It's getting colder and with the cost of living rising, how best to heat our homes in the most efficient way possible has become a big question. Listener Ken got in touch about a new kind of portable ceramic heater he's seen advertised, promising to heat your room using 30% less energy. Greg Foot  teams up with Octopus Energy to run it through the evidence mill and test it against three other types of portable heater: a convection heater, a fan heater and an oil-filled radiator to find out which gives the most heat for the lowest energy used. The aim is to find out which portable heater is best for heating you, and the room you're in. And how does all that compare to using gas central heating? This series, we’re testing and investigating your suggested wonder-products. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or fad and wonder if there’s any evidence to back up a claim, drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or you can send us a voice note to our new WhatsApp number: 07543 306807. PRESENTER: GREG FOOT
PRODUCER: SIMON HOBAN

Portable Heaters

The series that investigates the latest ad-hyped products and trending fads promising to make us healthier, happier and greener. Are they really 'the best thing since sliced bread'? Science presenter Greg Foot finds out. Greg speaks to experts on a bunk-busting mission to test the latest consumer trends chosen by listeners. Do they live up to the hype? Or are they just marketing BS? Greg chats to the experts, dives into the data, performs tests and crunches the numbers before putting his findings back to the listener so they can decide if it’s worth spending their hard earned money on. If you have a suggestion for a product to investigate, you can email the team on sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or send a WhatsApp voice note via the number 07543 306807. Sliced Bread is produced by BBC Audio North for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

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Is an LED face mask the secret to brighter, clearer, more youthful skin? Greg Foot is back with a new series of Sliced Bread to run a whole new batch of your suggested wonder products through the evidence mill. From car tyres to contact lenses, air fresheners to LED face masks, Greg will separate science fact from marketing fiction as he investigates whether each product is 'the best thing since sliced bread' or 'marketing BS'. There's a slightly new sound to this new series: having recorded most of the previous episodes remotely, Greg is going to be joined in the studio by the listener and experts to investigate the wonder products together! First to join Greg is Helen Leneghan from County Down. She’s seen LED Face Masks all over social media and wants to know if they actually work. Do they reduce your wrinkles? Will they give you a radiant glow? And can they help with some skin conditions like acne or rosacea? As ever, if YOU have seen something promising to make you happier, healthier or greener and want to know if it is SB or BS 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

LED Face Masks

Why did Safeway's UK supermarkets disappear?  Safeway was once one of our biggest supermarket chains, so why did it drop down the list of top performers before disappearing altogether?  The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, looks into it and speaks to the former Safeway director, Teresa Wickham, a former Safeway supplier, Judy Garner, and the News Editor, Ronan Hegarty, from The Grocer magazine.   Alongside them all to analyse Safeway's fortunes is the self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White. This episode was produced by Viant Siddique.  Toast examines the brands that reached dizzy heights only to end up…toast.  It is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.uk Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes. Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in May. 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.

Toast - Safeway UK

Green Shield Stamps could be traded in for 'free' gifts so why did consumers abandon them?  Sean Farrington examines their rise and fall and discovers how they spawned a famous retail chain which is still trading.  The stamps were the centrepiece of an early form of loyalty scheme and were collected by tens of millions of people across the UK.  They were given out by shops with every purchase and could be exchanged for a wide range of household goods and luxury items from handbags to vacuum cleaners and even cars.    The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, speaks to expert guests including: Sir John Timpson - chairman of the retail services provider, Timpson, who dedicated a chapter of his book on 'High Street Heroes' to the Green Shield Stamp founder, Richard Tompkins.  Professor Leigh Sparks - Professor of Retail Studies at the University of Stirling. Alongside them, analysing the stamps' fortunes is the entrepreneur, Sam White. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. This episode was produced by Jon Douglas. You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.uk Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes. Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in May.  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.

Toast - Green Shield Stamps

Why did Mothercare have to close all of their UK stores? Sean Farrington discovers what happened to the baby goods retailer which once dominated the high street.   Alongside him, analysing Mothercare's fortunes, is the entrepreneur, Sam White. The pair hear from Tim Curtis who once ran Mothercare's website, catalogue and home delivery service; Amena Khan, a loyal Mothercare customer and Richard Lim, CEO of Retail Economics.  They chart the highs and the lows and learn how Mothercare continues to trade today, albeit in a different form.  Produced by Jon Douglas and Shanaye Mainoo-Magnone. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.uk Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes. Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in May. 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.

Toast - Mothercare's UK Stores

Why was the video sharing platform, Vine, closed down? Sean Farrington discovers what happened to the app which pioneered short, shareable videos on social media.  Sean speaks to one of Vine's founders, Rus Yusupov, the Vine content creator, Eric Dunn, and the BBC's Technology Editor, Zoe Kleinman. Alongside them all analysing Vine's fortunes is the self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White. Produced by Viant Siddique. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.uk Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes. Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in May. 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.

Portable Heaters

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