Episodes
-
Thailand’s government has long been wary of opening up the country to gambling, imposing major restrictions on betting.
Small-scale, illicit gambling is widespread in the country but now politicians want to liberalise the industry and allow casinos to set up shop.
The goal is to promote tourism, but opponents argue that the gambling business is incompatible with Thai culture, which is largely rooted in Buddhist values that frown upon betting.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Ed Butler
(Picture: Protesters in Chaing Mai, Thailand, in April 2025, seen holding placards during a demonstration to protest the government's draft entertainment complex bill at The Phae Gate. On 13 January 2025, the Thai Cabinet approved a draft bill, setting the stage for the legalisation of casino gambling in entertainment complexes across the country. Credit: Getty Images)
-
The Southeast Asian country has witnessed a huge influx of electrical and electronic waste in recent years. Old mobile phones, computers, circuit boards and fridges are being shipped to the country and processed, often in unlicensed industrial sites.
We explore why this has happened, who is behind it, and find out what the Thai government is doing about it.
We join the Thai industry ministry on a raid of an unlicensed Chinese-owned recycling plant, and talk to a Thai farmer who says his cassava crop has been blighted by pollutants from an unlicensed smelter.
We also hear from Thais about their own electronics recycling habits.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Gideon Long Additional reporting and translation by Wilawan Watcharasakwej in Bangkok
(Image: Officials look at a mound of e-waste at a site near Bangkok, Thailand.)
Since this programme was first broadcast, the Chinese embassy in Thailand has responded to the BBC request for comment with a statement saying: “China has always required overseas Chinese enterprises to abide by the laws of the host countries and operate in accordance with laws and regulations”. It said China supports Thailand in its efforts to strengthen regulation and create “a fair, stable and predictable investment and business environment”.
-
Missing episodes?
-
Thailand and Malaysia both depend on exports to countries like China and the US for economic growth. The Southeast Asian nations are now potentially facing some of US President Donald Trump’s most punishing tariff rates. We look at some of their key industries, like rubber and manufacturing, that are threatened by the situation. Will both countries have to reinvent their economies?
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Producer/presenter: Ed Butler
(Photo: Duang Chai, a rubber farmer in Chonburi, eastern Thailand)
-
From rice to rubber, manufacturing to tourism, Thailand is one of Southeast Asia’s most important export-driven economies. And its trading partners include China and the US. But the country's been struggling to bounce back from the effects of the Covid pandemic.
Ever since US President Donald Trump first introduced tariffs against China in 2018, Thailand's also found itself having to tread carefully between the demands of the two economic superpowers.
We hear from food producers, exporters and ordinary working people, about the choices ahead. Will Thailand now have to decide between Washington and Beijing if it is to survive a global trade war?
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Ed Butler
(Image: Bangkok's Chinatown. A neighbourhood packed with market stalls, gold shops, and restaurants. Credit: Getty Images)
-
David Webb has spent decades campaigning for the rights of ordinary investors in Hong Kong.
Since arriving in the city from the UK as a young investment banker 30 years ago, he’s taken on tycoons, exposed corporate wrongdoing, and pushed for transparency in one of the world’s most complex financial hubs. Now, as the activist investor’s life comes to an end following a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2020, he's been reflecting on his life in the corporate world.
He's spoken to the BBC's Martin Yip.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presenter: Martin YipProducer: Niamh McDermott
(Image: David Webb, activist investor and founder of Webb-site.com, speaks during a farewell event at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong on 12 May 2025. Credit: Getty Images)
-
Pitchside advertising signs in stadiums are getting bigger and brighter, using advanced, digital technology to create new opportunities for marketing to fans in the stadium and those watching sports at home.
But could the LED boards around the stadium distract from the action on the field?
We hear from fans, marketing execs, and how one sport league is using advertising as a form of entertainment during matches.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Russell Padmore
(Picture: Football/soccer stadium from the players zone. Credit: Getty Images)
-
US President Donald Trump’s announcements on tariffs have had businesses around the world analysing their supply chains and reassessing their bottom lines.
We take a snapshot of one industry and the beating heart of a popular American product - craft beer – speaking to brewers in Canada, Mexico and the US.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presenter: Devina GuptaProducer: Hannah Bewley
(Image: Robin Ridesic of Exchange Brewery in Ontario, Canada; Justin Cox of Atlas Brewing, Washington DC, USA; and Luis Osuna of Buqui Bichi in Sonora, Mexico)
-
A Pilsner, an American Pale Ale, American IPA or cold lager. However you like your beer – it's part of life in the US and usually comes out on top as the most popular drink in the country.
In this programme, we look at how President Donald Trump’s tariffs policy is impacting the product; tracing the elements of a can of beer in the United States - from the hops to the bar.
Could this all-American experience be affected by a desire to Make America Great Again? Or will US businesses involved in beer manufacturing and packaging benefit?
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Hannah Bewley
(Picture: Young woman working in the production line in a beer factory. Credit: Getty Images)
-
Heatwaves don’t have names unlike storms or hurricanes - which are categorised. But extreme heat can have a huge impact on people’s lives, on overall public health, and the local economy.
We look at a pilot project that took place in the Spanish city of Seville called ProMETEO, aimed at naming heatwaves in order to raise public awareness, and better prepare local economies in extreme heat conditions.
And we speak to businesses that are having to plan for hotter weather and ask them whether categorising heatwaves could make them more resilient.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Ashish Sharma
(Picture: A waitress tries to cool down with a fan at a restaurant in Seville on 23 July, 2024, as temperatures rose across southern Europe during a heatwave last summer. July 21, 2024 was the hottest day ever registered globally, according to preliminary data published by the EU's climate monitor. Credit: Getty Images)
-
For more than 1,400 years, Saudi Arabia has hosted pilgrims from across the world who travel to this sacred patch of desert to fulfil a religious obligation.
