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As rows continue in Europe over the safety and supply of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid 19 Vaccine, on Business Weekly we ask how much of the argument is over genuine safety concerns and how much is political? We also take a look at the pandemic within a pandemic: obesity. It’s the second highest risk factor for Covid mortality. But, how much of the blame should lie at the door of the food industry? Will a renewed focus on health change what we eat and drink? Plus, governments around the world are trying to build back better and greener from the Coronavirus pandemic. We have a special report on the steel industry, which is being pressured to become more environmentally friendly. And the Oscars are #notsowhite this year – we take a look at the nominees. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Why is it that the boss never seems to know what they’re doing? The famous “Dilbert principle” asserts that companies promote incompetent employees into middle management to get them out of the way. But Professor David Dunning, co-creator of the competing “Dunning–Kruger effect”, says there’s more to it than that, specifically that the more incompetent a person is, the more confident they can be. Meanwhile, Kelly Shue, Professor of Finance at Yale, says an even simpler idea, the “Peter Principle” helps to explain why people get promoted beyond their level of competence. And entrepreneur Heather McGregor explains why the incompetence of a former boss led her to buy her own company Presented by Ed Butler, This is a repeat of a programme first broadcast in June 2020.(Picture: A woman at her desk. Getty Images)

In the sprawling Nairobi slum of Kibera in Kenya, a single mother of four struggles to survive lockdown. At the beginning of the pandemic, Josephine was working as a cook, but soon lost her job, and when the BBC's Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire.In this episode, the second of a short series, the small business Josephine started to help feed her family sees faltering success before life in a pandemic gets more complicated again. Also in the programme, we hear from Kibera radio journalist Henix Obuchunju, reacting at the time to the confusion and suspicion of early lockdown measures in Kenya. And Dr John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, looks back and reflects on how those early measures played out.Producer: Frey Lindsay(Image: A woman with a face mask walks past graffiti that promotes social distancing, to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Kibera, Nairobi, on July 15, 2020. Image credit: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we behave on the internet. Online trolling is on the rise as people turn to social media to take out their lockdown frustrations.Marie Keyworth hears from Lisa Forte, who used to work for the UK police's Cyber Crime Unit and has faced online abuse herself. Virginia Mantouvalou says that a social media platform shouldn’t be viewed as “safe space” to express whatever views we wish. But isn't one of the points of social media to connect with like-minded people freely? Marie puts that to Will Oremus, a senior writer for tech magazine OneZero.Our posts and comments can incur the wrath of not just online mobs, but of our employers too. And, as journalist and author Jon Ronson explains, the collective online herd mentality leaves no room for forgiveness, or redemption. Producer: Sarah Treanor(Picture: a man holds his head in his hands and looks at his computer in despair. Credit: Getty Images.)

Obesity is a major factor in which countries have the worst Covid-19 death rates, a new report suggests. So could this be a moment of reckoning for food and beverage businesses?Manuela Saragosa hears from John Wilding, president of the World Obesity Federation, which produced the report. She asks Kate Halliwell, chief scientific officer of the UK’s Food and Drink Federation, what responsibility the industry bears. Sophie Lawrence of fund managers Rathbone Greenbank explains how important obesity is to investors in food and drink companies. Plus, a Covid survivor who was morbidly obese when he went into hospital in March last year, and spent seven weeks in an induced coma, tells us how he has now dramatically changed his lifestyle.Producers: Laurence Knight, Benjie Guy(Photo: A tray of fast food - a burger, fries and a drink. Credit: Getty Images)

On this edition of Business Weekly, we look at an alternative view of the economic future, a year on from the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. We hear from musicians on different continents who have found different ways to pay the bills when the live venues closed. And we head to Nairobi to meet Josephine, a woman living in an informal settlement, who has recorded a pandemic diary for us. We will also hear from the fishing villages around the Indian Ocean where people in the Seychelles and Maldives are worried the yellow fin tuna stocks are fast depleting. It’s being blamed on a love of sushi in the west. And to finish off, we’ve an insight into a very unusual career that has brought someone a great deal of happiness. Business Weekly is presented by Sasha Twining and produced by Matthew Davies.

