At the outset of the war in Iran, US President Donald Trump suggested that regime change was one of its goals. He later said it had been had achieved, a claim that is disputed by critics who point out that the same repressive forces in Iran still hold power.

American attempts at regime change in Iran have a long history. In 1953 the CIA, assisted by British intelligence, led a deadly coup that toppled Iran’s last democratically elected leader. It’s a moment in history that poisoned US-Iranian relations, and helped launch the theocratic revolution to come. But the immediate success of ‘Operation Ajax’ would convince the CIA to carry out a wave of similar plots around the world.

We get the full story from Scott Anderson, author of King of Kings: The Fall of the Shah and the Revolution That Forged Modern Iran.

Producers: Viv Jones and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Supporters of the Shah of Iran in Tehran, 1953. Credit (Getty/Bettmann)

**Warning: this episode includes discussions of sexual abuse, suicide and upsetting scenes**

In just the last few years, AI chatbots have become routine aspects of many people’s everyday lives. They are being used as search engines, agony aunts, and sources of companionship.

In rare cases though, AI chatbots have sent users down a dark path. In a new BBC investigation, population correspondent Stephanie Hegarty speaks to people who have experienced delusions after talking to chatbots – including one man who grabbed a hammer and prepared for war after his chatbot told him it was sentient.

Producers: Valerio Esposito, Viv Jones and Xandra Ellin

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Studio manager: Jonathan Greer

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Adam Hourican. Credit: BBC.

It’s been a year since billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk left his informal position in President Trump’s White House in May 2025. But behind the scenes, Musk has been busy.

Musk has spent the last few weeks in a California courtroom, where he is suing his former business partner, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In January, Musk applied for permission with the US government to launch a million satellites into orbit, some of which he says will serve as solar AI data centres. And he is preparing to take his company SpaceX public, with an estimated valuation of over $1 trillion.

Though his political presence has waned, is it possible that Elon Musk is more powerful than ever? We speak to the BBC’s North America technology correspondent Lily Jamali about what the world’s richest man has been up to since leaving the White House.

Producers: Xandra Ellin and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Elon Musk appears in the courthouse during the OpenAI trial. Credit: Reuters/Manuel Orbegozo