Business Daily

Climate Change: Can the world economy continue to grow without burning fossil fuels? Or do we all need to cut back on our consumption in order to save the planet?It is a question that splits the green movement. Justin Rowlatt hosts a fiery debate between two environmentalists on either side of the divide, who have already been tearing chunks out of each other in a very public dispute online. Michael Liebreich, who runs a clean energy and transportation consultancy in London, says the technological solutions to global warming are within our grasp, and that maintaining economic growth is essential to bringing carbon emissions under control. Meanwhile Tim Jackson, professor of sustainable development at Surrey University, says that it is precisely the world's obsession with economic growth that is dooming Planet Earth to disaster.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: The sun sets behind an oil and gas platform in the Santa Barbara Channel, California; Credit: David McNew/Newsmakers/Getty Images)

Are Apple and Samsung running out of people to sell their smartphones to? And who wants to pay for an upgrade when their old phone is good enough?Manuela Saragosa asks whether Apple's recent disappointing earnings are less to do with China's slowing economy - as the company claims - and more the fact that the market for iPhones has become saturated. With few major tech improvements on the horizon, is the smartphone about to become just another mass-produced, low-margin product?The programme features interviews with phone industry analyst Ben Wood of CCS Insight, management professor Yves Doz of Insead in Paris, and Barry C Lynn of the Open Markets Institute thank tank in Washington DC.(Picture: Group of people using smartphones outdoors; Credit: ViewApart/Getty Images)

More and more women are choosing to freeze their eggs in their twenties - but is it all just a big waste of money?Manuela Saragosa speaks to Jennifer Lannon, who paid thousands of dollars at the age of 26 to preserve her eggs as a hedge against infertility later in life. But are the companies that offer this service - sometimes at special cocktail parties - just exploiting women's anxieties?Patrizio Pasquale is Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at Yale is a sceptic. But Gina Bartasi, founder of the US fertility business Kindbody, says it's all about female empowerment and overcoming the patriarchy.(Picture: Liquid nitrogen tank at a fertility clinic; Credit: SUPERFROYD/Getty Images)

Will indictments against China's tech giant overshadow US trade talks? We hear from Timothy Heath, defence analyst at the Rand Corporation, about the threat to security Huawei is perceived to pose in the US, and from cyber security expert Dmitri Alperovitch on the history of industrial espionage by Chinese actors. Dr Jie Yu, China research fellow at the London thinktank Chatham House assess the risk to the trade talks.(Photo: Huawei logo on a building in Poland, Credit: Getty Images)

Two rival presidents, oil sanctions from the US and hyperinflation. Venezuela's economic and political crisis is deepening and we hear from some of the people caught in it. Venezuelan economist Carlos de Sousa from Oxford Economics explains the economic context. Presented by Ed Butler.(Photo: A protester on the streets of Venezuela's capital Caracas, Credit: Getty Images)

Drones have been used increasingly in Africa for survey and mapping, but will cargo drone delivery companies be the next big thing? Jane Wakefield visits Mwanza on the banks of Lake Victoria to speak to African and international companies hoping to cash in on the drone delivery market. During a trial for a big World Bank project called The Lake Victoria Challenge Jane speaks to the Tanzanian drone pilot making waves across the continent, to the global start ups innovating rapidly, and to one drone company helping to map Cholera outbreaks in Malawi. Jane hears from Helena Samsioe from Globhe, Edward Anderson from the World Bank, Frederick Mbuya from Uhurulabs, Leka Tingitana Tanzania Flying Labs and others.(Photo: A delivery drone in Tanzania, Credit: Sala Lewis/Lake Victoria Challenge)

China's economy is slowing down. What does it mean for the rest of the world? We hear from Shanghai where consumers are spending less. Economist Linda Yueh gives her analysis while Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group in Shanghai, worries about the growing trade war with the United States. Presented by Ed Butler.(Photo: A worker in a Chinese grocery store waits for customers, Credit: Getty Images)

