President Biden has claimed the US economy is the ‘envy of the world’ and that his administration has added record job numbers, with around one million people hired since the turn of this year. With inflation falling and the possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates, we find out if the rosy economic picture is being felt by those who are hiring or trying to get hired. (Image: A sign on a wall recruiting for staff at a hotel in California in 2024 as a man walks by. Credit: Getty I...
Jun 04, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast India has just finished its marathon elections and as the new government takes charge we take a look at one of its biggest challenges - rising youth unemployment. With an average age of 29 years, India’s population is one of the youngest globally, but job creation for them hasn’t been easy in this fast growing economy. The BBC’s Devina Gupta travels to Delhi to talks to students and first time job seekers about this growing job crisis and what can be done to solve it. Presenter and producer: Dev...
Jun 04, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Exactly one year into his new job, we meet Ajay Banga, the President of the World Bank. He previously ran Mastercard, but following President Biden's nomination, Ajay Banga took on one of the most important roles in finance in June 2023. He tells us what steps he is putting in place to reform the organisation, how western governments are struggling to fund it to the same levels that it used to, and he warns inflation might not come down much further. Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Olie D'Alber...
Jun 03, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast We found out why the dating guru swapped a career in investment banking to become a matchmaker. Now famous for his role in the hit TV show ‘Married at First Sight’, Paul Carrick Brunson explains how his current career path wasn’t always written in the stars. But a combination of business acumen, the backing of his partner and a touch of luck led to a lucrative trade in matchmaking. He explains his core business principles and gives his top tips for discussing money in a relationship. (Image: Pau...
May 30, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's been two months since the collapse of the key bridge in Baltimore, and the deadline to unblock the port's shipping channel is imminent. The US government has given a loose promise to make it happen by the end of May - but there are doubts that deadline will be met, causing more disruption to the local and global economy. How will businesses on sea and land find a way through more uncertainty? Izzy Greenfield speaks to small businesses who are feeling the impact; from fewer customers to disr...
May 29, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Most of us have noticed the prices of our weekly food shopping going up over the last few years, but some items have risen by astronomical amounts. Extra virgin olive oil - a premium, unprocessed oil from the olive, has seen many customers' prices rise by 50% in the past year alone. We explain why, as we hear from oil sommeliers and the people who buy and sell the product. (Image: Olive oil being poured into a bowl. Credit: Getty Images) Presented and produced by Rick Kelsey...
May 29, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Female-only co-working spaces started to grow during the #metoo movement. But some have struggled. We speak to entrepreneurs who are running these spaces - and the women working in them. Are they a viable alternative to going to the office? (Picture: Oi Leng Lui, who founded the co-working space, The Hearth, in north London.) Presented and produced by Dougal Shaw
May 27, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Laura Chinchilla was the first woman to serve as president of Costa Rica and one of the first in Latin America. We talk to her about what that journey to the top job in her country was like, and the challenges facing Latin America - from corruption to crime, the drugs trade, migration, the brain drain, poor governance and low economic productivity. And we consider some of the potential solutions to those problems - solutions that could help Latin America bring prosperity to its people. (Picture:...
May 23, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Across the region, there are examples of economic success stories: countries, companies and people that are getting things right, transforming their local economies and bringing prosperity to the region. We go to Peru, where fruit producers are enjoying a blueberry boom. We hear from Uruguay, which generates almost all its electricity from renewable energy, and we visit a factory Mexico that’s benefiting from “nearshoring” and the country’s proximity to the United States. We talk to two female e...
May 22, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast From soybean production to coffee exports to sugar cane, grains and tropical fruit - agriculture is powering the Brazilian economy. We travel to a farm outside the capital Brasilia, and look at how the country could play a major role in providing the world with food security in the years ahead. And we consider a major threat to agriculture – climate change, which is forcing Brazilian farmers to adapt to survive. We talk to the Brazilian head of the International Coffee Organisation – on what her...
