The natural diamond industry is facing an existential threat: lab-grown diamonds. They’re chemically and physically identical to natural stones, and they're just a fraction of the price. Eleanor Olcott, the FT’s China technology correspondent, travelled to the epicentre of lab-grown diamond production in the central Chinese province of Henan to see how they’re made. While the FT’s natural resources editor, Leslie Hook, explores what the sale of leading natural diamond producer, De Beers, could mean for the future of the sector.

Clip from Arnold Worldwide

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For further reading:

How the diamond industry lost its sparkle

The sparkle is fading in Africa’s diamond heartland

Taylor Swift hands diamonds a moment to shine

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Follow Leslie Hook on X (@lesliehook) and Eleanor Olcott on X (@EleanorOlcott). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Earlier this summer, energy supermajor Chevron secured access to one of the most valuable oilfields in the world. It was the culmination of a months-long battle that pitted America’s second-largest oil company against the largest, ExxonMobil. The FT’s US energy editor, Jamie Smyth, looks at what Chevron aims to do next, and how it plans to take on its larger rival.

Clips from CNBC, Bloomberg

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Sign up for the FT Weekend Festival at ft.com/festival and use the promo code “FTPodcasts” for 10 per cent off.

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For further reading:

Chevron prepares for US oil supermajor battle with Exxon

Chevron seals $53bn Hess takeover after Exxon fails to torpedo deal

For further listening … Our Behind the Money episode on Guyana from 2024:

Will Exxon make or break Guyana?

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Follow Jamie Smyth on X (@JamieSmythF) and Bluesky (‪@jamiesmythft.bsky.social‬). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

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AI music generators - platforms that use artificial intelligence to create new, original music from scratch - can make songs that are almost indistinguishable from human creations. For some musicians, they’re the next frontier in music-making technology. But for others, they represent a grave threat, flooding the world with low-grade AI music, stealing the jobs of working musicians, and even spelling the end of the creative process as we know it. Is this just technophobia, or is music facing AI annihilation?

In a new two-part series of Tech Tonic, the FT’s pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney explores the emerging world of AI music, and the impact it could have on the industry.

Tech Tonic is presented by Ludovic Hunter-Tilney. The producers are Lulu Smyth and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Edwin Lane is the senior producer, Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original Music by Metaphor Music. Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the FT’s acting co-heads of audio.

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