The mega-philanthropist is in Davos lobbying governments and the global business elite to donate money towards the fight against infectious diseases. But is the world's second richest man the best person to spearhead this effort?Ed Butler speaks to Mr Gates about why he considers it critical that the US and other rich world governments continue to finance efforts to fight Aids, malaria, polio, TB and the like. Meanwhile, Peter Sands - executive director of the Global Fund, one of the four major health initiatives that Gates is backing - explains why any let-up in the fight could be very costly indeed, particularly for the developing world.But the philanthro-capitalism embodied by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation faces increasing criticism. Sophie Harman, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, expresses her qualms about their lack of accountability, while historian Benjamin Soskis of the Urban Institute in the US says the very willingness of Gates to lobby for good causes is raising q

Dating apps like Tinder are a multi-billion dollar business, but have they reduced romance to a commodity? Vivienne Nunis speaks to Stanford University economist Paul Oyer, author of Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating. Historian Moira Weigel, author of Labor of Love, explains how dating and commerce have always been intertwined, and Eric Silverberg, CEO and co-founder of Scruff, a dating app for gay and bisexual men, argues that dating apps are doing more than just selling romance. (Photo: Dating apps on a phone, Credit: Getty Images)

The number of female executives in the UK’s top companies remains stubbornly low. Vivienne Nunis speaks to Heather McGregor, dean of the Herriot Watt Business School and Sue Unerman, co-author of The Glass Wall, to hear what women can do to get a seat at the table in big business.(Photo: Young businesswoman in a meeting, Credit: Getty Images)

China is lending Pakistan billions of dollars as part of an ambitious policy to disrupt global trade. Beijing is six years into a trillion-dollar plan that's been dubbed the new Silk Road. The project – officially known as One Belt One Road – aims to connect Asia with the Middle East, Africa and Europe, through a network of new trade routes.Vivienne Nunis visits Lahore in Pakistan, where Chinese-funded infrastructure projects are transforming the face of the city. So how do Pakistanis feel about the increasingly close economic ties with their much larger eastern neighbour? Vivienne hears from Rashed Rahman, the former editor of Pakistan’s English language newspaper, the Daily Times. China expert Joshua Eisenman, from the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, explains the thinking behind Beijing’s big-spending plans.(Picture: Road at Khunjerab Pass on the China-Pakistan border; Credit: pulpitis/Getty Images)

At what point will the standoff in Washington DC start doing serious harm to the US economy?Vishala Sri-Pathma speaks to two victims of the shutdown. As a prison officer, Eric Young is currently not getting paid by the government, even though he is still legally required to turn up for work. He is also a national union representative, and is calling on the government to start planning for a lockdown of jails as staffing numbers dwindle. Meanwhile Bob Pease, head of the Brewers Association, says that small craft beer makers could be facing real a crisis if the government doesn't start issuing licences again soon.So how much longer can this all go on for? We ask Megan Greene, chief economist at US asset managers Manulife, and the BBC's North America reporter Anthony Zurcher.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: A signs says the Renwick Gallery museum is closed because of the US federal government shutdown; Credit: Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images)

When is it acceptable to vanish from a job without warning or explanation, and why are more and more people doing it?Ed Butler hears one woman give her reasons for doing just that, while web design entrepreneur Chris Yoko retells the tale of one no-show employee who took the art of ghosting to a whole new literal level. He also talks to the founders of the Japanese company Exit, which offers to provide resignation letters and phone calls for those too afraid to do it in person.But why is ghosting - a cold shouldering tactic that first came to the fore in the online world of social media and online dating - becoming more commonplace in the real world of employment? Chris Gray of recruitment firm Manpower UK blames the booming jobs market, while Dawn Fay of US employment consultants Robert Half says whatever the reason, just don't do it!(Picture: Co-workers have a business meeting while a man waits in the background; Credit: ER_Creative/Getty Images)

Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is becoming technologically feasible, but will it ever be commercially viable at the scale needed to halt climate change?Ed Butler speaks to Louise Charles of Swiss-based Climeworks - one of the companies that claims it is already turning a profit from the direct capture of carbon from the air. They're selling the CO2 to greenhouses. But what the world really needs to do to stop global warming is bury the stuff in the ground, and who is willing to pay money for that? Ed asks Princeton ecology professor Stephen Pacala, and Gideon Henderson, professor of earth sciences at Oxford University.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: A Reykjavik Energy employee stands next to a carbon capture unit designed by the Swiss company Climeworks; Credit: Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images)

