Business Daily

From the deserts of Tunisia to the boardrooms of global tech giants, we meet Karim Beguir, the mathematician who turned two laptops and 2000 dollars into Africa’s biggest AI firm. We hear how his company, Instadeep, caught the attention of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and how it helped to track dangerous new variants in the Covid pandemic using large language models.If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Ed Butler Producers: Niamh McDermott and Hannah MullaneBusiness Daily is the home of in-depth audio journalism devoted to the world of money and work. From small startup stories to big corporate takeovers, global economic shifts to trends in technology, we look at the key figures, ideas and events shaping business.Each episode is a 17-minute deep dive into a single topic, featuring expert analysis and the people at the heart of the story.Recent episodes explore the weight-loss drug revolution, the growth in AI, the cost of living, why bond markets are so powerful, China's property bubble, and Gen Z's experience of the current job market.We also feature in-depth interviews with company founders and some of the world's most prominent CEOs. These include the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and the billionaire founder of Epic Systems, one of the world's largest medical record software providers, Judy Faulkner.(Picture: CEO of Instadeep, Karim Beguir, at a photoshoot in Paris in 2024. Credit: Getty Images)

We lift the curtain on how everyone from toothpaste brands to the United Nations is using science to influence your choices in ways you’re probably not aware of. Behavioural science has even made its way into TV drama. How does it work? And why is it so effective?If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Rowan BridgeBusiness Daily is the home of in-depth audio journalism devoted to the world of money and work. From small startup stories to big corporate takeovers, global economic shifts to trends in technology, we look at the key figures, ideas and events shaping business.Each episode is a 17-minute deep dive into a single topic, featuring expert analysis and the people at the heart of the story. Recent episodes explore the weight-loss drug revolution, the growth in AI, the cost of living, why bond markets are so powerful, China's property bubble, and Gen Z's experience of the current job market. We also speak to some of the world's most influential business leaders. These interviews include the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and the billionaire founder of Epic Systems, one of the world's largest medical record software providers, Judy Faulkner. (Picture: The hand of a woman about to cause a chain reaction by pushing over a domino. Credit: Getty Images)

Demand has been surging for copper around the world - from renewable energy projects, to AI data centres, to infrastructure networks. Production, however, has struggled to keep pace, pushing prices close to record highs in late 2025 and early 2026.As the value of the metal has risen, criminals have increasingly targeted copper for theft - stripping it from telephone cables, railway power lines and solar panels. The resulting damage and disruption is costing economies billions.If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Russell PadmorePicture: Train passengers look at a train information board at Zwolle station in Zwolle on the first of December 2025 after an extensive track damage caused by an attempted copper theft disrupted train services. Credit: Getty Images)

Country music is in the midst of a grand renaissance. The genre - whose popularity was previously confined to the American South - is now climbing the charts, grabbing the attention of Gen Z audiences, and changing the perception of what it means to be a country listener. Streaming of the genre in the US rose by nearly 110% in the five years to 2024. And it’s taking over markets all around the world. In the UK, the genre more than doubled its share of the singles market in two years. And Australia is now the third largest country music market globally. From ‘music city’ - Nashville, Tennessee - we speak to artists and industry leaders to better understand where the country music boom came from, and where it’s headed this year. How did country become so cool?To get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Ellie House(Picture: Neon lights spelling 'Music City Tonight' at Robert's Honky Tonk, Nashville. Credit: BBC)

One of the world’s largest airline groups has told Business Daily that airspace closures, due to war zones, are now forcing substantial rerouting of flights. Lufthansa says the ban on using Russian and Ukrainian airspace is having a measurable cost impact on its long haul network, with typical detours of one to two hours.A recent Conflict Intensity index report shows that areas affected by armed fighting have grown by 89% over the past five years, that is one and a half times the size of the European Union.We examine the cost to consumers, and the environmental impacts of these changes. If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukProducer/presenter: Rick Kelsey(Photo: Planes landing and taking off against a coloured sky. Credit: Getty Images)

When Lew Frankfort joined Coach, it was a family run, wholesale handbag business worth six million dollars.He spent 35 years at the company, from opening the company's first shop to growing the business now valued at over five billion dollars.We find out what led Lew to an unlikely career in fashion and how a chance meeting with a US president sparked his social consciousness.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Ed Butler Producers: Hannah Bewley and Hannah Mullane(Photo: Lew Frankfort, chairman emeritus and former CEO of Coach)

