Big Boss Interview

A new business podcast speaking to the UK's most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs.

For the very final time, Business Matters on the BBC World Service, Rahul Tandon is joined by many of our regular guests, from India, Pakistan, Singapore, Canada and the United States. They discuss some of the biggest themes we covered, including, the COVID-19 pandemic, a cost of living crisis driven by a pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Donald Trump becoming the President of the United States.Production team: Rahul Tandon, Ahmed Adan and Stephen Ryan(Photo: A medical worker in full COVID-19 personal protective equipment in Shanghai, May 2022. Taken during lockdown in China. Credit: Edward Lawrence/BBC)

Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been sentenced to more than twenty-seven years in prison after the Supreme Court found him guilty of attempting a coup when he lost the 2022 election. More than 300 South Koreans who were arrested in the raid in the Hyundai plant in Georgia have now been released from detention and flown to their country. And how can this affect the economic relations between both countries? London's underground rail system – the Tube – has been closed for five days by a strike over pay and conditions for train drivers, and this has been very stressful for commuters, but more than that, it has been very damaging for businesses. And Roger Hearing hears about the use of artificial intelligence to write speeches for politics and business and how you can detect if it's written by AI or a human. Throughout the program, Roger will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Nga Pham, a journalist and filmmaker based in Taipei, although she will be joining us today from Hanoi in Vietnam - and Stephanie Hare, a researcher on technology and ethics in London.

They’ve been a key pillar of President Trump’s second term, but now a US appeals court has ruled that most of his sweeping trade tariffs are illegal. Trump says their removal would be a ‘disaster,’ but the final decision will rest with the Supreme Court. So what next for Trump’s signature policy? Our correspondent in the US explains more.Meanwhile, as Fed governor Lisa Cook fights to block President Trump firing her, a legal hearing on the matter ended without a ruling. But with ongoing tensions and concerns over the bank’s independence, who would want the next Fed chair job when the role becomes vacant next year? We hear from a former regional Fed president who says he’s up for the job.And what are your thoughts on’ blue sky thinking’, ‘circling back’ and’ diarising some thoughtification’? Love it or loathe it, workplace jargon is commonplace in many companies. We speak to authors James Schloefell and Charles Firth about their new book on the subject of workplace speak.

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook will file a lawsuit challenging her removal by President Donald Trump, marking a major escalation in the president's battle with the US central bank. So does President Trump have the power to fire the governor? Roger Hearing hears from a legal expert and former Cleveland Federal reserve President, to Loretta Mester.And in just a few hours’ time, unless there's a last-minute change of heart, Indians will be dealing with 50% tariffs on most exports to the United States. It's punishment for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, which Washington argues helps finance Moscow's war in Ukraine.Roger will be joined throughout the programme by two guests on opposite sides of the world - Andy Xie, an independent economist normally in Shanghai but currently in Kamamoto, Japan on holiday - and Takara Small, National Technology Columnist, CBC, in Toronto.

US President, Donald Trump welcomes the South Korean leader to the White House to discuss trade. He believes a deal can be done. The South African government has warned young women against taking up unverified foreign job offers promoted on social media campaigns. And make a big noise – why movie theatre audiences now seem to love singalong shows. So, we will look at why singalong movie showings are taking off in cinemas.Roger Hearing will be joined throughout the programme by two guests on opposite sides of the world - Sushma Ramachandran, consulting editor at The Secretariat - who's in Delhi, and Rema Rahman, White House & Legal Affairs Editor at The Hill, and Adjunct Professor at American University, in Washington.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says more than $5 billion in credit will go to companies which face 50 per cent tariffs to export goods to the US. The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, says a controversial deal that the White House struck with chipmakers Nvidia and AMD, handing over 15% of their Chinese sales in return for export licences, could be rolled out to other industries. Startup companies in the US have started a no-shoes-in-the-office policy, meaning that you take your shoes off when you come into the office and wear optional slippers.Throughout the programme, Leanna Byrne will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Diane Brady, Executive Editorial Director at Fortune magazine in New York, and Han-Shen Lin, China Country Director, The Asia Group, in Shanghai.

US inflation held steady in July despite import tariffs, bolstering bets that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates next month. After the partial dollarisation of the economy in Cuba, the country’s peso is trading at an all-time low of 400 to 1 dollar on the informal market.And horror films are at a record high in shares of the US box office. Weapons took $42.5m in its opening weekend in US movie theatres, and Sinners has become the highest-grossing original movie of the 2020s.Throughout the programme, Roger Hearing will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world – Andy Uhler is an Energy Journalism Fellow at the University of Texas, US, and Zyma Islam is a journalist for The Daily Star in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending tariffs on China for another 90 days. Chip giants Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15% of Chinese revenues as part of an "unprecedented" deal to secure export licences to China. And remember that distinctive sound of dialling in via the internet in the early days of connecting? Well. It’s days are numbered….Yahoo has announced that it will discontinue AOL Dial-up Internet on September 30th.Throughout the programme, Rahul Tandon will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world - Jennifer Pak who is China Correspondent for American Public Media, based in Shanghai; and Allie Garfinkle, Senior finance reporter at Fortune who's in the US.

It's been a busy few weeks on Wall Street's financial market, as stock valuations are close to record levels. The S&P 500 index has hit a string of all-time peaks this month, while US corporate borrowing costs are nearing their lowest level in decades, and Nvidia became the first company worth $4 trillion. The United States Treasury has lifted sanctions on several individuals and companies accused of supplying arms to Myanmar's military regime, leading to an outcry by human rights groups. And with Donald Trump doing diplomacy on the golf course in Scotland—is doing business on the green a good thing? Throughout the program, Roger Hearing will be joined by two guests on opposite sides of the world—Gaby Castro-Fontoura, Director, Sunny Sky Solutions, who's in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, and Michael Janda, Business Editor, ABC News Australia, in Sydney.