How is climate change reshaping the global economy? Rahul Tandon is joined by Carsten Brzeski in Germany and Jyoti Malhotra in India to discuss the growing economic impact of heatwaves, including the threat to trade as water levels on Germany's River Rhine fall. They also examine how China is becoming less reliant on European industry, and the latest leadership tensions at India's Tata Group. Plus, the story behind eclipse sunglasses becoming an unlikely sell-out success.

Presenter: Rahul Tandon Producer: David Cann

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: A view of low water levels at Rheinau Harbour near the Rhine River in Cologne, Germany, 13 August 2026. Credit: EPA)

Diageo, the company that owns Guinness, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and more than 200 drinks brands worldwide, has announced a major reset after a tough couple of years in which its profits have fallen and its share price has struggled. British businessman Sir Dave Lewis has been brought in to steer a turnaround, including a $1bn savings plan over the next three years. Known as "Drastic Dave" for cost-cutting at other companies, can he revive growth as more consumers drink less alcohol or switch from global brands to local ones?

Presenters: Will Bain and Rahul Tandon Producer: Gideon Long

(Picture: People drink Guinness at The Devonshire pub in Soho, London. Credit: REUTERS/Hollie Adams)

Mike Repole is the entrepreneur behind drinks brands including Vitaminwater and BodyArmor. He tells Hannah Mullane how he went from stocking supermarket shelves in Queens, New York, to building billion-dollar businesses with investors including Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady.

Presenter: Hannah Mullane Producers: Niamh McDermott and Amber Mehmood

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: Mike Repole)

John Laurenson reports from La Défense in Paris on how Europe's biggest business district is turning vacant office space into housing. As hybrid working leaves more offices underused, cities are rethinking the future of these buildings. We compare developments in Paris with efforts in London and Washington DC and ask whether converting offices into homes could help tackle housing shortages and revive struggling business districts.

Presenter/producer: John Laurenson

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: People walking in La Défense business district in Paris. Credit: John Laurenson)

Denmark is preparing to scrap its royal warrant system, ending a centuries-old royal seal of approval used by businesses to market everything from beer to cars. Similar warrants are used by monarchies around the world and awarded to everyone from brewers and carmakers to pest controllers. What do the Danish companies affected think, and could other royal households follow Denmark's lead?

(Photo: Packets of sweets with a Danish Royal Warrant in a Copenhagen shop. Credit: Daniel Rosney)

You can email the team: [email protected]

Producer/presenter: Daniel Rosney

What is driving the global shift towards economic protectionism? Will Bain is joined by Jennifer Pak, NPR's China correspondent, and Trevor Simumba, an international business consultant in Zambia, to discuss why the trend has accelerated since Donald Trump's tariffs and why global trade remains resilient despite growing barriers. Plus, why Africa's Lobito Corridor matters for trade, what AI means for jobs in China and beyond, and why drinks giant Diageo is cutting costs. And, two food heroes: China's baozi and Uganda's matoke.

(Photo: A ship docks at Lobito Port in Angola, 4 December, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

You can email the team: [email protected]

Presenter: Will Bain Producer: David Cann

In a highly unusual move, the US has stepped in to back Japan's currency, the yen. Donald Trump calls it a "signal of friendship" but what is Washington hoping to achieve? And what does the move reveal about Japan's economy, after years of deflation and ultra-low interest rates? Rahul Tandon and Will Bain assess the intervention with the help of the BBC's "yen geek" Mariko Oi.

Presenters: Rahul Tandon, Will Bain and Mariko Oi Producer: Gideon Long

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: A woman walks past a stock market indicator board in Tokyo, Japan, 03 August 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

Ola Sars has spent two decades helping shape the way music is discovered, streamed and licensed. He co-founded Beats Music, the streaming service that helped lay the groundwork for Apple Music, before launching Soundtrack, a company that provides licensed music to restaurants, cafés and other hospitality businesses. After moving to the US as a child and learning English from scratch, how did he become a music-tech entrepreneur? And was selling his stake in Beats before Apple acquired the company the right decision?

(Photo: Ola Sars, seen from the shoulders up, wears a black jumper and has short shaved brown hair going grey at the sides, blue eyes and stubble growth. He looks at the camera with a neutral expression. Credit: Rickard Croy)

Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Niamh McDermott

You can email the team: [email protected]

With Europe sweltering in intense heat and demand for air-conditioners soaring, who is making money from supplying them? We follow the supply chain from a factory churning out air-con units in China to retailers across Europe scrambling to secure stock as demand surges. In France, where repeated heat waves have driven sales higher, shoppers have been fighting in supermarkets to get hold of them.

We also examine the cost of powering air-conditioners and the impact their growing use is having on energy prices. How much pressure is Europe's growing appetite for air-conditioning putting on electricity grids?

(Photo: People cool off in the Trocadero fountain by the Eiffel Tower in Paris during a heatwave in June 2026. Credit: Yoan Valat/EPA/Shutterstock)

Presenter: Sam Fenwick   Producer: Gideon Long

In the second of two episodes, Ed Butler tracks the whereabouts and connections of one of Europe's most wanted drug criminals. Despite denials from the President's family, law enforcement agencies say Jos Leijdekkers is enjoying privileged status in Sierra Leone. The country's Justice Minister responds.

Is China rapidly catching up with the United States in the race to dominate artificial intelligence? Rahul Tandon is joined by Walter Todd in the US and Rebecca Choong Wilkins in Singapore to discuss, following a week of sharp moves in AI-related markets and growing questions over where the next wave of innovation will come from.

They also explore what India's "cockroach protest" says about the growing challenge of youth unemployment around the world.

(Photo: People walk past the Unix AI booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China, 17 July, 2026. Credit: Go Nakamura/Reuters)

You can email the team: [email protected]

Presenter: Rahul Tandon Producer: David Cann

This Podcast was first published June 9th 2026

With the future of football's governing body under discussion, we're giving you another chance to hear how FIFA makes most of its money from the World Cup

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has proposed the creation of a subsidiary body to run tournaments, which would include some outside investment.

Fifa has given all 211 member associations until 19 September to say whether they agree with the plan, with a straight majority to decide whether to proceed.

But there has been criticism of the plans over lack of clarity and the impact it could have on FIFA's independence.

Ahead of the World Cup, Sam Fenwick looked at how the event generates billions of dollars for FIFA - where the money comes from and how it gets spent.

Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Matt Lines Editor: Stephen Ryan

(photo: Silhouette of Gianni Infantino, FIFA President and rising stock graph are seen in this illustration taken, July 28, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)