Shows / The Bottom Line
The Bottom Line
Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show with people at the top giving insight into what matters
Episodes
- The Bottom Line
The EU after Brexit – A special programme together with The Briefing Room
Radio 4’s Bottom Line and Briefing Room will combine in a special hour-long programme examining the economic and political future of the EU once Britain has…
- The Bottom Line
Do corporate headquarters still matter?
The tech giant Apple has just spent five billion dollars building a campus in California's Silicon Valley. It's not alone in its architectural ambitions. The…
- The Bottom Line
Is strategy necessary for success?
What is strategy and why do businesses need it? What distinguishes a good strategy from a bad one or a non-strategy? Not to be confused with goals or a…
- The Bottom Line
The Ethics of Business
Are 'ethical' businesses all they're cracked up to be? Evan Davis and guests discuss the newest type of certification in ethical business, the B Corp, and ask…
- The Bottom Line
Who Owns British Companies?
What has happened to Margaret Thatcher's dream of creating a nation of shareholders? Over the last decade there's been a big increase in the amount of foreign…
- The Bottom Line
Turning Tables
Evan Davis and guests discuss why some restaurant chains thrive and others fail. Why are so many chains closing down branches now? GUESTS Paul Campbell…
- The Bottom Line
The Shock of the New
Evan Davis and guests discuss the relationship between three important pillars of modern society: science, business and the consumer. Is the public right to be…
- The Bottom Line
How to Build a Bridge
Civil engineers would argue they are the unsung heroes of the railways, roads and bridges we all take for granted. But building major infrastructure projects…
The Bottom LineSir Terry Leahy
In the final programme of the current series Evan Davis will be talking to Sir Terry Leahy, former Tesco CEO, in front of an invited audience at Sir Terry's…
- The Bottom Line
Department Stores
Are you being served? Where do you shop - online, a department store or one of the large shopping centres around the country? Evan Davis looks at the…
- The Bottom Line
Foreign Investment in the UK
What makes the UK an attractive place for foreign companies to invest in? Britain has tended to enjoy high levels of inward investment thanks to its open…
- The Bottom Line
Pets Mean Pounds
In the UK we spend £4.5 billion a year on domestic pets. Where does the money go? Evan Davis and guests discuss the business of keeping pets. GUESTS Lynne…
- The Bottom Line
Agents
This week the programme looks at the business of agents. What exactly do they do and are they adding value to their clients' careers? Evan Davis discusses…
- The Bottom Line
Is there a business case for having a diverse workforce?
What is the business case for having a diverse workforce? Evan Davis and guests debate whether a mix of talents in the workplace leads to better companies and…
- The Bottom Line
Shake-up in the skies
What's behind the recent collapse of airlines such as Monarch, Alitalia and Air Berlin? Is it a case of supply outstripping demand or is there a larger crisis…
- The Bottom Line
Batteries
Is battery technology the key to decarbonising energy and reinventing transport? If so, can the current technology, Lithium-Ion batteries, evolve quickly…
- The Bottom Line
There's no business like show business
There's no business like show business. Evans Davis and guests explore the success story that is UK theatre. From splashy musicals, and classic revivals to…
- The Bottom Line
Cost cutting and business transformation
What is the best way of cutting costs and transforming a business? Bosses often have to prune their operations - either to reinvest the cash to grow the…
- The Bottom Line
One Company, Many Brands
Evan Davis discusses the reasons why some companies have multiple brands. Is it to bamboozle or does it help consumers navigate the wide variety of choices?…
- The Bottom Line
When Robots Take our Jobs
Are white collar workers under threat from the new robotic workforce? Manufacturing companies have been replacing production line workers with robots for…
- The Bottom Line
Corporate Espionage
Corporate theft has played a big part in business history from Porcelain and Tea from China, to the French attempting to get their hands on the blueprint for…
- The Bottom Line
The Future of Farming
What's the future for UK Farming? Evan Davis meets three food producers from across the country to talk about the daily challenges of farming in Britain today…
- The Bottom Line
The Bottom Line: Can We Trust Big Business?
Business and its place in society is a prominent issue at the moment. Zero hours contracts, executive pay, tax avoidance are all issues where opinion has…
- The Bottom Line
Britain's nuclear future
Britain's multi-billion pound nuclear dream. EDF is building the country's first new nuclear power station in decades at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. But…
- The Bottom Line
Migrant Entrepreneurs
Migrant entrepreneurs create one in seven businesses in the UK. This week Evan Davis talks to three entrepreneurs who all arrived from overseas with very…
- The Bottom Line
Fintech
The UK is a world leader in financial services technology, otherwise known as fintech. Presenter Evan Davis asks how Britain has beaten Silicon Valley and what…
- The Bottom Line
The Secrets of Fixing a Price
From budget airline seats to insurance, Evan Davis discovers the secrets of pricing.
- The Bottom Line
How does stuff get to us?
