Why are we being watched more and more by technology, including in the workplace? Is it an aid to hard work, or prelude to oppression? Wiretap co-founder Jeff Schumann creates software that monitors employee activity on workplace messaging apps. He says his technology is good, and can protect employees from backstabbing co-workers.

But to many, this technology has sinister potential. Professor Andre Spicer at Cass Business School in London says it is a reminder for employees of who is boss.

Ben Waber, president of a firm called Humanyze, tells presenter Ed Butler it has huge potential when it comes to spotting the previously unknown patterns of good productivity. Even having bigger lunch tables in the office canteen can increase output, as workers have more opportunity to chat and share ideas, he says.

(Photo: Giant surveillance desk with monitors. Credit: Getty Images)

Africa is developing economically, but its own companies don’t have the same profile as western brands. How come? Mary-Ann Kaikai of Madam Wokie Fashion, tells presenter Ed Butler about her dress designs in Freetown Sierra Leone. Her label made an impact on Hollywood red carpets, as well as in her home city. The Brand Leadership Group conducts survey each year of the continents' favourite 100 brands. This year's list came out last week, revealing once again that more than 80% of the names are Asian or western, such as Samsung, Levi's, and Coke. Only 19 were African. Thebe Ikalafeng, founder of the company, tells us more. So, what do African entrepreneurs need to do? Where can they get the experience to make a local product into an international one? That's where consultancies like De Charles come in. Ndubuisi Kejeh is a founding partner of this London-based firm, which aims specifically to build up African brands and what he calls it brand narratives for the continent.

(Picture: Mary-Ann Kaikai of Madam Wokie Fashion, and friend. Credit: Madam Wokie .)

MDMA, the key ingredient in the illegal party drug ecstasy, may soon be approved as a medicine. Meanwhile, it's also making a comeback across Europe's clubs and music festivals.

Manuela Saragosa speaks to neuropharmacologist David Nutt of Imperial College, who once got fired by the UK government for saying MDMA was less dangerous than horse-riding, and with psychedelic psycho-therapist Rick Doblin, who is seeking to get the chemical approved for the treatment of PTSD.

But while the drug may be safe in a clinical setting, dozens of people still die each year from taking illicit ecstasy pills. We hear from Andrew Cunningham of the EU drugs agency EMCDDA, and from Fiona Measham of the illegal drugs-testing service, The Loop.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Photo: Ecstasy pills; Credit: portokalis/Getty Images)

Can artificial intelligence and face recognition technology be racist? AI is increasingly being used in all aspects of our lives but there is a problem with it. It often can't see people because of the colour of their skin. Zoe Kleinman speaks to Joy Buolamwini founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, Suresh Venkatasubramanian from the School of Computing at the University of Utah and Calum Chase, an AI expert and author about what is being done to overcome this problem. (Photo: Facial recognition system, Credit: Getty Images)

The EU's new data rules, coming into force today, could spell the end of spam mail - that at least is the hope of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Manuela Saragosa speaks to Rachel Aldighieri, managing director of the Direct Marketing Association, which represents companies in the UK that send adverts directly to customers, while the BBC's John Lloyd takes a more satirical look at the issue of junk mail and why he wishes it came with free scone.

Plus Jeremy Daum of the Yale Law School in Beijing explains how China's data rules gives the state - rather than the individual - new powers, and why anyone who skips paying a fine should think twice before trying to buy a plane ticket.

(Picture: Diary reminder tab for the General Data Protection Regulation; Credit: SBphotos/Getty Images)

How do brands survive in an era of big data, social media, and increasing consumer cynicism?

Ed Butler looks at the case of Royal Enfield motorbikes, whose sales in India were boosted even though it made a point of not paying for star sponsorship - unlike its rivals.

But if glossy magazine splashes and billboards featuring big name cricket stars don't cut it anymore, what is the way forward? Ed speaks to two practitioners of the dark arts of advertising - Steve King of social media analytics company Black Swan, and Jason Peterson, the chief creative officer at ad giant Havas.

(Picture: Torn and fading billboard car advert; Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Being paid to do nothing at work might sound like every employee's dream, but it can also bring shame and depression. We speak to a French man who successfully sued his employer because they gave him too little to do.

Plus, how many of us can say we are truly engaged with our work? We speak to anthropologist David Graeber, who found most of us think our jobs are meaningless or that they actually do harm.

But in India, people are crying out for work - Rahul Tandon reports on a job advertisement that attracted 23 million applicants.

(Picture: A woman wasting time at the office. Credit: Getty Images)

A chronic lack of opioid drugs leaves millions of people throughout the developing world to live and die in unrelenting, excruciating pain. It is a particularly bitter irony in India, which historically had the world's biggest legal opium poppy industry.

The Lancet journal has dubbed the lack of access even to cheap pain killers such as morphine a "medical, public health, and moral failing". Justin Rowlatt reports from Kerala, where Dr M R Rajagopal is pioneering a revolution in palliative care, including the successful lobbying of the Indian government to liberalise its draconian laws on opioids in 2014.

But where will the drugs come from? Megan O'Brien of the American Cancer Society explains a cheap solution they are advocating in Sub-Saharan Africa. And Kunal Saxena, managing director of pharma company Rusan, tells of his hopes for the privatisation and expansion of India's opium business.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: Benedict Alexander, a patient at the Pallium India clinic, with his wife Bindu; Credit: BBC)

Economic depression, 13,000% inflation, oil seizures by creditors, international sanctions, a refugee crisis - can the Maduro government hold on to power at elections this weekend as Venezuela implodes?

We hear the views of Chavistas on the streets of Caracas, and of refugees on the Brazilian border. Back in the studio, Ed Butler speaks to Maduro critic and former government minister Professor Ricardo Hausman, of Harvard University.

Plus oil analyst Amrita Sen explains why an old legal dispute with ConocoPhillips has come to a head at the worst possible time for the government, and former Obama administration official Adam M Smith discusses the pros and cons of economic sanctions.

(Picture: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro surrounded by tiikertape during a campaign rally in Caracas; Credit: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)

Are US allegations that Huawei is helping Beijing hack US data networks motivated by genuine suspicions or by trade protectionism?

Joe Miller reports from the US where some Americans feel frustrated that their government is restricting them from using the Chinese tech firm's cheap and reliable products. Meanwhile Ed Butler asks Wired journalist Scott Thurm whether the Trump administration's clampdown is just part of the broader trade standoff between the world's two biggest economies.

Plus, Chinese billionaire and artificial intelligence expert Kai-Fu Lee explains why he thinks ultimately China may win the tech arms race with the US over everything from mobile payments to autonomous vehicles.

(Picture: Programmer facing computer screen; Credit: xijian/Getty Images)

Digital advertising fraud cost companies an estimated $16bn last year. Often the clicks or downloads generated by the ads they paid for came not from people, but robots.

Alex Hewson, from mobile advertising firm M &C Saatchi, describes the scale of the problem and the tricks some fraudsters use. And Gary Danks, managing director of Machine Advertising explains how his company is tracking fraudulent app downloads.

The gaming of the online advertising system raises an age-old issue in economics - the principal agent problem. Jerry Z Muller, author of The Tyranny of Metrics, explains and also warns of the dangers inherent in setting targets in business and economics.

(Picture: A hand touching a screen and icons. Credit: Getty Images)

As Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement and anti-immigration Northern League edge closer to a coalition, we ask whether such a eurosceptic government might scupper plans for further EU integration.

Manuela Saragosa is joined by Federico Santi, from Eurasia Group, and Jeremy Cliffe, Berlin bureau chief at The Economist.

Plus, what do business schools teach about the art of negotiation? We hear from Heather McGregor, entrepreneur and Dean of Herriot Watt Business School in Edinburgh.

(Picture: A mural by artist TVBOY depicting Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio kissing Northern League leader Matteo Salvini, seen on a wall in Rome in March 2018. Credit: Tiziana Fabi, Getty Images)