Business Daily

Are markets and companies beginning to grasp the threat of global warming? Ed Butler speaks to Meryam Omi, head of sustainability and responsible investment strategy at Legal and General, a major investor, about divesting from companies that contribute to climate change. And Jeff Colgan, director of security studies at the Watson Institute, Brown University, in the US, tells us why he thinks sectors like insurance, property and oil and gas are overpriced given the threat of climate change. Bjorn Otto Sverdrup, senior vice president for sustainability at Equinor, Norway's state-back oil company, outlines what changes his company is making.Producer: Laurence Knight(Photo: Climate change protesters in London, Credit: Getty Images)

Periods. We rarely talk about them but half the world's population will have to manage menstruation for a good chunk of their lives. For some women, their monthly period brings shame and stigmatisation, as they are forced out of their communities. Others simply can't afford the products they need to carry on with their lives. Ruth Evans reports from Nepal on some of the challenges and the solutions being developed, to help improve the lives of millions. We also hear from Janie Hampton, of World Menstrual Network, who's calling for drastic change in the way periods are managed, not just in poor communities but in the developed world, too.(Photo: A Nepalese woman steps out from a 'chhaupadi house' in the village of Achham, Nepal. Isolation is part of a centuries-old Hindu ritual where women are prohibited from participating in normal family activities during menstruation and after childbirth. Credit: Getty Images)

Jane Wakefield reports from the Ted conference in Vancouver. (Photo: Social media app icons, Credit: Getty Images)

Jane Wakefield reports from the TED conference in Vancouver, Canada, on the businesses shooting for the stars. Chief Executive of Rocket Lab Peter Beck shares his concerns about the amount of space junk being left in orbit. Former astronaut Nicole Stott explains why an ill-fitting space suit can be a big problem. And Assistant Professor of Astrophysics at University of Arizona, Erika Hamden, tells us why space exploration is suddenly cool again. (Photo: An astronaut in space, Credit: Getty Images)

What's the best way to help sex workers? We hear the cases for full decriminalisation, versus abolition of what's often dubbed the world's oldest profession.In the Netherlands - a country with some of the most liberal laws on prostitution - a petition is due to be debated in parliament that calls for it to be made illegal to pay for sex. The initiative, spearheaded by young Christians and feminists, has sparked an outcry with many claiming it would actually make life harder for the sex workers it is intended to help, as the BBC's Anna Holligan reports.It's a controversy we bring back into the BBC studio. Ed Butler hosts a fiery dispute between the British feminist and journalist Julie Bindel, and the Nevadan sex worker-turned-PhD student Christina Parreira, who wants her profession to be treated in law just the same way as any other. Plus Professor Prabha Kotiswaran of Kings College London explains why it doesn't make much difference what the law says, if it is arbitrarily enforced by the police.Producer: Lau

How the country’s young businesses are making a mark in fashion, beauty, music and tech.Vivienne Nunis speaks to Humayun Haroon, co-founder of digital music platform Patari; Shameelah Ismail, chief executive of GharPar, a start-up that offers beauty services in the home; Myra Qureshi head of Conatural Beauty, Pakistan's first organic skin and haircare range; and fashion designer Umair Sajid.(Picture: Humayon Haroon, co-founder of Patari at the company headquarters in Lahore, Pakistan)

How the decline of the local newspaper industry is affecting democracy. Manuela Saragosa speaks to Ken Doctor, former newspaper man and now analyst at his own company Newsanomics, about the scale of decline in local news, particularly in the United States. Researcher Meg Rubado explains how the lack of a local news source is affecting local elections, and Penny Abernathy, professor in journalism and digital media economics at the University of North Carolina, explains why deep cuts are down to a new breed of newspaper owner. What's the solution? In the UK, we hear from Megan Lucero, director of Bureau Local, a project part funded by Google to help local journalists collaborate on stories and share resources.(Photo: a newspaper press in San Francisco, Credit: Getty Images)

Are fake news and rumours still proliferating on Whatsapp in India? And is this being exploited by candidates as the country prepares to go to the polls?Pratik Sinha, director of AltNews.in, is fighting an uphill struggle trying to debunk the misinformation and outright deceit they claim can still spread like wildfire among India's 200 million Whatsapp users.But is fact-checking even the right way to tackle the problem? Or is it just closing the barn door after the fake horse has already bolted? Manuela Saragosa speaks to one sceptic, Rinu Agal of the Indian online news site thePrint.Meanwhile, Dr Sander van der Linden of the Social Decision-Making Lab at Cambridge University is working with Whatsapp on a possible solution that he believes will inoculate users against viral propaganda.(Picture: Boys use mobile phones in Delhi; Credit: Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

With Disney and Apple launching their streaming services to rival Netflix, will they struggle to get subscribers, when the market is getting increasingly saturated? Or will people just keep switching and cancelling subscriptions depending what shows are on offer? Presenter Regan Morris is also looking into whether the likes of Netflix have encouraged more diversity among writers and programme-makers who actually secure commissions. We hear from Connie Guglielmo, editor in chief of CNET News; Piya Sinha-Roy, senior writer Entertainment Weekly; Franklin Leonard, film executive who founded the Black List, a networking platform for screenwriters and film and TV professionals and Luke Bouma, founder of Cord Cutters NewsPHOTO: Disney sign, COPYRIGHT: Getty Images

India will spend billions of dollars on its general election this year, much of it illegally. Rahul Tandon visits a political rally in Kolkata where many participants have been paid to attend, while Ed Butler speaks to an 'election agent' tasked with recruiting those crowds, often for different political parties at the same time. James Crabtree, author of the book The Billionaire Raj, describes the extent of illegal election funding in India, and what can be done about it.(Photo: BJP supporters at an election rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dehradun, India. Credit: Getty Images)

Should galleries take money from the likes of big oil? Ed Butler speaks to Jess Worth of the UK pressure group Culture Unstained, and Claire Fox, director of the UK's Academy of Ideas. And British novelist, art critic and broadcaster Sarah Dunant explains the well-established history of cash and corruption in the arts. Hong Kong billionaire philanthropist James Chen says donors need to engage with the issues.(Photo: Protesters outside the National Portrait Gallery in London, Credit: Getty Images)

Are millennials working too hard? Ed Butler explores the cult of modern professional success and how it's affecting millennial workers. We hear from millennial business owner Lucy, author and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan, researcher at the University of Bath in the UK Thomas Curran, and Ryan Harwood, head of the media company One37pm.(Photo: Young people work on laptops, Credit: Getty Images)

Does the proliferation of microphones in our mobile phones and home smart speakers mean that anyone can eavesdrop on us?Manuela Saragosa hears from the BBC's own technology correspondent Zoe Kleinman about a creepy experience she had when her phone appeared to listen in on a conversation with her mother, and how it led her to discover how easy it is to hack someone's microphone and spy on them. That's exactly what Dutch documentary film maker Anthony van der Meer did, when he purposely let his phone get stolen so he could use it secretly to record the thief. Cyber-security expert Lisa Forte says these stories may be the tip of the iceberg, with everyone from governments to big tech firms to hackers and cyber-criminals potentially listening in on our private conversations.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: Outline of a mobile phone visible in the back pocket of a woman's jeans; Credit: Yuri Arcurs/Getty Images)

Cryptocurrencies are on the rebound, but does the case for investing in them make any more sense?Manuela Saragosa hears both sides of the argument. Jay Smith is a long-time player in the markets for these digital tokens, and is a popular player on the electronic trading site eToro. He explains why he believes Bitcoin and its ilk have a long-term future, even though he doesn't personally subscribe to the libertarian ideology that most of his fellow investors share.However, cold water is poured on this vision by sceptic David Gerard, author of a book called Attack of the 50ft Blockchain. Plus Angela Walch, a research fellow at the Centre for Blockchain Technologies at University College London, says she thinks the crypto craze is a symptom of the broader rise of populism since the 2008 financial crash.(Picture: A visual representation of the digital Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin; Credit: Chesnot/Getty Images)

The British prime minister looks for a new deal to solve the deadlock over Brexit. Ed Butler hears from Jill Rutter, Brexit programme director at the Institute for Government in the UK, and Tom McTague, chief UK correspondent for the website Politico. Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek former finance minister who negotiated with the EU over Greece's bailout deal, tells us where Theresa May went wrong.(Photo: Theresa May delivers her latest speech, Credit: Getty Images)

The rise and fall of Indian jeweller Nirav Modi, arrested in London and accused by Indian authorities of a massive fraud. Ed Butler speaks to Mick Brown, a journalist at the UK's Daily Telegraph who has covered the story, and James Crabtree, author of the book The Billionaire Raj.(Photo: Nirav Modi at his office in Mumbai in 2016, Credit: Getty Images)

Voice assistant apps like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are about to transform the economics of the web.Nearly a quarter of all households in the US and in China already have a smart speaker in their homes, allowing them to play music, order a delivery or find out the news, all by simply talking to their computer. Meanwhile an estimated 2.5bn smartphones now carry these wannabe AI oracles.Manuela Saragosa asks Silicon Valley analyst Carolina Milanesi whether this new technology could one day rival the conversational prowess of the ship's computer on Star Trek. And what kind of vision do the likes of Google, Apple and Amazon have for it? Meanwhile journalist and author James Vlahos explains why he thinks their advent is bad news for anyone who wants to maintain any visibility on the internet. And we put his criticisms to one of the major players - Andrew Shuman from the team behind Microsoft's Cortana voice assistant.Producer: Laurence Knight(Picture: Amazon Echo Sub subwoofer; Credit: Philip Barker/Future

Rome's decision to sign up to China's One Belt One Road initiative has proved controversial both at home and among Italy's closest allies.Washington DC and Brussels are both sceptical of the true intent behind Beijing's programme for financing major overseas infrastructure projects, ostensibly to enhance China's trade routes. President Xi Jinping's recent invitation to Rome to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Italian government - an initiative spearheaded by the little known Italian economy minister Michele Geraci - has caused consternation.Manuela Saragosa gets the view in Washington DC from Jonathan Hillman of think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. And the former Italian foreign affairs minister Giulio Terzi Sant'Agata explains why many of his compatriots are worried about the contents of the that memorandum.(Picture: Italys Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte greets China's President Xi Jinping at Villa Madama in Rome; Credit: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images)

Can the continent remove trade barriers and create a billion-person internal market? That's the hope of the African Continental Free Trade Area, but a year on from its initial signing, many obstacles remain.Nearly all of Africa's 55 nations have signed up to the initiative, yet the most populous country Nigeria remains a hold-out. And there still remain huge logistical barriers to free trade, as Will Bain discovers when he speaks to frustrated truckers on the Zambia-Botswana border.Ed Butler speaks to Ghana's minister for trade Alan Kyerematen, as well as Pearl Uzokwe of the African conglomerate Sahara Group, and Alex Vines of London-based think tank Chatham House. (Picture: Trucks drive along the Ethiopian side of the Ethiopia-Eritrea border; Credit: Michael Tewelde/AFP/Getty Images)

It is only 100 years since women in the UK were first allowed to practice law. Women now make up more than 50% of lawyers in many parts of the world, but why are so few in the top jobs? Katie Prescott speaks to Dana Dennis-Smith, who has collated the stories of women in the law over the last century. Farmida Bi of Norton Rose Fulbright, a huge international law firm, speaks about her journey from non-English speaking Pakistani child to global leader in her profession. We also hear from Shana Knizhnik, co-author of Notorious R.B.G: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, about one of the most iconic women in the US legal profession.(Photo: A statue of justice. Credit: Getty Images)