As women begin to speak out against sexual violence and harassment, does the music industry face a #metoo reckoning?Manuela Saragosa speaks to her colleague Tamanna Rahman about her investigation for BBC television into numerous claims of abuse, assault and rape, as many women finally break their silence. They discuss the cases of grime artist Solo 45, who was sentenced to prison for multiple counts of rape, and the superstar DJ Erick Morillo, who died last year shortly after being accused of drugging and raping a colleague. But Tamanna says there are numerous other women she has spoken to who are still afraid to go public with their stories, in many cases because they fear destroying their careers. So what can be done, and what should the big record labels be doing in particular?Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: Lone female street artist holds head in despair next to a guitar; Credit: JoseASReyes/Getty Images)

Josephine is a single mother of four in Kibera, the sprawling slum in Nairobi, Kenya. At the beginning of the pandemic she was working as a cook, but soon lost her job, and when the BBC's Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire.In this episode, the first of a short series about Josephine and Kibera, we hear how she struggled to start a small business to help feed her family. Also in the programme, Kibera community organiser Kennedy Odede explains how those first few months of desperation impacted the slum's residents. And economist Edward Kusewa, explains how those early months of lockdowns in East Africa are still affecting lives.Producer: Frey Lindsay.(Image: A woman walks home through empty streets after the 7pm curfew in Kibera, Nairobi; Credit: Kabir Dhanji/AFP via Getty Images)

Are chicken nuggets grown from animal cells the ultimate innovation, or a flash in the pan? As Singapore allows the sale of cultivated chicken nuggets, Elizabeth Hotson speaks to Josh Tetrick, whose company Eat Just brought the innovative snack to market. Colin Buchan, executive chef at the exclusive club 1880 in Singapore, tells us what it's like to cook the nuggets, while two vegan friends in London talk about the ethics. Plus, the BBC's Regan Morris tells us why bringing lab grown meat to market in the US may be a tricky task, and Kelly Laudon, an attorney with law firm Jones Day takes us through the legal implications. Producer: Elizabeth Hotson(Picture: Lab-grown chicken nugget; Credit: Nicholas Yeo/Getty Images)

Central banks and many companies are rushing to develop their own digital currencies. Why are they doing it? What are the risks? And how might it upend our relationship with money? Ed Butler speaks to Jay Joe, who runs a company providing some of the tech behind the Bahamas’ new digital currency, the Sand Dollar. Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, explains what central banks in the Bahamas and elsewhere hope to gain from digitisation.Samantha Hoffman, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Unit, explains how China might use its new digital version of the Yuan to snoop on people. And David Birch, author or The Currency Cold War, hopes digital currencies may soon allow our fridge and car to manage our finances for us.Producers: Edwin Lane, Benjie Guy(Picture: currency symbols. Credit: Getty Images.)

On International Women's Day, we ask what Covid-19 lockdowns have done to gender equality at work - and at home.Mum Leslie Chiaramonte was forced to quit her nursing job amid the demands of juggling childcare and work. British politician Stella Creasy fears the pandemic will lead to a "tsunami" of unemployed mothers. But Holly Birkett, co-director of the Equal Parenting Project at the University of Birmingham, says it has helped to remove the stigma attached to flexible working.Producer: Szu Ping Chan(Photo: Stock photo of a mother multi-tasking with her young son; Credit: Getty Images)

Next week marks the first anniversary of the World Health Organisation officially labelling Covid-19 a pandemic. In the year since that announcement was made over two and a half million people have died from the disease. Global unemployment rose by 33 million, social gatherings have been largely forbidden and millions of children have had their education disrupted. On this episode of Business Weekly we’ll be looking at the cost of the coronavirus on our jobs, lives and wellbeing. We’ll hear from women forced out of the workforce, young people who had to grow up in lockdown and health workers who battled to save lives at the expense of their own mental wellbeing.Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Marie Keyworth.

New York rat-catcher James Molluso has been dealing with vermin since he was a teenager. The pay isn't brilliant, the hours are long and the chemicals are toxic. So why does he love his job so much? We hear from John Bowe, who recounts surprising tales of happiness from his years interviewing crime scene cleaners, lawyers and taxidermists in the book Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs. And with Covid-19 blurring the lines between work and home life, Laurie Santos, professor of Psychology at Yale University, tells us what we can all do to break the daily grind.Photo: Stock photo of a businessman holding a picture of a happy face (Credit: Getty).

