Business Daily

The US is making overtures to China about working together to save the planet. On Business Weekly, we hear what concessions each side would like the other to make as they try to put aside their diplomatic differences for the sake of the environment. We also hear from climate activist Greta Thunberg, who tells us what her vision for the future is and what she’d like to see politicians doing. As the cargo ship Ever Given remains in the Suez Canal - this time impounded by the Egyptian authorities - we take a close look at the huge vessels in the shipping industry. At what point do companies have to start thinking about reducing the size of these mega ships? And drone racing is increasing in popularity. One pilot tells us what it’s like to fly drones competitively and whether you can make a living from it. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

A hybrid model mixing home working with office time is being favoured by major companies. But critics worry it will create divisions in the workplace. Small business owner and columnist Gene Marks explains why managing remote workers presents such a challenge, and Darren Murph from GitLab, a tech firm of 1,300 employees and no office, tells us why having a mix of home and office work could be the worst of both worlds. Economist Nicholas Bloom discusses the risk of discriminating between workers who choose to spend more or less time in the office, and remote working expert Kate Lister tells us why companies will have to offer flexible working to attract employees in the future.(Photo: A man works at home on his bed, Credit: Getty Images)

Will the US President continue with an increasingly hostile attitude towards China? Or does economic common sense demand that Washington should back off from Beijing? Ed Butler asks Diana Choyleva of Enodo Economics, and he chairs a debate between David Sacks of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington DC and Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished fellow at the National University of Singapore.(Picture: US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Credit: Getty Images.)

During the Coronavirus pandemic, people have been spending more time at home, and online, than ever before. This has given online scammers a golden opportunity to find new victims. And it’s worked. We’ll hear from Danielle in Illinois, who was caught up in just such a scam and lost thousands of dollars from her savings. And she’s not the only one. Craig Jones, Director of Cyber Crime at Interpol, describes the rise they’ve seen in all types of online scams during the pandemic. But why does lockdown make us more vulnerable? Dr. Stacey Wood, professor of psychology at Scripps College in California, breaks down how different demographics are made more vulnerable in their own ways. And if you or a loved one do get targeted by a scammer, Amy Nofziger at the American Association of Retired Persons Fraud Watch Network explains what to do.Presenter: Tamasin Ford. Producers: Clare Williamson and Frey Lindsay. (Picture credit: Vasily Pindyurin via Getty Creative)

The world’s most famous climate activist has just turned 18 and is as uncompromising as ever.In an extended interview, Justin Rowlatt asks Greta Thunberg how she intends to continue campaigning, now that she is back in school and living under lockdown at her family home in Stockholm.Before the pandemic, the Swedish environmentalist had spent several months travelling around America in an electric vehicle lent to her by Arnold Schwarzenegger. A TV documentary crew shadowed her as she visited scientists, entrepreneurs and victims of wild fires, while also attending climate conferences and protesting.She tells us what she learned, and why she believes the climate emergency is more dire than ever before.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: Greta Thunberg at home in a video conference with Justin Rowlatt)

After becoming the most downloaded non-gaming app earlier this year, Telegram messaging app has amassed half a billion users – a quarter of WhatsApp’s and rising. Owned by the elusive Russian exile Pavel Durov, Telegram has been used to coordinate global protest movements - from Belarus to Iran and Hong Kong. It’s also been accused of tolerating the extremist channels behind ISIS and the Capitol Hill riots. But in its home country, Russia, misogyny appears to be permitted on the platform. Ivana Davidovic hears from women who worried for their safety when their personal information, including addresses and workplace details, were posted on Telegram channels, subjecting them to threats. Professor Megan Squire from Elon University in the US tells how she also received threats following her research into far-right groups on the platform, and about her fears that those groups might only get bigger if Telegram proceeds with plans to pay content creators.Digital security expert Raphael Mimoun looks under the app’s b

Voters in Greenland have backed a party which opposes a rare earth mining project. On Business Weekly, we ask what this means for the security of the global supply of rare minerals and hear why this project was so controversial. From the ice to the ocean, where the race to extract minerals is on. But environmentalists are concerned that deep sea mining could hurt the world’s oceans, even if they are being mined to help the environment in other ways. You may have heard of the term non-fungible token, but do you know what they are and how they work? We look at whether they are just another crypto craze or an amazing financial opportunity for digital artists. Plus, how to learn the art of complaining. The show is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

