Cashing in on cassava

The Öresund Bridge, which connects Sweden and Demark, opened exactly 25 years ago today. It is one of Europe’s most iconic bridges, carrying road and rail passengers between Copenhagen and Malmo. We look at how it has helped boost business and tourism and find out what other cities and countries might learn from its cross-border successes and challenges. Producer/presenter: Maddy Savage(Image: The bridge on a calm day. Credit Getty Images)

It's one of the world’s most versatile crops and a critical source of food security - it’s also a commodity under increasing global demand.Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of the root vegetable, cassava, but export numbers are tiny.Currently, the country imports products that compete with the indigenous crop.We hear from farmers, entrepreneurs and leading agronomists on plans to industrialise Nigeria’s cassava industry and realise its economic potential.Produced and presented by Laura Heighton-Ginns Additional sound mixing by James Bradshaw(Image: Mrs Kemi farms a five hectare smallholding in south west Nigeria. Image credit: Bassey Oluwakemi Ibilola)

We're in Dubai looking back on two weeks of uncertainty and concerns the world’s busiest oil shipping channel, The Strait of Hormuz, might shut. The UAE is a major global trading hub and home to the biggest port in the Middle East. We’ll be hearing how some countries are looking for alternatives to the Strait, such as pipelines or developing refineries. And what could this mean for the future relationship between Gulf states like this one, and Iran? Produced and presented by Sameer Hashmi Additional production: Lexy O'Connor(Image: A small boat loaded with merchandise sails past a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Khasab in Oman's northern Musandam peninsula on 25 June 2025.Credit: Getty Images)

What happens to our data once it's been handed over to DNA testing companies? One such firm, 23andMe, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The company was set up to help people could track their ancestry - one of a number of similar sites using DNA data to create links and matches between users.However the company has been dogged by privacy concerns over its use of customer information and was fined for a data breach that exposed UK customers. What lessons can be learned now the company's been bought out of bankruptcy by its co-founder?Produced and presented by David Reid(Image: Woman swabbing her mouth for a DNA test. Credit: Getty Images)

We look at job security and long-term options for esports players after they hang up their controllers.The industry is worth billions of dollars and players win big prizes, but many make more money as content makers, and plan to move away from esports long-term.We head to an esports event in Birmingham UK to speak to professional gamers about their career prospects - and to young people who idolise these players and want to enter this field themselves.Produced and presented by Will Chalk(Image: Esports player Archie Pickthall at the 2025 RLCS Major 1 tournament in Birmingham UK. Credit: BLAST/Michal Konkol)

From 1 July 2025 there will be complete ban on untargeted advertising of online gambling in the Netherlands. That's a dramatic reversal in policy from just four years ago, when the market was first regulated. The move will have a particularly significant impact in the Dutch sports world, where federations and clubs have benefited from intense sponsorship spending in the few years it has been legal. But now that flow of money is coming to an end. What impact will the new rules have, in sport and more widely? And how will the betting operators adapt?Produced and presented by Matthew Kenyon(Image: Tom Koops of Orion Stars playing in the Volleyball Play-off Finals match between Orion Stars and NovaTech Lycurgus on 8 May 2025 in Doetinchem, Netherlands. One of the sponsors of Dutch men's volleyball is Bet City - seen on Tom's shirt. That won't be allowed under the new rules. Credit: Getty Images)

Groceries delivered to your doorstep in just 10 minutes? India’s online platforms are promising this instant delivery for millions of shoppers – items at your door in between 10 and 30 mins. But behind the convenience lies a deeper story - exhausted gig workers, struggling family-run stores, and questions about the long-term sustainability of the business model. We look at the real cost of India’s quick commerce, or Q-commerce, industry.If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected] and produced by Devina Gupta(Picture: A Swiggy delivery rider and a rider for rival brand Zepto on their bikes with delivery boxes in Mumbai, India. Credit: Getty Images)

Fed up with their own inadequate and expensive care systems, many elderly Westerners are choosing to retire to Thailand, where care is cheaper and often better. Many say Thailand’s Buddhist culture and respect for the elderly means Thais are naturally caring. It’s a booming sector, and is only likely to grow as we all live longer. But the decision to move can be complex, particularly when it involves retirees with dementia. People have been accused of dumping their sick relatives in Thai care homes, far from family. Is this exploitation – rich Westerners taking advantage of Thailand’s low wages? And what does it mean for local health systems, as care workers are lured away to look after foreign residents?If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected] and produced by Gideon Long(Picture: British retiree Liz Jackson, now living in Chiang Mai.)

Thailand’s government has long been wary of opening up the country to gambling, imposing major restrictions on betting.Small-scale, illicit gambling is widespread in the country but now politicians want to liberalise the industry and allow casinos to set up shop.The goal is to promote tourism, but opponents argue that the gambling business is incompatible with Thai culture, which is largely rooted in Buddhist values that frown upon betting.If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected] and produced by Ed Butler(Picture: Protesters in Chaing Mai, Thailand, in April 2025, seen holding placards during a demonstration to protest the government's draft entertainment complex bill at The Phae Gate. On 13 January 2025, the Thai Cabinet approved a draft bill, setting the stage for the legalisation of casino gambling in entertainment complexes across the country. Credit: Getty Images)

The Southeast Asian country has witnessed a huge influx of electrical and electronic waste in recent years. Old mobile phones, computers, circuit boards and fridges are being shipped to the country and processed, often in unlicensed industrial sites. We explore why this has happened, who is behind it, and find out what the Thai government is doing about it. We join the Thai industry ministry on a raid of an unlicensed Chinese-owned recycling plant, and talk to a Thai farmer who says his cassava crop has been blighted by pollutants from an unlicensed smelter. We also hear from Thais about their own electronics recycling habits. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected] and produced by Gideon Long Additional reporting and translation by Wilawan Watcharasakwej in Bangkok (Image: Officials look at a mound of e-waste at a site near Bangkok, Thailand.)