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Fifth Floor
Racism for sale
Fifth Floor
Jun 17, 2022

BBC reporter Runako Celina tells us about her long search for the origins of a shocking video circulating on Chinese social media in 2020. It showed a group of African children being instructed to chant racist phrases in Chinese. The answers Runako found are in her BBC Africa Eye documentary Racism for Sale.

For the love of mangoes! We unleash the Fifth Floor mic in the BBC Delhi bureau where colleagues from the Indian language services share their love of mangoes, especially their local varieties. Thanks to Siddhanath Ganu of BBC Marathi, Sarika Singh of BBC Hindi, Khushboo Sandhu of BBC Punjabi, Brijal Shah of BBC Gujarati, Venkat Prasad G of BBC Telugu and Saranya Nagarajan of BBC Tamil.

New words and a culture shift in Ukraine 'Putler', 'Ruscists' and 'Anglo-Saxons': what words can tell us about the cultural shift in Ukraine since the invasion, and why some are 'changing their shoes mid-air', with Vitaliy Shevchenko from BBC Monitoring.

Bangladesh container depot blast The devastating explosion at the Sitakunda container depot near Chittagong killed more than 40 people and injured hundreds. BBC Bangla journalist Shahnewaj Rocky is from Chittagong and spoke with firefighters and some of those who rushed to help the victims.

Ventriloquist queen American ventriloquist Angelique-Monet became a queen in Nigeria after falling in love with a Nigerian king and marrying him. She lives in Eti-Oni in southern Nigeria where she and her puppet, Milk the Cow, entertain local children with their skills. BBC Africa's Youth News reporter Damilola Oduolowu caught her show.

(Photo: A Chinese greeting from African children. Credit: BBC)

More Episodes


Mar 29, 2024
From prison to president

After an election held just days after his release from prison, Bassirou Diomaye Faye is set to become Senegal's next president, and at 44, the youngest in the country’s history. From Dakar, the BBC's Khadidiatou Cissé and Thomas Naadi tell us more about the new Senegalese leader.

Banksy's new neighbour BBC Mundo's Carlos Serrano shares his experience of finding himself at the centre of a big news story, after a Banksy mural was painted outside his apartment.

Kashmiri carpet weavers In Indian-administered Kashmir, an ancient code called 'talim' was traditionally used to pass on complex patterns to carpet weavers. BBC India's Priti Gupta reports on how computers and AI are changing this, and the impact on the traditional carpet industry.

Brazil’s forest-friendly rubber tappers The growing interest in sustainable ways of exploiting the Amazon rainforest has created new opportunities for Brazil's traditional rubber tappers, who can get enhanced payments for preserving the areas where they work. Julia Carneiro reported for BBC Brasil on how the scheme works.

The Big Korean Dictionary The Korean language has been diverging between North and South Korea since the peninsula was divided. To keep track of the changes, an inter-Korean dictionary project was set up in 2005, with linguists from both sides. But worsening relations mean the project was suspended in 2015, as BBC Korean's Seonwook Lee reports.

Come with us! The Fifth Floor is moving and we would love it if you can join us. You can now find all our episodes on The Documentary, the home of original, global storytelling, from the BBC World Service. Search for The Documentary, wherever you found this podcast, and don’t forget to subscribe or follow.

(Photo: Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Credit: Getty)


40min 56sec

Mar 22, 2024
Women's radio in Afghanistan

As a new school year starts in Afghanistan, 330,000 more girls will be excluded from secondary education, one of the ways in which women and girls are increasingly confined to their homes under the Taliban regime. In light of this, BBC Media Action is running the Women’s Voice radio project, training women to make programmes for other women on vital topics like health, work and education. Getti Sediqi is one of the trainers in Kabul.

Isabel, the giant armadillo The giant armadillo, found only in Latin America, has been called a "ghost species" because it's so rarely seen. But thanks to one particular armadillo in Brazil, called Isabel by researchers, many discoveries have now been made, as BBC Brasil’s Giulia Granchi reports.

Haji Firouz: Nowruz controversy in Iran Iran traditionally heralds its New Year with a festive figure known as Haji Firouz. The jester-like character sings and dances through the streets but has become controversial because performers blacken their faces and hands, a practice many find highly offensive. Now the character is being used as a form of protest to highlight the ongoing struggle for women's rights in Iran, as BBC Monitoring's Sarbas Nazari explains.

No bidders for Aung San Suu Kyi's iconic house A failed attempt was made this week to auction the lakeside home of the detained Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. A court had ordered its sale after a long drawn-out legal battle between Suu Kyi and her brother Aung San Oo. BBC Burmese editor Soe Win Than explains the significance of this house, and the possible reasons why no bidders showed up.

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia's money glitch Ethiopia's largest commercial bank is trying to recoup millions of dollars' worth of currency after a 'system problem' allowed customers to withdraw unlimited funds. It's been reported that a large portion of the cash was withdrawn by students as news of the banking glitch spread around universities. Kaleb Moges tells us about developments.

(Photo: Nadia Shekib, journalist, producer and news editor at Radio TV Oboor. Credit: BBC Media Action)


41min 01sec

Racism for sale

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