May 21, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Go back 50 years and Latin America was generally wealthier than East Asia. But that has been reversed. While the economies of East and South East Asia have taken off, enjoying a so-called "economic miracle", Latin America’s have experienced only tepid growth, despite the region’s enormous potential. Gideon Long asks why. We go to Singapore, one of the most open and business friendly nations on earth, to visit a factory making credit cards using the latest computer chips. And we ask economists wh...
May 20, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's a region blessed with incredible natural resources, from copper to lithium to rich agricultural lands. It’s home to vibrant cultures, amazing music and creative and talented people. And yet it has never fulfilled its enormous economic potential. All too often it’s lurched from boom to bust, from hyperinflation to debt crises. We ask why that is. We consider corruption, crime, inequality, excessive bureaucracy and weak governance. We look at Argentina’s long decline and Venezuela’s economic ...
May 19, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast We head to the robot workshop home of Marty the robotical. Sandy Enoch founded the Scottish tech firm Robotical which creates educational robots. Produced and presented by Dougal Shaw. (Image: Marty the robot)
May 16, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Where next for the sometimes tricky relationship between football and crypto companies? We look at how some of the biggest clubs, and players, have embraced crypto products, and what that means for supporters. From fan engagement tokens to NFTs, advertised by the world’s biggest stars, to deals with Premier League clubs which turned out to be fraudulent. Is it putting fans in a potentially difficult financial position? Or just giving them another way to support the team they love? Produced and p...
May 16, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Picture a rock 'n' roll icon like Jimmy Page, or Jimi Hendrix, and they've probably got an electric guitar in their hands. But, as classic rock - and classic rockers - continue to age, is the guitar industry struggling to attract younger customers? In six years, electric guitar company Gibson has gone from filing for bankruptcy to opening its first flagship store outside the US. We hear from Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Grammy nominated singer James Bay, and one of the world's foremost female luth...
May 14, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sports betting is a relatively new industry in the US. Until 2018 you could only legally bet on sports in the state on Nevada, the home to Las Vegas. New Jersey was the first state to legalise sports betting six years ago and since then, a total of 38 states across America have done the same. Hannah Mullane looks at how the industry has grown so rapidly and discusses the consequences of the industry which has been allowed to evolve with very little regulation. (Produced and presented by Hannah M...
May 13, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Stella, Dawa and Salome arrived at the Bidi Bidi refugee camp in north-western Uganda with little more than the clothes they were wearing. Now, all three are entrepreneurs and businesswomen, running thriving businesses and earning enough money to clothe, feed and send their children to school. Can their stories help development agencies and governments deliver support to those most in need? (Picture: Salome, picking crops in a field in Uganda. Copyright: Village Enterprise) Presented and produce...
May 12, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Nigerian-born businessman tells us about his journey from working in a fast food restaurant and facing racism from some customers, to being inspired to start his own business in London. He also talks about the influence of his Christian faith on his business decisions - and how it opened up a network of business connections which allowed his property portfolio to grow. Sanmi Adegoke's Rehoboth group has now undertaken more than 20 major renovation projects and has £35m worth of property asse...
May 09, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Eurovision Song Contest has transformed itself from a TV show experiment to the world's largest live music event. 160 million people are expected to watch this year's competition in Sweden, as 37 countries take part. The acts participating will be hoping to become global superstars following the likes of ABBA, Celine Dion and Måneskin. And outside of the competition many fans around have turned their love of Eurovision into a business: from side-hustles to songwriters. We hear their stories ...
May 08, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast In Scotland in the 1980s, a slump in the whisky market brought about the closure of some of the country's most iconic distilleries. These sites become known as 'ghost' distilleries - where spirit production has stopped, but where some stock is still available. In this programme, Elizabeth Hotson will be discovering why some of these distilleries are now being brought back to life. She visits the legendary Port Ellen on the Isle of Islay for its much-anticipated re-opening and hears from the mast...
