Business Daily

Ola Sars has spent two decades helping shape the way music is discovered, streamed and licensed. He co-founded Beats Music, the streaming service that helped lay the groundwork for Apple Music, before launching Soundtrack, a company that provides licensed music to restaurants, cafés and other hospitality businesses. After moving to the US as a child and learning English from scratch, how did he become a music-tech entrepreneur? And was selling his stake in Beats before Apple acquired the company the right decision? Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Niamh McDermottYou can email the team: [email protected](Picture: Ola Sars. Credit: Rickard Croy)

With Europe sweltering in intense heat and demand for air-conditioners soaring, who is making money from supplying them? We follow the supply chain from a factory churning out air-con units in China to retailers across Europe scrambling to secure stock as demand surges. In France, where repeated heat waves have driven sales higher, shoppers have been fighting in supermarkets to get hold of them.We also examine the cost of powering air-conditioners and the impact their growing use is having on energy prices. How much pressure is Europe's growing appetite for air-conditioning putting on electricity grids?(Photo: People cool off in the Trocadero fountain by the Eiffel Tower in Paris during a heatwave in June 2026. Credit: Yoan Valat/EPA/Shutterstock)Presenter: Sam Fenwick   Producer: Gideon Long

In the second of two episodes, Ed Butler tracks the whereabouts and connections of one of Europe's most wanted drug criminals. Despite denials from the President's family, law enforcement agencies say Jos Leijdekkers is enjoying privileged status in Sierra Leone. The country's Justice Minister responds.

Is China rapidly catching up with the United States in the race to dominate artificial intelligence? Rahul Tandon is joined by Walter Todd in the US and Rebecca Choong Wilkins in Singapore to discuss, following a week of sharp moves in AI-related markets and growing questions over where the next wave of innovation will come from. They also explore what India's "cockroach protest" says about the growing challenge of youth unemployment around the world. (Photo: People walk past the Unix AI booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China, 17 July, 2026. Credit: Go Nakamura/Reuters)You can email the team: [email protected]: Rahul Tandon Producer: David Cann

This Podcast was first published June 9th 2026With the future of football's governing body under discussion, we're giving you another chance to hear how FIFA makes most of its money from the World CupFIFA President Gianni Infantino has proposed the creation of a subsidiary body to run tournaments, which would include some outside investment.Fifa has given all 211 member associations until 19 September to say whether they agree with the plan, with a straight majority to decide whether to proceed.But there has been criticism of the plans over lack of clarity and the impact it could have on FIFA's independence. Ahead of the World Cup, Sam Fenwick looked at how the event generates billions of dollars for FIFA - where the money comes from and how it gets spent.Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Matt Lines Editor: Stephen Ryan(photo: Silhouette of Gianni Infantino, FIFA President and rising stock graph are seen in this illustration taken, July 28, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

This week, Will and Rahul speak to business correspondent Arunoday Mukharji in Delhi about how India's youth unemployment crisis helped force the resignation of the country's Education Minister and why it could mark a turning point for India's Gen‑Z. Exam leaks and a shortage of opportunities have sparked some of the biggest youth protests in years, raising difficult questions for the government. Nearly two-thirds of Indians are under 35, and more young people are graduating than ever before. But many can't find jobs. Can India create enough jobs for a generation with rising expectations? And what happens if it can't?Presenters: Will Bain, Rahul Tandon and Arunoday Mukharji Producer: Rebecca SmyllieYou can email the team: [email protected]

Leah Solivan, founder and former CEO of TaskRabbit, reflects on building one of the world’s most successful gig-economy platforms. She discusses the pressures of scaling a multi-million-dollar business, the stress-related illness that left her in hospital, and the decision to eventually sell TaskRabbit to IKEA. Presenter: Sarah Rogers Producer: Niamh McDermottYou can email the team: [email protected](Picture: Leah Solivan. Credit: Audrey Anne Photography)

**This episode of Business Daily begins with a real call to 911** There is an antidote for an opioid overdose. It costs a few dollars. The nasal spray technology means it can be administered without needles and can restart a person's breathing within minutes. So why doesn't it always reach the person on the floor? We following the money through the antidote economy. A life-saving drug that costs pennies to make sold over the counter for $52. But when drug companies were sued for their role in America's opioid crisis, some pharmaceutical companies' settlements included paying out using antidote kits valued at $125. Who profits, who pays, and what determines whether an overdose kit is ever in the room when it is needed?Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producers: Josh Martin and Matt Lines(Photo: Two naloxone nasal spray medications used for opioid overdose sit on a brown table on 11 September 2024. Credit: Peg Alexander/BBC Images)You can email the team: [email protected]

In the first of two episodes, Ed Butler investigates how one of Europe’s most wanted drug smugglers, Jos Leijdekkers, ended up in Sierra Leone while evading justice. He also explores reports linking Leijdekkers to the family of Sierra Leone’s president, including claims that he has married the president’s daughter.Presenter/producer: Ed Butler You can email the team: [email protected]

Will Bain is joined by Nga Pham in Hanoi and Takara Small in Toronto. Following the latest results from Alphabet and Tesla, both companies are under pressure to sustain spending as competition in artificial intelligence intensifies. Is Wall Street beginning to question the cost of the AI race? Plus, the mounting economic impact of Canada's wildfires, why ketchup-flavoured crisps have become such a uniquely Canadian phenomenon, and what Donald Trump's renewed tariff negotiations could mean for global trade.(Photo: The Google logo, made up of different coloured letters - blue, red, yellow, blue, green, orange - on the Google house at the CES consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, 10 January, 2024. Credit: Steve Marcus/Reuters)You can email the team: [email protected]: Will Bain Producer: David Cann

Cheap flights transformed the way we travel, helping millions of people fly more often and opening up destinations that were once out of reach. But rising fuel costs, changing passenger habits and growing pressure on the low-cost airline model are forcing budget carriers to adapt. Rahul Tandon and Will Bain explore what is driving the turbulence and what it could mean for fares, competition and the future of air travel.(Photo: EasyJet aircraft at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, 21 April, 2026. Credit: Lisi Niesner/Reuters)You can email the team: [email protected]: Rebecca Smyllie

Tessa Clarke is the co-founder and CEO of Olio, the food-sharing app helping millions of people reduce waste by sharing food and household items with their neighbours. She explains how a simple idea grew into a global movement, the challenges of convincing investors to back it, and why changing human behaviour may be key to tackling climate change.Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Barbara GeorgeYou can email the team: [email protected](Picture: Tessa Clarke. Credit:Annabel Staff)

Search for "memecoin" on social media and you'll find plenty of videos offering advice on how to invest and grow your money, with some claiming they can help you make a million. But you don't have to look far to find people who have lost money, and lots of it. So where does the money actually go? Sam Fenwick explores the cryptocurrency phenomenon that almost anyone can launch, including presidents.Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producers: Matt Lines and Gideon LongYou can email the team: [email protected](Picture: A representation of cryptocurrency dogecoin is seen in front of a stock graph and U.S. dollar in this illustration taken, January 24, 2022. Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

Artisanal mining accounts for around 20% of global gold production and generates an estimated $30 billion a year for some of the world's poorest communities. But the trade is also linked to criminal networks and environmental damage. Ed Butler explores the forces behind the global gold rush and who is bearing the cost. Presenter/producer: Ed Butler You can email the team: [email protected](Picture: Gold miner Kelly Mbayo in Sierra Leone. Credit: Ed Butler/BBC News)

Connecting the timezones this week are Will Bain in London, David Kuo in Singapore and Emily Peck in New York to unpack the week's biggest business stories. China's economy has recorded one of its weakest quarterly growth rates on record, raising fresh questions about the country's outlook and the impact on the global economy. Plus, why prices for durian, the 'king of fruits', are tumbling across Asia. And New York's move to target AI data centres.Presenter: Will Bain Producer: David CannYou can email the team: [email protected](Picture: People walk in the Lujiazui financial district, in Shanghai, China, 14 July 2022. Credit: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

This week, Will and Michelle speak to Reuters entertainment business correspondent Dawn Chmielewski about how the Paramount–Warner merger could reshape Hollywood. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery want to combine in a $110 billion deal that would create an entertainment giant. Executives say it's the only way to survive the streaming wars, but now twelve attorneys general, regulators and a host of creators are saying "no deal". So how do Paramount and CEO David Ellison make this deal a reality? And what could it mean for what's on our screens, big, small or handheld?Presenters: Will Bain and Michelle Fleury Producer: Rebecca Smyllie Editor: Stephen RyanYou can email the team: [email protected](Picture: California Attorney General Rob Bonta holds a press conference as he announces California will be suing to block Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 13, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Daniel Cole)

With the 2026 World Cup underway, here's another chance to hear how England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham became one of football's most marketable names. The face of several major brands, Bellingham has built a successful business beyond football. We explore the Jude Bellingham brand, his sponsorship and endorsement deals, and what makes him so valuable to some of the world's biggest companies.Presenter/producer: Matt Lines. Episode first published on 15 August 2024.You can email the team: [email protected](Picture: England's Jude Bellingham during the football World Cup 2026 quarter final vs Norway. Credit: REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Sumant Sinha is the founder of ReNew, one of India's largest renewable energy companies. He explains why he left a successful corporate career to pursue renewable energy, the challenges of building a business in a fast-changing market, and whether India can become a clean-energy superpower.Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Barbara GeorgeYou can email the team: [email protected](Picture: Sumant Sinha. Credit: Mushtak Mohammad)

Why have US beef prices risen around 13% over the past year? Who is making money from the burgers and steaks Americans eat? Presenter Sam Fenwick speaks to a cattle rancher in South Dakota, an agricultural economist in Wisconsin, a meat packer in North Carolina and a restaurant owner in Nebraska to find out what is happening in this quintessentially American corner of the food market. We unpack the US beef supply chain to discover why prices are rising, who is making money from it and who is getting squeezed. (Photo: A cow waiting to eat at a feedlot in Saltillo, Mexico, 1 June, 2026. Credit: Daniel Becerril/Reuters)You can email the team: [email protected]: Sam Fenwick Producer: Gideon Long

Ed Butler speaks to the man who coined the term BRIC for the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Now back in the headlines as an adviser to Britain’s likely next Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, Jim O'Neill argues that Western nations must abandon what he calls their neo-colonial attitudes towards the world's new industrial powerhouses.(Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, 23 October, 2024. Credit: China Daily/Reuters)You can email the team: [email protected]/presenter: Ed Butler