After the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal last month, we ask: are container ships too big? How much bigger can they get? To answer those questions we speak to Aslak Ross, head of marine standards at the world’s largest container shipping line, Maersk. Jan Hoffman, head of trade and logistics at the UN's Conference on Trade and Development, explains that economies of scale have led to the ships getting bigger and bigger. And Evert Lataire, head of maritime technology at Ghent University, describes how he assesses whether a mega ship can fit into a port, or through a canal. Picture: the Ever Given container ship lodged sideways in the Panama Canal. Credit: Getty Images.)

How rocks on the ocean floor could be key to the transition to electric cars. Justin Rowlatt speaks to Gerard Barron, boss of DeepGreen, a company that wants to gather rocks from the ocean floors rich in the metals essential for making electric car batteries. He tells us why this kind of mining is crucial to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Louisa Casson, senior campaigner with Greenpeace, warns of the environmental devastation this could cause. And zoologist Adrian Glover tells us how mining could take place alongside conservation of the deep seabed. (Photo: A sunset over an ocean, Credit: Getty Images)

Can technology help eradicate forced labour from global cotton supplies? A confrontation continues to rise between Western powers, global brands, and the Chinese authorities over the use of forced labour and human rights abuse in cotton production in the western region of Xinjiang. Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, explains why transparency from the Chinese authorities over the whole cotton supply chain is unlikely to be forthcoming. With that in mind, some technology companies are volunteering their services to mark or trace the DNA of cotton, so apparel companies can be sure that it's not from a region with suspected forced labour. Jim Hayward, CEO of Applied DNA Sciences, explains how their particular cotton tagging technology works. But John Gapper, business columnist at the Financial Times, cautions that without larger industry willingness to uproot their business models, at considerable cost, the tech can only go so far to solve the problem.Presenter: Tamasin Ford Producer: Frey L

When the world of crypto currencies met with the world of art, they created what's called a non-fungible tokens or NFT. Some say NFTs could redefine what we think of as art while others think it’s just the latest crypto craze that may well end in financial losses and tears. (Picture: Artwork by Jazmine Boykins/ Blacksneakers, courtesy of the artist)

How exposing the truth at work can cost you your career. Theo Leggett speaks to whistleblowers Ian Foxley and Bianca Goodson, both of whom found it impossible to get a new job after exposing wrongdoing at their respective employers. Psychotherapist David Morgan describes the emotional toll on those who choose to expose wrongdoing, and why the majority stay silent. And whistleblower lawyer Mary Inman, partner at the law firm Constantine Cannon, argues that companies need to start seeing whistleblowing as a help rather than a threat. (Picture credit: Getty Images)

Some of the world’s biggest investment banks have been left exposed as a hedge fund collapsed, leaving multi-billion dollar losses in its wake. Archegos Capital Management was a secretive personal wealth fund - we find out why banks like Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Nomura dealt with it. We hear why a European Union ban on palm oil in biofuel has left both Indonesia and Malaysia upset and as Bangladesh celebrates its 50th birthday we ask whether the textile industry will be able to support the country into the future. Plus, we celebrate 30 years of business programmes on the BBC World Service. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

In this programme, Elizabeth Hotson looks at the art of demanding good service. From dealing with customer services to having conversations with chatbots, we’ll be giving some practical tips for getting what you want. Whilst some people love making their voices heard, Dr. Robin Kowalski, professor of psychology at Clemson University in South Carolina explains why some people’s personalities make complaining a nightmare. Meanwhile, Sabine Benoit, Professor of Marketing at Surrey Business School looks at the customer services conundrum inherent in many food delivery apps. Imogen Butler-Cole, a trainer in communications skills at RADA Business gives practical advice on how to prepare physically and psychologically for making a complaint and author Alison Edgar explains why effective complaining is all about adapting your approach to different situations. Producer: Elizabeth Hotson. (Picture of two people shouting, Credit: 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, like many Kibera residents, lost her job, and when the BBC's Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire. In this final episode in the series, Josephine looks to the future, and how she might retrain herself to find new ways to put food on the table. We’ll also hear from Kibera community organiser Kennedy Odede, how Josephine’s is just one of thousands of stories in the township. Dr John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, tells us of his concerns about East Africa’s ability to recover from the virus, given the unequal rollout of vaccines. But Kennedy Odede says we should not underestimate the resilience of Kibera residents.Producer: Frey Lindsay.Special thanks to Henix Obuchunju of Pamoja FM in Nairobi.(Picture: Josephine and her family. Picture credit: Josephine Muchilwa)

