Sliced Bread

Can jug or under sink filters, promising to soften tap water and improve taste, really take out what they claim?Greg Foot gathers the experts live at Cheltenham Science Festival, dives into the data and crunches the numbers to get answers for listener Elaine.Each episode Greg investigates the latest ad-hyped products and trending fads promising to make us healthier, happier and greener. Are they really 'the best thing since sliced bread' and should you spend your money on them?All of our episodes start with YOUR suggestions. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voice note to our WhatsApp number, 07543 306807.RESEARCHER: PHIL SANSOM PRODUCERS: KATE HOLDSWORTH AND GREG FOOT

Is more expensive dog food worth it?Greg Foot gathers the experts, dives into the data and crunches the numbers to get answers for listeners Izzy and Pete. Each episode Greg investigates the latest ad-hyped products and trending fads promising to make us healthier, happier and greener. Are they really 'the best thing since sliced bread' and should you spend your money on them?RESEARCHER: PHIL SANSOM PRODUCERS: SIMON HOBAN AND GREG FOOT

Homebase was once one of our leading home improvement chains so, why did it have to close all of its stores?The BBC Business journalist Sean Farrington investigates.Alongside him is the entrepreneur Sam White, who at the end of the show has to reach her own conclusions, based only on what she has heard and her own business acumen.Homebase was established by the supermarket chain Sainsbury's and a Belgian retailer which was already running a DIY business in Europe and America. The first Homebase store opened in Croydon in 1981 and it had to be temporarily closed by the police after visiting crowds caused a traffic jam. The chain expanded across the UK and had more than 300 stores. It went through some highs, and some serious lows, with various owners but what ultimately caused the closure of its shops?Sean and Sam hear from expert guests including:- Allison Foster, curator of the Sainsbury Archive, which is based at London Museum Docklands- Dave Elliott, a former Trading Director then later Commercial Director at Homebase under different owners- Matt Walton, senior data analyst at GlobalDataWhile Homebase's standalone stores are toast, the brand continues to trade online under new ownership. Homebase garden centres and products are also being included within branches of The Range. Produced by Jon Douglas, Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.ukFeel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

FHM was the men's magazine that sold vastly more copies than any of its competitors but still ended up toast. So, why did its publishers stop printing it while other men's magazines survived? The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, charts its highs and lows in the company of four of FHM's former editors.Alongside them is the entrepreneur, Sam White, who has to use her business acumen to reach her own conclusions based upon what she has heard. Featuring in the show are: - Eric Musgrave - the original editor of 'For Him Magazine' as it was known when it launched in 1985- Mike Soutar - the FHM editor who took sales to over half-a-million a month in the late 1990s- Piers Hernu - FHM's editor-at-large who took to the airwaves to defend lads' mags against accusations of sexism - Joe Barnes - who edited the magazine for four years until shortly before its print publication ceasedProduced by Jon Douglas, Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.ukFeel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

Nike's FuelBand was among the first fitness trackers to be launched and was worn by sports stars including the tennis player, Serena Williams. So, why did Nike give up on it so soon after its launch?The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, is joined by Nike's former Vice President of Digital Sport, Stefan Olander, to get the inside story on what happened to the successful product. Alongside them is the entrepreneur, Sam White, who at the end of the show, based only upon what she has heard and using her business acumen, has to reach her own conclusions. Other guests include:- Nikki Legg - a FuelBand fan who bought one as soon as they came out and wrote to Toast suggesting we cover the fitness tracker on the show.- Chris Smith - a sports and technology journalist who has written about the FuelBand and is an early adopter of wearable techProduced by Jon Douglas, Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.ukFeel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

