Business Daily

As many as 7 million Americans who could work, aren’t. These are people who have dropped out of the workforce - they have given up on finding a job or are simply not looking.

And similar trends can be seen in other wealthy countries. So what is going on?

Ed Butler speaks to Nicholas Eberstadt, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute.

He’s recently updated a book which examines the extraordinary increase in men – and it is mainly men in the US - who’ve decided they don’t just want to quit their jobs, they want to leave the workplace for good. And it’s something that’s been going on since the 1960s.

Presented and produced by Ed Butler.

(Image: Men on a building site. Credit: Getty)

Greensill Capital was a UK based finance firm and a darling of investors which made its money by lending to businesses. It went into administration in March 2021, leaving investors facing billions in losses.

What went wrong with Greensill? Why did leading politicians like former British Prime Minister David Cameron get involved?

And what does it teach us about the way modern entrepreneurs, like Australian-born Lex Greensill, try and promote themselves?

Ed Butler speaks to Duncan Mavin, a financial journalist who followed the downfall of Greensill – he’s written a book about what happened.

Presenter: Ed Butler

(Image: Lex Greensill. Credit: Shutterstock)

New York’s Penn Station is the busiest transport hub in the United States - as many as 650,000 people pass through it in a day. But this intercity hub is widely agreed to be outdated and unloved.

Now there are plans to pour billions of dollars into a station facelift - in the hope it will attract Americans back to trains.

In this episode, Laura Heighton-Ginns hears from key stakeholders Amtrak and the Regional Plan Association on why they believe a major overhaul is needed.

Laura also takes a tour of the station and finds out about its much-admired predecessor - the Pennsylvania Station of the early 20th Century.

And she explores the site of the planned demolition work, which controversially includes historical buildings and a busy community church.

Presented and produced by Laura Heighton-Ginns.

(Image: Penn Station scaffolding. Credit: BBC)

In this episode we explore mental health provision in Pakistan. Pakistan has a population of more than 200 million people but only around 500 working psychiatrists. This means around ninety percent of those with common mental health issues go untreated.

We hear from Mahira Kahn, a multi award winning Pakistani actress, in April this year Mahira was appointed as an Ambassador for the British Asian Trust. Mahira works with the trust to promote and support it’s current Peace of Mind campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of mental health issues and needs in Pakistan. Mahria tells us about her work with the trust and how her job has affected her own mental health.

We also speak to Sanaa Ahmad who is the British Asian Trust's Mental Health programme manager, and Dr Iffa who works with communities in Pakistan providing mental health treatment.

Presenter / production: Emb Hashmi

Photo: Mahira Khan; Credit: Getty

A British businessman has come up with a bold plan to turn the floating seaweed sargassum into cash, and tackle global warming at the same time.

The use of robots in North American workplaces has increased by 40% since the start of the pandemic and the small to medium sized businesses, which never automated before, are getting in on the act. The robotics industry has responded to the global increased demand by creating more and more customisable robots, which can be leased or hired.

Ivana Davidovic explores what effect this has had - and could have in the future - on the labour markets, innovation, but also on social inequality.

Ivana hears from a small restaurant owner from California who wouldn't be without her server robot Rosie any more, after months of being unable to fill vacancies. Joe Campbell from the Danish company Universal Robots and Tim Warrington from the British company Bots explain how they are taking advantage of the post-pandemic "great resignation" and which industries are next in line for a robotics boom.

Karen Eggleston from Stanford University explains her research into the consequences of the use of robots in over 800 nursing homes in Japan and Daron Acemoglu from MIT discusses whether robots in workplaces will liberate their human colleagues or simply entrench inequality.

Presented and produced by Ivana Davidovic

(Photo: Robot waitress serving dessert and coffee on a tray in a cafe. Credit: Getty Images)

*This episode was originally broadcast on 10 February 2022.

Is space the final frontier for meat grown from animal stem cells?

Elizabeth Hotson asks whether growing steaks under micro gravity conditions could help in the quest for food security and whether, back on earth, consumers could be persuaded to stomach meat reared in labs.

We hear from Didier Toubia, the CEO of Aleph Farms who defends his space meat mission from accusations of gimmickry.

Seren Kel, the science and technology manager for the Europe region of the Good Food Institute, gives her view on the environmental impact of cell-gown meat and Dr Jason Michael Thomas, senior lecturer in psychology at Aston University explains how reluctant consumers might be persuaded to try new and strange-sounding foods.

Presenter: Elizabeth Hotson

(Photo description: The Solar system. Credit: Getty Images)

When women's tennis world number one Ash Barty suddenly announced in March 2022 that she was retiring from tennis, it was huge shock.

Barty, a three time grand slam champion, was only 25.

At the time she said she was leaving professional tennis to pursue other life goals.

Quitting is often seen as a negative thing to do, but in this episode we explore the positive side.

PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears survey of more than 52,000 people in 44 countries showed that one in five workers planned to quit their jobs in 2022.

Marie Keyworth speaks to Moya Dodd, former vice-captain of Australia’s women’s football team - The Matildas. She now works as a lawyer in Sydney and says Barty's decision to 'quit at the top' could be a lesson to us all.

Career coach Sarah Weiler has quit several roles herself, and has now made it her job to help others – how do you know when it’s time to move on?

And Dina Denham Smith is an executive coach based in the San Francisco Bay area. She helps what she calls ‘high performing, high achieving’ people make decisions. She tells Marie how you can improve your situation if quitting isn’t an option.

Presented and produced by Marie Keyworth.

(Image: Ash Barty. Credit: Getty)

Now that borders have opened up post pandemic, backpackers have been slow to return to Australia.

Despite a number of initiatives, the number of travellers is low. And that’s having an impact on businesses who need staff.

David Reid explores the Australian working holiday visa scheme, which was set up fifty years ago to encourage young people to travel and work. It's not been without problems, and recently there have been allegations of exploitation and even abuse.

So is the visa scheme the right solution for the Australian labour crunch? Or should government step in and rethink the whole set up?

David speaks to Lee Thurston who runs Miss Moneypenny’s restaurant in Noosa, on the east coast of Queensland. Lee is from the UK but has settled in Australia. Lee said when they came to open up after the pandemic, all the backpackers had gone home. So he’s had to train up local teenagers instead.

Hamish Hill runs Nomad’s hostel in Noosa. He tells David it’s noticeable how many vacancies there are and the impact that’s happening. He’d like fewer regulations on backpackers.

Professor Stephen Howes, director of the development policy centre at the Australian National University, explains how the visa scheme works, and how it’s changed from its original intention.

And David visits a small farm run by Joe Lyons, who has 50 hectares growing avocados and macadamias in Bundaburg near Queensland. He and other farmers are rethinking their reliance on backpackers. They’re currently staffed by 100% Australian labour.

Presenter/producer: David Reid

(Photo: Fruit picking. Credit: Getty Images)

Fashion is one of the world’s most polluting industries – more than half of everything we wear is still made from plastic.

In the search for more sustainable ingredients – designers are now turning to those you would normally find on your plate.

Katie Barnfield travels to Sherwood Forest in England to meet Ashley Granter and Aurélie Fontan from Mykko – a company making leather from mycelium, the root system of mushrooms.

Fancy a food based swimsuit? We talk to Dr Kate Riley from Textile Exchange about new developments in so-called bio synthetics.

And in the race to adopt these new materials, could some brands be accused of greenwashing? Rachel Cernansky from Vogue Business takes us through the controversy.

Produced and presented by Katie Barnfield.

(Image: Mushrooms growing on a tree branch. Credit: Getty)