Rahul Tandon reports on the thousands of young Russians who have decided to leave the country since it invaded Ukraine. Economist Konstantin Sonin tells us as many as 300,000 may have travelled to countries like Armenia, Georgia and Turkey. Sanctions have made it harder to do business and the weaker rouble has devalued assets. Two businessmen, now living in exile, tell their stories, and we also hear from those who’ve chosen to stay, like Moscow journalist Tatyana Felgenhauer. Plus, former Russi...
Apr 01, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The secretive Wagner Group has a history of violence in Africa. In this episode, we ask why leaders are outsourcing security to an unaccountable army accused of murders, rapes and torture. We look into the crimes they're accused of committing, the governments they're keeping in power and the business deals making it all possible. Aanu Adeoye, an Africa expert at London's Royal Institute of International Affairs, tells us about the propaganda machine behind Wagner. Keir Giles, a Russia specialist...
Mar 31, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Aboriginal people from Australia's Tiwi Islands have joined forces with marine scientists and other environmentalists in the fight against a new gas field planned for the Timor Sea. Vivienne Nunis reports on the multi-billion dollar Barossa gas development, which has already been partially approved by Australian regulators. The oil and gas giant Santos plans to build a 300km gas pipeline from the gas field to Darwin, through a marine park that is home to turtles, sponges and other sea creatures....
Mar 30, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Drones, which were originally developed by the military, are now being used all over the world for humanitarian purposes. Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa, the founder of CHIL-AI, tells Jo Critcher how she was inspired by her own experience of cancer to use drones to give more women in Uganda access to screening. In Sweden, the CEO of Everdrone, Mats Sällström, describes how drones are being used to quickly transport life-saving equipment to emergency situations. There are more challenges to using drones ...
Mar 29, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast AI, data analytics and automated surveillance are ever more shaping refugees' futures around the world. From the external borders of the EU to the US-Mexico border, "smart border" solutions, developed by private companies for states, are being used to surveil and control people on the move. Lawyer and anthropologist Petra Molnar tells the BBC's Frey Lindsay how she's seen these technologies creep into borders and camps around the world, and Dr Emre Eren Korkmaz of Oxford University describes how...
Mar 28, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Global fertiliser prices are reaching record highs, as supplies from Russia, one of the world’s largest exporters dry up. As the war in Ukraine intensifies there are warnings of food shortages as farmers struggle to get hold of fertilisers and starting to rationing its use. Soybean farmer Karl Milla tells Sam Fenwick he is rationing how much fertiliser he uses. He says he is worried what effect that will have on crop sizes later in the year. Laura Cross from the International Fertiliser Associat...
Mar 28, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Climate change and disasters continue to threaten peoples’ livelihoods and wellbeing in the Pacific Islands. Jon Naupa, a Kava farmer in Vanuatu, tells the BBC’s Frey Lindsay how difficult it’s getting to break even at the moment. In response to the challenges, young Pacific Islanders are taking advantage of regional labour mobility schemes to make money and help their families. Australia's Pacific labour mobility schemes have seen tens of thousands of Pacific Islanders filling job shortages in ...
Mar 24, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast ESG funds - which claim to promote environmental, social and corporate governance best practice - are all the rage. But are investors being taken for an expensive ride? Ed Butler speaks to one man with his doubts - Tariq Fancy, who used to be in charge of sustainability investing at BlackRock, the gigantic fund management firm, whose boss Larry Fink is an advocate for the role that big finance can play in accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels. Today investors are faced with a confus...
Mar 23, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Two young women recall how they fled the Russian invasion of their homeland, and discuss their hopes and dreams for the future. Alexandra from Kyiv tells Tamasin Ford how she had to say goodbye to her parents at the packed Polish border, and now suffers survivor's guilt, living in the safety of Berlin. Meanwhile Elena recalls the first explosions of the war, and describes how she now finds herself the sole breadwinner for her family, living in exile in Warsaw. Producers: Sarah Treanor and Tom Ka...
Mar 22, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Despite the quotas and positive discrimination, many black Brazilian professionals still struggle to feel accepted and get promoted. Ivana Davidovic hears from Luiza Trajano - Brazil’s richest woman and the owner of the country’s largest retailer, Magazine Luiza - who explains why she decided to launch a coveted management trainee scheme for black people only. Former model and director of the Identities of Brazil Institute NGO, Luana Genot, talks about her own experiences of being held back beca...