Freeserve rapidly became the UK's number one internet service provider within months of its launch in 1998, yet the brand disappeared almost as quickly. So, what happened? The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, investigates. Alongside him is the entrepreneur, Sam White, who at the end of the show has to reach her own conclusions, based only on what she has heard and her own business acumen.Sean and Sam hear from expert guests including:- Rory Cellan-Jones OBE - the BBC's former technology correspondent who covered Freeserve's rise and later dedicated a chapter to it in his book 'Dot Bomb - the Rise and Fall of Dot Com Britain'.- Ajaz Ahmed - a 'Freeserve founder' who badgered bosses to start an ISP while working as a store manager at PC World in Leeds. He later became Freeserve's Business Development Manager.- Mark Danby - a former Chief Operating Officer at Freeserve.Produced by Jon Douglas, Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.ukFeel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

Woolworths was once a family favourite with well over 1,000 UK stores selling everything from kitchenware to pick and mix. So, why did the business collapse when other general retailers were on the rise? The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, charts the company's highs and lows before asking 'what went wrong at Woolies?'. Alongside him is the entrepreneur, Sam White, who at the end of the show has to reach her own conclusions, based only on what she has heard and her own business acumen. Sean and Sam hear from expert guests including: - Richard Hawkins - an honorary research fellow at the University of Wolverhampton and president of the marketing history organisation, Charm, who has written about the company’s early days- Clare Bailey - a retail consultant who was employed by Woolworths- Claire Robertson - whose retail career began with a Saturday job at her local Woolies and led to her running a spin-off business (called 'Wellworths') after the original failed.- Tony Page - Commercial and Marketing Director at Woolworths from 2006 who tried to save the business after it went into administrationProduced by Jon Douglas, Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.ukFeel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.

Can supplements claiming to make menopause symptoms more bearable, really help? Going through menopause can result in a myriad of symptoms, leaving women stressed, exhausted, and desperate for anything that might make it easier to deal with. In recent years, a huge range of products have become available in supermarkets, pharmacies and online, all promising to help alleviate some of these symptoms – for a price. So listener Susie, who said she felt she was experiencing some of these symptoms, got in touch with Sliced Bread, to ask if it might be money well spent? Greg Foot drills down into the top ingredients of these supplements and their claims, alongside GP Dr Helen Wall who runs a Menopause Clinic in Greater Manchester. They look at what the science says, and ask if these supplements really can support women through the menopause?RESEARCHER: PHIL SANSOM PRODUCER: KATE HOLDSWORTH, PHIL SANSOM & GREG FOOT

Do Vagus Nerve Stimulators help your mental health?The vagus nerve could be one of the most important body parts you might never have heard of. It's a large nerve that connects major organs like the heart and lungs to the brain and studies have found that stimulating it with electrical pulses can lead to dramatic improvements in some people with depression and other mental health conditions. Those trials were for medical devices implanted into the chest, but listener Karin has seen commercially available versions that you wear over your ear. But do they work? Karin joins Greg in the studio along with leading experts in the field to do a deep-dive into the studies and separate out the science fact from the marketing fiction.All of our episodes start with YOUR suggestions. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voice note to our WhatsApp number, 07543 306807.RESEARCHER: PHIL SANSOM PRODUCERS: SIMON HOBAN AND GREG FOOT

When staring at shelves full of sticks, tubs and tubes all promising us the perfect pout, how do you know which Lip Balms will really help keep chapped lips at bay?Listener Kiran is a regular lip balm applier - saying she often suffers with dry or cracked lips, and recently splashed out on an expensive lip balm after seeing celebrity endorsed adverts for it online. But she isn’t sure it’s any better than her trusty tub of Vaseline.To find out, Greg Foot speaks to Consultant Dermatologist and Dermatological Surgeon Dr Emma Craythorne about lips, lip lickers, mouth breathers and the causes of cracking - as well as lecturer in pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry at the University of Sunderland, Dr Teresa Borrello about what is IN these lip balms to plump, smooth, or repair.All our episodes start with YOUR suggestions. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voice note to our WhatsApp number, 07543 306807.PRODUCERS: KATE HOLDSWORTH AND GREG FOOT RESEARCHER: PHIL SANSOM