Artisanal mining accounts for around 20% of global gold production and generates an estimated $30 billion a year for some of the world's poorest communities. But the trade is also linked to criminal networks and environmental damage. Ed Butler explores the forces behind the global gold rush and who is bearing the cost.

Presenter/producer: Ed Butler

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: Gold miner Kelly Mbayo in Sierra Leone. Credit: Ed Butler/BBC News)

Connecting the timezones this week are Will Bain in London, David Kuo in Singapore and Emily Peck in New York to unpack the week's biggest business stories. China's economy has recorded one of its weakest quarterly growth rates on record, raising fresh questions about the country's outlook and the impact on the global economy. Plus, why prices for durian, the 'king of fruits', are tumbling across Asia. And New York's move to target AI data centres.

Presenter: Will Bain Producer: David Cann

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: People walk in the Lujiazui financial district, in Shanghai, China, 14 July 2022. Credit: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

This week, Will and Michelle speak to Reuters entertainment business correspondent Dawn Chmielewski about how the Paramount–Warner merger could reshape Hollywood. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery want to combine in a $110 billion deal that would create an entertainment giant. Executives say it's the only way to survive the streaming wars, but now twelve attorneys general, regulators and a host of creators are saying "no deal". So how do Paramount and CEO David Ellison make this deal a reality? And what could it mean for what's on our screens, big, small or handheld?

Presenters: Will Bain and Michelle Fleury Producer: Rebecca Smyllie Editor: Stephen Ryan

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: California Attorney General Rob Bonta holds a press conference as he announces California will be suing to block Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 13, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Daniel Cole)

With the 2026 World Cup underway, here's another chance to hear how England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham became one of football's most marketable names. The face of several major brands, Bellingham has built a successful business beyond football. We explore the Jude Bellingham brand, his sponsorship and endorsement deals, and what makes him so valuable to some of the world's biggest companies.

Presenter/producer: Matt Lines.

Episode first published on 15 August 2024.

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: England's Jude Bellingham during the football World Cup 2026 quarter final vs Norway. Credit: REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Sumant Sinha is the founder of ReNew, one of India's largest renewable energy companies. He explains why he left a successful corporate career to pursue renewable energy, the challenges of building a business in a fast-changing market, and whether India can become a clean-energy superpower.

Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Barbara George

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Picture: Sumant Sinha. Credit: Mushtak Mohammad)

Why have US beef prices risen around 13% over the past year? Who is making money from the burgers and steaks Americans eat? Presenter Sam Fenwick speaks to a cattle rancher in South Dakota, an agricultural economist in Wisconsin, a meat packer in North Carolina and a restaurant owner in Nebraska to find out what is happening in this quintessentially American corner of the food market. We unpack the US beef supply chain to discover why prices are rising, who is making money from it and who is getting squeezed.

(Photo: A cow waiting to eat at a feedlot in Saltillo, Mexico, 1 June, 2026. Credit: Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

You can email the team: [email protected]

Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Gideon Long

Ed Butler speaks to the man who coined the term BRIC for the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Now back in the headlines as an adviser to Britain’s likely next Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, Jim O'Neill argues that Western nations must abandon what he calls their neo-colonial attitudes towards the world's new industrial powerhouses.

(Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, 23 October, 2024. Credit: China Daily/Reuters)

You can email the team: [email protected]

Producer/presenter: Ed Butler

Will Bain is joined by Seijiro Takeshita in Japan and Yael Selfin in the UK to discuss the week's biggest business stories. As Nato members agree to greater defence spending, we examine how economic conditions in the UK and Japan are shaping their ability to fund these commitments, as governments balance growing security demands with pressure on public finances. Plus, what Microsoft's layoffs at Xbox reveal about the global gaming industry after years of rapid growth.

(Photo: Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and US President Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, 08 July 2026. Credit: Filip Singer/Reuters)

You can email the team: [email protected]

Presenter: Will Bain Producer: David Cann

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani rode a wave of anti-Trump sentiment and cost-of-living pressures to win the New York City mayoralty. But talk of new taxes to fund spending spooked some on Wall Street. Six months in, has he found a balance? Presenters: Michelle Fleury and Will Bain Producer: Josh Martin Editor: Stephen Ryan

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Image: New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani waves to his supporters after winning the 2025 New York City Mayoral race. Credit: Jeenah Moon/ Reuters)

Noubar Afeyan helped bring one of medicine's biggest breakthroughs to the world through Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine. In this episode, he explains why what looked like an overnight success was actually decades in the making.

Presenter: Will Bain Producers: Barbara George and David Cann Researcher: Aleeza Siddiq

They are one of the biggest rock bands in the world and are releasing their 25th album this week. So, in a world where artists can make billions from touring alone, should the band release new material or just go on the road?

They have earned more than $200 million across six tours, more than $100 million over 10, while many musicians earn less that $0.01 per stream of their songs.

Presenter: Hannah Mullane Producer: Matt Lines and Neil Morrow

You can email the team: [email protected]

(Photo: Mick Jagger on the Pyramid Stage during a Rolling Stones set at Glastonbury in 2013. Credit: BBC)