Forty years ago Japan made more than half of the world's semiconductors. Today, it produces just over 10%. But the country has big ambitions to turn that around.We hear from the CEO of a company at the centre of the government's high-stakes gamble to revive its semiconductor industry, and more broadly, its tech power.And we'll learn how the island of Hokkaido is now the site of billions in investment to turn what has long been an agricultural powerhouse into a global chip manufacturing hub.If you'd like to contact the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Suranjana Tewari Producer: Jaltson Akkanath Chummar(Picture: A lavender field and colourful flower garden in Hokkaido, Japan. Credit: Getty Images)

When Slovakia was part of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the cars it made were noisy, thirsty and slow by western standards at the time. But when Volkswagen bought the car-maker Skoda, that was the beginning of a major change. Now, Slovakia makes almost a million cars a year and with Volvo opening a factory here in 2027, it’ll be a quarter of a million more. Extraordinary for a country of five million people. We visit a factory and find out why this small nation is attracting so much car industry investment. If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by John Laurenson(Picture: Workers on a production line in a car factory, Slovakia. Credit: BBC/John Laurenson)

In the second of two programmes, we look at Donald Trump's record on the economy one year into his second presidential term. Today, we are asking is the United States still facing a cost of living crunch?Its economy - the largest in the world - is still growing faster than most others and the stock markets are hitting record highs, yet many Americans say they are still struggling to make ends meet. What's going on? We get the view from our North America business correspondent, Samira Hussain; a data scientist; an economist; and consumers from across the country.If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Rahul Tandon Producer: Craig Henderson Additional production (audio diaries): Niamh McDermott(Picture: A woman walks down the aisle at the grocery store with her shopping cart looking at shelved goods. Credit: Getty Images)

Twelve months into Donald Trump’s second term as President, we examine what it’s meant for the US workforce.For government workers it has been a year of cuts, sackings and Elon Musk’s now disbanded DOGE - Department of Government Efficiency - group. Some sections of the workforce have felt their rights under attack. Meanwhile, many Republicans feel DOGE has been a success. Has the past year also provided opportunities for those switching to the private sector?If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Ed Butler Producer: Craig Henderson(Picture: President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on the 26th of February 2025 in Washington, DC. He was holding the first Cabinet meeting of his second term, joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, then head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Credit: Getty Images)

We meet retail turnaround expert Joanna Reynolds, the woman behind the revival of the Folio Society, one of Britain’s oldest publishing houses. Ten years ago, the company was losing money and facing an existential threat from the digital revolution.Joanna explains how she transformed the business from a failing book club to a profitable, employee-owned publisher.If you'd like to get in touch with Business Daily, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: David Cann(Picture: Joanna Reynolds, CEO of the Folio Society, holding a book. Credit: Dunja Opalko)

Festive celebrations at Christmas and New Year often involve increased alcohol consumption in many parts of the world. For some, that’s followed by a decision to take a break from drinking. It's become widely known as Dry January.However, data shows that more people are choosing to reduce their alcohol intake all year round. Alcohol-free drinks only make up about 1% of the total industry, but their popularity has risen quickly, and the vast majority is beer. How influential is Dry January really in this growing trend? And how will the smaller producers, who pioneered the non-alcoholic sector, fare now that the drinks giants are producing their own zero percent products? We examine the changing adult drinks market. If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Imran Rahman-Jones(Picture: Sonja Mitchell, founder of Jump Ship Brewing, based in Scotland, UK, holding a glass of non-alcoholic beer up in the air. Credit: Jump Ship Brewing)

Outrage has been growing in Iran over the country's struggling economy. Any growth this year or next looks unlikely.Protests starting in the capital have spread around the country, driven by mounting economic pressures, sanctions and rising consumer prices. They've been met with a violent crackdown by the government. More than two thousand people are reported to have been killed since the protests began and Iran remains under a days-long internet blackout.In this edition of Business Daily, we examine what has gone wrong with Iran’s economy and why financial pressures have led to so many people taking to the streets.If you'd like to contact the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Rahul Tandon Producers: David Cann and Matt Lines(Picture: An employee arranges a shelf at a store in the Iranian capital Tehran on the 7th of January 2026. Credit: Getty Images)

