Beyond Today

President Trump’s order to pull US troops out of northern Syria last week was a little like pushing over a domino: it meant that Turkey could start an offensive against the Syrian Kurds who live in that region and who they see as a terrorist threat; it meant that the Kurds, who have been a crucial ally of the West in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, had to refocus on defending their own people against the Turkish onslaught, and it has plunged an already volatile part of the world into further chaos. IS thrives on chaos. So, could the increasing unrest in the region allow the group to re-emerge? Quentin Sommerville, the BBC’s Middle East correspondent, joins us to discuss.Presenter: Tina Daheley Producer: Harriet Noble Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

The Queen opened parliament today and set out the government’s main priority: to leave the EU by October 31st. Boris Johnson has set up his whole premiership on this very message, and one reason why is Nigel Farage. Now leader of the Brexit Party, Farage has always campaigned to get us out of the EU. Boris Johnson and the Conservative party are worried that if they can’t do this by the end of October they will lose votes to Farage in an election. To understand his enduring appeal we went to a Brexit Party rally in Watford. Presenter: Matthew Price Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Tech and the way it is shaping our future is a theme we cover a lot on Beyond Today. We’ve looked at facial recognition, sex bots, and the new tech cold war. Underpinning all these are rapid advances in artificial intelligence which are changing the power dynamics between states and citizens, companies and consumers.In this special live episode recorded at the BBC Media Tech and Society conference, Tina Daheley discusses the future of AI with Stephanie Hare, an independent researcher and historian, Jamie Bartlett, a technology writer, and Natalie Cargill, founder and CEO of Effective Giving.Producers: Seren Jones and Jaja Muhammad Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Edtior: John Shields

We have never lived in a more closely monitored world. Facial recognition technology is being rolled globally, including across the UK. Data can be acquired without a person’s knowledge, let alone their consent. There is a creeping paranoia and concern among human rights experts that advanced surveillance technology could fall into the wrong hands.We speak to Lokman Tsui, a tech expert and university lecturer in Hong Kong, who is living the midst of an increasingly violent protest movement paranoid about surveillance. We also catch up with Newsnight’s Gabriel Gatehouse, who has just got back from Hong Kong, where he met the young people willing to sacrifice their lives to fight against what they believe to be the oppressive application of technology from mainland China. They both explain why there are lessons from Hong Kong for all of us about the kind of technological future we want to live in.

*** Update: Adnan Ahmed's conviction was quashed on appeal after three judges ruled the verdict was a miscarriage of justice ***BBC reporter Myles Bonnar spent two days on the streets of London with "pick-up" coaches, being “trained” in how to chat up women and get them into bed. “Pick-up” culture goes at least as far back as 2005 when American author and journalist Neil Strauss released a book called The Game. Myles, who made a film for the BBC’s Panorama programme, tells us what he learnt on a seduction bootcamp. The coaches told him they are doing nothing wrong. And author Rachel O’Neill explains how the seduction industry has gone mainstream.Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Philly Beaumont and Seren Jones Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

In August a young man called Harry Dunn died when a car driving on the wrong side of the road crashed into his motorbike. The only suspect has left the country, and there’s nothing the police can do to get her to come back. Anne Sacoolas' husband works for the US government at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, and because of diplomatic immunity she currently cannot be prosecuted. The BBC’s Duncan Kennedy has interviewed Harry’s parents. And BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale explains why diplomatic immunity exists in the first place.Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Harriet Noble and Duncan Barber Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

In April 2018 the Home Secretary Amber Rudd resigned and delivered an unprecedented apology for the “appalling” actions of her own department towards Windrush-era citizens. It came 5 months after an investigation by a Guardian journalist into what has become known as the Windrush scandal. The scandal affected an unknown number of people who arrived in the UK as children from the Caribbean but were never formally naturalised or hadn’t applied for a British passport. We speak to Amelia Gentleman, the investigative journalist who broke the story and whose book The Windrush Betrayal: Exposing the Hostile Environment has just come out. We also hear from Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, author of Mother Country: Real Stories of the Windrush Children, about what Windrush means now. Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Jaja Muhammad and Philly Beaumont Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