A year of crisis has taken a toll on those tasked with caring for the sick and elderly. It’s almost a year since the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic. Manuela Saragosa revisits three frontline health care workers who she spoke to last year, about how they have coped. Dr Ma, a geriatrician in Hong Kong plus a care home worker in Spain and Dr. Laura Hawryluck, Associate Professor of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Toronto and an ICU doctor herself. Laura tells us of the strains and physical scars of the past year. And Elena Rusconi, Professor of Psychobiology and Physiological Psychology at the University of Trento, explains the results of a survey she and colleagues conducted on care workers in Northern Italy last year, which found that almost half had symptoms of moderate-to-severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.Remember if any of the issues in today’s edition affect you, do seek the help of a professional mental health body if not a doctor or frie

How has mental health in the South American country been affected during lockdown? According to the World Health Organisation Guyana has for years had one of the highest suicide rates anywhere in the world. So how has the country fared during the pandemic? Ed Butler speaks to Supriya Singh-Bodden, founder of a non-profit organisation The Guyana Foundation, set up to foster development in the country, to Meena Upeachehan who works as a councillor for The Guyana Foundation, and to women in the country who have been suffering depression and domestic abuse. Plus he speaks to Dr Christine Moutier, Chief Medical Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention who says early data shows that suicides have not gone up globally during the pandemic but may rise in the second or third waves. (Picture: Traditional wooden house on stilts in rural Guyana. Picture credit: Arterra/Marica van der Meer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the lives of billions of people around the world, and with many countries still in lockdown the impact will continue to be felt for many years. Not least for teenagers, whose education, family and social lives have been profoundly disrupted. Today we meet such teenagers: Ayushmaan in New Delhi, Emma in Hamburg, Pelumi in Lagos and Gracie in Auckland talk to host Tamasin Ford and each other about the challenges of nearing adulthood in a world under lockdown, and how the extra pressures have impacted their mental health.Remember if any of the issues in today’s edition affect you, do seek the help of a professional mental health body if not a doctor or friends and family.Producer: Frey Lindsay. (Image credit: Getty Creative.)

It’s almost a year since the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic. Many embraced working from home to start off with. But has it lost its lustre? We look at the toll it’s taking on people’s mental health. We hear from Matthew Cooper, the co-founder of a start-up called Earn Up, a San Francisco-based financial technology platform that helps people automate their loan payments. He explains why the pandemic contributed to a breakdown at the end of 2020. We also speak to Margaret Heffernan, from the University of Bath, former CEO of five companies and author of several books including Uncharted, who tells us why checking in with staff must be done properly and personally, and hear from Mark Simmonds, the author of the memoir Breakdown and Repair: a fathers tale of stress and success; His own mental health issues led him to completely re-evaluate his career and working practices, and he offers some tips on coping with stress. Remember if any of the issues in today’s edition affect

As the global Covid-19 vaccination drive slowly gathers pace - on Business Weekly we’ll be looking at whether vaccine passports will help us return to life as we once knew it. While the travel industry is keen to use them, scientists warn that not only will they not work properly but they could pose serious ethical dilemmas. We’ll also hear from the people scooping facemasks out of the ocean - who are warning that Covid-19 has caused a pandemic of plastic waste. In the effort to save the planet from climate change, US President Joe Biden has promised to reduce the US’s carbon emissions. We’ll hear from the American coal workers who are worried for their jobs. Also, the pandemic has thrown the global wedding industry into disarray. We’ll meet the couples who got married during the pandemic in really quite extraordinary circumstances. And we’ll look at the history of hairstyles in the workplace.Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Szu Ping Chan.

As Bitcoin's price hits a new all-time high, it's now estimated to use as much electricity as the whole of Argentina But is this remotely sustainable?Justin Rowlatt speaks to cryptocurrency expert and University of Chicago economics professor Gina Pieters about why such heavy energy consumption is an intrinsic feature of Bitcoin, and why the higher it's value rises, the more its energy footprint expands.But what about it's carbon footprint? That's a debate we get to hear both sides of, with crypto evangelist Ethan Pierse saying that Bitcoin miners are helping to finance the expansion of renewable energy sources, while the more sceptical data analyst Alex de Vries says they are burning plenty of fossil fuels to compete in an expensive and pointless lottery.Plus Kenneth Rogoff, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, compares Bitcoin to a work of modern art, and wonders whether its future may be as a curiosity at a Star Trek convention in the year 2100.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: B

Poorer countries in search of Covid-19 vaccines are looking east. Agathe Demarais, global forecasting director at the Economist Intelligence Unit, describes how China and Russia are stepping in to provide vaccines where Europe and the US aren't. Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains how this feeds into China's soft power aspirations. Yuan Ding, dean of the China Europe International Business School, and David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, discusses China's efforts at soft power so far. (Photo: A nurse in Brazil holds a sample of a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine)