Sliced Bread

Our Price Records was one of Britain's biggest music retailers offering cut-price albums at over 300 local high street stores. So, why did the chain disappear even before the internet transformed the music industry?

The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, and the entrepreneur, Sam White, examine the retailer's fortunes.

How did it manage to become so successful? And why did it end up 'toast'?

The pair are joined by expert guests including:

-Neil Boote - former commercial director at Virgin Our Price

Produced by Jon Douglas. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

You can email the programme at [email protected]

Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in December, where Greg Foot investigates 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

Kodak made photography mainstream so why did it falter in a digital age?

The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, discovers how Kodak rose to become a massive global enterprise best known for its cameras and film.

Alongside him is the serial entrepreneur, Sam White, ready to offer her opinions on the business's fortunes.

Kodak is still trading profitably but is now a much smaller business than it once was.

Sean and Sam hear from expert guests including:

Kamal Munir - Professor of Strategy & Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School which is part of the University of Cambridge

Don Strickland - Kodak's former Vice President of Digital Imaging

Paul O'Sullivan - who runs a film processing business in London

Andrew Long - who worked in Kodak's consumer products division in the UK.

Produced by Jon Douglas. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

You can email the programme at [email protected]

Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in December, where Greg Foot investigates 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.

Why did we lose Reader's Digest magazine when it is still going in America?

The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, discovers what happened to the brand which started over a hundred years ago and became the most widely read magazine in the world.

Alongside him is the serial entrepreneur, Sam White, ready to offer her opinions on the business's fortunes.

How did a magazine which pinched articles from other publications become so successful? And why did it end up toast in the UK?

Sean speaks to:

Produced by Jon Douglas. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

You can email the programme at [email protected]

Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in December, where Greg Foot investigates 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.

Listener Liz has recently switched to a coffee pod machine, that promises to deliver her a quick, convenient and delicious cup of coffee when she wants at the touch of a button. But she started to wonder about how the pods can be recycled, and whether her decision to swap to them had a greater impact on the environment?

Greg Foot ‘filters’ through the research on coffee’s carbon footprint alongside two experts, to find out where pods fall. He tastes the difference between a few different brewing methods, finds out how easy it is to recycle our pods, and what effect recycling them (or not) can have on their environmental impact. (The information in this episode was accurate at the time of recording.)

All our investigations start with YOUR suggestions. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at [email protected] OR send a voice note to our WhatsApp number 07543 306807.

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT

Do we really need all those cleaning sprays?

Have a peek in anyone’s cupboard under the sink (ask first or it can get a bit weird) and you’re bound to find a clutch of cleaning sprays and products. The marketing often says they’re designed for certain rooms and do specific jobs.

But listener Alice wants to know if we really need different sprays for our bathrooms and kitchens. Will soap and water do the same job, and what about supermarket own-brand products? She’s also keen to know about the cleaning properties of natural products like vinegar…and what about the concentrated versions that allow you to add your own water?

Greg and Alice are joined by Dr Sally Bloomfield from the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene, as well as TV’s ‘Queen of Clean’, Lynsey Crombie, to run the science through the evidence mill.

All our investigations start with YOUR suggestions. If you've seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at [email protected] OR send a voicenote to our WhatsApp number 07543 306807

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT

Can taking special supplements help us to live longer?

It's the 100th episode of Sliced Bread and to mark the occasion we're investigating the pills and supplements that claim to help us live longer - and more healthy - lives.

Increasingly these supplements and diet plans are available to buy - but are they worth the money? Can they really extend our lives beyond the current normal human lifespan? What does the evidence say so far about their effectiveness?

Greg is joined in the studio by Dr Andrew Steele, author of 'Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old' to try to unlock the secrets of staying young and run the studies through the evidence mill.

We could not have made it to 100 episodes of Sliced Bread without YOUR suggestions for wonder products to investigate. Please do keep them coming! If you have seen something claiming 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 [email protected] or drop us a message or voice note on WhatsApp to 07543 306807.

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT

Does a session in a float tank work wonders for your mental health and exercise recovery?

Listener Maddy has heard a lot about float tanks and joins Greg Foot to find out if it really is the latest product worth spending money on.

She’s a keen runner and wants to know if claims that it can help with exercise recovery stack up. And what about the effects on the brain? When Maddy's partner recently paid for a session in a float tank he reported a sense of both relaxation and euphoria, which helped him through a period of poor mental health. But is any of that backed up the science?

Greg speak to two experts in the field to run the studies through the evidence mill.

All of the ideas for out 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 [email protected] or drop us a message or voice note on WhatsApp to 07543 306807.

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT

Listener Nikki from Essex has a problem in her garden with a certain slippery character – the slug. She told Sliced Bread that she’s lost many a plant to them, and had to abandon growing certain kinds altogether – because while they’re being a nuisance, she doesn’t want to harm them.

She has been researching non-lethal slug repellents, and wants to know if they actually work? Can things like egg shells, copper tape and wool pellets stop them in their slimy tracks?

We speak to principal entomologist at the Royal Horticultural Society Doctor Hayley Jones, as well as zoologist, ecologist and honorary fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, Doctor Gordon Port to find out. You can also hear us put some slugs through their paces – as we set up a test to see what they avoid…

All of the ideas for out 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 [email protected] or drop us a message or voice note on WhatsApp to 07543 306807.

PRESENTER: Greg Foot

PRODUCER: Kate Holdsworth

Do drinks and powders with electrolytes help to hydrate you better?

Listener Rob got in touch as he’s recently taken up a new sport and wants to know if electrolytes can help his performance and recovery. He’s seen lots of adverts on social media for drinks and powders containing electrolytes that claim to hydrate you better than just plain water. But do they?

To find the answers, Greg speaks to Graeme Close, Professor of Human Physiology and Head of the Research Institute for Sports and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University.

All our investigations start with YOUR suggestions. If you've seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at [email protected] OR send a voicenote to our WhatsApp number 07543 306807

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT

Listener Raffi is tired of his morning coffee going cold by the time he's ready to drink it. There are plenty of products out there promising to do a better job than Raffi's flask, and they come with a range of price tags. But how do they work and what is the ideal drinking temperature? Dr Michael de Podesta, a chartered physicist and measurements expert, has been looking into these very questions. He joins Greg and Raffi in the studio to run through his experiments - and explain how 'double walled technology' works and whether it's the answer to Raffi's prayers. Michael's even been trying out a high tech cup that claims to instantly cool your drink to a perfect drinking temperature - and keep it there for hours. Insulated cups also claim to be leak proof, durable and - in some cases - dishwasher proof. So joining them for this one is Kamisha Darroux, principal scientific adviser for Which? to talk about the tests they do and which other features are worth spending your money on. So are insulated coffee cups the best thing since sliced bread?

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT