The Next Five
by FT Partner Studio
Latest episode
Driving Industrial Decarbonisation
Driving Industrial Decarbonisation
About this podcast
The Next Five is the FT’s partner-supported podcast, exploring the future of industries through expert insights and thought-provoking discussions with host Tom Parker. Each episode brings together leading voices to analyse the trends, innovations, challenges and opportunities shaping the next five years in business, technology, health and lifestyle
This content is paid for by advertisers and is produced in partnership with the Financial Times’ Commercial Department
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Episodes
The newest 50 of 52 episodes
- Driving Industrial Decarbonisation · 45 min · Episode 51Hard to abate sectors; the heavy industries of steel, cement, chemicals plus transport, aviation and mining are responsible for nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions…
- Sovereignty, Data and Code: Who's in Control? · 35 min · Episode 50Throughout history, statecraft was defined by borders, battlelines, and territory. In the 20th century, global power shifted to financial capital and energy reserves. Today, with…
- Systems Rewritten: Automotive · 37 min · Episode 49Imagine it’s 2006, not 2026. You’re an automobile factory manager, looking at combustion engine vehicles moving through the assembly line. A sight that has been seen since the…
- Systems Rewritten: AI · 43 min · Episode 48Supply and demand. The foundational backbone of market economies. And we’re in the AI era, where demand and supply is being rewritten. Behind this AI revolution, sits a…
- Systems Rewritten: Markets · 39 min · Episode 47It’s Q3 2026, the systems that form the global economy are currently being rewritten by the digitally led, fourth industrial revolution and the geopolitical repositioning of…
- Code and Conscience: Intelligence Within and Without Borders · 48 min · Episode 46Sovereignty, by definition, is being updated. Sovereignty 2.0. Under geopolitical tensions, supply chain dependencies and competing regional regulations, the discussion around…
- Code and Conscience: Freedom to Invent · 33 min · Episode 45We’re at the start of Q3 2026. Every day that passes, individuals, managers, executives and boards are crunching their internal numbers. They’re working out if the millions of…
- CFO Futures: Navigating the Real-Time Enterprise · 34 min · Episode 44Thirty years ago, the role of the CFO was vastly different. While they still looked ahead to build budgets, they acted more like historians, studying the past performance to…
- Power Shifts: Data Centres, Diplomatic Tensions and the Energy in Between · 57 min · Episode 43We are living in an era defined by a new kind of power shift. It’s not only measured in borders and markets but in Gigawatts and Gigaflops. Every line of code generated and…
- AI Returns: Separating Value from Hype · 40 min · Episode 42For the past few years, the corporate world has been boldly surfing the initial wave of AI excitement. Boardrooms worldwide have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into…
- Code and Conscience: The Logic of Trust · 47 min · Episode 41It’s 2026. You’re the CEO of a global bank or the Head of Surgery at a major hospital. An AI system looks at a complex set of volatile market data, or a patient’s decade-long…
- The Trust Gap: Fraud vs Reality in the Age of AI · 47 min · Episode 40According to the World Economic Forum's Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 report, we've hit a historic tipping point. For the first time, CEOs now rank cyber-enabled fraud as…
- Leading The Energy Transition: Where Are We Now? · 33 min · Episode 39As the UN’s Secretary-General António Guterres said in July this year, “Now, we are on the cusp of a new era. Fossil fuels are running out of road. The sun is rising on a clean…
- The Human Factor in Tech · 28 min · Episode 38The fourth industrial revolution is upon us in every way. Technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, are growing up fast. So too must the humans that deploy and use it…
- The Next Generation of European Tech Funding: Scale-Ups · 57 min · Episode 37Late-stage financing plays a critical role in the growth trajectory of technology scale-ups, particularly as they transition from early innovation phases to market dominance and…
- Sustainable Skies: The Future of Private Aviation · 26 min · Episode 36Across October 2025, 315,000 private flights departed worldwide, a 5% increase on 2024. While this is less than 1% of monthly commercial flights globally, private jet travel is…
- Leading through M&A · 26 min · Episode 35At the start of 2025 there was optimism that the global M&A market would strengthen with the expectation that inflation and interest rates would fall and a more favourable…
- The Energy Transition: Where’s the Money? · 43 min · Episode 34Capital flows to the entire energy sector are set to hit $3.3tn in 2025. $2.2tn of which will find its way to renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency…
- The Treasurers' Toolbox: How CFOs Are Preparing For The Future · 25 min · Episode 33Modern finance leaders have had to navigate turbulent waters over the last five to 10 years, buffeted by waves of geopolitical and macro market forces, rising economic…
- The Next Generation of European Tech Funding: Start Ups · 34 min · Episode 32It is no surprise that for decades the US has reigned supreme when it comes to early stage tech dealmaking. Its risk appetite, coast to coast funding options, integrated market…
- Risk in the Boardroom · 38 min · Episode 31The term polycrisis has been gaining traction in recent times as the world faces one disaster after another that are all interlinked. The far-reaching implications of a world at…
- Cyber risk and security in an AI world: what’s in store? · 26 min · Episode 30In today's digital world, artificial intelligence, data storage and cybersecurity are a critical triumvirate, intersecting to form a dynamic ecosystem that underpins modern…
- Human Health: Society and the Future of Biotech · 31 min · Episode 29Biotechnology is the use of biology in the production of new products, services, and organisms with the aim of improving human health and society. In 2024, the global biotech…