With the threat of climate change looming, and growing ambivalence about whether the world can meet its stringent carbon emissions reduction targets to limit global warming, many people are searching for new solutions. But some people think they’ve already cracked it, as well as the solution to world hunger, simply by growing plants in salt-water. Dr. Dennis Bushnell, NASA's Chief Scientist, explains the potential he sees in the salt-water loving plants, known as halophytes. We'll also hear from two scientists, Dr. Dionysia Lyra and Dr. RK Singh who are working to make that potential a reality, at the Centre for Biosaline Agriculture in Dubai.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: Low chenopod shrub, Samphire (Salicornia europaea), a kind of halophyte. Kalamurina Station Wildlife Sanctuary, South Australia. Photo credit: Auscape/UIG via Getty Images)

Did China steal the plans for much of its military hardware, like the J20 jet, from Western defence firms? And what has the US been doing to counter Chinese hacking?Ed Butler speaks to Garrett Graff, a journalist for Wired magazine who has been following the twists and turns in US-China cyber relations over the past few years, including a hacking truce secured by President Obama, that broke down after he left the Oval Office. Plus Ian Bremmer, president of the risk consultancy Eurasia Group, explains why he fears that we are seeing a widening split in the tech economy between China and the West, and that this may be paving the way to a more dangerous real-world conflict.(Picture: A J-20 jet performs at Zhuhai Air Show in China; Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Revenge of the nerds - how comedians are helping explain the world of science and tech. Reporter Elizabeth Hotson finds out how people are forging careers from our desire to know how the world works. We get a practical demonstration from Natasha Simons a science performer and writer. Ron Berk, Emeritus Professor at the Johns Hopkins University in Maryland explains why he creates musicals about biostatistics and measurement. Helen Arney, co-founder of the Festival of the Spoken Nerd gives us a taste of science stand-up comedy and Jorge Cham, creator of PhD comics and co-host of the podcast ‘Daniel and Jorge explain the universe’, puts the fun into string theory.Pic credit: Getty images

There’s a shortage of affordable and social housing in most large urban centres around the world. But the construction sector is blighted by inefficiency and low productivity, and many say it’s ripe for disruption. Could modular or factory-built homes be the answer? We visit the factories and hear from two UK house-building ‘disruptors’; Rosie Toogood CEO of Legal and General Modular Homes and Nigel Banks at Ilke Homes. Mark Farmer of Cast Consultancy explains what’s been holding back innovation and Richard Threlfall, Partner and Global Head of Infrastructure at consultants KPMG gives us his take on the prospects for factory-built homes globally. Plus Rudy van Gurp from Dutch construction company Van Wijnen on why this may just be the cusp of big changes about to take over the construction industry.Picture description: A crane taking modular home segments and stacking them on one on top of the other to make a new duplex. Picture Credit: Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images

The global pet food industry is predicted to be worth nearly $100bn by 2022. Premium pet food has become big business. Sheila Dillon asks whether we've gone too far in pampering our pooches with expensive treats. We hear from Kevin Glynn and David Nolan, co-founders of food delivery service, Butternut Box. Butcher John Mettrick tells us about the raw pet food he makes for dogs and we peruse the menu at a high-end brunch for canines at M Restaurant in London.(Photo: Three dogs behind a birthday cake surrounded by balloons. Credit: Getty images)

Reporter Jane Wakefield explores the various ways companies can accommodate those on the autistic spectrum. Jane visits Autocon, a software company based in California which exclusively uses autistic employees. Jane meets company co-founder, Gray Benoist, the father of two autistic sons. We have contributions from employees, Evan, Peter and Brian and hear from Stephen Silberman, author of Neurobites which explores autism in the context of the modern workplace - especially in Silicon Valley. We also get the perspective of the National Autistic Society's Head of Campaigns and Public Engagement, Tom Purser.(Photo Credit: Autocon)