“I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces”. This week Prince Harry released a strongly-worded statement attacking the way the press treats his wife Meghan. At the same time the couple announced they were taking legal action against the Mail on Sunday for publishing a private letter Meghan sent her father. And today we found out Harry is also suing the Sun and Mirror over alleged phone-hacking.Harry’s distrust of the press runs deep: as a child he witnessed his mother Princess Diana’s hounding by the media. Michael Cole was a BBC royal correspondent in the 1980s, and then became a spokesperson for Mohamed Al Fayad, the father of Diana’s boyfriend Dodi. He remembers the relationship between the press and the royal family in Diana’s day. And the BBC’s current royal correspondent Jonny Dymond assesses how Harry’s childhood has shaped his relationship with the press today.Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Harriet Noble and Seren Jones Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

With four weeks to go before the government’s deadline for leaving the EU, parliament is still discussing the best way forward. Was this crisis inevitable? One of the go-to places to decode all this has been the Talking Politics podcast. Helen Thompson is one of the hosts. She is also professor of political economics at the University of Cambridge and she came to the Beyond Today studio to untangle our uneasy and complicated relationship with Europe. She tells us about the key moments in our recent history that led to this crisis and why we are at a stalemate. Presented by Matthew Price Producers: Duncan Barber, Philly Beaumont Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Saudi Arabia’s 33 year-old Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has been described as a reformer. What he is selling to the outside world is a modern, forward thinking country that’s no longer dependent on oil. But one year ago today, the Saudi journalist and human rights campaigner, Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Istanbul. Now we’ve got the details of exactly how it happened. Jane Corbin who has spoken to some of the very few people who know about the hit squad who killed him and the cover up that followed for her new Panorama film. We spoke to her, and Amira Fatallah from BBC Monitoring, to explore what the killing tells us about how the rest of the world should deal with Saudi Arabia.

Impeachment proceedings have been launched against Donald Trump after a whistleblower said the US president pressured the leader of Ukraine into investigating one of his main Democratic challengers. In a telephone conversation Trump asked President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into Joe Biden, the man Trump may well face in the 2020 presidential election, and connections Biden’s son had in Ukraine. The whistleblower’s allegations mention Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani as the person who was essentially running the Ukrainian evidence-gathering operation. Giuliani was the ‘hero’ mayor of New York, guiding the city through the horrors of 9/11. But now he’s seen as a more-than colourful character wheeled out to defend his boss to the end. As the proceedings gain momentum, we ask The Atlantic’s White House correspondent, Elaina Plott, whether a phone call could bring down America’s most divisive president, and the details of a fiery exchange she had with Giuliani in the back of an Uber. Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Harriet Noble and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Nico Raufast Editor: John Shields

Parents Jake and Hobbit have taken the unusual decision to keep the sex of their baby secret. They say "gender bias is unconscious" and that this is the only way to mitigate against it, not even telling the child’s grandmother their sex until they were 11 months old. When Beth Mcleod covered their story for the BBC’s Inside Out West programme the couple received a huge backlash. We look into why they decided to go public, and what it is about both gender and parenting that provokes such a strong reaction.Presenter: Tina Daheley Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

At the end of another overwhelming week of news, it’s time for bit of perspective. Ten years ago philosopher Alain de Botton founded The School of Life, a collective of psychologists, writers and philosophers mulling over life’s big questions to its 5 million YouTube subscribers. Alain argues that the news doesn’t give us the information we need to live happy lives and explores why we feel lonely and why our relationships fail. He argues that secular societies have discarded the useful bits of religion and tells us why, when it comes to ritual, sacrifice, service and communion, we could do with bringing it back. Plus, the king of romantic philosophy tries a dating app for the very first time and explains why there’s no point even trying to find the ‘right’ person.

There were more than 700 allegations of sexual misconduct at British universities over the last academic year, according to an investigation by the BBC’s File on 4 programme. Since that documentary aired last week, the team has received a moving response from student survivors of sexual assault who came forward to speak about their experiences.The University of Leicester is one of the academic institutions which is trying to tackle the problem of sexual misconduct on campus. Despite investing millions into welfare services the university has received 29 reports of sexual assault since records began in 2015, including seven last year.In this episode we hear the stories of three University of Leicester students who are sexual assault survivors and who tell us what they’re doing to make change. We also talk to BBC producer Kate West about her findings from the File on 4 investigation. In the UK, the rape crisis national freephone helpline is 0808 802 9999. Further information and support for anyone affected by sexual assault can be found through BBC Action Line.Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Philly Beaumont and Seren Jones Editor: John Shields Mixed by Nicolas Raufast

