When Donald Trump was re-elected on a ‘no more wars’ promise, his vice-president was his staunchest ally, criticising previous US foreign interventions, most notably in Iraq, as well as the US’ recent financial support for Ukraine.
 
And yet, the vice-president, who has substantial MAGA support and is expected to run for the 2028 presidency, now finds himself among Trump’s team negotiating an end to the US-Israel war on Iran, a war he was reportedly skeptical of launching. What tactics will Vance use to secure both the interests of the president abroad, and his own domestic popularity among MAGA supporters who do not support the war? BBC Washington correspondent Daniel Bush joins us to discuss. 
 
Producer: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin 
Sound engineer: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins

JD Vance’s Iran test

Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption.Come and join us our live event. You can register for Castfest tickets here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/castfest-2026

King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit Washington DC this month at a time when the transatlantic relationship is at its lowest point in decades.The King is facing a difficult time at home in the UK too, with significant public opposition to the visit and anger over his brother Andrew’s association with Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.Can the King and Queen sprinkle some royal magic on President Trump and improve the royal image at the same time? Asma and Tristan are joined by the BBC’s senior royal correspondent, Daniela Relph.Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Xandra EllinExecutive producer: James ShieldMix: Renee Park Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: President Donald Trump and King Charles III at a state banquet at Windsor Castle, in September 2025.

Why the Royal visit to the US is dividing Brits

Roughly 10,000 additional US troops have now arrived in the Middle East, giving President Trump options ranging from an invasion of Kharg Island to an elaborate special forces operations to seize Iran’s ‘nuclear dust’.For years, the Pentagon has run war games to try and plan for what might happen if the US went to war with Iran. Our guest, Ilan Goldenberg, was in the room during the Obama years, taking part.
 
Ilan Goldenberg is Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at J Street. Previously, he was an adviser on Iran for President Barack Obama, and for Vice President Kamala Harris. Producers: Lucy Pawle and Viv JonesSound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Photo: President Donald Trump. Credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

I wargamed Iran for the Pentagon - here is how it could end

While still engaged in a war with Iran, Donald Trump’s attention is also on Havana. The US president suggested last week that he expects to soon have the “honour” of “taking Cuba, in some form”. He added “Whether I free it, take it—I think I can do anything I want with it.” The Trump administration has tightened a longstanding US economic embargo on the Caribbean island, and created a near-total fuel blockade. Cuba was already in the grip of a severe economic crisis, and while a Russian oil tanker has recently reached the island, the blockade has pushed the country to the brink of collapse. We speak to the BBC’s Will Grant, who has recently returned from the island, to discuss what Trump wants in Cuba, and whether the Cuban Revolution can survive its biggest test in decades. Producers: Aron Keller and Viv Jones Executive producer: Penny Murphy Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Havana street during a blackout. Credit: Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA/Shutterstock

Has Trump pushed Cuba to the brink of collapse?

With the world’s attention on the war in Iran, Vladimir Putin appears to be stepping up Russia’s war in Ukraine. Last week saw the biggest Russian drone attack since the beginning of the war. Some Ukrainians believe Putin is doing this precisely because the world is looking the other way. Russia also appears to be benefiting from the Iran war in other ways – oil prices have skyrocketed at the same time as Trump has loosened sanctions on Russian oil. On the other hand, it’s been a difficult few months for Russian allies in Tehran, Caracas and Havana.The author, academic and Russia analyst Mark Galeotti joins us to examine the ways in which the war in Iran could help or hinder Putin.Apply for Castfest tickets: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/castfest-2026
Email us: theglobalstory@bbc.com Producers: Xandra Ellin and Cat Farnsworth 
Executive producer: James Shield 
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Russia, March 27. Credit: Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Kremlin/Pool/EPA/Shutterstock.

Is the Iran war helping Putin?

Humans are returning to the Moon - hear all about it on the BBC’s space podcast. 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II is following Nasa’s mission to loop around the Moon, with a new episode every day. Starts on Monday 30 March 2026. Search for 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Follow or subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode.Nasa plans to return to the Moon for the first time in more than half a century. Its Artemis II mission aims to send four astronauts to loop around the Moon. They are planning to go further from Earth than any human in history.The story of Artemis II will be told by space scientist, Maggie Aderin and British astronaut, Tim Peake, with regular guest, US space journalist Kristin Fisher.13 Minutes is the BBC’s space podcast, telling epic space stories, including the first Moon landing, Apollo 13 and the space shuttle. Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

Recommending: 13 Minutes Presents Artemis II

In a bellwether case, a jury in Los Angeles found on Wednesday that Meta and YouTube are responsible for a young woman’s childhood addiction to social media, and intentionally built addictive platforms that harmed her health.The companies say they intend to appeal against the verdict, which could set a legal precedent and have far-reaching consequences.Marianna Spring, the BBC’s social media investigations correspondent, has spent the past year speaking to whistleblowers and insiders from social media companies, revealing how algorithms designed to connect people have been helping to tear them apart. We ask if this week’s verdict is just the start of something much bigger.The BBC is throwing open the doors to Maida Vale Studios on Saturday 25 April for Castfest, a one-day celebration bringing its biggest news podcasts directly to fans. Apply for Castfest tickets below.Producer: Valerio Esposito and Cat Farnsworth
Sopund engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins(Photo: Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves the court at the case accusing Meta and Google's YouTube of harming kids' mental health through addictive platforms, 18 February, 2026. Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters)

Meta and YouTube lose in a landmark trial

Have you ever received a call from a stranger regarding student loans you don’t owe? An Amazon order you never placed? An unpaid parking ticket for a car you don’t own? If so, it’s possible that you’ve been the target of a scam orchestrated by a criminal syndicate thousands of miles away.The so-called “scam centres” of Southeast Asia bring in billions of dollars a year, expertly swindling unsuspecting foreigners out of their savings. Today, BBC Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head offers an inside look at these formidable hubs of corruption and human trafficking, and explains how governments around the world are working to intervene. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Viv Jones
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: New high rises in the city of Shwe Kokko, Myanmar, visible from Thailand's border. Credit: Jonathan Head/BBC.

The cities built on scamming us all

It has been almost a month since Israel and the US launched their war against Iran, and already there have been strikes in more than a dozen countries, with reports of over 2,000 people killed across the region. As the war drags on and more countries get involved, there are concerns this conflict could escalate into something truly global. We speak to emeritus professor of International History at the University of Oxford, Margaret MacMillan, and explore how world wars start, how they end and what can be done to avoid them. Producers: Chris Benderev and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: US Military aircraft perform 4th of July flyover past New York City and New Jersey, 4 July 2020. Credit: Mike Segar/Reuters)

Are we heading for World War Three?

Nicolas Maduro, the deposed president of Venezuela, is due to appear in court in New York this week alongside his wife, Cilia Flores. The pair face charges of cocaine trafficking and possession of machine guns, which they deny. Meanwhile in their home country, the Trump-approved interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, has been making deals with the US government over Venezuela’s oil and critical minerals. The BBC’s South America correspondent, Ione Wells, has been in Caracas to find out how much life has altered under Rodriguez’s leadership, and to what extend Donald Trump may see this regime change as a blueprint for US intervention elsewhere. Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Valerio Esposito and Hannah Moore Executive producers: Bridget Harney and James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Credit: Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

The Venezuela model for regime change

As the US and Israel war with Iran enters its fourth week, there are growing number of people in the United States calling for it end. But the military operations are increasing, not winding down. This is a critical moment where the war could turn into a long drawn-out conflict. Or it could be a moment where Donald Trump dashes for a quick exit. The BBC’s world affairs correspondent Joe Inwood and the BBC’s Persian service’s Ghoncheh Habibiazad discuss with Tristan where this could all go next?Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Xandra EllinSound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he steps from Air Force One, March 20, 2026. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Trump's Iran options

Social media platforms this week have been flooded with a wild rumour: that Benjamin Netanyahu was dead (which he is not). Fake photos and videos of his body, coated with dust and debris, seemed to show that the Israeli prime minister had been killed in an Iranian air strike. The rumour was false – Netanyahu had not died, nor been involved in a strike. The photos and videos were AI-generated. But when Netanyahu posted several videos of himself, debunking and mocking the rumour, some people on social media still refused to believe these were really him.Today on the show, Thomas Copeland from BBC Verify explains how the economics of social media drive the creation of AI-generated fake videos – sometimes by people with no strong feelings about the war itself. And we speak to Peter Pomerantsev, author of Nothing Is True and Everything is Possible, who says the essential strategy behind wartime disinformation remains unchanged since ancient times.Producers: Viv Jones, Valerio Esposito and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins(Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows his hand as he speaks at a cafe Credit: Benjamin Netanyahu/Reuters)

Netanyahu is not dead. So why did the internet think he was?