Mar 21, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast People across Europe are opening up their homes and businesses to Ukrainians as the refugee crisis tops 3 million. Ivanka, a Ukrainian social worker who has fled to Poland, tells us about the generosity of hotelier Dorota Baranska, who is now housing her and hundreds of other refugees in her hotels. And Eugen Comandent, COO of Purcari Wineries in Moldova, explains why his company has transformed its estate into a refugee centre. Matthew Saltmarsh from the UN’s refugee agency says this is Europe’...
Mar 18, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Climate change and disasters continue to imperil the livelihoods and well-being of people in the Pacific Islands. This is the most pressing issue facing the Pacific today, Ofa Ma'asi-Kaisamy, manager at the Pacific Climate Change Centre, tells the BBC’s Frey Lindsay. And Dr Salanieta Saketa, senior epidemiologist at the Pacific Community's Public Health Division, explains how such events seriously impact people’s health. We also hear how people are fighting to build resilience and forge new futu...
Mar 17, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast What now for Chelsea FC? After the UK government imposed sanctions on Russian owner Roman Abramovich, the club has been denied access to the funds that enabled investment in some of the world's best players and helped it become one of the biggest clubs in European football. No income, either, from ticket or merchandise sales can be made by the club, throwing its short term future into doubt. It's unclear whether Chelsea can even pay its squad and staff next month, such is the punishing nature of...
Mar 16, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Financial sanctions are being used against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine so we’re exploring the role of cryptocurrency in the war. Is crypto being used to evade sanctions as assets are sezied and bank transactions blocked? Or is it simply a means of survival for millions of people in the region who can’t access any other forms of money? We find out by talking to Gaby Hui from Merkle Science, former US government advisor Ari Redbord head of legal and government affairs at TRM labs, Artem Afi...
Mar 15, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, people across the country prepare for the possibility of a long, drawn out conflict.. Some, are determined to help their loved ones survive. But sending aid to a war zone isn't easy. Not just because access to cash locally is often hard to come by, but rules around fundraising are complicated. Olia Hercules, cookbook author and chef, explains how, over the past two weeks, she’s rushed to fundraise and send protective gear to her brother fighting on the front...
Mar 14, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Munitions, equipment losses, sanctions, isolation - Vladimir Putin's decision to invade has come with a rapidly increasing price tag. Just the cost of prosecuting the war is proving astronomical, as Edward Arnold of military think tank RUSI tells Ed Butler. Then there's the economic blowback - the freezing of the central bank's reserves, the exclusion from international finance, the boycotting by key international companies. Over the coming months, Russian industry could grind to a halt, while c...
Mar 11, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Recent floods in eastern Australia have caused devastating losses of life and livelihoods. The BBC's Vivienne Nunis visits southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales where the damage bill from torrential rain is said to be in the billions of dollars. Climate change means natural disasters are becoming more frequent but that means insurance premiums are now too costly for many. So what can be done to prevent future disasters causing so much damage to businesses and homes? Picture: flood-da...
Mar 10, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast A race is on to spot and catch some of the world's biggest and most dazzling yachts owned by Russian oligarchs with ties to President Vladimir Putin in retaliation for the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Several of these multi-million dollar floating assets have been seized by US and European governments. But it's proving difficult to track the vessels, and then there is the issue of what to do with them, often with crew of up to 60 personnel on board. Ed Butler talks to sanctions lawyer Nigel Ku...
Mar 09, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today to mark International Women’s Day we are hearing the story of one woman in Ukraine, as her professional and personal life is turned upside down by the Russian invasion. We hear how women are adapting their day-jobs to help with Ukraine’s war effort and as men are banned from leaving the country, we look at the choice facing the women: to leave and survive, or stay to live, fight, and possibly die, alongside the men. Marie Keyworth talks to Tetiana Gaiduk. Produced by Sarah Treanor. (Image:...
Mar 08, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Food price inflation was already a problem. Could the conflict make things even worse? Ukraine and Russia are both major food exporters. Tamasin Ford looks at how the war in Ukraine is affecting global prices. Food price inflation was already a major problem in many parts of the world, and there are fears that the conflict will make matters even worse. David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, says millions of people in Ukraine will now be at risk of food insecurity as a res...
Mar 07, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast On Business Weekly this week, as the fighting in parts of Ukraine intensified, a suite of sanctions has been levied on Russia, cutting off the country from the inter-bank messaging system Swift and restricting access to the foreign reserves Russia holds in the West’s central banks. Many large international companies are scaling down their businesses in Russia, including the oil giants BP and Shell. The global shipping giant Maersk is stopping its ships from docking at Russian ports. Chris Weafer...
Mar 05, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Ukraine invasion is forcing the European Union to completely rethink its energy policy. Tamasin Ford asks how easily the continent could wean itself off Russian fossil fuels. After all, Europe's oil and gas purchases from Russia helped to fund this war in the first place, according to Kristine Berzina of the German Marshall Fund in Washington DC. The immediate task is to slash dependence on Russian gas before winter returns in nine months, and Simone Tagliapietra of Brussels-based think tank...
Mar 04, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast How the conflict in Ukraine is playing out in cyberspace. With the conflict in Ukraine still raging following Russia’s invasion Ed Butler speaks to hackers from Ukraine including Vlad Styran of Berezha Security Group, one of the people tasked with fending off digital attacks on Ukraine. Dyma Budorin, CEO of cybersecurity firm Hacken.IO, tells Ed he left the country before the current conflict broke out, to carry out a programme of “offensive operations” against Russian targets. Chester Wisniewsk...
Mar 03, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast What will new legislation to crack down on “dirty money” in the UK be worth? Western governments have applied unprecedented sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. But is it time they did more to address the corrupt money invested in their own countries? Ed Butler speaks to investigative journalist Tom Burgis, author of Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World. (Picture: Money laundromat: Credit: Getty Images)
Mar 02, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Non-fungible tokens - or NFTs as they’re known - are already big business, whether you’ve heard about them or not. But when it comes to those creating them, there’s a huge gender disparity. We hear from two female artists - Michele Pred in Oakland and Yiying Lu from San Francisco - plus Liana Zavo who runs her own PR and marketing company. Women make up just 16% of all NFT artists - according to ArtTactic, a London-based company that focuses on research and data in the world of art. Anders Pette...
Mar 01, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast How the latest penalties for invading Ukraine will hit Russia, and may also spill over into the world economy. Ed Butler explores what the democratic world hopes to achieve with their targeting of the Russian Central Bank's currency reserves, as well as the exclusion of major Russian banks from the global communications network Swift. Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, says it will put a huge strain on Russia's economy and finances, although the aut...
Feb 28, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The multibillion dollar streaming industry is thriving, but too much choice makes it a fragmented landscape. In order to survive, the smallest companies might have the edge. Entertainment reporter Katie Ceck says the current model of streaming is unsustainable, and that the trend towards big companies gobbling up smaller ones is the future. Despite being a cluttered market, film lecturer in Vancouver, Michael Baser says there has never been a better time to make diverse programming that was form...
Feb 25, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast A series of governments on both sides of the Atlantic have announced punitive measures in response to Russia ordering troops into rebel-held regions of eastern Ukraine. But how much of an impact will these sanctions actually have on Russia? In addition to restrictions on banks and access to capital markets, a number of individuals have had assets frozen. We speak to veteran anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder, who has written a book "Freezing Order" about Russian money-laundering. Also Maria...
Feb 23, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Increasingly scientists are using genetic material from wild plants to make agricultural crops more resilient to climate change. To find out how, Rebecca Kesby heads to the Millennium Seed Bank for the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in the south of England. There she meets Dr Chris Cockel, one of their project coordinators. We also hear from Asmund Asdal of the Global Seed Vault, which is located in a mountain on the archipelago of Svalbaard, between mainland Norway and the North Pole. We speak to D...
Feb 22, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast California's state capital suffers from a serious shortage of housing, like much of the Golden State. Small informal encampments along riverbanks or the side of the road are a common sight. We hear from Laura Nussbaum, a woman living in one of these camps in Sacramento. She's trying to get back into permanent housing but doesn't think she'll get any help from the city. Meanwhile, the mayor of Sacramento thinks his city should pass a law which gives everyone the legal right to housing. Darrell St...
Feb 21, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