May 07, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elton John, Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran - all artists who've had sell-out world tours in recent years. And new markets, such as India, are being added to the global tour map. But the same can’t be said for smaller venues. In the UK and Australia, the lights are off, and thousands are closing their doors. We hear from musicians, promoters and the people who run venues; asking why there’s such a contrast between sell out stadium tours and struggling grassroots venues. And we see what the ...
May 06, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ed Butler travels to Kosovo to find out what the prospects are for this young, ethnically divided population. After Ukraine, it's Europe's poorest region, where a brutal past still casts a shadow. But it's also a territory full of economic promise – with precious minerals buried underground, and vast vineyards. If only the politics would stop getting in the way. (Image: A wine maker in Kosovo, Milan Lakicevic, standing in front of stainless steel tanks, while holding a bottle of his wine.) Prese...
May 05, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Meet Sharvari, Belinda and Brenna, three female bike mechanics from different corners of the world. From setting up a female run workshop in India, teaching skills to other women, or working within elite sport: these three are all making a living in the male dominated world of bike mechanics. Hear their stories and find out what happened when we got them all talking to each other. Presenter/producer: Lexy O'Connor (Photo: Bicycle mechanic Belinda Everett, Credit: Ryan Goff, #rygoff)...
May 01, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over its long history women have been mostly excluded from the Tour de France. Until recently. In 2022, after a long campaign by some of female cycling's biggest names, the Tour de France Femmes was introduced. So how is it doing? And will it ever be on a level footing with the much older and long-established men's race? We hear from competitors, sponsors, broadcasters and race director Marion Rousse. Produced and presented by Lexy O'Connor (Team Jumbo Visma rider Marianne Vos wears the yellow j...
Apr 30, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The 'pink pound' or 'pink dollar' is believed to be worth billions of dollars, and tourism is one sector looking to benefit. We find out how the industry is trying to attract LGBT travellers, with countries like Nepal taking steps to be a more appealing destination. Plus, we head to the coastal town of Sitges in Spain, where gay people have been holidaying for more than 100 years. Producer/presenter: Daniel Rosney (Photo: The Nomadic Boys in New Zealand. Credit: The Nomadic Boys)...
Apr 29, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ireland has just launched a scheme to charge a deposit on bottles and cans which is refunded when consumers return them to recycling machines in supermarkets. The Irish have set up a non profit making company to manage the scheme, funded by the drinks making firms, which should avoid the financial problems that have dogged the industry in the United States. Many privately owned American recycling companies are in danger of going out of business because the fee they get from state governments, un...
Apr 28, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast We speak to the Armenian entrepreneur behind the popular photo editing app used by millions on Instagram, and by businesses too. Mr Avoyan tells us about his childhood, growing up in a country which only gained independence when he was in his 20s. He tells us how this liberation set free his entrepreneurial spirit, and why he relocated his company from Armenia to the US. Produced and presented by Dougal Shaw (Image: Hovhannes Avoyan)
Apr 25, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast As modest fashion week starts in Istanbul, we look at the growth of this area of the fashion industry. Long considered a faith-based choice, it is gaining in popularity, proven by the modest-friendly options that many leading brands now offer. We hear the thoughts of retailers and designers on why more women are choosing to dress modestly. And content creator Maha Gondal explains how she's bringing her take on modest fashion to her thousands of followers. Plus we look at what can go wrong when b...
Apr 25, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast What happens when your favourite movies and TV shows fall off streaming sites? We find out why, speaking to industry insiders, and those preserving our film and TV titles. Plus, we speak to a US-based writer whose programme has disappeared to find out what the impact is on creators when their work no longer exists online. (Image: Man watching TV next to a dog. Credit: Getty Images) Presented and produced by Matt Lines
Apr 23, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Earlier this year, on International Women's Day, the Irish electorate was asked to vote in two referendums on changing Ireland's constitution regarding family and care. One of those questions was whether they wished to remove a reference to the role of women in the home, which some view as being out-of-step with modern Irish society. A lot has changed since the constitution was written in 1937. Ireland is now among the highest-ranking countries in Europe for gender equality. However, in both ref...
Apr 22, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