How does a can of Italian tomatoes reach the supermarket shelf and a car manufacturer receives its parts in time? Evan Davis finds out about the hidden…
- The Bottom Line
The UK Space Industry
The UK space industry is growing faster than the wider economy. Its application is broad - from manufacturing satellites, earth observation projects, to…
- The Bottom Line
Managing Workplace Relationships
We spend a third of our life at work so it's inevitable that relationships blossom, whether it's a one night stand at the Christmas party or one that becomes a…
- The Bottom Line
The Challenges of Running a Charity
How can people running charities balance doing good, maximising income, while retaining public trust? The sector is undergoing changes in regulation in the…
- The Bottom Line
Care Homes
The care home business is heading for a crisis according to Evan Davis's guests in this edition of The Bottom Line. The cost of providing care in this…
- The Bottom Line
Negotiating a Trade Deal
Brexit means the UK government will have to negotiate trade agreements with the EU and the rest of the world. Trade deal experts share their tips with…
- The Bottom Line
17/11/2016
If the word auction conjures up pictures of a man with a gavel in a packed room shouting 'going, going, gone' - think again. These days governments and…
- The Bottom Line
The Future of the Car Industry
The future of the car industry. How car manufacturers are joining forces with "ride hailing" companies like Uber and why the future might be driverless. Evan…
- The Bottom Line
The Youth Market
Evan Davis and guests explore the fast moving world of selling to 18-24 year olds. Collectively, that age group has billions to spend. Individually, many are…
- The Bottom Line
Selling Corporate Baby
Starting a business is often compared to bringing up a baby, and with good reason: it's costly, gives you sleepless nights and requires your attention during…
- The Bottom Line
Activist Investors
Are activist investors good or bad for the firms they target? They hunt down companies they think are underperforming. They buy a stake in the business, then…
- The Bottom Line
Careers without College
Why are more top employers offering school leavers a fast track career without the need to go to university? Applicants for the top Degree Apprenticeships need…
- The Bottom Line
Brexit: What Next?
How do you do business when you can't see into the future? This may be what businesses always have to do, but Brexit has undeniably made the future even harder…
- The Bottom Line
Theresanomics
Theresa May has promised a bigger role for the state in business. The previously unfashionable concept of a comprehensive industrial strategy is back on the…
- The Bottom Line
How to Build an Olympics
The Olympics Games is the biggest sporting event on earth. But the road to a successful Olympics can be more gruelling than a marathon. With less than two…
- The Bottom Line
Brave or Naive?
Is escaping the rat race always a good idea? Many people dream of giving up the day job to start their own business - and we often hear about the success…
- The Bottom Line
The Price of Life
It's hard to put a value on a human life. When you're well, perhaps you don't think about it. But if you're ill, getting access to the right drugs, whatever…
- The Bottom Line
Life after Brexit
How will the vote to leave the EU affect big and small businesses in the UK? Evan Davis and guests discuss trade deals, tariffs and 'passporting' rights that…
- The Bottom Line
How to Negotiate
Most of us negotiate in some form or other every day - whether it's about who walks the dog, how much screen-time the kids can have or when to visit the…
- The Bottom Line
The Finance of Films
The business of film. Evan Davis follows the money trail from script to screen. With the help of a top independent film producer, a film distributor and the…
- The Bottom Line
Old Dog, New Tricks
It is not easy to teach new tricks to the business world's old dogs. The latest fashionable solution for big corporations slowed down by bureaucracy and…
- The Bottom Line
Profit or plunder?
Asset management - or asset stripping? This week Evan Davis asks when making a profit from running a business becomes simple plundering. In business, things go…
- The Bottom Line
EU Referendum
What does EU membership mean for UK business and how might that change if Britain votes to leave? Business leaders join Evan Davis to discuss how trade…
- The Bottom Line
Life after a Blockbuster
Whether it's creating Angry Birds, the best-selling mobile app, or developing the best-selling Alzheimer's drug or discovering one of the world's biggest oil…
- The Bottom Line
Lonely at the Top?
Many senior executives now employ personal coaches to help them through their toughest business challenges. Coaches can provide confidential, independent…
- The Bottom Line
Horse Racing
Horse racing is the second most popular spectator sport in the UK but it is also a business. Presenter Evan Davis and guests discuss who makes the money: the…
- The Bottom Line
Tax Avoidance
Global firms like Amazon, Google and Starbucks have been criticised for using clever accounting tricks to reduce their tax bills in the UK. But how much tax…
- The Bottom Line
Now We Are Ten
The Bottom Line first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2006. At the time, Tony Blair was Prime Minister, interest rates were 4.5%, petrol was 90 pence a…
- The Bottom Line
Data Privacy
When you enter personal details onto any website or smartphone app, what happens to it? Where does it get stored, who owns it and who has access to it? These…
- The Bottom Line
Customer Service
All businesses rely on customers. So, why do some businesses bend over backwards to keep customers happy, and why do some of them appear not to care? What is…
- The Bottom Line
Renewable Energy
After the Paris summit on climate change and the global commitment to cut carbon emissions, The Bottom Line is going green - with businesses that generate…
- The Bottom Line
Managing the Boardroom
After recent corporate scandals like VW's emissions' cheating, Tesco's accounting irregularities, Barclays interest-rate rigging, many asked why company board…