Shortly after the US-Israeli war with Iran began, a second war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.Lebanese authorities say that more than 900 people, including at least 111 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since 2 March. More than a million others have been forced to leave their homes.On Wednesday, Israel widened its air strikes from the southern suburbs of Beirut into the city centre. And there are fears that what Israel has called a “limited” ground operation could lead to an occupation of the south. Israel says it is targeting not only Hezbollah fighters and leaders, but also businesses it claims are linked to the group and help finance its military operations.
 
From his post in Beirut, BBC Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega explains the long history of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, and we ask what could come next.Producers: Chris Benderev and Aron Keller
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto Credit: Smoke rises after an Israeli strike in central Beirut's Bachoura neighbourhood, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, 12 March, 2026. Creit: Claudia Greco/Reuters

The war in Lebanon, explained

Since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, The Global Story listeners have been contacting us with questions: about the causes of the war, the legality of it, and how other countries are responding. As Gulf states get drawn further into the conflict, might they send military reinforcement? And if the Iranian regime were to fall, could islamist groups such as Isis seize an opportunity to claim more power? In today’s episode, we answer all of these and more, with BBC world affairs editor, John Simpson. 
 
Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin 
Sound engineer: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: A woman marches with an Iranian monarchy flag during a 'Freedom for Iran' protest in New York, New York, USA, 15 March 2026. Credit: Olga Fedorova/Shutterstock

Listener Q&A on Iran

For nearly forty years, Fergal Keane has reported for the BBC from some of the world’s most brutal conflicts – in Gaza, Iraq, Rwanda, Sudan, Ukraine and beyond – and in that time interviewed scores of children who are the innocent victims of adult wars. As he came to understand the impacts of trauma on young minds, Keane began too to experience his own mental breakdowns – the result of a troubled childhood and a career spent running towards danger – and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD. In today’s episode, he reflects on what he has learned from his own experiences and reporting about how childhood traumas can be treated, and the hope for those living through today’s wars. 
Producer: Hannah Moore Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Displaced children play in Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Haitham Imad/ EPA/ Shutterstock.

How does war affect a child’s brain?

WARNING: This episode contains some graphic descriptions of violence. Since an air strike on a school in Iran two weeks ago, the Pentagon has faced mounting questions over the possible involvement of the US military. Iranian officials say the strike killed 168 people, including about 110 children. US media have reported that military investigators believe American forces were likely responsible for hitting the school unintentionally – but that they have not reached a final conclusion. Today, Merlyn Thomas from BBC Verify explains what we know so far about the strike. And we speak to Oona Hathaway, a professor of international law at Yale University who previously worked at the US Department of Defence, about the potential legal consequences. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Aron Keller Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Studio manager: Mike RegaardSenior news editor: China Collins Photo: People attend the funeral of the victims following a reported strike on a school in Minab, Iran, March 3, 2026. Credit: Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/WANA via Reuters.

Was the air strike on an Iranian school a war crime?

In this special essay, the BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen explains what can happen when an American president calls for an uprising – and then doesn’t get involved when it starts.A version of this piece first ran on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on 11 March.Producer for The Global Story: Xandra EllinMix: James ShieldSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Jeremy Bowen, October 2025

Jeremy Bowen: Trump has called for an Iran uprising. The lessons from Iraq in 1991 loom large

On Sunday, many of the film industry’s biggest stars will gather in Los Angeles for Hollywood’s biggest night: the 98th annual Academy Awards.Looming over the celebrations are some major upheavals in Hollywood: big corporate mergers, the incursion of AI, and mass layoffs. And it’s against that backdrop that the Oscars are increasingly nominating films, filmmakers, and actors from elsewhere in the world.BBC film reporter and critic Tom Brook explains how the Oscars went global, and what it can tell us about the status of American soft power.Producers: Xandra Ellin and Valerio EspositoExecutive producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Workers make preparations for the 98th annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles Credit: Reuters / Caroline Brehman

How the Oscars went international

At a recent White House event, President Trump assessed how America’s allies have responded to the US-Israel war in Iran. He praised some, but was angry with others, notably Britain and its prime minister Keir Starmer. His anger with the UK seemed to centre around a British-owned island in the Indian Ocean, which he referred to as “that stupid island”. The island is one of about 60, known as the Chagos Islands. Tropical, remote, and very mysterious. So mysterious that one person who knows what goes on there said that if you did too, it would give you vertigo. The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale joins us to discuss what happens on the Chagos Islands that makes them so important to President Trump. What have they got to do with Iran, and why are they at the centre of an ever-growing diplomatic row? Producer: Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: File photo of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Credit: Reuters

Why is Donald Trump obsessed with the Chagos Islands?

As the US-Israeli strikes on Iran continue and the death toll continues to rise, so too does the war of words. President Trump has described Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's choice for new supreme leader, as "unacceptable". He has also said he believes the war will be over “pretty quickly”, but it’s not clear how - or when. Nate Swanson, a former State Department official who spent nearly two decades in the US government working on American policy towards Iran, answers our questions on how the next stage of the conflict is likely to unfold - and whether a negotiated peace with Iran is still an option. Producers: Chris Benderev, Cat Farnsworth and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: Bridget Harney Studio managers: James Piper and Mike Regaard.Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: People walk past a banner depicting the Iran's supreme leaders since 1979. The late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini; the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; and his son, the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters.

Iran: Is diplomacy dead?

Oil prices surged to a four-year high on Monday, before dipping after President Trump said the Iran war will end “very soon”. Just days ago, Trump said that he would not stop the war until Iran’s “unconditional surrender”.Turmoil in the region had led to the near complete shutdown of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has reportedly said it will not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the Gulf if US-Israeli attacks continue.We speak to BBC economics correspondent Andy Verity about the lessons both the US and Iran might be learning from the oil crises of the 1970s, and ask whether oil could determine how and when the war ends.Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Studio manager: Mike Regaard
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: 3D-printed oil pump jacks, Iranian flag, and a rising stock graph appear in this illustration. Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Are oil prices determining the course of the Iran war?

As European leaders have struggled to find a unified response to the US-Israel war in Iran, Pedro Sanchez has stood out as a voice of dissent. He said in a televised address last week: “The position of the government of Spain can be summarised in three words: no to war.” The Spanish Prime Minister and US President have butted heads on many issues; the war in Gaza, immigration and defence spending among them, but in the past week their relationship got even more fiery, with Donald Trump threatening to cut off all trade with Spain. What makes Sanchez willing to stand up to Trump? And will his gamble be worth it? Guy Hedgecoe, a reporter for the BBC based in Madrid, joins us to discuss. Producers: Hannah Moore, Valerio Esposito and Chris Benderev 
Executive producer: Bridget Harney 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech during closing ceremony of the 'Spain, Vanguard in the Green Industry', in Madrid, Spain, 08 September 2025. Credit: Daniel Gonzalez/EPA/Shutterstock.

Spain stands up to Trump

For Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the war on Iran is the culmination of a long-standing political ambition. On Sunday, Netanyahu said he was finally doing what he had “hoped to achieve for 40 years – to crush the regime of terror completely.” Polling suggests the war is popular in Israel too. But it’s a lot more complicated for Donald Trump. He was elected on a promise to end foreign wars, and current polling suggests the war is not supported by most Americans. We talk to the BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen about whether this war, which Netanyahu says is an opportunity, complements or collides with Donald Trump’s own interests. And ask if Benjamin Netanyahu has everything to gain from this war, and Donald Trump a lot more to lose? Producers: Lucy Pawle and Sam ChantarasakSound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 29, 2025.

Do Trump and Netanyahu have conflicting end goals on Iran?

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement over the weekend that the United States was launching an offensive in Iran alongside the Israeli military, comparisons to past US interventions in the region began to proliferate. Many Americans asked whether this latest military operation would become another ‘forever war’, as the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan came to be called. We talk to Gordon Correra, security analyst for the BBC, about America’s complicated history of intervention in the Middle East and surrounding region, and ask what these past conflicts might tell us about possible outcomes for the war in Iran. Producer: Viv Jones, Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A US soldier watches as a statue of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein falls in central Baghdad in 2003. Credit: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic

Could Iran be the next ‘forever war’?

