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When a home DNA testing company fails...

When a home DNA testing company fails...

What happens to our data once it's been handed over to DNA testing companies?

One such firm, 23andMe, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

The company was set up to help people could track their ancestry - one of a number of similar sites using DNA data to create links and matches between users.

However the company has been dogged by privacy concerns over its use of customer information and was fined for a data breach that exposed UK customers.

What lessons can be learned now the company's been bought out of bankruptcy by its co-founder?

Produced and presented by David Reid

(Image: Woman swabbing her mouth for a DNA test. Credit: Getty Images)

From pro gamer to what?

From pro gamer to what?

We look at job security and long-term options for esports players after they hang up their controllers.

The industry is worth billions of dollars and players win big prizes, but many make more money as content makers, and plan to move away from esports long-term.

We head to an esports event in Birmingham UK to speak to professional gamers about their career prospects - and to young people who idolise these players and want to enter this field themselves.

Produced and presented by Will Chalk

(Image: Esports player Archie Pickthall at the 2025 RLCS Major 1 tournament in Birmingham UK. Credit: BLAST/Michal Konkol)

Game over? Sport sponsorship and the Dutch gambling crackdown

Game over? Sport sponsorship and the Dutch gambling crackdown

From 1 July 2025 there will be complete ban on untargeted advertising of online gambling in the Netherlands.

That's a dramatic reversal in policy from just four years ago, when the market was first regulated.

The move will have a particularly significant impact in the Dutch sports world, where federations and clubs have benefited from intense sponsorship spending in the few years it has been legal.

But now that flow of money is coming to an end. What impact will the new rules have, in sport and more widely? And how will the betting operators adapt?

Produced and presented by Matthew Kenyon

(Image: Tom Koops of Orion Stars playing in the Volleyball Play-off Finals match between Orion Stars and NovaTech Lycurgus on 8 May 2025 in Doetinchem, Netherlands. One of the sponsors of Dutch men's volleyball is Bet City - seen on Tom's shirt. That won't be allowed under the new rules. Credit: Getty Images)

India’s '10-minute' delivery craze

India’s '10-minute' delivery craze

Groceries delivered to your doorstep in just 10 minutes? India’s online platforms are promising this instant delivery for millions of shoppers – items at your door in between 10 and 30 mins.

But behind the convenience lies a deeper story - exhausted gig workers, struggling family-run stores, and questions about the long-term sustainability of the business model.

We look at the real cost of India’s quick commerce, or Q-commerce, industry.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented and produced by Devina Gupta

(Picture: A Swiggy delivery rider and a rider for rival brand Zepto on their bikes with delivery boxes in Mumbai, India. Credit: Getty Images)

Why are Westerners moving to Thai care homes?

Why are Westerners moving to Thai care homes?

Fed up with their own inadequate and expensive care systems, many elderly Westerners are choosing to retire to Thailand, where care is cheaper and often better. Many say Thailand’s Buddhist culture and respect for the elderly means Thais are naturally caring.

It’s a booming sector, and is only likely to grow as we all live longer. But the decision to move can be complex, particularly when it involves retirees with dementia.

People have been accused of dumping their sick relatives in Thai care homes, far from family. Is this exploitation – rich Westerners taking advantage of Thailand’s low wages? And what does it mean for local health systems, as care workers are lured away to look after foreign residents?

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented and produced by Gideon Long

(Picture: British retiree Liz Jackson, now living in Chiang Mai.)

Thailand's casino gamble

Thailand's casino gamble

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]

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)

Thailand’s battle against e-waste

Thailand’s battle against e-waste

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]

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”.

Thailand and Malaysia: Growth under pressure

Thailand and Malaysia: Growth under pressure

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]

Producer/presenter: Ed Butler

(Photo: Duang Chai, a rubber farmer in Chonburi, eastern Thailand)

Thailand: An economy on hold?

Thailand: An economy on hold?

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]

Presented and produced by Ed Butler

(Image: Bangkok's Chinatown. A neighbourhood packed with market stalls, gold shops, and restaurants. Credit: Getty Images)

Business Daily meets: Activist investor David Webb

Business Daily meets: Activist investor David Webb

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]

Presenter: Martin Yip Producer: 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)

Has sports arena advertising gone too far?

Has sports arena advertising gone too far?

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]

Presented and produced by Russell Padmore

(Picture: Football/soccer stadium from the players zone. Credit: Getty Images)

The craft brewers and tariffs

The craft brewers and tariffs

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]

Presenter: Devina Gupta Producer: 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)

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