Kodak made photography mainstream so why did it falter in a digital age? The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, discovers how Kodak rose to become a massive global enterprise best known for its cameras and film. Alongside him is the serial entrepreneur, Sam White, ready to offer her opinions on the business's fortunes. Kodak is still trading profitably but is now a much smaller business than it once was. Sean and Sam hear from expert guests including: Kamal Munir - Professor of Strategy &...
Nov 14, 2024•25 min
Why did we lose Reader's Digest magazine when it is still going in America? The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, discovers what happened to the brand which started over a hundred years ago and became the most widely read magazine in the world. Alongside him is the serial entrepreneur, Sam White, ready to offer her opinions on the business's fortunes. How did a magazine which pinched articles from other publications become so successful? And why did it end up toast in the UK? Sean speaks...
Nov 07, 2024•28 min
Listener Liz has recently switched to a coffee pod machine, that promises to deliver her a quick, convenient and delicious cup of coffee when she wants at the touch of a button. But she started to wonder about how the pods can be recycled, and whether her decision to swap to them had a greater impact on the environment? Greg Foot ?filters? through the research on coffee?s carbon footprint alongside two experts, to find out where pods fall. He tastes the difference between a few different brewing...
Oct 31, 2024•28 min
Do we really need all those cleaning sprays? Have a peek in anyone?s cupboard under the sink (ask first or it can get a bit weird) and you?re bound to find a clutch of cleaning sprays and products. The marketing often says they?re designed for certain rooms and do specific jobs. But listener Alice wants to know if we really need different sprays for our bathrooms and kitchens. Will soap and water do the same job, and what about supermarket own-brand products? She?s also keen to know about the cl...
Oct 24, 2024•30 min
Can taking special supplements help us to live longer? It's the 100th episode of Sliced Bread and to mark the occasion we're investigating the pills and supplements that claim to help us live longer - and more healthy - lives. Listener Soly has heard about so-called 'biohackers' such as Bryan Johnson in the US, who are trying to turn back the clock on their biological age and reverse the process that makes their bodies vulnerable to illness and disease. Each day they're taking a special blend of...
Oct 17, 2024•33 min
Does a session in a float tank work wonders for your mental health and exercise recovery? Listener Maddy has heard a lot about float tanks and joins Greg Foot to find out if it really is the latest product worth spending money on. She?s a keen runner and wants to know if claims that it can help with exercise recovery stack up. And what about the effects on the brain? When Maddy's partner recently paid for a session in a float tank he reported a sense of both relaxation and euphoria, which helped...
Oct 10, 2024•32 min
Listener Nikki from Essex has a problem in her garden with a certain slippery character ? the slug. She told Sliced Bread that she?s lost many a plant to them, and had to abandon growing certain kinds altogether ? because while they?re being a nuisance, she doesn?t want to harm them. She has been researching non-lethal slug repellents, and wants to know if they actually work? Can things like egg shells, copper tape and wool pellets stop them in their slimy tracks? We speak to principal entomolog...
Oct 03, 2024•29 min
Do drinks and powders with electrolytes help to hydrate you better? Listener Rob got in touch as he?s recently taken up a new sport and wants to know if electrolytes can help his performance and recovery. He?s seen lots of adverts on social media for drinks and powders containing electrolytes that claim to hydrate you better than just plain water. But do they? To find the answers, Greg speaks to Graeme Close, Professor of Human Physiology and Head of the Research Institute for Sports and Exercis...
Sep 26, 2024•30 min
Listener Raffi is tired of his morning coffee going cold by the time he's ready to drink it. There are plenty of products out there promising to do a better job than Raffi's flask, and they come with a range of price tags. But how do they work and what is the ideal drinking temperature? Dr Michael de Podesta, a chartered physicist and measurements expert, has been looking into these very questions. He joins Greg and Raffi in the studio to run through his experiments - and explain how 'double wal...
Sep 19, 2024•29 min
Greens powders are made up of dozens of ingredients, which are ground up and added to water. They claim to do all sorts of things for our bodies, like give us extra energy, clearer skin, boost our gut health and reduce bloating. But they're not cheap. So what's in them and do they work? That's what listener Sofie, whose social feeds have been bombarded with adverts for greens powders, wants to know. She's not alone - we've had lots of messages asking us to look into these products. To get some a...
