The Bottom Line

WPP boss Karen Blackett talks to Evan Davis about building a racially diverse business.

The Black Lives Matter protests have prompted boardroom soul-searching about how to engage a more racially diverse workforce. Good intentions have been around for decades and have encouraged much talk about removing biases from mainly white corporate cultures. But this has still not led to the change people want. Hardly any large UK firms have black, Asian or minority ethnic chief executives. Evan Davis and guests explore the practical solutions to achieving racial equality at work and the potential benefits to the economy.Guests Karen Blackett, OBE, UK head of the ad giant WPPDr Kamal Munir, reader in strategy and policy at the Judge Business School, University of CambridgeJudith Hackitt, independent director at HS2 LTD Kike Oniwinde, founder and CEO of The Black Young Professionals NetworkProducer: Lesley McAlpineProduced in association with The Open University

Has staying at home during lockdown made us think more about our travel habits? Are you less likely to want to get on a bus or a train to get to work or are you itching to get on the next available flight? And what about the business travel industry? Are companies realising tele-conferencing is now just as acceptable and a cheaper option than a business flight? Evan Davis and guests discuss.GUESTSLaura Shoaf, managing director, Transport for West MidlandsSimon Jeffrey, policy officer, Transport and Devolution, Centre for CitiesMichael Valkevich, vice-president, Global Customer Group, EMEA, CWT Presenter: Evan DavisProducer: Julie Ball Editor: Hugh Levinson

Zoom meetings and working from home. Two habits which office workers have picked up during the enforced lockdown. But will these behaviours habits stick? Some believe that if more of us choose to work from our spare rooms on a regular basis, this will have profound implications for offices, commuting, human interaction and productivity. Evan Davis and guests discuss whether current predictions about the death of the office are over-exaggerated. Guests André Spicer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, City's Business School, University of London Rachel Higham, Managing Director of IT at BT Katrina Kostic Samen. Head of Workplace - Strategy and Design, Development. KKS SavillsProduced by Lesley McAlpineThe programme is produced in association with The Open University

Evan Davis and guests ask if now is the time to exploit scientific research more effectively to help business recover from the coronavirus crash. The UK has traditionally been better at basic science research than its commercial exploitation - with examples ranging from computing to the discovery of graphene, where international companies have benefited more from those discoveries. The Bottom Line examines the government’s idea of creating an agency, similar to the legendary US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to invest in, and commercialise UK science and technology projects. The US agency DARPA, was set up to invest in technology after they got behind in the space race with the Russian launch of the Sputnik in the 1950's. Although the agency's remit is to work on defence projects, several of its discoveries have spawned more commercial uses, most famously the Internet. Now the UK government wants to emulate this success for civil applications in the hope of encouraging new business sectors of the economy, post-Covid 19. Can it work? Evan Davis and guests discuss. Guests: Mariana Mazzucato, professor in the economics of innovation and public value, University College London Luke Georghiu, professor of science and technology management, Alliance Manchester Business School Arati Prabhakar, former director, Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Naomi Krieger Carmy, head of Societal Challenges Division, Israel Innovation Authority Producer: Julie Ball Produced in partnership with The Open University

During the pandemic, businesses have faced severe tests, from supply chain shocks to fluctuations in consumer demand. How resilient are companies in dealing with the unknown? In recent years the focus has been on getting costs down, creating lean supply chains, and delivering returns to shareholders. But has that emphasis left supply chains insecure in the face of shocks? Will companies learn to value resilience over mere efficiency?GuestsDr Sandra Bell, founder and chief executive of The Business Resilience Company. Michael Davies, guest lecturer at the London Business School and founder and chairman of Endeavour Partners Poonam Gupta, founder and chief executive of PG Paper Guy Gratton, associate professor in aviation and the environment at Cranfield University

What have you learned about yourself in lockdown? What is it you crave, what have you found you barely miss? Evan Davis and guests contemplate life after lockdown and changing consumer habits. A surge in the sale of bikes, toilet roll panic buying, and flour flying off the supermarket shelves. Will these consumer habits stick? Have we learned to value other things in life than shopping? Or will we just want to borrow and spend at the first possible opportunity?Guests:Kate Ancketill, founder and CEO, GDR Creative Intelligence Richard Walker, managing director, Iceland Foods Jonathan Cole, managing director, Velorution Kate Nicholls, chief executive, UK HospitalityProducer: Lesley McAlpine

The podcast explores tensions and conflicting views towards China in the COVID-19 pandemic, including its lack of transparency. It discusses China's impact on the global economy and politics, the business side of China's manufacturing supply chain, the challenges of transitioning China's economy, and China's changing perception in the financial industry.

Should the government continue to bolster companies, large and small when lockdown is finally eased? If so what businesses do you choose to save and what are the criteria? Evan Davis and guests discuss.GUESTSMichael Jacobides, holder of the Sir Donald Gordon Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, London Business SchoolJulie Palmer, Regional Managing Partner, Begbies Traynor, Insolvency practitionersMark Blyth, Director of the William R Rhodes Centre for International Economics and Finance, Brown UniversityProduced in association with The Open University

Can new businesses survive without some form of hype or over-promotion? Or will consumer or investor disillusionment inevitably correct this? One recent example where hype came back to bite a company founder is that of the shared office space provider, WeWork. Its stock market valuation fell from $50bn to near bankruptcy over the course of a few weeks. GUESTSBrent Hoberman, serial entrepreneur and investor, chair and co-founder of Founders Factory and First Minute Capital Kerry Baldwin, Managing Partner at IQ Capital,a venture capital investment firm Rory Sutherland, Vice Chair of Ogilvy, the global advertising and marketing agency