On January 17 2015 at California’s Stanford University a young woman went to a party. A few hours later, she was found unconscious beside a bin. She had been sexually assaulted. To protect her identity in court, the victim was known as Emily Doe. We knew little else about her. We knew a lot about her attacker: he was Brock Turner, a student and swimmer, and his sporting prowess became part of his defence.The case caught global attention when BuzzFeed published Emily Doe’s 7,000-word victim statement. The post received 11 million views in four days, yet the writer remained anonymous. Until now. This month Emily Doe revealed herself as Chanel Miller, a 27-year-old literature graduate and artist. In this episode we speak to BBC reporter, Lauren Turner, who met Chanel to talk about why she wanted the world to know her name.In the UK, the rape crisis national freephone helpline is 0808 802 9999. In the US, the national sexual assault hotline is 1-800-656-4673. Further information and support for anyone affected by sexual assault can be found through BBC Action LinePresenter: Matthew Price Producers: Alicia Burrell and Harriet Noble Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg made a passionate speech at the UN this week, accusing world leaders of failing to act on climate change. She told them: "You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you."It’s hard to remember that a year ago we had not heard the name Greta Thunberg, that she was just a lone teenager staging her solo climate strike outside the Swedish parliament on Fridays. Now she’s having the camera trained on her to gauge her reaction as Donald Trump walks by and her speeches are being broadcast around the world.What Greta says is scary, but that’s the point. In this episode we speak to David Wallace Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth. David, like Greta, has spent a lot of time going through climate studies and talking to the scientists who’ve measured where we’re heading. In this episode he tells us how much our future remains in our hands.Presenter: Matthew Price Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

On Tuesday we’re expecting that the judges of the highest court in the land will rule on whether Boris Johnson’s decision to shut down parliament ahead of next month’s Brexit deadline was legal or not. Scottish judges have already declared it unlawfulJust a few weeks ago very few of us could name the most recent Supreme Court case, but it’s suddenly the centre of attention. The live-stream of the first day of the hearing there last week was watched by more than 4 million viewers making this arguably the World Cup final of constitutional law. Today we’re asking more about the remit of the Supreme Court: why cases about access to toilets make the cut, who is in charge, and how Supreme Court justice Lady Hale came to be nicknamed the ‘Beyoncé of the judiciary’. The BBC’s Dominic Casciani and former barrister and legal journalist Afua Hirsch have been paying very close attention to recent proceedings, and came to the studio to answer our questions.Presenter: Tina Daheley Producer: Lucy Hancock Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Emma Barnett’s becoming one of the most respected broadcasters in the country. She presents for 5 Live and Newsnight, and can make her interviewees - often politicians - feel very awkward just by asking them simple questions they stumble around trying to answer. Emma got in touch to ask us if we wanted to talk to her about periods, because she’s just written a book about them. And we said “yes please”.Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Philly Beaumont and Jessica Beck Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Dr Ruja Ignatova is the founder of the cryptocurrency One Coin that promised to change money forever. Within two years of launching the company she claimed to have 3.5 million members and hundreds of thousands of investors, with offices all round the world holding events and seminars in major cities. She even packed out Wembley Arena. But in 2017 Dr Ruja got a plane to Athens and hasn't been seen since. Georgia Catt, a BBC producer, and technology writer Jamie Bartlett have been on the search for Dr Ruja for the last year and have just started a podcast series about their investigation for BBC Sounds. They came into the Beyond Today studio to tell us all about her. Presented by Tina Daheley Producer: Philly Beaumont Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Purdue Pharma is the company that has become synonymous with the opioid epidemic in the United States. The firm, which is owned by the wealthy Sackler family, produces the highly addictive and highly profitable drug OxyContin. This week the company filed for bankruptcy. We trace the rise and fall of the dynasty from New York to Kentucky via Glasgow with Chris McGreal, author of “American Overdose: a Tragedy in Three Acts”.Presented by Matthew Price Producers: Jessica Beck and Harriet Noble Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Over the weekend the singer Sam Smith released a statement which read: “I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns to THEY/THEM.”Coming from a pop artist who has sold over 20m records, this felt like a moment where non-binary hit the mainstream. Sam’s post sparked a debate about gender, identity and language.Tom Rasmussen is a drag queen, writer and actor who identifies as non-binary, and Sam Smith credited Tom for helping them understand what it is to be this. We invited Tom into the Beyond Today studio to talk about pronouns, Celine Dion, and the trickiest conversations they’ve had with their mum. Producers: Lucy Hancock and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Eight years ago, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad began his brutal crackdown on opponents of his regime. Air strikes have long targeted hospitals, and in the last rebel stronghold of Idlib medics are being forced underground to survive.Waad Al-Kateab is a Syrian journalist who lived through this in the city of Aleppo. She filmed what it was like surviving as bombs rained down, living in her husband’s hospital and bringing her daughter, Sama, into a war-torn world. Now, with co-director Ed Watts, she’s made a documentary called “For Sama”. They came into the Beyond Today studio to share her story, while the BBC's Middle East correspondent, Quentin Sommerville, explains why this war crime is still happening.“For Sama” is now in cinemas nationwide and will be broadcast on Channel 4 in October. Thanks to Channel 4 News and ITN Productions for some of the audio featured in this episode.Producers: Harriet Noble and Seren Jones Mixed by Nico Raufast Editor: John Shields

