“Once you start thinking about where stuff goes, it becomes an obsession”
Why are we as a society so obsessed with the provenance of things, but willingly deceived about where it ends up? Award-winning journalist Oliver Franklin-Wallis became obsessed with this question and the global waste industry, often manned by bad actors taking advantage of an uneducated public. He talks to Sinead O'Sullivan about his new book Wasteland, which took him from the mountainous landfills of New Delhi, to the flooded second-hand markets of Ghana and to the sewers of the Thames.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s influence all over the world is massive, relentless, and in many places, misunderstood.”
In his 2018 book, Silent Invasion, Clive Hamiton investigated the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in Australia. It led to a significant push back from vested interests and he was barred from entering China. Undeterred, the respected academic and author began to investigate the silent control that China exerts over the rest of the work, an investigation that led to Hidden Hand, a groundbreaking book recently published and co-authored by Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg. “I wrote the book to show I would not be intimidated” he told Sinead O'Sullivan in this week’s episode of The Context. In the podcast, he takes Sinead through the journey of writing the book and explains how the Chinese Communist Party is exerting influence across the globe on a level few appreciate or truly understand.
The first Rugby World Cup in 1987 had gross revenues of just €4 million. In Japan four years ago, it was around €550 million. This time around, it will breach the €700 million mark. So, what is driving the commercial growth of the game, and how will it expand in the future?
In this podcast, Ian Kehoe talks to former Irish rugby player Rob Kearney and to Robert Brophy, the former CFO of World Rugby and now the Lead Adviser for Sports, Media & Leisure of Interpath Advisory. They discuss Ireland’s progress in the current World Cup, the opportunities for rugby to grow commercially and to expand into new markets, and the role of sponsorship in rugby. They also analyse the growth of the female game, the future of rugby, and whether Ireland can win the World Cup. The Currency’s Rugby World Cup coverage is in association with Interpath Advisory.
“A family business is not the industry you’re in, it’s a passion for business within the family
Vincent Carton’s family business Manor Farm is unique in Ireland. Eight generations of men led it one after another until it was sold to a Swedish PLC for €70 million. The question of what the ninth generation will do has taken years to determine. Carton shares some of the greatest lessons the process has taught him with Alison Cowzer on this week’s Family Matters podcast, sponsored by Whitney Moore law firm.
“The aim of the book is to help understand the virtues of Carlos Ghosn so you can understand how shocking the vices were.”
To understand how Carlos Ghosn rose so meteorically to the top of the global automotive industry, Wall Street Journal reporters Nick Kostov and Sean McLain begin their book 'Boundless' on the banks of the Amazon in Brazil.
It was from those humble beginnings that Ghosn, armed with a deep intellect and a brilliance for seeing the future, emerged with a determination to succeed. In this episode of The Context, McLain talks to Sinead O’Sullivan about the extraordinary rise, fall and escape of the former Nissan boss. It is a story of unfettered ambition, of shadowy financial manoeuvrings, of a daring escape, and of the seedy underbelly of international wealth.
“There’s no point in having a family business if the family ends up not having a business at all”
Family businesses are run on a special sauce of commitment but all too often the intensity means isolation. In this episode of the Family Matters series, sponsored by Whitney Moore, Alison Cowzer speaks to John McGrane, director general of the Family Business Network about confronting the big problems head on with the help of those who have walked the path before.
“Electrification won’t be the silver bullet and it won’t be the final solution to mobility”
Many of Ireland's oldest family businesses were established alongside the foundation of the state and have been forced to evolve to stay alive. Maxol is a prime example of this and is now in a period of dramatic change. Chief executive Brian Donaldson speaks to Alison Cowzer on this episode of the Family Matters podcast about working with a fourth generation family business, the future of fuel, and inherited appetite for risk. The Family Matters podcast series is sponsored by Whitney Moore.
“I’ve never ever done anything that I thought might even remotely fail”
Rachel Doyle built the Arboretum from an idea into Ireland's most acclaimed independent garden centre. The entrepreneur talks to Alison Cowzer about growing the business into a global award winner, the importance of reinvesting, and planning a diplomatic succession. The Family Matters podcast series is sponsored by Whitney Moore.
“The public sector is competing against this massive private sector right now. And it’s losing and has been losing the last 10 years”
Danny McCoy has spent 13 years at the helm of Ibec. He has been critical of government in the past, but believes the current government is doing the best in extraordinary circumstances. He talks to Ian Kehoe about why a sovereign wealth fund is a bad idea, why the state needs to grow, and how Ireland can reap the bounty of multinational growth.
“You have to understand that your team aren’t owners, they’re there for a different reason”
McCambridge Bread has been on the Irish grocery shopping list for more than 75 years and Michael McCambridge has led the family business through its third generation. In the first episode of the Family Matters series, sponsored by Whitney Moore, McCambridge talks to Alison Cowzer about branding, leveraging heritage, and lean management Tuesdays.
“Entrepreneurs want to be free. They don’t want to be told what to do by anybody else. So they’d rather make their own mistakes and just learn from their mistakes”
At an age when he could be retiring, tax expert Alan Moore has reinvented himself as a technology entrepreneur, rolling out a new AI-powered product that he believes can revolutionise the tax system. He has secured funding from SOSV and is raising additional capital. In this podcast with Ian Kehoe, he talks about the business model, the world of tax, and his career – from tax official to tax adviser to tax entrepreneur.
