Business Daily

Ed Butler travels to northern Ghana in search of one of the country’s growing exports. Cashew nuts have become a feature of crop production, but there are problems. How does Ghana best add value to cashews in a way that benefits the country and doesn’t just see it exploited overseas? And could solving the cashew issue help Ghana's economy in other ways? Produced and presented by Ed Butler (Image: A worker at a cashew processing company sorting nuts in Ghana)

In November 2024, FC St Pauli became the first major football club to stop posting on X (formerly Twitter). In a statement, the leftwing Bundesliga club cited concerns over racism and conspiracy theories on the platform. It has moved to alternative social media site Bluesky instead. So is this part of a wider trend? We hear from companies who are finding alternatives to X, or staying on but reducing advertising spend. Plus we hear from those who say with hundreds of millions users, X still has an important role to play particularly in areas like customer service. Produced and presented by Daniel Rosney (Image: Fans of St.Pauli wave a skull and crossbones rainbow flag during the match between FC St. Pauli and 1. FC Magdeburg at Millerntor Stadium in Hamburg, Germany, 14 August 2022. Credit: Getty Images)

Squatting has a long history in Spain, often fuelled by high rates of homelessness. And the country’s ongoing housing crisis means that despite being low in numbers, squatting is now a highly politicised topic. We hear from private companies set up to evict people, from businesses making products to prevent squatters moving in, and from squatters themselves about their experiences. Produced and presented by Stefania Gozzer (Image: A worker takes a mattress off the balcony during the eviction of 62 families from four apartments in June 2023 in Madrid, Spain. Credit: Getty Images)

We hear how his British accent and 'scouse cockiness' led him from physical education teacher in the UK, to a sportswear executive in the US. And how a career change in his 40s led Peter Moore to a job offer he couldn't refuse, as CEO of the football club he'd supported since childhood, Liverpool FC. Produced and presented by Matt Lines (Image: Peter Moore and Virgil van Dijk with the FIFA Club World Cup in Doha, Qatar on 21 December 2019. Credit: Getty Images)

A 2020 Academy of Social Sciences report found that sociologists, economists and philosophers help companies improve productivity, enhance problem-solving and heighten social impact. So it makes sense that businesses would want social scientists involved in strategy and decision making. But how does it work in practice? Are there conflicts between hard commercial realities and ‘softer’ social issues, and how do companies resolve these? We speak to Dr Melissa Cefkin, an anthropologist and former chief scientist at the Nissan Research Centre in Silicon Valley, about how she combined social science and the corporate world. And we find out if the trend is a uniquely western, or even Californian, phenomenon. Producer: Izzy Greenfield Presenter: Gareth Mitchell (Image: A group of women in a boardroom. Credit: Getty Images)