The power of the global bond market seems to have grown in recent years, to the extent that it can now dictate government policy and even topple political leaders. How much clout do the debt markets actually have and should they be reined in? Many rich nations are more indebted than they have ever been in modern times, meaning that some are spending more simply on servicing their debt than on schools, hospitals or military defence. In the second of two programmes on the bond market, we ask, how sustainable is that debt and should we be worried about it? If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Ed Butler Producer: Gideon Long(Photo: A view of financial buildings in the City of London. Credit: Getty Images)

We explore how the world became so dependent on bonds, those IOUs from governments and firms that helped build the modern economy. Bonds are often dismissed as a dull corner of finance, but behind the scenes they have played a central role in major economic dramas around the world. We hear about their history, how they have shaped companies and countries, and why some fear the bond market could trigger the next global meltdown. If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Rob Young Producer: Gideon Long(Photo: A bond issued in 1648 by a Dutch water board to finance improvements to a local dike system. The bond, written on vellum, is held at Yale University Beinecke Library and is believed to be one of the oldest in the world that still pays interest. Credit: Yale University)

We hear from a man who is immersed in the world of startups, innovation, venture capital, and the work of policymakers whose job it is to strengthen Europe's standing in all those fields. He's also a Prince of the Netherlands and the brother of the Dutch King. Constantijn van Oranje has worked as a business consultant and at the European Commission. He is now a champion of the Dutch tech sector through his organisation, Techleap, set up to support the founders and startups hoping to shape the future of Europe's economy. It's given him a platform to have his say on some of the most pressing issues facing Europe today - but how does he balance his role with that of Prince? We talk politics, regulation and unicorns. If you'd like to get in touch with Business Daily, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Matthew Kenyon(Photo: Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands presents the annual report of Techleap during the conference State of Dutch Tech on 12 February, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands. Credit: Getty Images)

The United Arab Emirates has become the largest state investor in Africa. It's spending billions of dollars across the continent; building ports, power plants and renewable energy projects. We look at why Emirati companies are expanding so rapidly, and find out how much this investment is reshaping economies.If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Sameer Hashmi(Picture: General view of Berbera Port and Bebera city in Somaliland in the Horn of Africa, on 31st August 2021. Dubai-based port operator DP World and the Government of Somaliland, opened a container terminal at Berbera Port in June 2021. Credit: Getty Images)

Will the boom in artificial intelligence continue in 2026? We hear how the world’s biggest companies are jockeying for position in the race to dominate the field. After a year of record spending on AI, we look at how sustainable that type of investment might be in the year ahead. Plus - what gadgets could become mainstream in 2026? The BBC's Technology Editor, Zoe Kleinman, and North America technology correspondent in Silicon Valley, Lily Jamali, give Will Bain their predictions. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Will Bain Producer: Matt Lines(Picture: Guests including CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; CEO of Google Sundar Pichai; and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, X and xAI Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, on Monday, 20th of January 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

We explore how economies and companies rode out the tariff-driven economic storms of 2025 and hear how many continue to forge new partnerships in a changing world of global trade. Asia business correspondent, Suranjana Tewari, and India business correspondent, Arunoday Mukharji, join us from Singapore and Delhi to discuss what the year might hold for the region's biggest economic players. If you'd like to contact the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Will Bain Producer: Matt Lines(Picture: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's President Xi Jinping shaking hands at the Brics summit of emerging economies held in Russia in 2024. Credit: Getty Images)

After American forces arrested and removed the leader of Venezuela, Rahul Tandon looks at what the future might hold for the world's largest oil reserve, and what can we learn from the country's past.Many US companies were forced out of Venezuela when the oil industry was nationalised in the 1970s. The type of oil found there is also hard to reach and complicated to refine. We look at its difficult history, where the oil it produces now goes to, and whether US oil companies will want to spend the tens of billions of dollars it is thought will be needed to fix Venezuela's oil infrastructure. If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Rahul Tandon Reporter: Gideon Long Producer: Justin Bones(Picture: A man wearing a face mask walks past a mural depicting an oil pump and the Venezuelan flag in a street of Caracas, on 26 May, 2022. Credit: Getty Images)