Sep 12, 2024•29 min
Lots of people use a foam roller, either before after exercise. It's not usually a very comfortable experience - as Greg finds out in this episode - but is worth the pain? Can they really increase flexibility before exercise, and ease our muscles afterwards? Is it any better than stretching? As you'd expect, there are plenty of claims around these products, which cost anything from a tenner to more than ?100 for a vibrating version. We're going right around the world for this one - listener Bren...
Sep 05, 2024•30 min
Do more expensive dishwasher tablets clean better? And how do eco versions stack up? We are back with a new series of Sliced Bread and even more investigations into your suggested wonder products! We'll also be hitting a significant milestone during this batch of programmes so look out for more on that. First up - dishwasher tablets. Listener Deborah got in touch after hearing our deep-dive into dishwashers themselves and had some burning questions about the tablets we put in them. Do more expen...
Aug 29, 2024•29 min
Could fridges make way for kitchen cabinets that don't just keep food fresh but actually grow it? Dough is a new series from BBC Radio 4 which looks at the business behind profitable, everyday products, assessing where the smart money is going now and what that could mean for all of us in the years ahead. In this episode, the entrepreneur Sam White speaks with experts from the world of refrigeration including: Federica Torelli ? Head of Product Management?with Smeg which makes fridge freezers. E...
Aug 15, 2024•25 min
Will anyone iron clothes in the future? Dough is a new series from BBC Radio 4 which looks at the business behind profitable, everyday products, assessing where the smart money is going now and what that could mean for all of us in the years ahead. In this episode, the entrepreneur Sam White speaks with experts from the world of garment care including: Leonor Carneiro - the category leader for garment care at Versuni which owns the Philips brand and is famous for making products including steam ...
Aug 08, 2024•25 min
How do modern hairdryers protect against damage from excessive heat? Dough is a new series from BBC Radio 4 which looks at the business behind profitable, everyday products and considers how they might evolve in the future. In this episode, the entrepreneur Sam White speaks with experts from the world of hairdryer manufacturing, namely Robyn Coutts, a senior design manager at Dyson and Andrew McDougall, director of beauty and personal care research at the analysts, Mintel. Also joining them is t...
Aug 01, 2024•25 min
Why do we buy so many vacuum cleaners? Dough is a new series from BBC Radio 4 which looks at the business behind profitable, everyday products and considers how they might evolve in the future. In this episode, the entrepreneur Sam White speaks with experts from the world of vacuum cleaner manufacturing, including: Grahame Capron-Tee - who has seen many significant changes during his long career in the industry; Nick Grey - the inventor and founder of Gtech; Anthony Williams - a global director ...
Jul 25, 2024•25 min
What might our TV sets be like in the future? Dough is a new series from BBC Radio 4 which looks at the business behind profitable, everyday products and considers how they might evolve in the years to come. In this episode, the entrepreneur Sam White speaks with experts from the world of television manufacturing, including Brian Palmer, who has seen many interesting and amusing changes during his long career in the industry. Brian is now the founder and chief executive officer of Cello Electron...
Jul 18, 2024•25 min
Dough is a new series from BBC Radio 4 which looks at the business behind profitable, everyday products and considers how they might evolve in the future. In each episode, entrepreneur Sam White, futurist Tom Cheesewright and a host of technology experts take on a popular product, look at where the smart money's going now and then try to predict what that could mean for all of us in the years ahead. The series starts on BBC Radio 4 and will be available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds wee...
Jul 15, 2024•2 min
Listener Chris from Suffolk recently took a DNA ancestry test, and after getting some interesting results back, he wondered how accurate they really were? Greg Foot finds out by taking two tests himself ? and has the results and his family tree revealed to him by DNA Genealogist from Finding Families, Louise Baldock. He also speaks to Professor of Genetics at Leicester University Mark Jobling to find out what these companies are looking for, what they can or can?t determine from our DNA in terms...
Jul 11, 2024•25 min
Are the latest ear plugs better for gigs, focus and sleep? In this special edition of Sliced Bread, recorded at the Hay Festival in South Wales, Greg Foot investigates the newer style of ear plugs. He's joined by listener Marni who's seen adverts for brands like Loop, which promise to protect your hearing at higher volumes while still allowing you to enjoy music at gigs. Other models in their range claim to give you better focus, shutting out extraneous noise but still allowing you to hear conve...