Five days since the first US–Israeli strikes on Iran, and the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, the country is once again in a communications blackout. With limited access to reliable information, it is difficult to know how ordinary Iranians are coping.Parham Ghobadi, senior reporter and presenter at BBC Persian, has been speaking to people inside Iran to guage their fears, their expectations, and how they are navigating a moment that could reshape their country’s future.Producer: Viv Jones, Valerio Esposito and Chris BenderevExecutive producer: Bridget HarneySound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Photo: A woman reacts on the street following an Israeli and US strike on a police station, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

Iran under attack: The view from inside

The Gulf states are some of the wealthiest places on earth, and have until recently been mostly insulated from Middle East conflicts. But the US-Israel war with Iran is now engulfing the Gulf. The BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner joins us to discuss whether this is a moment that could change the entire region and affect all of us. Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Xandra Ellin
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Smoke billows from Jebel Ali port in Dubai after an Iranian attack. Credit: Raghed Waked/Reuters.

Iran war: Chaos engulfs the Gulf

This weekend, Iranian state media confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran with an iron fist for more than 30 years, had been killed in joint US-Israeli strikes. In Iran, his death was met with an outpouring of grief by his supporters, while many across the country and in the diaspora met the news with jubilation and a tentative sense of hope. But what happens now? President Trump has urged Iranians to “seize control of your destiny, and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach,” but how realistic are the prospects of them forming a new – and significantly different - government? And how will the weakened regime retaliate against the US and Israel’s strikes? Caroline Hawley, Diplomatic Correspondent for the BBC, joins us to discuss. Producers: Hannah Moore, Aron Keller and Chris Benderev Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A woman holds an image of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters.

What next for Iran?

Mexico’s most wanted man – Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho” – was killed during a security operation to arrest the cartel leader on Sunday. In the days that followed, the operation was celebrated by President Trump in his State of the Union address. But it came at a cost, as cartel members carried out retaliatory rampages across Mexico and turned many towns and cities into war zones.El Mencho’s death came after months of pressure from the Trump administration on Mexico to do more to fight the drug cartels. According to one NBC News report, the US even considered sending troops into Mexico. Our correspondent, Will Grant, examines the dilemma Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum now faces – and we ask if she is now caught between Trump and the cartels. Producers: Chris Benderev and Aron Keller Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior News Editor: China CollinsImage Credits: FILE PHOTO: Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), led by Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” poses for a photo at an undisclosed location in Michoacan state, Mexico, October 15, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer

Mexico’s most wanted cartel boss is dead. Is it enough for Trump?

As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the prospect of peace feels as distant as ever. President Trump hasn’t yet succeeded in striking a deal, and negotiations between the US, Russia and Ukraine have yet to produce a breakthrough. Fiona Hill is one of the foremost authorities on Vladimir Putin and a former White House advisor on Russia during Trump’s first term. Over the course of her career, she has sat across the table from the Russian president and helped shape US policy at the highest level. She tells us what it is really like to be in the room Putin and Trump, and whether a durable peace in Ukraine is still within reach. Producers: Chris Benderev and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin together. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Is a peace deal with Putin possible?

This week marks four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since WW2. Ukraine has put its official losses at 55,000 soldiers, and the BBC has verified the deaths of more than 180,000 on the Russian side, although the true toll is likely to be much higher. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or wounded, and millions have been displaced. In today’s episode, the BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen, travels through Ukraine, speaking to people living on the front line, to soldiers, and to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, about what they would concede – if anything - for a peace deal with Russia. Producer: Hannah Moore Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A Ukrainian woman attends a memorial ceremony for fallen servicemen at the Military Cemetery in Kharkiv. Credit: Sergey Kozlov/EPA/Shutterstock.

Ukraine’s defiance, four years on

Tensions between the US and Iran are once again escalating, as President Trump has threatened military strikes if Iran refuses to accede to its demands. Iran has responded with warnings that any US strikes will lead to all-out war in the region. 
 
The Iran nuclear talks come as the Iranian government faces the biggest challenge to its survival since 1979. Last month, a protest about the rising costs of living exploded into a nationwide uprising. The response was a brutal crackdown which killed thousands of people.
 
Having returned from a reporting trip to the capital Tehran, the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet, gives us a rare insight into how Iranians are dealing with the aftermath of last month’s protests, continuing economic hardship, and the prospect of a US attack. 
 
Producers: Aron Keller, Viv Jones and Sam Chantarasak 
 
Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans
 
Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Iranians walking in Tehran. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock

Inside Iran after the crackdown

More than 50 years since the last Apollo mission, Nasa is preparing to send astronauts back to the Moon.Artemis II will take its crew farther from Earth than any human has travelled in decades - a crucial step towards landing on the lunar surface once again.
At the same time, China has been quietly advancing its own plans for a crewed Moon landing.Some experts say this signals the start of a new space race – not just for prestige, but to build a long-term presence on the Moon, tap its resources and use it as a stepping stone to Mars. We speak to the BBC’s Science Editor, Rebecca Morelle.Producers: Valerio Esposito and Cat FarnsworthExecutive producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Official Artemis crew portrait. Josh Valcarcel/NASA Handout/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The new race to the Moon

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince and brother to King Charles, was arrested by British police on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The arrest came after police said they were assessing a complaint that Andrew allegedly shared confidential material with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.We’re joined by BBC Royal Correspondent Sean Coughlan to discuss what Andrew’s arrest means for the future of the British monarchy. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin.Executive producer: James Shield.Senior news editor: China Collins. Photo: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, leaves Aylsham Police Station. Credit: Phil Noble/Reuters.

What the former prince Andrew’s arrest means for the Royal Family

***This episode contains discussions of body dysmorphia, self-harm, sex and drug use, and references to language that may cause offence*** A controversial internet streamer who goes by the name Clavicular has taken the internet by storm, going to extreme lengths to try to enhance his looks – from using steroids and testosterone to hitting his face with a hammer. Clavicular has become the poster boy for an online movement called ‘looksmaxxing’, centred on maximising physical attractiveness. Like many subcultures, it has given rise to a whole new lexicon which is gradually migrating from the margins of the internet to the mainstream. In today’s episode, we turn to journalist and documentary filmmaker Matt Shea to explain whether Clavicular – and the movement he champions – is just another viral curiosity, or a strange symptom of modern masculinity. Producers: Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin 
Executive producer: James Shield 
Sound engineer: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins(Photo: A hand holding a mobile phone showing an influencer holding a hammer to his face on screen. Credit: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

What ‘looksmaxxing’ tells us about modern masculinity

Next week marks four years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In that time, there’s been an intense crackdown on freedom of speech and dissent in Russia, which has led to many western media organisations leaving the country. 
 
Today, we speak to Steve Rosenberg, the BBC’s Russia editor, on the tightrope of reporting from Moscow under Vladimir Putin. 
 
Producer: Sam Chantarasak Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins 
 
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow. Credit: Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool/Reuters.

The tightrope of reporting in Putin’s Russia

***This episode contains distressing details of rape and sexual assault*** Gisèle Pelicot earned international recognition after waiving her anonymity at her mass-rape trial in 2024, in which her former husband, Dominique, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for drugging her and inviting dozens of other men to their home in the south of France to rape her while she was unconscious. In court, Gisèle Pelicot bravely faced her abusers, and in public, she stood stoically in defence of sexual assault survivors, saying that, “shame must change sides”. The BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire talks through her recent interview with Gisèle Pelicot, as her memoir, A Hymn to Life, is published. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at befrienders.org. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.Producer: Hannah Moore Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: Gisèle Pelicot in Paris, France. Credit: Dmitry Kostyukov/BBC Newsnight)

Gisèle Pelicot on confronting shame and finding hope

**This episode contains discussion of bullying, abuse and suicide** 
A landmark trial is underway in Los Angeles where tech giants Instagram and YouTube will face a jury for the first time over claims that their platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive for children. 
Lawyers for the plaintiff – a 20 year-old woman – say she developed mental health issues after becoming addicted to the social media at an early age. They argue these companies built “addiction machines” with algorithms that learn what users want and keep feeding it to them. 
Instagram and YouTube deny the allegations, saying that they have no incentive to turn children into addicts and have introduced various safety measures. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify later this week. 
We speak to the BBC’s North America Technology Correspondent Lily Jamali, who has been following the case, to ask whether social media is having a generational reckoning – its Big Tobacco moment. 
Producers: Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin 
Executive producer: James Shield 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
Photo: Vigil outside the courthouse ahead of a social media addiction trial in Los Angeles. Credit: Reuters/ Jill Connelly.

Is social media having its Big Tobacco moment?