Beyond the eternal moral duty, the economic potential of hosting both Hajj, and Umrah - a shorter pilgrimage - is vast. The kingdom is aiming to welcome 30 million pilgrims every year by 2030.
As more Muslims gain the financial means to undertake this journey, we look at the scale of the opportunity—for Saudi Arabia, and the global travel industry.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Sameer Hashmi
(Picture: Muslim worshippers gather for prayers at the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca on June 2, 2025 ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Credit: Getty Images)
-
Is longevity the next growth industry? We look at why billionaires are betting on 'rejuvenation' tech and whether any of this could help more of us live beyond 100.
We meet the entrepreneurs selling 'superfoods', personalised health plans, and longevity consulting, hoping to cash in on a longer life. Their methods are unproven and sometimes extreme, but could the billionaires be on to something?
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Thomas Mason
(Picture: A silhouette of a man stargazing under a clear, starry night sky with the Milky Way visible. Artistic composite. Credit: Getty Images)
-
Ice hockey was hit hard by the pandemic, with empty arenas and financial losses threatening the sport's future. Now in 2025, North America's National Hockey League (NHL) has come roaring back.
We'll look at that journey and how the sport is about to enjoy a record-breaking season with predicted revenues of $6.6bn.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presenter: Sam GruetProducer: Megan Lawton
(Anton Lundell of the Florida Panthers scores a goal against Joseph Woll of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period of Game Seven of the Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Scotiabank Arena on May 18, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. Credit: Getty Images)
-
The small country has big ambitions to become a tech and innovation hub.
It has a reliable source of renewable energy, thanks to the Itaipu Dam - a huge hydroelectric dam on the Paraguay-Brazil border.
We hear from government ministers and business leaders about how they believe they can make it happen - and the benefits it could bring, particularly to young people in Paraguay.
Produced and presented by Jane Chambers
(Image: The Itaipu Dam - a hydroelectric dam on the Paraguay-Brazi border. Credit: Getty Images)
-
A new type of solar cell has been developed and has made it to market.
Perovskites have been called a 'magic material' that many believe will be the new, efficient way to convert the sun's energy to electricity.
Now the material is being used on commercial roof panels for the first time, we look at the opportunities of the new tech, its flaws, and when it might be available to households.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected].uk
Presented and produced by Rick Kelsey
(Picture: Illustration of a modern perovskite high performance solar cell module for high efficient photon recycling. Credit: Getty Images)
-
In the final episode of our series, we've gather together a panel of experts who all have an interest in critical mineral mining.
Demand for minerals like cobalt, lithium and copper is growing rapidly, as countries turn to green energy solutions. These minerals are used in EV batteries and wind turbines.
So what does the future hold? How do countries approach China's dominance in both mining and processing, and what about the environmental and ethical concerns?
Presenter: Sam FenwickProducer: Lexy O'Connor
(Photo: Off-shore wind turbines in Denmark, located on Middelgrunden a few kilometres outside Copenhagen. Credit: Getty Images)
-
Rising demand for critical minerals to fuel the green energy transition means an expansion of mining around the world.
New mines are opening, existing mines are being scaled up.
In the fourth programme in our series, we find out about the impact of mineral mining on the planet and for those people both working in the mines and living nearby.
We head to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where there are claims that child labour is being used in so called ‘artisanal’ mines and there is little scrutiny of the supply chain.
Presenter: Sam FenwickProducer: Lexy O'Connor
(Image: Artisanal miners carry sacks of ore at a mine near Kolwezi in 2022. Credit: Getty Images)
-
China’s headstart in market dominance is significant, and its grip on critical mineral supply chains remains tight.
The question now is whether other governments can move fast enough — and smart enough — to build something more secure, more sustainable, and less dependent.
We head to La Rochelle in western France for a rare look inside one of the world’s biggest rare earth processing plants, and find out what it reveals about Europe’s efforts to build a supply chain of its own.
Presenter: Jonathan JosephsProducer: Matt Lines
(Image: A rare earth processing plant in La Rochelle, France, owned by chemicals giant Solvay)
-
The country dominates the global processing of critical minerals - materials essential to clean energy, defence, and modern manufacturing.
In the second part of our series on the global race to secure these resources, we explore how China built its control over the supply chain, from strategic state investment to partnerships abroad.
We also head to Indonesia, where Chinese firms are leading the charge in nickel processing. Has one country gained too much power over the world’s green transition?
Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Lexy O’Connor
(Image: Labourers work at the site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi province in 2010. Credit: Getty Images)
-
They’re essential to the green transition, modern tech, and defence systems—and global demand is soaring.
In the first part of our series on critical minerals, we ask what they are, where they're found and why they matter?
As countries scramble to secure supplies, we explore the rising geopolitical tensions shaping this fast-growing industry—including the Oval Office standoff between Presidents Trump and Zelensky over a landmark minerals deal.
Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Lexy O’Connor
(Image: Hands holding rock samples of critical minerals)
-
It’s been 10 years since Ireland made history by becoming the first country to legalise same-sex marriage through a public vote.
While other countries had legalised it, it was the first time a referendum had been held.
We hear from wedding planners, photographers and venues about how things have changed for them since the 2015 referendum.
As the overall number of marriages in Ireland decreases, the number of same-sex marriages is still increasing. We hear from same-sex couples who are now seen as prospective clients for this sector.
Produced and presented by Leanna Byrne
(Image: Alan Hatton and Darren Lawlor)
- Show more
