Bottom Line
Insight into business from the people at the top. Evan Davis meets influential business leaders for a round table conversation about the issues that matter to their companies and their customers.
Business Books
What makes a great business book and how do you make practical advice on a subject like accounting a riveting read? What makes you more likely to read a business book - a top business leader's journey to the top, like Sheryl Sandberg or Phil Knight of Nike, or one…
How to Hire
What's the best way to recruit people who have the right skills for the job, but are also the right cultural fit for your business? And how do you do that without discrimination? Evan Davis and guests discuss the many different hiring options available, from the standard CV and interview…
Powered by AI
Machines now have the ability to write novels, create works of art, or compose original songs thanks to artificial intelligence. In future the technology could be used to discover drugs, design entire buildings, or come up with new materials. So how should businesses respond to the evolution of AI, most…
Running Rolls Royce
Warren East has run two of the UK's most successful companies, ARM and Rolls Royce Holdings. During his tenure at ARM he oversaw a rapid growth of this globally successful Cambridge semi conductor company. He went on to lead Rolls Royce during a time of turbulence, from aircraft engine trouble,…
Podcasting
It seems these days everyone is making a podcast, from Michelle Obama and Kate Hudson to Alastair Campbell and Dua Lipa. Covering every subject from health and wellbeing to politics, food and even funerals, the last few years has seen a proliferation of new titles. Although only a third of…
The French correction?
The French work fewer hours, take longer holidays and retire earlier than UK employees, but they are also more productive and their economy is therefore roughly the same size as ours. How do they do it? As the UK looks for a way out of its sluggish economic growth, Evan…
26/01/2023
Evan Davis chairs a round table discussion providing insight into business from the people at the top.
How Strikes Come to an End
Current strike action across the UK led to more than a million lost working days in 2022, the worst industrial strife the nation has experienced since the 'Winter of Discontent' in the 1970s. But with the benefit of hindsight, what can we learn from those who have dealt with labour…
Opportunists and Optimists
As the UK struggles with recession, Evan Davis talks to four business people who are not afraid to be bulls in a bear market. Does a recession offer opportunities to serial entrepreneurs and start-ups that others might fear? Evan Davis and guests discuss. GUESTS Capucine Codron, Co-founder, Swizzle Arka Dhar,…
Turning Passion into Profit
Col Needham set up his first business at the age of 14 designing and selling games software for computers. But his real love, since the age of 5, has always been film. Col started logging every movie he'd seen in a paper diary which he eventually set up as a…
A new era for the housing market?
What will higher interest rates on borrowing money mean for the property market and what happens if house prices fall? Evan Davis discusses mortgages and housing in new economic times. Guests: Vanessa McCallum, Owner of Vanessa McCallum Estates Ray Boulger, Senior Technical Manager at John Charcol Mortgage Brokers David Miles,…
The business of being a GP
Since the very beginning of the NHS, GP surgeries have been, in effect, businesses with contracts to do the work the Health Service needs. But in recent decades, patient numbers have grown, surgeries have become larger and the services offered more varied. Many GP surgeries now employ administrative staff, nurses,…
Dealing in Defence
Evan Davis looks at the UK's defence industry to find out how it is responding to the war in Ukraine and whether socially conscious investors are beginning to change their minds about the sector. Guests: Dean Rosenfield, Head of Saab UK Kevin McNamee, CEO of Denroy Group Ltd Kevin Craven,…
Changing Tack
What happens when your business vision doesn't stack up or your long-standing business needs to make changes to keep up with a changing market and customer taste? Do you make a U-turn or a pivot as it's known in business. How do you know when is the right time and…
Has Britain stopped working?
Evan Davis asks why there are more job vacancies in Britain than there are people looking for work. Unemployment used to be a big problem, but now businesses say they're struggling to recruit enough staff. Guest list: Jane Townson: CEO of The Home Care Association Will Beckett: CEO of Hawksmoor…
Excess Profits, Windfall Taxes and Incentives
Is it right that businesses making what look like windfall profits pay windfall taxes? And do the recent announcements from the government to lower taxes in general lead to economic growth? Evan Davis and guests discuss. GUESTS Irem Guceri, Associate Professor Economics and Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford…
Little Boxes?
The government target for building houses in the UK is 300,000 a year, but over the past few years only around half that number have been constructed. The sector faces many challenges; labour and skills shortages and rapidly rising prices for raw materials, not to mention uneven planning laws and…
Russian Exodus
Hundreds of western businesses have decided to stop operating in Russia as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. But what does leaving Russia actually mean in practical terms – how do you go about it and who bears the cost? Can you end up hurting your own company and…
Woke or Broke?
From Disney to the Halifax bank, companies are increasingly willing to take a stance on everything. But what is driving this trend and will it continue? Ultimately isn't it the job of a business to make money for its shareholders and not get involved in politics and contentious social issues?…
'Sorry, all our agents are busy right now'
Why does it seem so hard to contact a business these days? It's almost like they deliberately hide their phone numbers from us. When we do manage to ring, they often make us sit through an endless list of 'caller options' before allowing us to speaking to anyone. Are they…