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BBC World Service


The daily drama of money and work from the BBC.


Business Daily

From Ukraine and Russia to Gaza and Sudan, drones have become a key weapon of war. Which companies are making them, and profiting from this rapidly expanding but controversial sector within the defence industry? 

We hear from a woman in Ukraine who used to own a flower shop in Kyiv, but who is now making drones to send to the front-line; and we hear from a Russian who left his homeland as a teenager and now, from Australia, is developing the technology that helps protect Ukraine from Russian attack. 

And a former Norwegian paratrooper tells us how he can help protect soldiers from drones. 

Presented and produced by Gideon Long

(Picture: Participants in the 'Wild Drones' tournament, organised by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city of Kamianets, Ukraine, on the 5th of October 2025. Credit: Maria Senovilla/EPA/Shutterstock)

Drones: who's making the new weapons of war?

The superfan culture involves doing everything you can to be closer to your idols - often through concerts, merchandise, and streaming support.

And now oshikatsu is being praised by some economists for helping pull Japanese retail sales out of a long slump. 

Figures suggest the role of fan purchasing power has boosted Japan’s annual retail turnover by 2%. 

But what is so different about the way of supporting our heroes that has created such growth?

Produced and presented by Rick Kelsey

(Image: Anime and game fans attend the 105th ComicMarket Show in Tokyo, Japan, December 2024. Credit CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

What is oshikatsu and can it boost Japan's economy?

We find out whether new rules could allow it to move away distance itself from previous accusations of "greenwashing" and fraud? 

There have been previous false starts for a system which in theory allows for companies and countries to offset their carbon emissions by paying for projects which reduce or mitigate emissions elsewhere. 

But new UN legislation - which has been a decade in the making – now clarified and ready for use those in the sector hope that the next few years will prove fruitful for the industry. 

However, questions remain about whether overall the system will help to reduce global emissions. 

Produced and presented by Hannah Bewley

(Image: Renwick Drysdale, managing director of akre)

A fresh start for the carbon market?

As the country shifts away from fossil fuels, thousands of homes and businesses have been left on waiting lists to connect to its electricity grid. 

Has the Netherlands moved too fast in its switch to renewable energy, like solar, wind and hydropower?

Some commentators are calling it a “grid crisis” – so, could this affect economic growth?

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, you can email us at businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presented and produced by John Laurenson

(Picture: A line of wind turbines in a field in the Netherlands. Credit: Getty Images)

What’s gone wrong with the Dutch power supply?

Tim Brown is a former footballer who went on to co-found Allbirds, a billion-dollar brand known for its woollen shoes. 

We hear how Tim balanced his passions for football and shoe design, while growing up in New Zealand.

The challenges that came when making a career change

And how his brand was inspired by a dream to rescue New Zealand's declining wool industry.

Presenter: Sam Fenwick
Producer: Amber Mehmood

(Image: Tim Brown, co-founder of the shoe brand, Allbirds. Credit: Getty Images)

Business Daily meets: Tim Brown, co-founder of Allbirds

We go to the heart of street photography in Berlin, Germany, to visit an independent camera shop where sales of analogue cameras are flying because of celebrities opting for old school tech. And we go behind the lens to the development labs to discover the rising demands and rising costs as equipment is sparse. What is the price of taking a good photo?

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presented and produced by Sean Allsop

(Picture: Staff member at Safelight Photography lab in Berlin, Germany, checking the camera negative reel that is ready to be processed. Credit: Getty Images)

Why are analogue cameras experiencing a comeback?

We find out why the country Japan ranks so poorly in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index and hear about what’s being done to change things

From bottom-up initiatives to raise the next generation of female entrepreneurs and businesses leaders and to the work being done by one of the country’s top educational institutions as it tries to shake off its men–only image. 

And will the country’s first female prime minister be the catalyst for change?

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, you can email us at businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Produced and presented by Phoebe Amoroso

(Image: Yumiko Murakami, co-founder of the WPower fund, the first in Japan to focus solely on supporting female founders and women-empowerment businesses)

Raising Japan’s female leaders

When is a bubble a bubble? When is hype around a new technology signalling the dawn of a new industrial revolution? We assess the arguments for and against AI and its inflated valuations. 

AI firms and their stocks have surged in the last year, accounting for more than 80% of America’s economic growth. But is there real demand underpinning this?

To get in touch with the programme, you can email us at businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Ed Butler
Producer: Gideon Long

(Picture: The Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

Is the AI boom a bubble?

New York City is in the midst of a cost of living crunch. As a result, the race to become its next mayor this week has been dominated by how to make the city more affordable.

We hear about radical plans and ask whether they add up, and look at what the race to run the capital of capitalism might teach other cities about how to fight an affordability crisis.

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, you can email us at businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Will Bain
Producer: Matt Lines

(Picture: The sun sets on the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on October 24, 2025, as seen from Jersey City. Credit: Getty Images)

Is this New York’s cost of living election?

We speak to the American founder and CEO of Stine Seed, the largest private seed company in the world, Stine Seed Company. 

Harry Stine recalls working in a field on the family soybean farm at the age of four, and says he was soon driving tractors before officially starting work with his father. 

It was then that he realised the potential of plant breeding and seeds, leading him to start his own company. 

Stine Seed Company now has 1000 patents, and receives fees on about 85% of the acreage in the United States. 
 
Presenter: Ed Butler
Producer: Amber Mehmood

(Image: Harry Stine. Credit: Stine Seed Company)

Business Daily meets: Harry Stine

The fruit is a beloved staple of the African country's cuisine, and a key export.

But is there a missed opportunity when it comes to Ugandan matoke, or bananas?

We speak to entrepreneurs who are making banana wine, fertilizers and hair extensions - adding value for local and international markets.

Produced and presented by Zawadi Mudibo

(Image: A man drives a motorcycle carrying matoke in Kampala, Uganda in June 2024. Credit: Getty Images)

Adding value to Ugandan bananas

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