What's the best - and most humane - way to get rid of pests?For some of us Tom and Jerry might be the sum total of our knowledge of the struggle between domestic life and unwanted rodents. But for listeners Colin and Mary, things are getting much more real! Colin wants to know if the plug-in devices he's seen that promise to deter rats and mice using ultrasonic actually work. Mary has caught mice and then released them back into the wild in nearby woodland, believing it's the more humane way to deal with the problem. But is it?With the help of Natalie Bungay from the British Pest Control Association and Rob Young, Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Salford, Greg Foot sets out to find the answers, hoping to nibble at the metaphorical cheese without getting caught in the figurative trap (or something).All of the ideas for our investigations come from you, our listeners, and we're always on the lookout for more. If you have seen a wonder product that claims to make you happier, healthier or greener and want to know if it is SB or BS then please do send it over on email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or drop us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp to 07543 306807PRESENTER: GREG FOOT
PRODUCER: SIMON HOBAN

What's the best - and most humane - way to get rid of pests? For some of us Tom and Jerry might be the sum total of our knowledge of the struggle between domestic life and unwanted rodents. But for listeners Colin and Mary, things are getting much more real! Colin wants to know if the plug-in devices he's seen that promise to deter rats and mice using ultrasonic actually work. Mary has caught mice and then released them back into the wild in nearby woodland, believing it's the more humane way to deal with the problem. But is it? With the help of Natalie Bungay from the British Pest Control Association and Rob Young, Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Salford, Greg Foot sets out to find the answers, hoping to nibble at the metaphorical cheese without getting caught in the figurative trap (or something). All of the ideas for our investigations come from you, our listeners, and we're always on the lookout for more. If you have seen a wonder product that claims to make you happier, healthier or greener and want to know if it is SB or BS then please do send it over on email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or drop us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp to 07543 306807 PRESENTER: GREG FOOT PRODUCER: SIMON HOBAN

Pest Control

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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