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Could virtual offices provide an alternative to endless Zoom calls? Ed Bulter speaks to Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, about the phenomenon of 'Zoom fatigue', and why virtual reality could provide a solution. Phillip Wang, CEO of the startup Gather, shows us round his virtual office platform that combines video conferencing with old-school video game graphics. Ed tries out a meeting in virtual reality with Anand Agarawala, CEO of the VR platform Spatial. And Marc Bena from PwC explains why interest in virtual meetings is growing among businesses.(Photo: A virtual meeting on VR platform Spatial, Credit: Spatial)

Artificial intelligence is increasingly part of our daily lives - in health, in transport, entertainment and much more - but how many of us actually trust the algorithms that drive it? Rolls-Royce says it’s now developed a system, called the Aletheia framework, that gives IT engineers in any sector a way of testing whether their AI systems are making decisions that are safe and trustworthy. The aerospace company says it's making the framework available for free to all. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Caroline Gorski from Rolls-Royce who helped develop the Aletheia framework. She also speaks about AI's trust issues with Dame Wendy Hall, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton in the UK and Chair of the Ada Lovelace Institute. Plus Pag Miles from the global recruitment company Alexander Mann Solutions, explains how the Aletheia framework might help his industry which is increasingly relying on AI to select and match candidates to jobs.

Negotiators from the UK and EU are to begin a new push to reach agreement on post-Brexit trade after both sides agreed "to go the extra mile". A UK source said the "process still has some legs" but Boris Johnson has warned a no-deal is the "most likely" outcome. Sophie Pornschlegel, a senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre, explains how much room there may be in Brussels' position, while the BBC's Rob Watson talks through what will be needed to get any deal over the line in the UK parliament before the 31st. And we'll hear from a UK coffee exporter, Dan Webber of Chimney Fire Coffee in Surrey, about what the prolonged uncertainty means for his business.(Picture: Getty Images)

On this edition of Business Weekly, we ask whether Covid vaccines are the shot in the arm the pharmaceutical industry needs to rescue its reputation? Plus, as the world looks ahead to life after the pandemic will our transportation systems be there to help us get around? There’s a financial crisis in New York’s mass transit system. What does that mean for the city it supports? Airbnb finally packs it bags and heads to the stock market. The holiday accommodation company’s shares boomed on its first day of trading this week. We speak to Airbnb’s chief executive, Brian Chesky. Also, in China, over 15m tonnes of food is wasted every year. The government has a new plan to tackle this, but how will it convince its citizens not to throw food away? And we’ll be talking about that nine figure deal reached by Bob Dylan to sell off his back catalogue. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Britain is looking to ban the export of live animals for slaughter and fattening after its existing trade arrangement with the European Union lapse at the end of this year. Natasha Smith of Compassion in World Farming, who have campaigned on this for decades, explains why they’re against the practice. Meanwhile UK minister Craig Mackinlay says leaving the EU’s trade rules after Brexit is key to getting the ban implemented. But will the ban run afoul of WTO free trade rules? Emily Rees of consultancy Trade Strategies breaks down the rules and whether the ban fits. But what do UK farmers think? Phil Stocker of the National Sheep Association says this ban overshoots, and puts farmers already in an unclear position because of Brexit, even more on the back foot. And Francesca Porta of the Brussels-based Eurogroup for Animals explains what changes might be coming in the EU itself on live animal transport.Producer: Frey Lindsay.(Image credit: Getty Images)

Boris Johnson's dinner with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen - aimed at breaking the Brexit trade deadlock - has ended without agreement. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said the evening had "plainly gone badly" and the chances of the UK leaving the post-Brexit transition period at the end of the year without a firm arrangement was a "big step closer". What would that mean for the UK, and the rest of the world? Joining the programme live will be BBC World Service political correspondent Rob Watson, and Dr Anna Jerzewska, Director of the trade consultancy Trade and Borders.

A UK grandmother became the world’s first recipient of the Pfizer Covid vaccine this week. What does this mean for the pharmaceutical industry? This could be seen as a moment of victory for the industry, which has received a lot of bad press in the last few years. But the prices set by the vaccine makers could also provoke accusations of profiteering. We’ll hear from former Pfizer executive John Lamattina, Thomas Cueni of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, Tahir Amin of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, as well as Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.(Image credit: Getty Images)

It was grounded worldwide after two tragic accidents. Now, regulators in the US have given it permission to fly again – but will it really be safe? Theo Leggett speaks to Mark Pegram whose son Sam was killed aboard the flight which crashed after take-off from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in March last year. He also spoke to Ed Pierson, a former senior manager on the 737 production line at Boeing’s Renton factory, just outside Seattle, who gave testimony to the House of Representatives saying how months before the first accident, he had emailed his bosses, warning them how the pressure to produce new planes as fast as possible was undermining safety. In response to Mr Pierson’s testimony, Boeing insisted that the suggestion of a link between his concerns and the Max accidents was completely unfounded. It added that none of the authorities investigating the accidents had found that production conditions in the 737 factory had contributed in any way.The US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, has

How passenger fears and remote working are prompting a crisis in public transport. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Pat Foye, chairman of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is facing a multi-billion-dollar hole in its finances. Mohamed Mezghani, secretary general of the International Association of Public Transport, describes the challenge of getting commuters back onto trains and subways. Nicole Gelinas, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, explains why transport systems like New York's are so central to a city's economic success.(Photo: Passengers on New York's subway system, Credit: Getty Images)

On this edition of Business Weekly, we analyse the court battle between Shell and the environmental groups which claim the oil giant remains too focused on fossil fuels. We look at a different approach to tackle deforestation, and hear how an economic argument could help the Amazon rainforest. We also get an expert view on floundering UK clothing stores, doubly hit by the pandemic and our changing shopping habits. Could in-store cafes and leisure concessions be just the therapy the retail industry needs? We head to central London to hear the tales of a tailor - a master craftsman who cutting his cloth to suit the future of high-end business wear. And we’ve a lesson in why ‘email etiquette’ needs to be applied to even the shortest message. Business Weekly is presented by Sasha Twining and produced by Matthew Davies.

Sarah Frier, author of No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, talks about the corporate drama behind the app. The photo sharing app Instagram has transformed business, culture and even our everyday lives. Manuela Saragosa finds out why Instagram sold out to Facebook, and how Kevin Systrom (one of the founders of Instagram) found his values soon collided with those of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.(Picture credit: Getty Creative)

In November Virgin Hyperloop trialled its first ever journey with passengers, in the desert of Nevada. The futuristic transport concept involves pods inside vacuum tubes carrying passengers at high speeds. So with this proof of concept, are certified Hyperloop transport systems on the horizon? On today’s programme, we’ll hear from Mars Geuze, Chief Commercial Officer of Hardt Hyperloop, who have raised $10m to develop the technology in Europe, as well as Bibop Gresta, founder of Hyperloop Italia, who hints that a big announcement may be imminent. And we’ll also hear from Roseline Walker, Senior Safety and Risk Researcher for the Transport Research Laboratory, who outlines for us some of the concerns and obstacles the new technology faces. (Image Credit: Getty images.)

Is the era of the suited office worker at an end? Is the era of the suited office worker at an end?With so many people working from home because of the pandemic, there is far less demand for formal work attire. This is impacting those that make it all over the world, as we learn from Richard Anderson, a tailor on Savile Row - the street in London synonymous with suits - and Raja Fashions in Hong Kong, whose tailors usually travel the globe fitting their clients. We hear that while some office workers can't wait to dress up after the pandemic, others have embraced and even expanded their pyjama collection. Plus, Heather MacGregor, Executive Dean of Heriott-Watt Business School, tells us how her work wear has been impacted by working from home.(Picture: a tailor adjusts a customer's suit in the fitting room at Henry Poole's in Savile Row, London, 1938. Credit Getty Images.)