Two weeks after the latest release of the Epstein files, the headlines keep pouring in.In just the past few days, revelations in the documents have nearly brought down a British prime minister, and implicated politicians and royals from around the world. The files are even fueling speculation about whether the late sex offender could have been a spy.We speak to Nomia Iqbal, BBC World Affairs Correspondent, about what we’ve learned this week about the international fallout of the Epstein scandal.Producers: Viv Jones, Valerio Esposito and Xandra EllinExecutive producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Epstein files. Credit: Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA/Shutterstock

Epstein’s global network: What the files reveal

On Monday, Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison for colluding with foreign forces under the city's controversial national security law. The family of the 78-year-old, who is a British citizen, have appealed to foreign governments to call for Lai’s release. 
Lai’s sentence, which is the harshest yet under this law, has caused global concern over whether this is an attempt by Beijing to crackdown on dissent and democracy in the Chinese territory. 
We speak to Danny Vincent, the BBC’s Hong Kong reporter, who was the last journalist to interview Jimmy Lai. 
Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Chris Benderev 
Executive producer: James Shield 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
Photo: Jimmy Lai is escorted out of a Correctional Services Department vehicle and into the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong, China, 09 February 2021. Credit: Tyrone Sui/Reuters

With Jimmy Lai in jail, have Trump and the West abandoned Hong Kong?

During Sunday's Super Bowl in California, a flurry of ads from drug manufacturers and telehealth companies implored viewers at home to "ask their doctor” about a class of weight loss drugs, known as GLP-1s. These medications — like Mounjaro and Wegovy — have become ubiquitous. In just a few short years, they’ve transformed the way we live, move, and eat, whether we take them or not. And access and demand are only increasing, as pill forms of the drugs come onto the market. But where did they come from? And how are they reshaping our world? Today, we speak to Giles Yeo, a professor of molecular neuroendocrinology at the University of Cambridge, about the so-called weight loss revolution.Producer: Xandra EllinExecutive producer: Bridget HarneySound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Photo: Someone using a set of weighing scales. Chris Radburn/PA)

The ‘weight loss revolution’ changing the world

The top official from ICE – US Immigration and Customs Enforcement – will testify in front of Congress this week, for the first time since two people were shot and killed in Minneapolis. 
 
Democrats are demanding changes to the way ICE operates, including banning face masks and requiring agents to have warrants signed by a judge before they can enter private properties. Republicans say these measures could make officers less safe. 
 
Meanwhile, the controversy over ICE has spread to other countries. A protest broke out in Milan in response to the presence of ICE agents in Italy, who say they are helping with American security operations during the Winter Olympics. 
 
Camilo Montoya-Galvez, immigration reporter for CBS News, has been covering ICE operations across multiple US cities. He tells us the history of how this previously little-known law enforcement agency was created, and how it has become so internationally controversial. 
 
Producers: Viv Jones, Aron Keller and Chris Benderev Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Anti-ICE protests in Milan. Credit: Reuters/ Alkis Konstantinidis

The origins of ICE

2026 has already been a huge year for international news, from Venezuela to Greenland to Iran. We wanted to get our heads around what other seismic changes we can expect in the rest of 2026: from Europe’s new dynamic with Washington, to President Trump’s meeting with President Xi of China, to the rebuilding of Gaza. So we sat down with two foreign policy experts: Tom Bateman, the BBC’s State Department Correspondent, and Emma Ashford, a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and author of First Among Equals: US Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World. We were joined in the heart of Washington DC by a live audience at Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship. Recorded Monday 2 February. Producers: Chris Benderev and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: A live taping of The Global Story in Washington DC on 2 February 2026. Credit:Emma Carroll Hudson/Syracuse University

Live in Washington DC

Warning: this episode contains themes of sexual abuse.Following the release of the latest tranche of Epstein files, renewed scrutiny has fallen on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s links to powerful figures in the United States. In the UK, attention has shifted to a related controversy that is now sending tremors through Westminster.Newly surfaced email exchanges between Epstein and former UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson - also known as Britain’s “Prince of Darkness”, have raised questions about the nature of their relationship and its political ramifications, triggering a police investigation and threatening the position of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.George Parker, the Financial Times Political Editor and BBC Radio Presenter, has known the man in question for over three decades. He talks about the seismic implications the Epstein files are having on British politics.Producers: Samantha Chantarasak, Valerio Esposito and Cat FarnsworthMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Peter Mandelson and Keir Starmer. Credit: Carl Court/PA Wire

Could the Epstein scandal topple the British Prime Minister?

On Sunday, Bad Bunny will perform at the Super Bowl half time show to an audience of more than 100 million people across the world. But the NFL’s choice of the Puerto Rican star has proven controversial, because he has long been outspoken in his criticism of the US government, including most recently at the 2026 Grammy Awards, when he called for ICE agents to be removed from the streets. In today’s episode, Puerto Rican cultural critic Carina del Valle Schorske, who profiled Bad Bunny for The New York Times Magazine, explains how the artist’s pride in his homeland is infused throughout his music, and considers how he might use the US’ biggest stage this weekend to challenge the president’s policies. This episode was updated on 5 February 2026 for music rights reasons.Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Bad Bunny poses on the red carpet during the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. Credit: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Will Bad Bunny take on MAGA at the Super Bowl?

For three weeks, the world has been watching to see whether Donald Trump will order military strikes on Iran. The US military has been building up forces close to the Islamic Republic, including an aircraft carrier and several warships which President Trump has been calling an “armada.” Trump says he wants to do a deal with Iran, and the two sides appear to be talking. White House special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with the Iranian Foreign Minister on Friday in Istanbul. But Trump has threatened that if no agreement is reached, he’s ready to order US forces into action.
 
Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent, lays out what could happen if talks fail, and Trump decides to strike Iran. He describes several scenarios that might have major consequences for the Iranian leadership, its people, the wider region and the world. 
 
Producers: Viv Jones 
 
Executive producer: Bridget Harney 
 
Sound engineer: Travis Evans 
 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
 
(Photo: Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei. Credit: Iran’s Supreme Leader Office/EPA/Shutterstock)

What could happen if the US strikes Iran?

President Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris climate agreement for the second time and also announced plans to leave the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In his first year back in office, Trump has rolled back restrictions on oil, gas and coal – and has urged other countries to do the same. 
China, meanwhile, has spent the past decade consolidating its expansion into clean energy technologies, even as it remains the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gasses. 
In today’s episode, BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt explains how the growing energy rivalry between the world's biggest superpowers will shape the future of geopolitics and have profound consequences for the planet’s ability to cut carbon emissions. Producers: Aron Keller and Hannah Moore 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Executive producers: James Shield and Bridget Harney 
Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: A wind turbine and solar panels in Yancheng, China. Credit: Alex Plavesvski/ EPA)

How China beat the US on green energy

The US military has begun to transfer up to 7000 Islamic State (IS) group detainees held in prisons in Syria to Iraq, which officials say is to prevent prisoners breaking out and regrouping. The transfer comes weeks after the US led large-scale strikes on IS group targets in Syria. The move comes after clashes between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which last week ended in a deal that would see the gradual integration of Kurdish forces and institutions into the state, and transfer control of the prisons to Damascus.
 
Today we talk to Josh Baker, investigative journalist and host of the BBC podcast I Am Not A Monster, about the state of the IS group, and whether the country’s instability could lead to a resurgence in Syria Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Lucy Pawle Senior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Photo: A member of the Syrian security forces stands in front of the gate of the Al-Hol camp, which houses families of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Credit: Mohammed al-Rifai/EPA/Shutterstock

Is ISIS having a resurgence in Syria?

Palantir isn’t just another tech firm - it’s reach cuts across almost every aspect of modern life, from AI to healthcare to Formula 1 racing. Founded in 2003 to support US counter-terrorism efforts, the company has since grown into a global powerhouse and is central to the Trump administration's policies, from its military to immigration enforcement. At the centre of it all is billionaire co-founder Alex Karp – the philosopher turned tech-CEO who built the company from the ground up. So how did this software company built for bad times become indispensable to governments across the globe, and what does its rise reveal about the future of politics? We speak to journalist Michael Steinberger whose book The Philosopher in the Valley charts Karp’s life and Palantir’s rise. Producer: Aron Keller Mix: Travis Evans Executive producer: China Collins Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Palantir co-founder &#38; CEO Alex Karp. Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters.

