Ft News

Uber's Travis Kalanick clearly sees a utilitarian advantage in funding clever Carnegie Mellon scientists to help his company explore driverless technology, says Andrew Hill  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The advent of a Greek government led by the far left Syriza party spooked investors, but the new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has been in Europe on a post-election roadshow to win support for his plans to tackle the country's massive debt burden. Patrick Jenkins talks to Martin Arnold about the reception he received in London  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the IMF, goes on trial in France this week on charges of “aggravated pimping". The so-called Carlton Affair centres on allegations that businessmen and police officials in the town of Lille in northern France supplied women for sex parties in Lille, Paris and Washington. It is the latest twist in a steep fall from grace for the former global finance chief since 2011. Fiona Symon talks Michael Stothard about the case.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do women build a career when they have pre-school children and their partners are in full time work? For well paid professionals a nanny is often the answer, but those on lower incomes often rely on relatives for affordable and flexible childcare. One relatively new solution, dubbed extreme childcare, is to find after hours and even overnight nurseries which allow parents to meet the growing need to work long hours and shifts. Emma Jacobs visits one of the few nurseries in the UK to offer such care.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Goodluck Jonathan is facing a challenge from former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari in next month’s presidential election in Nigeria, which comes at a time when the outlook for the country is bleak. The economy has been hit by the falling oil price and the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast is becoming a serious security threat. Fiona Symon discusses the rival candidates with William Wallis.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Google is doubling the number of US cities that will receive its super fast broadband service and is calling for better co-operation from local authorities to help improve internet speeds in their areas. Ravi Mattu talks to Hannah Kuchler about why Google is so keen to spread its superfast network.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Zaid al-Ali, expert in the rule of law and constitutional affairs in the Arab world, talks to Borzou Daragahi, FT Middle East correspondent, about what went wrong with the pro-democracy revolutions of the Arab Spring four years ago and why so little real political progress has been made.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Greeks voted emphatically this weekend against the austerity policies of the last few years, electing into government a leftwing party which has vowed to renegotiate terms with Greece’s creditors. Fiona Symon discusses what happens next with the FT’s Europe Editor, Tony Barber  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Financial Times has published its global MBA rankings for 2015. Della Bradshaw, business education editor, and Laurent Ortmans, the statistician in charge of the rankings, discuss the key trends the data reveal with Jonathan Moules, business education correspondent.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last year’s crash of rockets operated by Virgin Galactic and Orbital Sciences were a reminder of the risks inherent in space exploration. But those accidents haven’t put off investors. Space X, Planet Labs and OneWeb all announced new investment this week, in the latest round of the private space race. Ravi Mattu talks to Tim Bradshaw.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Libya has been locked in an escalating civil war since the toppling of Muammer Gaddafi in 2011. There is now a real risk of the country falling prey to terrorist groups like the Islamic State, but recent talks have brought the first glimmer of hope that agreement can be reached to end the fighting. Borzou Daragahi talks to Bernardino Leon, UN special envoy to Libya, who has been leading the efforts at reconciliation.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous country within about a decade despite years of efforts to bring down the birth rate. But right-wing religious leaders, worried about the erosion of the Hindu majority by Muslims, are urging Hindu women to produce more, not fewer babies. Fiona Symon talks to the Victor Mallet about India's battle of the babies.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An Argentine prosecutor who had accused the government of a cover-up in relation to a terrorist attack on a Jewish community centre 20 years ago has been found dead a day before he was due to explain his allegations to the Argentine congress. Fiona Symon talks to Benedict Mander about the mysterious circumstances surrounding Alberto Nisman's death.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Amazon won its first Golden Globes on Sunday for Transparent, and later announced it had commissioned Woody Allen to produce a series exclusively for its Prime Instant Video streaming service. Henry Mance and Matt Garrahan discuss the company's burgeoning production division.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme resume this week, Najmeh Bozorgmehr talks to Iranians about their hopes for an easing of the economic embargo.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A few months ago, no-one had heard of Pegida but this week the German group, which stands for Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West, mustered 25,000 supporters in the city of Dresden to march against immigration and the growing presence of Islam in Europe. Fiona Symon talks to Stefan Wagstyl about the origins and aims of the group.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians is already close to death and now a fresh disagreement has arisen over a decision by the Palestinians to apply to join the International Criminal Court. Fiona Symon talks to John Reed about why Palestinians want to join it and why Israel opposes the move.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has declared 2015 "A year of Books", in which he and thousands of followers will read a nominated title every two weeks. The Romans would have loved it, says Andrew Hill  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The discovery of a new antibiotic has brought fresh hope that a looming health crisis caused by drug resistant infections can be avoided. Called teixobactin, it is the result of a private public collaboration involving universities in the US and Germany, and the US biotech company NovoBiotic pharmaceuticals. Andrew Ward, pharmaceuticals correspondent, talks to Clive Cookson, science editor, about the discovery.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Four years after the Arab spring brought hopes of democratic change to the Arab world, the political repression that sparked the popular uprisings has been often been replaced by more autocracy, civil unrest or worse. Some Arab countries like Morocco have made progress towards greater civil liberties, but this is under threat because of growing security fears in the region, Borzou Daragahi tells Fiona Symon  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.