A record 48 teams competed at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Now, with the tournament nearing the final on Sunday, 46 nations have been eliminated, leaving millions of fans to process their team’s defeat.

Football has an extraordinary ability to unite people. Fans have travelled across the world to support their teams, while millions more have gathered in homes, pubs and public spaces to share every moment together. Victory brings elation, celebration and national pride. But defeat can trigger equally powerful emotions – disappointment, anger, grief and even a sense of emptiness. So why do football results affect us so deeply?

In this episode, Martha Newson, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Greenwich, explains the psychology behind our emotional investment in the beautiful game. We also hear from football fans in Belgium, Egypt, England and France about what it felt like to watch their teams lose on the biggest stage.

ADHD is a condition that causes difficulties with things like concentrating, regulating emotions and sitting still. And many young women living with ADHD say their symptoms worsen during specific periods of their menstrual cycle.

Now, a first of its kind study by Queen Mary University and Kings College in London is putting that potential link to the test. They’re asking around 50 women who have ADHD and are taking medication for it to track their menstrual cycle and the impact it has on their ADHD symptoms, and daily life more broadly.

Dr Jessica Agnew-Blais, lead academic on the study, explains the motivations behind her work and why past ADHD studies have focused mostly on men and boys. We also hear from two women living with ADHD who explain how their symptoms change during their menstrual cycle.

Sickle cell is a genetic blood condition that can cause severe pain, extreme tiredness and serious health complications. It mainly affects people of African and Caribbean heritage, and for many, it's something they've had to live with their whole lives. But that could be changing.

We meet Daniel Cressy, a young man from Louisiana whose dream is to become a pilot. After years of living with sickle cell, he received a ground-breaking treatment that has effectively cured him. He shares what life was like before and what it's like now to be sickle cell free.

We'll also hear from Dr Steven Okoli, who breaks down how these new treatments work and what needs to happen to make them available to more people across the world. Could we be entering a future where sickle cell is no longer a lifelong condition?