How Palantir became indispensable

Over the weekend, some TikTok users in the United States claimed the social media platform was censoring content critical of the Trump administration. Users reported that they couldn’t upload or view videos related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE. But TikTok disputes that functionality issues were political, attributing them instead to data center outages. The criticism has come to a head after federal agents shot and killed intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, a US citizen in Minnesota. The Department of Homeland Security says the agents fired in self-defence. Though the facts remain muddy, the controversy has exposed how a divided America is reacting to the shooting. For the latest, we speak to BBC Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent Marianna Spring. Producers: Xandra Ellin, Samantha Chantarasak, and Viv Jones Executive producer: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Teenagers holding smartphones in front of a TikTok logo. September 11, 2025. Credit:Dado Ruvic/Reuters

How the Minnesota shooting set off a TikTok censorship debate

When US Special Forces captured Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro several weeks ago, many wondered whether his ouster would bring about further changes to the country. So, what has changed in Venezuela? And while President Trump has made it clear he sees oil as a very important priority for the United States’s future relationship with Venezuela and increased American involvement in the country’s oil operations, how do Venezuelans feel about this prospect? Our guest today, reporting from inside Venezuela, is BBC correspondent Norberto Paredes. How do Venezuelans feel about their country since Maduro’s departure? Producers: Lucy Pawle, Sam Chantarasak and Hannah Moore Executive producer: Bridget Harney Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: People walk past a painting of an oil pump on Venezuela's national flag, in Caracas. Credit: Gaby Oráa/Reuters)

What next for Venezuelans?

In September 1999, just weeks into Vladimir Putin’s first premiership, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings, over a period of twelve days, killing hundreds and plunging the entire nation into fear. 
The government blamed Chechen militants, a conclusion corroborated by many journalists at the time. But whispers of a darker conspiracy persist to this day. 
A new BBC podcast, The History Bureau: Putin and the Apartment Bombs, tells the story of those bombings and re-examines how these tragic events helped propel Vladimir Putin to power. Asma talks to the host of the series, Helena Merriman. 
Producers: Viv Jones 
Executive producer: Bridget Harney 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
Photo: Moscow apartment buildings in the 1990s. Credit: BBC.

The mystery of Putin and the apartment bombs

The US and Cuba have for decades had a troubled relationship, with the former imposing sanctions and travel restrictions on its close Caribbean neighbour. Now, in its attack on Venezuela, and the capture of president Nicolas Maduro, the US has dealt Cuba a blow so significant that President Trump has warned the socialist state is, “ready to fall”. Today, BBC Central America and Cuba correspondent Will Grant explains the deeply intertwined relationship between Venezuela and Cuba, and how Havana’s government plans to stand up to Trump. Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel speaks during an event in support of Venezuela in Havana. Credit: Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA/Shutterstock.

Is Cuba next?

One year into President Trump’s second term, the White House is celebrating what it calls a year of accomplishments. Those achievements stem from significant policy changes that have reshaped life for many Americans. In this episode, we hear from people directly affected by two of the administration’s most ambitious efforts - tariffs and immigration - and how those changes played out in unexpected ways. 
Producers: Chris Benderev and Valerio EspositoExecutive producer: Bridget Harney Sound engineer: James Shield Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: President Trump at a press briefing to mark one-year of second term in office. Aaron Schwartz/EPA/Shutterstock

Trump’s first year back: for better and for worse

In Davos on Thursday, Donald Trump officially launched his new Board of Peace. Initially created to oversee the Gaza peace plan, the body has since expanded in scope. Led by Trump himself, the board says it will address global crises and conflicts. The initiative has raised concerns among traditional allies, while several controversial leaders have been invited to take part.We speak to BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner about whether it could even replace the United Nations.Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Valerio EspositoSound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Will Trump’s Board of Peace actually stop wars?

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seemed to challenge Donald Trump in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, declaring that “the old world order is not coming back” and urging fellow “middle powers” to come together. In response, Trump said Canada gets “a lot of freebies” from the United States and “they should be grateful”. After striking a major trade and tariff deal with China – the US’s rival superpower – is Carney emerging as the leader of a global resistance to Trump? And does he have an alternative vision for the world? We speak to Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s chief international correspondent. Producers: Aron Keller, Hannah Moore, Sam Chantarasak and Xandra EllinExecutive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins(Photo: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Credit: Jessica Lee/EPA/Shutterstock)

Is Canada leading the global resistance against Trump?

After weeks of mass demonstrations, Iran is reeling from one of the deadliest government crackdowns in its history. In a rare speech on Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admitted that thousands of protesters have been killed, "some in an inhuman, savage manner", but he also blamed the US for their deaths.President Trump urged Iranian demonstrators to “keep protesting”, promising that “help is on its way”. Yet the window for US military intervention appears to have narrowed while the Iranian government has largely quelled the unrest. Amid a near-total internet shutdown however, the situation on the ground remains unclear. In today’s episode, we speak with journalists in the BBC’s Persian Service in London, to unpack how anger over the economy escalated into a nationwide uprising that seemed to genuinely challenge the government’s grip on power. They walk us through the difficulties of covering these protests from outside the country, explain why the movement failed to topple the Iranian leadership, and explain what this means for the stability of the Iranian government going forward. Featuring Parham Ghobadi, Sarah Namjoo, Ghoncheh Habibiazad and Maryam Zohdi. Producers: Viv Jones, Aron Keller and Lucy PawleExecutive producers: James Shield and Bridget Harney Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A handout photo made available by the Iranian supreme leader's office shows Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran. Credit: Leader's office handout/EPA/Shutterstock.

Have the protests in Iran failed?

President Trump says he will, "100%" follow through on his threats to impose tariffs if a deal over Greenland is not reached, and responded "no comment" on Monday when asked whether he would use force to seize the island. 
 
Even if Trump’s attempt to control Greenland goes no further, has trust between the United States and its Nato allies been damaged beyond repair? We speak to the BBC’s world news correspondent, Joe Inwood. 
 
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Lucy Pawle Mix: Travis Evans Executive producer: James Shield Senior news editor: China Collins 
Credits: Love Actually (2003) / Dir: Richard Curtis / Universal Pictures 
 
Photo: A town in Greenland. BBC.

Greenland: Could the US regret alienating its Nato allies?

A right-wing movement in South Korea is attracting disenchanted young people who are concerned about mass immigration, lawfare and cancel culture. They sport red baseball caps, idolise Charlie Kirk and chant that “Korea is for Koreans”. 
 
The movement has rallied around the impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was sentenced last week to five years in jail for abuse of power, obstructing justice and falsifying documents in relation to his failed martial law bid in 2024. Yoon could also face the death penalty over insurrection charges, which he denies. 
 
The BBC’s Seoul correspondent, Jake Kwon, explains how South Korea found itself at the heart of a globalised culture war. 
 
Producers: Valerio Esposito and Cat Farnsworth 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Executive Producer: James Shield 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
(Photo: Jintak Han/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

How Charlie Kirk inspired a new Korean right-wing youth movement

For most of the years since World War Two, many global powers said they adhered to a rules-based international order. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House that idea is falling away. But did it ever exist in reality? And what’s the alternative now? 
 
The BBC’s International Editor Jeremy Bowen wraps up our week of special coverage. 
 
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Xandra Ellin 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
 
(Photo: Presidents Putin, Trump and Xi as Russian dolls. Credit: Yuri Kochetkov. EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The post-World War II era is over. What comes next?

When the leaders of the US, China and Russia look at Africa today, they see huge opportunity – an abundance of natural resources and a skilled, young population. But what does it mean for the continent when African presidents allow these superpowers the influence and investment they want? All this week, we’re teaming up with our BBC sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We’re talking about which countries have a sphere of influence, and which countries are in someone else’s. In today’s episode, we speak to Charles Gitonga from the BBC’s Focus on Africa podcast about three countries in Central Africa which have found themselves at the at the centre of a geopolitical tug of war. Producers: Hannah Moore, Aron Keller and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A soldier with the M23 armed group stands guard in Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Credit: Marie Jeanne Munyerenkana/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock.

How the US, China and Russia are vying for influence in Africa

All this week, we are teaming up with our BBC sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We’re exploring which countries have a sphere of influence, and which countries are in someone else’s. Today, we speak to Vitaly Shevchenko, co-host of Ukrainecast, about how Russia cultivates and controls its sphere of influence. President Vladimir Putin has called the Soviet Union's collapse "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century. Since he came to power in 1999, Putin has tried to exercise influence over what he calls Russia’s ‘near abroad’: the former Soviet republics in its backyard. Producers: Viv Jones and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Vyacheslav Prokofyev/ Sputnik/ Reuters

Putin’s pursuit of Russian greatness

How will China respond to a new era of US assertiveness? Could the spectacular events of Trump’s second term change President Xi Jinping’s calculations about whether to flex China’s muscles in Taiwan?All this week, we are teaming up with our sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We’re exploring who has a sphere of influence and who finds themselves in one.Today we’re joined by Mariko Oi, host of Asia Specific from the BBC World Service, and the BBC’s China correspondent, Laura Bicker.Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Valerio EspositoExecutive producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: China’s President Xi Jinping. Maxim Shemetov/Pool/Reuters

Has Xi Jinping outsmarted his rivals?

How are Donald Trump’s ambitions in Venezuela and Greenland changing America’s place in the world? President Trump’s key adviser Stephen Miller has said that we are living in a world “that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power” - so where has that philosophy come from?All this week, we are teaming up with our sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We exploring who is in a sphere of influence and who is being controlled by one.Today, we speak to Anthony Zurcher, co-host of Americast and the BBC’s North America correspondent, about what US history tells us about this moment.Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra EllinExecutive producer: Bridget HarneySound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Photo: President Donald Trump in front of the US flag. Credit: Shawn Thew/EPA/Shutterstock)

American influence from Monroe to Donroe

Throughout 2025, a massive youth protest movement took shape across the world. From Bangladesh, to Nepal, to Morocco, to Kenya, to the Maldives, young people were taking to the streets to demand, among other things, job security, improved standards of living, and the toppling of corrupt regimes. And in a number of cases their ambitious demands were met.Today we speak to the BBC's social media investigations correspondent, Marianna Spring, about how social media helped spark a movement that transcended borders, and where the so-called, 'Gen Z Revolution' goes from here.Producers: Xandra Ellin and Cat FarnsworthSound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Photo: A protester carries a banner featuring a Malagasy version of the logo of the popular Japanese manga One Piece, during a nationwide youth-led demonstration over frequent power outages and water shortages, in Antananarivo, Madagascar, October 13, 2025. Credit: Siphiwe Sibeko/ Reuters)

Will Gen Z protests around the world continue in 2026?

After his major military operation in Venezuela, President Trump has escalated his rhetoric about taking control of Greenland. Trump has repeatedly suggested that the Arctic island – which is a semi-autonomous Danish territory - should be part of the US. "We need Greenland from a national security situation”, Trump told reporters recently, “It's so strategic”. In capitals around Europe, leaders are now wondering if Trump might just follow through on his threats.We speak to journalist Adrienne Murray in Copenhagen to find out how Greenlanders and Danes feel about Trump’s comments, and what any US action on Greenland could mean for the future of Nato and Europe.
 
Producers: Viv Jones, Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin
 
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
 
Mix: Travis Evans
 
Senior news editor: China Collins
 
Photo: Danish troops take part in military drills in Greenland. Credit: Guglielmo Mangiapane/ Reuters

Will Trump take control of Greenland?

When the US government captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, on Saturday, most of the world was shocked. But US officials had for years been gaming out different scenarios, including predicting what would happen if Maduro was ousted. According to one man who took part, each ended in disaster. On today’s episode, we speak to the former Washington Post journalist Douglas Farah, who participated in war games on Venezuela during Donald Trump’s first term, as well as during the Obama and Biden administrations. Producers: Hannah Moore and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins 
Photo: A protest against US strikes on Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro, in Brazil. Tuane Fernandes/Reuters

The US ran a war game on the aftermath of Maduro’s fall – it predicted chaos

Who might have the power and influence to change the world in 2026? World leaders aside, we choose four people and discuss why they could intersect with some of the big stories and themes of the next year. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Sam Chantarasak Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Image: FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring a goal. Credit: Pablo Morano/Reuters.

People who could change the world in 2026

The Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are due to appear in a federal Manhattan court on Monday, after the United States captured them in a military operation in Venezuela. President Trump says the US will run Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition”. But Maduro’s allies – including its new interim president – remain in charge. We speak to Ione Wells, the BBC’s South America correspondent, about what might happen in the coming weeks and months. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Aron Keller Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Nicolás Maduro in an image distributed by President Trump which he said was taken on board the USS Iwo Jima.

What’s next for Venezuela?

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. Mistrust in science has never been higher. Fewer people are getting vaccinated, a known vaccine skeptic is leading the most powerful health agency in America and an outbreak of measels in Texas this year led to the first fatalities in almost a decade. Then, in August, a gunman opened fire on the headquarters of the Centre for Disease Control with many speculating he was fuelled by misinformation about health. Increasingly this misinformation is being exported around the world. Marianna Spring is the BBC’s Social Media Investigations Correspondent and tells the story of how suspicion of science in America helped radicalise a British mom with devastating consequences. 
 Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins 
 Photo: Kate Shemirani. Martin Pope / Getty

Are conspiracy theories America’s biggest export?

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. Are we living through the slow death of reading - replaced by an addictive screen culture that fragments our attention and floods us with trivial or unreliable information? Writer and voracious reader James Marriott believes we are entering a post-literate age with profoundly negative consequences for education, culture and democracy itself. In today's episode, James traces how an 18th century ‘reading revolution’ shaped the modern-world - and what might follow its sudden decline. 
 Producers: Aron Keller and Sam Chantarasak Editor: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins 
 Photo: The al-Nahda al-Arabiya library (Arab Renaissance Library) in central Baghdad. AHMED JALIL/EPA.

The death of reading

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. Donald Trump has spent this year trying to negotiate a deal to end the war in Ukraine. So far, Vladimir Putin doesn’t seem interested in the US’ proposals. One man who has experience successfully negotiating with Russia – and many other American adversaries – is Roger Carstens, former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. From 2020 to 2025 he worked to free dozens of US citizens taken hostage and wrongfully detained around the world, including Russia. Securing their release often required complex deals that took years to put together. 
 What does it take to successfully negotiate with Vladimir Putin’s Russia? 
 Producer: Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Senior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans 
 Photo: Roger Carstens. Credit: BBC

The hostage negotiator’s guide to making deals with Putin’s Russia

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. AI companies are seeing a monumental surge in investment – but some experts are now warning of the risks of an economic bubble. Could AI be the biggest market bubble since the dot-com crash? Or is it a genuinely transformative technology that’s simply taking time to deliver? We speak to the BBC’s Evan Davis. 
 Producers: Aron Keller and Xandra Ellin Executive Producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins 
 Photo: Artificial Intelligence mobile apps. Hannibal Hanschke/EPA/Shutterstock

Is the AI boom actually a bubble?

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. In 1994, Ukraine surrendered the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal, inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, in exchange for security assurances from the US, Russia, and the UK. Ukraine’s denuclearisation is often considered a huge success story in nuclear non-proliferation, but in retrospect, it may have paved the way for Putin's 2022 invasion. As talk of US-European security guarantees for Ukraine resurfaces in the context of tentative Russia-Ukraine peace talks, we speak with BBC Paris correspondent Andrew Harding about the history of the 1994 agreement, and consider whether Ukraine would ever again believe promises made to protect it. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins 
 Photo: France's President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ludovic Marin/ Getty

Nukes for nothing: The deal that broke Ukraine's trust

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. Apple is promising to make more products in the US, backed by a $600bn investment over the next four years. But after decades of relying on Chinese manufacturing that promise is going to be tough to keep. Today we’re joined by journalist and author Patrick McGee to discuss whether Apple can navigate the demands of Donald Trump’s America First agenda and disentangle itself from a made-in-China business model. 
 Producers: Hannah Moore and Aron Keller Executive producers: James Shield and Annie Brown Mix: Nicky Edwards and Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins 
 Photo: Apple CEO Tim Cook. Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters

Can Apple cut ties with China?

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. For much of the 21st century, our social lives have been shaped, at least in part, on the internet. But in an age of influencers, generative AI, complex algorithms, and politically entangled technocrats, some users say social media is growing less, well, social. So, is social media dead? Or is it just becoming something else? We speak with New Yorker staff writer Kyle Chayka about what happened to social networks, and what their transformation suggests about the future of media. 
 Producers: Xandra Ellin and Aron Keller Executive Producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior News Editor: China Collins 
 Photo: Social media apps on a phone. Yui Mok/PA

Is social media dead?

We are away for Christmas, so this is a repeat of a previous episode. In September, President Trump and the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a press conference in which they made extraordinary new claims about autism. They suggested a potential link between the use of Tylenol during pregnancy and the development of autism. They also advocated spacing out childhood vaccinations. 
The two men's interest in the link between vaccines and autism goes back decades but these claims did not originate in the US. They trace back to the UK in 1998, when disgraced former doctor Andrew Wakefield first published his now-debunked theory linking MMR vaccines to autism cases in children. The science journalist Adam Rutherford explains to the Global Story how the Wakefield vaccine conspiracy became the biggest medical disinformation disaster in recent history, and how these ideas found fertile ground in the Trump administration. Producers: Viv Jones, Valerio Esposito Executive producer: Annie Brown, James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: President Trump &#38; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

The disgraced UK doctor behind autism misinformation

Attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have broken UN records this year, reaching the highest level in almost 20 years.Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed a “minority” that “does not represent the large settler public”. Meanwhile, Israel’s security cabinet has just approved the recognition of 19 new settlements as the government continues its settlement expansion push.
 
We’re joined by the BBC’s Sarah Montague who has been speaking with Palestinians who say they are experiencing settler intimidation, and with a prominent settler who is a member of the Israeli parliament. 
 
Producers: Viv Jones, Valerio Esposito and Xandra Ellin Executive Producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Marty Peralta Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Israeli border police remove settlers near Hebron. Credit Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock.

Meeting settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank

Tensions between the US and Venezuela are reaching a dangerous tipping point. The Trump administration has accused president Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel and declared Maduro's government a “foreign terrorist organisation”. President Trump has also ordered a naval blockade of the country’s oil-sanctioned exports using what he calls “the largest ever armada assembled in the history of South America”.In today’s episode, we speak to BBC Mundo journalist, Jorge Perez Valeri to ask whether the escalating military rhetoric from Washington could be paving the way for war, and how Venezuelans, already grappling with deep economic hardship, are feeling about the prospect.
 
Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Lucy Pawle and Aron Keller.
Editor: Bridget Harney 
Mix: Marty Peralta 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
Photo: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro attends an event at the Mariche Metrocable station. Credit: Reuters.

Is Trump looking for war with Venezuela?

The promise of pore-free, glassy, youthful-looking skin has made Korean beauty products a global phenomenon. Americans spent as much $1.7bn (£1.3bn) on K-beauty in 2024, according to industry estimates, and the US now imports more cosmetics from South Korea than any other country. How did the South Korean government help K-beauty ride the soft power wave that has also brought us TV shows like KPop Demon Hunters, and pop groups such as Blackpink and BTS? And what are the risks of buying into the ‘perfect’ beauty ideals that the industry promotes? Today, we speak to Elise Hu, the host of TED Daily Talks host and author of 'Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital'. Producer: Hannah Moore Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Marty Peralta Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Model Lee Hyun-yi attends the photocall event celebrating the launch of AHC’s new product ‘Full Lift Eye Cream for Face’ at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu. Credit: iMBC/Imazins via Getty Images.

Why K-beauty is everywhere

After the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, Australia tightened its gun laws, and has since been considered a world-leading example by gun control advocates of how to lessen the chances of mass shootings occurring. However, the mass murder of at least 15 people in an antisemitic attack at Bondi beach on Sunday has again raised the issue of gun access, and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has said he is “ready to fight” to strengthen the laws again. On today’s show, Ariel Bogle, an investigations reporter with Guardian Australia, explains why the number of guns in Australia has been rising, and how stricter laws might be received in the country. Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Marty Peralta Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Photo of unregistered handguns that were returned to police, near Smederevo, Serbia. Credit: Dimitrije Goll /EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Why Australia’s gun laws aren’t as strong as you might think

President Trump says a Ukraine peace deal is ‘closer than ever’ following talks in Berlin with European officials and a delegation from Ukraine. But is it? As the fourth anniversary of Russia's full scale invasion approaches, no peace deal can be agreed without Vladimir Putin’s support. Can he be persuaded to accept anything short of a Russian victory? We speak to the BBC’s Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg.Producers: Valerio Esposito, Viv Jones and Xandra Ellin.Executive producer: James Shield.Senior news editor: China Collins.Mix: Travis Evans.Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin. Credit: Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Pool via Reuters.

What would it take for Putin to stop fighting in Ukraine?

Australia is reeling after its deadliest mass shooting in decades, in which gunmen opened fire on Jewish people gathered for a Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach in Sydney. At least 16 people have been killed – among them a 10-year-old and a Holocaust survivor. The massacre has triggered a reckoning in Australia and beyond.While some are asking how this horror could have happened, others believe an attack like this was grimly inevitable after a string of antisemitic incidents in Australia in the past few years. 
 
In today’s episode, we speak to the BBC’s Religion Editor Aleem Maqbool and the ABC’s Hamish Macdonald to explore why antisemitism has surged since October 7th 2023, and why many Jewish communities feel their governments aren’t doing enough to keep them safe. Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Lucy Pawle Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Rabbi Yossi Freidman at a memorial for shooting victims at Sydney's Bondi Beach. Mark Baker /AP

The Bondi Beach massacre and the rise of antisemitic violence

Fighting broke out last week on the Thai-Cambodian border, despite a US-brokered ceasefire in July. The conflict was one of the eight wars that President Trump claimed to have ended, so why did this peace deal unravel? We speak to Jonathan Head, the BBC’s southeast Asia correspondent, from Surin on the Thai side of the border.Producers: Xandra Ellin and Sam ChantarasakExecutive producer: Bridget HarneySenior news editor: China CollinsMix: Travis EvansPhoto: Thailand's Prime Minister watches as Cambodia's Prime Minister and President Trump shake hands. Mohd Rasfan/EPA/Shutterstock

Why Trump’s Thailand-Cambodia peace deal unravelled

**This episode contains descriptions of abuse and violence**In November, the Italian parliament voted unanimously to introduce the term “femicide” into the country’s legal code. The murder of a woman – on account of her gender – is now a distinct crime, punishable with a life sentence.The United Nations reported that last year nearly 50,000 women and girls were killed by intimate partners or family members.Italy is the latest country to adopt a specific law in an effort to curb violence against women following a string of brutal murders of young women.One of the most publicised was Giulia Tramontano, who was repeatedly stabbed by her partner while seven-months pregnant. Her murder - along with another case – sparked fierce outrage across Italy, culminating in the new law being passed.In this episode, we hear from Giulia’s sister, Chiara Tramontano, and the BBC Southern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford. Producer: Valerio EspositoExecutive Producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior News Editor: China CollinsPhoto: A framed photo of Giulia Tramontano at her funeral. Credit: Alessandro Memoli/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The murders that moved a nation: Italy’s new femicide law

Europe is facing the prospect of ‘civilizational erasure’. That is the official view of the Trump administration, as put in a radical policy document that was released late last week. The US government’s new National Security Strategy paints the most complete picture yet of who the administration sees as its allies and its adversaries, and it has left Europe’s leaders reeling. Today, we speak to the BBC's State Department correspondent, Tom Bateman, about how Trump has turned traditional US foreign policy on its head. Producer: Viv Jones, Lucy Pawle and Hannah Moore Executive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, 9 December, 2025. Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Why the US says Europe is facing ‘civilisational erasure’

This week, Syrians have been celebrating the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime and the end of almost 14 years of civil war. In the year since, the former jihadist turned leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has been on an international charm offensive. But has life improved for ordinary Syrians back home? And has Sharaa proven himself to be the reformer the west wants him to be? Today we’re joined from Damascus by the BBC’s international editor, Jeremy Bowen.Producer: Sam Chantarasak Executive producer: James Shield Senior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Photo: A young girl sits on her father's shoulders during a parade marking the first anniversary of the ousting of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Idlib, Syria. Bilal al-Hammoud/EPA/Shutterstock

How Syria is rebuilding after the fall of a dictator

**This episode contains discussion of bullying and suicide**Australian teens are bracing for a new law coming into effect this week that will ban social media accounts for anyone under the age of 16. The Government says the legislation is designed to protect the mental wellbeing of Australian children and teens – but it’s already proving controversial, not least among American tech companies and some politicians who see the ban as a threat to free speech. In today’s episode, we are joined by Katy Watson, the BBC’s Australia correspondent, to discuss how the country became a global test case for a bold new policy – and crucially, whether it will succeed. Producers: Cat Farnsworth, Aron Keller and Xandra EllinMix: Travis EvansSenior News Editor: China Collins 
Photo: A teen using her phone ahead of social media band for users under 16. Hollie Adams/Reuters

Will a social media ban for Australian teens work?

