Sliced Bread Podcast
While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up Toast. Sean Farrington examines the spectacular failures of wonder products and businesses which had promised so much.
While Sliced Bread takes a break we serve up Toast. A study of the spectacular failures of brands which had promised so much to consumers.
In each episode, the presenter and 成人快手 business journalist Sean Farrington examines one big idea. What did it promise? Why did people back it? Why did they get burnt?
Some of the world鈥檚 most successful businesses have also brought us some of the world鈥檚 most remarkable failures. So, what led them to be toast? And what can we learn from their stories today?
Sean unpicks all the early optimism, hype and ambition. He learns about the tremendous success of a brand before hearing how it faltered, with help from expert commentators and people who were directly involved. How do they view things now and what, if anything, could have been done differently?
The self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur, Sam White, is alongside him, analysing the missteps that changed a brand鈥檚 fortunes and reaching her own, often instructive, conclusions.
From big tech to high street retail and, of course, food, Toast tackles the business ideas that, one way or another, ended up cooked.
Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations on 3 July, 2025. In the new series, Greg Foot will investigate more of the latest so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread.
In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on 成人快手 Sounds. For this brand new series of Toast, episodes will be released weekly on Thursdays wherever you get your podcasts. But if you鈥檙e in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode on 成人快手 Sounds first, a week earlier than anywhere else.
Toast is a 成人快手 Audio North production for 成人快手 Radio 4.
Episodes to download
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Toast - Nike's FuelBand
Thu 12 Jun 2025
Nike's FuelBand fitness tracker was a runaway success so why did the company abandon it?
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Toast - Freeserve
Thu 5 Jun 2025
How did the internet service provider Freeserve reach dizzy heights then disappear?
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Toast - Woolworths
Thu 29 May 2025
What went wrong at Woolies? Sean Farrington examines the retailer's fortunes
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Plant-Based Meat Alternatives
Thu 24 Apr 2025
Are plant-based meat alternative products really the healthier option?
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Artificial Sweeteners
Thu 10 Apr 2025
Are artificial sweeteners the best way to help us cut down on sugar?
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成人快手 Allergy Tests
Thu 3 Apr 2025
Can home tests tell you if you have an allergy or a food intolerance?
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Dough - Lawn Mowers
Thu 20 Mar 2025
Could the next generation of lawn mowers create any image you like on your lawn?
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Dough - Bicycles
Thu 13 Mar 2025
How can the bicycle industry recover from sales that plummeted after the pandemic?
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Dough - Washing Machines
Thu 6 Mar 2025
Could washing machines soon be cleaning our clothes without using any water?
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Dough - Game Consoles
Thu 27 Feb 2025
Game consoles have come a long way since the 1970s but could their days now be numbered?
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Smart Scales
Thu 9 Jan 2025
Are smart scales really clever enough to tell you more than your weight?
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Toast - Phones 4u
Thu 28 Nov 2024
Phones 4u was hugely profitable, so why did it have to close all of its 700+ shops?
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Toast - Dan-Air
Thu 21 Nov 2024
Sean Farrington assesses the fortunes of the family-run airline Dan-Air. Why did it fail?
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Toast - Our Price Records
Thu 14 Nov 2024
Why did Our Price Records disappear from UK high streets? Sean Farrington looks into it.
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Toast - Kodak
Thu 7 Nov 2024
Kodak made photography mainstream - so why did it falter in a digital age?