Business Daily

This week, Michelle, Rahul and Will explore prediction markets — online platforms where people can bet on future events, from elections to pop culture and even world conflicts.
Concerns about insider trading are on the rise and platforms are being banned in an increasing number of countries. So as talk of regulation increases, we try to predict the future of the prediction market.
Presenters: Michelle Fleury, Rahul Tandon and Will Bain
Producer: Rebecca Smyllie
(Photo: Getty/Yuichiro Chino)

When the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz's closure disrupted global oil supply, some experts predicted crude oil prices as high as $150, or even $200 per barrel. That hasn't happened. Why not? And is it because the way the global oil markets work mean the pain for households and businesses is still to come?
Presenter: Ed Butler
Producer: Josh Martin
(Photo: Getty/matejmo)

Biohackers say they are making their bodies and brains run better by hacking their biology. And it is not just kitchen counter experimentation anymore. There is now an entire industry promising to optimise you with supplements, treatments and increasingly strange gadgets. Are these expensive, unproven “hacks” worth the investment?
To get in touch with the team, send an email to [email protected]
Presenter: Michelle Fleury
Producer: Nathalie Jimenez
(Photo: North America Business correspondent Michelle Fleury and Midtown Biohack owner Chuck Morris, standing over a client trying out a red light therapy headset)

It is an invaluable material that has enabled global trade and modern medicine, but experts say our reliance on plastic has created a problem the planet is struggling to manage. With plastic waste threatening landscapes and our health, we meet innovators from the UK, Ecuador and India who are trying to get the global economy off its reliance on plastic.
Presenter: Sam Gruet
Producer: Megan Lawton
You can email us on [email protected]
(Picture: A view of the sewage line covered with plastic waste and other litter in Mumbai, India, 22 April 2026. Credit: Photo by DIVYAKANT SOLANKI/EPA/Shutterstock)

On Meet the Founders, we meet Luana Lopes Lara, creator of Kalshi, a prediction markets startup that allows users to trade on the outcome of real-world events - from inflation and interest rates to elections and geopolitics.
Kalshi drew attention for showing Zohran Mamdani as a favourite in the NYC mayoral race, as prediction markets gain traction as political barometers. But the wider industry has also faced scrutiny: a trader on rival platform Polymarket reportedly made nearly half a million dollars betting on the capture of Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro before it was announced.
The controversy around prediction markets has placed Lopes Lara and her company at the centre of a growing regulatory and ethical debate in the US. In this episode, the Brazilian founder explains how the discipline and resilience of ballet has shaped her approach to building a business, and why she believes markets can often forecast the future better than experts.
(First broadcast/podcast on 06 February 2026)
If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is [email protected]
Presenter: Sam Fenwick
Producer: Amber Mehmood
Sound mix: Toby James
(Picture: Luana Lara Lopes, founder and Chief Operating Officer of Kalshi.)