Why do so many women still feel unsafe walking the streets of our cities? We take a look at the idea of a feminist city. What is it and what could it look like? And where in the world are they getting it right? Since the murder of Sarah Everard in South London in March, women all over the UK took to social media to discuss their experiences of walking the streets. And the lengths they go to stay safe. The 33 year old was walking home from a friend’s house in the evening she was murdered. The killing touched women all over the country - and even further afield. But what if women didn’t fear being out on the streets? Tamasin Ford speaks to Leslie Kern, the author of Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World and to Sara Ortiz Escalante, a member of Col·lectiu Punt 6 (Collective Point 6), a cooperative of architects, sociologists in Barcelona in Spain who have worked in more than 120 towns and cities around the world with just one aim in mind - to put a feminist perspective on everything they do. Plus she

In February a devastating flash flood in India's northern state of Uttarakhand killed at least 70 people and trapped workers in underground tunnels. We'll hear from locals who witnessed the horrific events, as well as Uttarakhand journalist Kavita Upadhyay about how the news spread among the community. Indian geologist Dr Kalachand Sain explains exactly what happened that caused the flood, and Dave Petley, professor of geography at the University of Sheffield explains how climate change played a role. Now, in the wake of the disaster, India's strategy to bring more clean energy to the country through hydroelectric dams is coming into focus, with fears the projects are affecting the delicate balance of the Himalayan ecology. Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, explains why the dams should not have been near Himalayan glaciers to begin with,and what could have been done better to warn those near the disaster. Sunita Narain, director of the Centre of Science and En

An EU ban on the vegetable oil's use in biofuel has upset Indonesia and Malaysia. Meanwhile critics say it will only worsen the problem of tropical deforestation by palm oil farmers.Manuela Saragosa looks at this most divisive of commodities, and moves to ban it impact the smallholder farmers behind almost half of global production. Sustainability researcher Gernot Klepper of the Kiel Institute explains why he thinks the European position is irrational, while Indonesian palm trade journalist Bhimanto Suwastoyo says palm growers could simply switch to markets in India and China where buyers care much less about deforestation.Meanwhile Greenpeace's Grant Rosoman explains why the environmentalist group is so sceptical about existing certification schemes, while Tiur Rumondang of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil - the biggest such scheme - defends their work.Producers: Laurence Knight, Joshua Thorpe(Picture: A farmer carries palm oil fruit at a plantation in Malaysia; Credit: STR/AFP/GettyImages)

As a giant container ship gets stuck in the Suez canal, we examine at the vital role the waterway plays in global shipping. We also hear from Chicago, where reparations are being made to black residents after years of segregation. African Americans have lost thousands in personal wealth due to the policy of redlining. Our chief environment correspondent investigates a leaked letter from China - suggesting it's preparing to embark on greener policies. And we’ll be talking space junk with astrophysicist Becky Smethurst.Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Szu Ping Chan.

Since December, more than 600 students have been abducted from schools in north-west Nigeria, highlighting a worrying development in the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis. We'll hear from the father of a returned schoolgirl, about the agony of not knowing what's happened to them. But it's not just schoolgirls. Nigeria is subject to a full-blown kidnapping industry, as Ikemesit Effiong of SBM Intelligence explains. And as the government denies it is paying ransoms, and calls grow for the crisis to be brought under control, Bulama Bukarti of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change explains just why it's so hard to combat the kidnappers.Producer: Frey Lindsay(Picture credit: A woman whose 2 daughters were kidnapped by gunmen cries at her home in Zamfara State, northwest of Nigeria, February, 2021. Image Credit: KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images)