Jul 04, 2024•32 min
Can fortified drinks and spreads really reduce cholesterol? Almost half of UK adults have raised cholesterol, according to the charity Heart UK - and Sliced Bread listener Cathy is one of them. She found out after taking a test at her GP and wants to do something about it. Her first plan of action is to make changes to her lifestyle, such as diet and exercise. As part of that, Cathy wants to know if the spreads and drinks that claim to lower cholesterol really do work. Greg Foot is joined by Cat...
Jun 27, 2024•28 min
This episode has been edited since broadcast. Twelve year old Bradley got in touch with Sliced Bread after trying out his mum Jennifer?s acupressure mat. Jennifer says she swears by it, it relaxes her, and she even falls asleep on it! But after testing it out himself, he was less than convinced. He asked us to find out what these mats are meant to do, whether they work or if they?re a placebo effect, and whether paying more for one could mean better results? Joining Greg in the studio to discuss...
Jun 20, 2024•34 min
What's the best - and most humane - way to get rid of pests? For some of us Tom and Jerry might be the sum total of our knowledge of the struggle between domestic life and unwanted rodents. But for listeners Colin and Mary, things are getting much more real! Colin wants to know if the plug-in devices he's seen that promise to deter rats and mice using ultrasonic actually work. Mary has caught mice and then released them back into the wild in nearby woodland, believing it's the more humane way to...
Jun 13, 2024•31 min
Listener Jennifer is considering switching contact lenses, if there's an alternative that's more eco friendly. She's not alone - we've had lots of questions about eyecare options, and whether the fancy features some lenses offer are worth the extra cash. Joining Greg and Jennifer in the studio to talk all things contact lens are Daniel Hardiman-McCartney, a clinical adviser to the College of Optometrists, and Sarah Smith - a research optometrist who's studied the environmental impact of these ti...
Jun 06, 2024•30 min
Is it worth paying more for premium car tyres? There's a huge range of car tyres to choose from and the price differences between them can be significant. So do you really need to pay more to get a good tyre? Listener Ian runs a car maintenance business and wants to know if the budget tyres he's been fitting are the right choice. Will they last as long and be just as safe? What do the different ratings on the labels you can see online mean? And as he moves towards electric cars he's also keen to...
May 30, 2024•31 min
Lots of different types of period products claim to be eco friendly, from menstrual cups to period pants and reusable pads. But how do their environmental credentials stack up? That's what listener Sam wants to know - and she's not the only one asking about not just the impact of these so called sustainable period products on planetary health, but also on women's health too. Joining Sam and Greg for this one are Natalie Fee, founder of the non profit City to Sea, who campaigns for "plastic-free ...
May 23, 2024•27 min
The UK market for air care products is expected to grow to ?674 million this year - and for this episode, we're investigating just how these products tackle bad smells in our homes. Can air fresheners really "eliminate" stinky odours with science, or do they just smell nicer? And what does using them do for our air quality? That's what listener Conor from Manchester wants to know. He joins Greg in the studio, alongside two experts - Nicola Carslaw, a professor in indoor air chemistry? at the Uni...
May 16, 2024•27 min
Is an LED face mask the secret to brighter, clearer, more youthful skin? Greg Foot is back with a new series of Sliced Bread to run a whole new batch of your suggested wonder products through the evidence mill. From car tyres to contact lenses, air fresheners to LED face masks, Greg will separate science fact from marketing fiction as he investigates whether each product is 'the best thing since sliced bread' or 'marketing BS'. There's a slightly new sound to this new series: having recorded mos...
May 09, 2024•29 min
Why did Safeway's UK supermarkets disappear? Safeway was once one of our biggest supermarket chains, so why did it drop down the list of top performers before disappearing altogether? The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, looks into it and speaks to the former Safeway director, Teresa Wickham, a former Safeway supplier, Judy Garner, and the News Editor, Ronan Hegarty, from The Grocer magazine. Alongside them all to analyse Safeway's fortunes is the self-made millionaire and serial entrep...
May 02, 2024•25 min
Green Shield Stamps could be traded in for 'free' gifts so why did consumers abandon them? Sean Farrington examines their rise and fall and discovers how they spawned a famous retail chain which is still trading. The stamps were the centrepiece of an early form of loyalty scheme and were collected by tens of millions of people across the UK. They were given out by shops with every purchase and could be exchanged for a wide range of household goods and luxury items from handbags to vacuum cleaner...
Apr 25, 2024•25 min
