vaccines to its population, while stopping Omicron from leaching across its porous land borders. It comes at a sensitive time, with the Beijing Winter Olympics to begin in February, and the government seeking to gently deflate a property market bubble ahead of a politically sensitive Communist Party Congress in October. But independent economist Andy Xie says that when push comes to shove, the government would rather lockdown the entire national economy rather than let Cov

2021 has seen some extraordinary economic changes. First a global economic rebound, then a global supply chain crisis, then inflation of a kind not seen in western countries for decades. And finally millions of people deciding they didn't even want to go back to work after lockdown. So what could 2022 have in store? Ed Butler discusses all this with Oxford economist Linda Yueh of Oxford University and author of the Great Economists, and Mohamed El-Erian, President of Queens College Cambridge. (Picture of interest rate graph. Picture credit: Getty Images).

The World Bank says this could cost the global economy $17 trillion. Coronavirus brought education systems across the world to a halt. At its height more than ninety percent of the globally enrolled student body were not in school. That’s more than 1.6 billion learners. Nearly two years on from the start of the pandemic, hundreds of millions of children are still not back in the classroom. In Uganda, as the BBC’s Patience Atuhaire tells us, schools were closed in March 2020 before the country registered a single coronavirus case. They are yet to reopen. She interviews a father whose twelve children have missed nearly two years of school. Robert Jenkins, the Director of Education and Adolescent Development at UNICEF, says the global economic impact of this lost education amounts to $17 trillion. He says the need for governments around the world to reopen all schools is critical.(picture of Fred Ssegawa's children via BBC).

Roads? Where we’re going, do we need roads? Some countries think they've already got too many. In the face of a climate catastrophe, the Austrian and Welsh governments are reconsidering plans to expand their road networks, moving away from a car-first model to better include more environmentally modes of transport. In Wales, they’ve all but halted any new roads as Climate Minister Julie James tells us, and are instead looking at improving public transport and active travel measures. In Austria we speak to Leonore Gewessler, Minister for Climate Action in the national government, who says that to build more roads would only attract more traffic and therefore more pollution. Electric vehicles could go some way to lowering carbon emissions, but the take up isn’t fast enough, says transport researcher Giulio Mattioli and so reducing reliance on cars altogether has to be a priority. And that means reimagining how cities are built to accommodate convenience, but without the car – transport planner Susan Claris tell