- Money Movers: Solving The Cross-Border Payment Problem · 32 min · Episode 28Despite an interconnected and increasingly digitalised world, a historical black cloud has been hanging over an area of finance relied upon by institutions, retail and a billion…
- Mastering Change: The Future Looking CFO · 31 min · Episode 27In today’s competitive global landscape the responsibilities of CFOs are diversifying more than ever. The fast paced digital revolution, geopolitical uncertainty, economic…
- Our Energy Future: Balancing climate goals with reliable supply · 33 min · Episode 25The world is grappling with the need to hit the global Net Zero by 2050 target which means the net amount of greenhouse gases emitted into, and removed from, the atmosphere is…
- Navigating Risk: Insuring a sustainable future in a fragmented world · 27 min · Episode 26We live in a world of tremendous uncertainty where businesses are increasingly challenged to adapt to a rapidly evolving risk landscape. Economic instability, rising geopolitical…
- Understanding the World: The Power of Data · 29 min · Episode 24If money makes the world go round, then data tells you how fast it’s spinning and when it might stop. 90% of all data was generated in the last 2 years and every 2 years the…
- Cheers, Fears and Rare Years: The Future of Luxury Spirits · 28 min · Episode 23The premium alcohol industry is about more than just indulgence. It’s a category that is garnering greater attention from consumers, investors and collectors. Increased…
- The Future of AI and Creativity · 26 min · Episode 22Individual creativity and idea construction sets us apart within our own societies, it is a deeply desirable trait, and can give you power and wealth. ‘Gosh, what a great idea!’…
- The Future of Preventative Healthcare · 26 min · Episode 21"Prevention is better than cure” is a fundamental principle of modern healthcare. In this episode of the Next Five, in paid partnership with GSK, we look at health care…
- Navigating the Future of Business Travel · 28 min · Episode 20After slumping during the pandemic, business travel is picking up pace: it’s expected to hit pre-pandemic levels this year with spending on it slated to reach $1.4tn in 2024. But…
- The Future of AI in Cybersecurity · 24 min · Episode 19Cybersecurity has never been more important; Everything is now connected to a network, and rapid technological advancements are being met with new and novel cyber threats…
- The Future of AI and Productivity · 25 min · Episode 18The EU must prioritise digital skills development, bridge the existing skills gap, and foster an innovation-driven environment. By embracing AI and equipping its citizens with…
- The Future of AI in Sustainability · 26 min · Episode 17We are in the sixth mass extinction phase and it’s primarily driven by human activity. Globally, 1.2 million species are at risk of extinction and around 70% of the planet's…
- The Future of AI in Healthcare · 30 min · Episode 16The advent and speed of advancement in AI has far reaching consequences for multiple industries. This five-part miniseries will spotlight various industry sectors where AI has a…
- Oceans: Preserving and Powering our Blue Economy · 29 min · Episode 15Oceans cover 71% of the planet’s surface and are a life support system making up 97% of the world’s water and 95% of all space made available for life. Oceans are a key climate…
- It’s About Time: The Future of Watches · 28 min · Episode 14Ever since the emergence of sundials and water clocks in Egypt around 1500 BC, humans have been fascinated by timepieces. Over the centuries, portable clocks, pocket watches and…
- Electric Future: The Road To EV Supremacy · 27 min · Episode 13EVs are already displacing 1.5million barrels of oil usage per day or 3% of total road fuel demand, however emissions from vehicles are still responsible for between 12-16% of…
- Paying the way: the future of payments in a digital world · 25 min · Episode 12The payments industry is undergoing big changes that have a big impact on the global economy. Growth in digital payments over cash has been spurred on by the pandemic, a strong…
- Financing the transition to Net Zero · 29 min · Episode 11Allowing capital flows consistent with a net zero and resilient global economy will require a transformation of the financial system. Since 2016, investments in decarbonisation…
- How Automation and AI will change humanity · 28 min · Episode 10Advancements in technology to date and the pace of change in the future is far beyond the evolutionary speed of human development. We are building smart cities, smart homes…
- How Tokenisation And Digital Currencies Are Changing The Future of Trade · 28 min · Episode 9With the transcendence of digital money and technology, trade and trade finance is experiencing a major overhaul. A $5.2 trillion global trade finance ecosystem exists today…
- The Digital Office · 27 min · Episode 8The way we work has changed since the pandemic. The modern workforce now, more than ever before, enjoys flexibility in where and when they work. But businesses, leaders and…
- Shaping Sustainable Supply Chains · 27 min · Episode 7Global supply chains are near breaking point. The pandemic showed their weaknesses and geopolitical tensions, like Ukraine, have exacerbated the issue. And yet the biggest issue…
- How Innovation Is Shaping Sustainable Sportswear · 25 min · Episode 6The sportswear sector is expected to be worth half a trillion dollars in 2026, up from $366 million in 2021, showing that our appetite for its products is growing. Whether you…
- Securing Our Cyber Future · 27 min · Episode 5Warren Buffett famously heralded cybercrime as a bigger threat to humanity than nuclear weapons. Whether you agree or not, cybercrime is becoming the number one concern for…
- The Future of Energy · 28 min · Episode 4Future energy technologies like fusion and hydrogen promise to be ‘game changers’ that could power our world and fuel our future. Both solutions have been talked about for…
- How The Actions Of Washington And Beijing Will Affect Us All · 23 min · Episode 3In 1972, with Nixon’s visit to Beijing, the world watched as the political and economic landscape between China and the US changed dramatically. Four decades later, new political…
- The ESG Race · 23 min · Episode 2A decade ago, ESG was a term deployed as social lip service; now, it’s part of daily boardroom discussions, and top of the agenda for G7 leaders, financial institutions and…