After an Afghan national was charged with shooting two National Guard members in Washington DC, President Donald Trump called for sweeping changes in immigration policy and pledged to "permanently pause migration" from all "third world countries". Afghan nationals, especially those who worked with the US mission in Afghanistan, may now find themselves in a particularly precarious position. 
Asma and Tristan discuss these rapid recent policy changes, and the BBC’s Mahfouz Zubaide shares recent reporting on how Afghans in America are getting caught up in the crackdown.Producers: Viv Jones, Xandra Ellin Executive Producer: Bridget HarneySenior News Editor: China CollinsMix: Marty PeraltaPhoto: People leave flowers at the scene where two National Guard members were shot in Washington DC. Credit: Will Oliver/EPA/Shutterstock

How the National Guard shooting accelerated Trump’s immigration crackdown

Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, is widely expected to award Donald Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize on Friday, at the draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington DC. The prize has led to scrutiny over Infantino’s close relationship with Trump, along with concerns that Trump might move matches from host cities and fears over visa delays or refusals for travelling fans and officials. We speak to Dan Roan, the BBC’s sports editor, about why Infantino is cosying up to Trump, and what it means for football and global diplomacy. Producer: Sam Chantarasak and Aron KellerSound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Image: Fifa President Gianni Infantino shows US President Donald Trump the World Cup Trophy in the Oval Office. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Fifa-Trump bromance

When China began cracking down on the spiritual movement Falun Gong in the 1990s, its leader and some followers moved to the United States. From there, they started the Epoch Times, a free newsletter.But in the past decade, the organisation has grown to become a conservative media empire – with a Pentagon press pass, a slick TV arm, and many millions of dollars in revenue. How did they do it? The story involves a mysterious spiritual leader, a dance troupe, and even a federal indictment.What does the meteoric rise of the Epoch Times say about how media and politics in the United States have changed in the last decade? We speak to Brandy Zadrozny, who has investigated the Epoch Times for NBC News.Producer: Lucy Pawle and Cat FarnsworthSound engineer: Martin Peralta and Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Members of the Falun Gong protesting in New York. Credit: Alex Segre/BBC Images)

How did a Chinese spiritual movement build a US media empire?

President Donald Trump has pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, a former president of Honduras who was serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking and weapons offences.It was only last year that Hernández was convicted in a New York courtroom of being part of a huge drug trafficking conspiracy, after being extradited to the US. Prosecutors said the operation flooded America with cocaine and turned Honduras into a “narco-state”. But Trump has claimed the investigation was a Biden administration “set up”, and Hernández is now a free man. As the Trump administration ramps up its military threats against Latin American drug cartels, including multiple strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, why has it pardoned Hernández? Will Grant reports. Producer: Xandra Ellin, Hannah Moore and Viv JonesExecutive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: Juan Orlando Hernandez being escorted by US agents for extradition in 2022. Credit: Fredy Rodriguez/Reuters)

Why has Trump pardoned Honduras’s drug trafficker ex-president?

Are we living through the slow death of reading - replaced by an addictive screen culture that fragments our attention and floods us with trivial or unreliable information? Writer and voracious reader James Marriott believes we are entering a post-literate age with profoundly negative consequences for education, culture and democracy itself. In today's episode, James traces how an 18th century ‘reading revolution’ shaped the modern-world - and what might follow its sudden decline.
Producers: Aron Keller and Sam Chantarasak 
Editor: James Shield 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
Photo: The al-Nahda al-Arabiya library in central Baghdad. (Credit: Ahmed Jalil/EPA)

Last June, Israel and the United States carried out coordinated strikes on nuclear and military sites across Iran in what became known as the 12-day war. 
 
The aim was clear: destroy Iran’s nuclear-enrichment facilities amid warnings that Tehran was dangerously close to developing a nuclear weapon. But conflicting reports in the immediate aftermath left the public uncertain about how effective the operation really was. 
 
Six months after the bombings, we speak with Parham Ghobadi, senior reporter for BBC Persian, about what the war actually achieved, the current state of Iran’s nuclear programme, and what daily life inside Iran looks like today. 
 
Producer: Viv Jones and Valerio Esposito 
 
Executive producer: James Shield 
 
Sound engineer: Travis Evans 
 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
 
(Photo: A US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Credit: US Air Force)

Whatever happened to Iran’s nuclear programme?

Pope Leo is on his first official visit abroad, and there are already signs he’s willing to use his position to speak out on controversial matters. His recent comments about abortion and the rights of migrants have created headlines in the United States, and raised eyebrows from some conservatives who see the first American pope challenging President Trump’s policies. It wouldn't be the first time that a pope has weighed in on politics. From Nazism to communism and the Cold War, from refugees to climate change, popes have used their position to influence global affairs. In this episode we speak to author and presenter Edward Stourton, who has covered religious affairs and the USA extensively for the BBC, about what power Pope Leo XIV has, and what lessons he can learn from his predecessors. Producers: Lucy Pawle and Sam ChantarasakExecutive producers: James Shield and Bridget HarneySenior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Image: Pope Leo XIV visits Ankara, Turkey on 27 November. Vatican Media Handout/EPA/Shutterstock

When popes get political

The backlash over the opening of Shein’s first brick and mortar store in Paris this month is just one in a series of controversies and complaints over the ultra-fast fashion retailer. As the company looks to go public, we explore whether its business model can withstand the world’s scrutiny. Laura Bicker, the BBC’s China Correspondent, tells us what she found in the Guangzhou factories supplying Shein, and co-host Tristan Redman heads to the Paris store. Producer: Hannah Moore Executive producers: Bridget Harney and James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: A customer shops at Shein in Paris, France. Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters

Shein: How the fast fashion disruptor ran into real world problems

Miss Universe 2025 has been rocked by controversies and chaos, from stage falls and contestants storming out, to judges quitting and allegations of vote rigging – which the organisers deny. The pageant – styled as a celebration of women of all backgrounds and nationalities – has suffered waning international attention in recent years, with many questioning the ideals of femininity it seems to espouse. Could the drama of this year’s competition get people watching again? BBC journalist and Miss Universe expert, William Lee Adams, joins us to discuss. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Hannah Moore Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins

The international drama of Miss Universe

A ceasefire took effect in Gaza just over six weeks ago, and although both sides have accused the other of multiple violations of the agreement, there has not been the return to full-blown war that many feared. But the ceasefire agreement that was signed in early October was not a complete peace settlement. It left many issues still to be negotiated. That ceasefire was part of the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. Last week, that plan came a step closer to reality when a resolution endorsing it was adopted by the UN Security Council. Within that 20-point plan - which covers everything from how to disarm Hamas, to who should govern Gaza – there are many sticking points that are still unresolved. We speak to Yolande Knell, the BBC's Middle East correspondent in Jerusalem, and ask whether Trump’s plan can still bring a permanent peace to Gaza. And what could happen if it fails? Producer: Viv Jones Executive producer: James Shield, China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Hamas militant in Gaza city. Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Can Trump’s Gaza plan turn a ceasefire into permanent peace?

American, Ukrainian and European negotiators met in Switzerland on Sunday to discuss a US-proposed peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was faced with a dilemma last week – either make concessions to Putin, or risk losing US support. But Zelensky said there were "signals that President Trump's team hears us", and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a "tremendous amount of progress" had been achieved. We’re joined by the Oscar-winning Ukrainian film-maker Mstyslav Chernov, and by BBC Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse, to discuss how Ukrainians feel about the leaked peace plan. Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky sits inside a vehicle. Credit: Susana Vera/Reuters.

The decision facing Zelensky

The US is essentially boycotting this weekend’s G20 summit in South Africa over accusations that the white Afrikaners are ‘being killed and slaughtered’ and that white farmers are having their land ‘illegally confiscated. The South African government say the claims are "widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence". Today we speak to BBC correspondent Andrew Harding, who lived and worked in South Africa for over a decade, to find out where these claims came from. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra EllinExecutive producer: China CollinsSenior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Photo: Afrikaner farmers rally to show support for President Trump in Pretoria, South Africa. Credit: Kim Ludbrook/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?

** This episode contains some very distressing details, including of killings, sexual violence and the experiences of children in war** More than 150,000 people have been killed and about 12 million have been forced from their homes since Sudan's civil war began in 2023.
 
But more than two years on, the reasons for the conflict are still not clear. And there are questions about why the international community - including the United States - isn’t doing more to try and stop the supply of weapons to Sudan, and to bring the fighting to an end. On today’s episode, we are joined by BBC Africa correspondent Barbara Plett Usher, who has been reporting on Sudan since the 1990s, and Nawal Al-Maghafi, a senior investigations correspondent, whose recent reporting from Khartoum has brought to light the particular tragedy facing children in this war. Producer: Hannah Moore Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior News Editor: China CollinsPhoto: A child who lost his leg due to artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), stands at a displacement camp in Al-Dabbah, Sudan. Credit: El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters.