Can wonder products halt hair loss and grow back luscious locks?We're back with a new series of Sliced Bread and a fresh batch of investigations into your suggested wonder products. First up this time are lotions and pills that promise to stop hair loss - and even grow it back. For this episode Greg is joined at our Salford studios by two listeners, Ian and Kimberley. Ian got in touch about two products he's seen - Minoxidil and Finasteride - which he hopes can help with male pattern baldness. And listener Kimberley is keen to know whether there's anything she can do about hair loss which is caused by menopause. To get the answers Greg speaks to one of the most cited researchers in the hair loss world - Ralf Paus - as they deep-dive into the studies to separate the science fact from the marketing claims. As ever this series it's YOUR suggestions that are the start of all our investigations. If you've seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voicenote to our WhatsApp number 07543 306807PRESENTER: Greg Foot
PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Can wonder products halt hair loss and grow back luscious locks? We're back with a new series of Sliced Bread and a fresh batch of investigations into your suggested wonder products. First up this time are lotions and pills that promise to stop hair loss - and even grow it back. For this episode Greg is joined at our Salford studios by two listeners, Ian and Kimberley. Ian got in touch about two products he's seen - Minoxidil and Finasteride - which he hopes can help with male pattern baldness. And listener Kimberley is keen to know whether there's anything she can do about hair loss which is caused by menopause. To get the answers Greg speaks to one of the most cited researchers in the hair loss world - Ralf Paus - as they deep-dive into the studies to separate the science fact from the marketing claims. As ever this series it's YOUR suggestions that are the start of all our investigations. If you've seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voicenote to our WhatsApp number 07543 306807 PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Hair Loss Products

While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers. In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist Sean Farrington examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did people back it? Why did they get burnt? Some of the world’s most successful businesses have also brought us some of the world’s most remarkable failures. So, what led them to be toast? And what can we learn from their stories today? Sean unpicks all the early optimism, hype and ambition. He learns about the tremendous success of a brand before hearing how it faltered, with help from expert commentators and people who were directly involved. How do they view things now and what, if anything, could have been done differently? The self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, is alongside him, analysing the missteps that changed a brand’s fortunes and reaching her own, often instructive, conclusions. From big tech to high street retail and, of course, food, Toast tackles the business ideas that, one way or another, ended up cooked. Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in January, 2026. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds. For this brand new series of Toast, episodes will be released weekly on Thursdays wherever you get your podcasts. But if you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode on BBC Sounds first, a week earlier than anywhere else.Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4.

Health & Fitness

While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers. In each episode, the presenter and BBC business journalist Sean Farrington examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did people back it? Why did they get burnt? Some of the world’s most successful businesses have also brought us some of the world’s most remarkable failures. So, what led them to be toast? And what can we learn from their stories today? Sean unpicks all the early optimism, hype and ambition. He learns about the tremendous success of a brand before hearing how it faltered, with help from expert commentators and people who were directly involved. How do they view things now and what, if anything, could have been done differently? The self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, is alongside him, analysing the missteps that changed a brand’s fortunes and reaching her own, often instructive, conclusions. From big tech to high street retail and, of course, food, Toast tackles the business ideas that, one way or another, ended up cooked. Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in January, 2026. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds. For this brand new series of Toast, episodes will be released weekly on Thursdays wherever you get your podcasts. But if you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode on BBC Sounds first, a week earlier than anywhere else. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4.

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