The Bottom Line

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 shifted dramatically. Has Shareholder driven capitalism finally gone too far? In a special programme recorded at the Royal Academy of Engineering in front of a live audience, Evan Davis talks to the former BP CEO, Lord John Browne on his thoughts about big business as it relates to society. And asks whether it's now time to trust big business?

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 that's just the start. Two other companies also have dreams of bringing nuclear to sites in Cumbria and on Anglesey. But the financing and logistics of these projects are tough. Power stations cost billions to build and investors won't see returns for more than five years. Critics of the nuclear option argue that renewables - wind and solar power - would be a better option to generate electricity. Just what are the options and the costs involved? Three nuclear rivals join Evan Davis.Guests: Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, managing director, nuclear new build, EDF Energy UK Duncan Hawthorne, chief executive, Horizon Nuclear Power Tom Samson, chief executive, NuGeneration Nuclear Power Dame Sue Ion, chair of the Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board.

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 little and then went on to create a successful business. GUESTSTony Kitous, Founder, Comptoir LibanaisRazan Alsous, Yorkshire Dama CheeseSurinder Arora, Founder and Chairman, Arora Group.

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 challenges fintech poses to traditional banking?Guests: Antony Jenkins, Founder and Executive Chairman, 10x Future Technologies Ishaan Malhi, Founder, Trussle.com Eileen Burbidge, Co-founder, Passion CapitalProducer: Julie Ball.

From budget airline seats to insurance, Evan Davis discovers the secrets of pricing.

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 transport networks that bring goods from around the world to our high street shops and factory floors.Joining Evan to discuss the business of logistics are:Paul Dyer, CEO of DHL Supply Chain Maggie Simpson, Executive Director of the Rail Freight Group , the representative body for rail freight in the UK Oliver Treneman, Park Development Director, DP World London GatewayProducer: Julie Ball.

The UK space industry is growing faster than the wider economy. Its application is broad - from manufacturing satellites, earth observation projects, to advanced research and design for space exploration. The government aims to capitalise on all this activity and wants the UK to have its own space port for commercial flights and satellite missions. The programme will hear from the country's top small satellite manufacturer and from a firm developing a revolutionary hypersonic propulsion engine. Evan Davis's guests are:Catherine Mealing-Jones, UK Space Agency Mark Thomas, Reaction Engines Patrick Wood, Surrey Satellite Technology Producer: Lesley McAlpine.

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 long term partnership. How do companies handle the issues that can arise from office romance? Evan Davis and his guests discuss the solutions.GUESTSNeil Morrison, Director, Strategy, Culture and Innovation. Penguin Random HouseHelen Farr, Partner, Employment Law Group, Fox WilliamsDanielle Harmer, Chief People Officer, Metro Bank.

How can people running charities balance doing good, maximising income, while retaining public trust? The sector is undergoing changes in regulation in the wake of scandals involving fundraising and governance. Evan Davis meets the experts. Taking part are: the chairman of the new Fundraising Regulator, Lord Grade of Yarmouth; Jayne Clarke of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Simon Gillespie from the British Heart Foundation.

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 labour-intensive business has increased significantly because of the introduction of the National Living Wage. The fees paid by local authorities on behalf of poorer residents no longer cover the cost of providing accommodation, food and staffing. Care homes make up the shortfall by charging higher fees to privately funded residents. Social care analyst William Laing tells Evan Davis that private payers subsidise publicly funded residents by, on average, £8000 per annum. But this is not an option in less affluent areas with a shortage of fee paying clients.John Ransford of the HC-One group provides care for mainly publicly funded residents. He tells Evan that 24 hour care for the elderly has to be provided for less than the cost of a night in a Travelodge.Evan's guests believe that the care sector's business model is unsustainable. Find out what they think will happen next.Guests:Dr. Jane Townson. Chief Executive Officer, Somerset Care GroupJohn Ransford, Non-Executive Director, HC-One William Laing, Founder and a Director of Laing Buisson, Healthcare Intelligence CompanyProducer: Julie Ball.