麻豆约拍

We look at the art of negotiation. As Washington edges ever closer to a potentially calamitous financial precipice, a former FBI hostage negotiator, Clint van Zant, gives us some life lessons on how best to cut a deal when the chips are down. And, David Peterson, a psychologist at Warwick University, reflects on whether the rival parties in the US Congress are showing the necessary signs of compromise.

Also, in her latest report looking back at the history of the office, Lucy Kellaway recalls the terrifying moment - well, for some men at least - when women first got jobs in the finance industry.