A showdown looms between Hungary and Poland and the rest of the EU over the bloc's latest budget, which includes a Covid economic recovery fund worth nearly $900bn. Hungary and Poland blocked approval of the budget earlier in the month over a clause that ties funding with adherence to the rule of law in the bloc, something both countries have been accused of undermining. With the fate of businesses and livelihoods hanging in the balance, the two sides will meet in mid-December at a summit to discuss how they can break the impasse. We hear from Brussels-based reporter Beatriz Ríos, Zoltán Kovács, a spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and German MEP Dennis Radtke.(Picture credit: Getty Images) .

Economics has a solution to halt rapid deforestation but can it be implemented? This year has seen some of the worst-ever fires destroy vast tracts of the Amazon rainforest as land there is cleared for farming. We hear how the field of economics may have come up with a solution to halt the Amazon’s rate of deforestation - and what’s needed to set that in motion. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Michael Greenstone, Professor of economics at the University of Chicago and to Professor Luciana Gatti, a researcher at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research which monitors greenhouse gas emissions in Amazon.

On this edition of Business Weekly, we look at the third Covid vaccine and ask whether the jabs will be the shot in the arm the global economy needs. We hear the story of a 30-year old man evicted by his parents from the family home after he didn’t pay towards his upkeep. But we also ask what happens when parents rely on their children for money. Plus, we hear from the musicians who want more money when we stream their songs. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

How prepping or survivalism has gone mainstream, with Silicon Valley leading the way. Tech entrepreneur Julie Fredrickson tells Manuela Saragosa how she became a prepper after the electricity went out for days in New York after hurricane Sandy hit back in 2012. She also speaks to serial entrepreneur John Ramey, founder of an online community called The Prepared who told her it's the failure of our institutions that has led so many more people to become preppers. And to Bradley Garratt, a social geographer based at University College Dublin in Ireland. He’s just published a book about prepping called Bunker: Building for the end of times. He told her that preppers are everywhere from the US to Germany to Thailand. (Picture: Emergency preparation, natural disaster supplies. Picture credit: Getty Images)

Are NFL players being denied compensation because of racial-norming? Thousands of former American footballers claim they suffered brain injury as players, but are being denied compensation on racial grounds. Ed Butler speaks to Roxanne Gordon, the wife of Amon Gordon, once of the Cleveland Browns, who is one of hundreds of ex-players now claiming compensation from the NFL for brain injury sustained on the field of play. She says that race-norming was used in the testing of his concussion settlement. New York Times journalist, Ken Belson, who's pioneered a lot of the reporting on this story, told him what race-norming is. And Cathy O Neill, author of a book, Weapons of Math Destruction, who also runs Orca, a software auditing company, says race-norming applies in lots of areas of modern life particularly with the increased use of algorithms that can easily dominate and distort the way companies market to consumers, frequently on racial grounds. The NFL says it “remains fully committed to paying all legitimate

With Covid-19 vaccinations preparing to roll out, how do we make sure everyone gets it? John Johnson, a vaccine programme co-ordinator for Doctors without Borders, outlines just how much is involved in getting vaccines, by truck, motorbike and even foot, to every town and village in the developing world. The Covid-19 vaccine, like others, needs to be transported below a certain temperature, adding an extra layer of complexity, as Toby Peters from the University of Birmingham explains. But David Elliot, of Dulas Solar, says technology like their solar-powered refrigerators can help solve the problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Rebecca Weintraub, Faculty Director of the Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University, is enthusiastic that the world’s institutions can come together to co-ordinate the task.Producers: Frey Lindsay and Joshua Thorpe.(Picture: A Malaria vaccine implementation pilot programme in Malawi, April 2019. Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

After Pfizer and Moderna vaccines earlier in the month, a third arrives from the University of Oxford. The question now becomes when the vaccines will be distributed and to whom. We’ll hear from Bruce Y Lee, professor at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health, about just how daunting a task a global inoculation programme will be. Meanwhile, Alex de Jonquieres, the head of the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, explains how they’re trying to make sure every country can afford enough of the vaccine to protect their country. But Kate Elder, senior vaccine policy advisor at Doctors without Borders, says there’s nothing to stop richer countries jumping to the front of the queue. Producer: Frey Lindsay.(Image credit: Getty Creative)