Six years since it last aired, the TV series Top Boy is back. Although the show, which revolves around an east London estate and the people who live there, is entirely fictional it was lauded for depicting the reality of inner-city life. But even though its second series premiered to critical acclaim, Channel 4 cancelled Top Boy. It was only after an intervention by the Canadian rapper Drake that Netflix decided to bring it back. The creator Ronan Bennett came to the Beyond Today studio to talk about why he wanted to write Top Boy, the show’s revival and Drake’s involvement. We also speak to the rapper Kano about his character Sully and why the show is more relevant than ever. Producers: Seren Jones, Alicia Burrell Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

Fruit Medley, Cotton Candy and Buttered Popcorn may sound like options on a dessert menu, but they are actually vape flavours. President Trump has just said he wants to ban the sale of all non-tobacco flavoured e-cigarettes in response to an outbreak of a vaping-related illness that has caused the deaths of six people and made 450 ill. We hear from one of them Simah Herman, who shared a photo of herself in a hospital bed as an attempt to warn others of the dangers of vaping. The BBC’s health and science correspondent James Gallagher explains what’s behind the illness and just how dangerous vaping is, and Marie Baca from the Washington Post tells us about Juul, the biggest e-cigarette company in the US. Producers: Harriet Noble and Stephanie Gabbatt Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: Philly Beaumont

On the 24th of August, 19-year-old Uyinene Mrwetyana went missing in Cape Town. She had gone to fetch a parcel at the post office. A week later her body was found. She had been raped and murdered. Her death spurred a movement across the country with thousands of people protesting after the most deadly month for violent crimes against women the country has ever seen.Rebone Masemola is a women’s rights activist in Johannesburg. She talks about the daily struggles of being a woman in South Africa, while the BBC’s Johannesburg correspondent, Milton Nkosi, explains why the country has a deep-rooted culture of violence.Producers: Seren Jones, Jaja Muhammad Mixed by Nico Raufast Editor: John Shields

Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale , originally released in 1985, has become a modern-day phenomenon thanks to the recent TV series and explosion of feminist politics. Its sequel The Testaments was released this week with a Harry Potter-esque book launch on Monday, which saw fans queuing round the corner to get their hands on a copy.We hear from Deborah Frances-White of The Guilty Feminist about how close Margaret Atwood’s story gets to reality. And Marnie Chesterton from Crowdscience gives us the facts behind the real-life global fertility crisis.Producers: Jessica Beck and Philly Beaumont Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

In July eight people were convicted for their part in Britain’s biggest ever modern slavery prosecution. The gang were part of an organised crime group from Poland which enslaved hundreds of people.The victims were tricked into coming to the UK with the promise of work. When they arrived they were forced into menial labour, had no access to their wages and housed in rat-infested accommodation while the gang made an estimated £2m over five years. We speak to BBC Panorama’s Duncan Staff who followed the story with West Midlands Police, and interviewed many of the victims including Mariusz Rykaczewski, a former soldier who was enslaved, beaten and starved by the gang. He was one of 66 witnesses who provided evidence against the slavers. We also speak to Caroline Haughey QC, one of the country’s foremost experts on modern slavery and the lead prosecutor for the case. She explains how it took four years to bring the slavers to justice and why this case affects every one of us.Producers: Alicia Burrell, Philly Beaumont and Duncan Barber Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Malcolm Gladwell seems to be everyone’s fantasy dinner guest. Also a contender for America’s greatest intellectual, he’s a Canadian with roots in the UK. The writer and host of the Revisionist History podcast is back with a new book: “Talking to Strangers”. In it he explores what we should know about the people we don’t - and how some of the most infamous cases of recent history stem from people misreading each other. He came to the Beyond Today studio to talk about the importance of slowing down and his fear of running out of ideas.Producer: Lucy Hancock Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

MPs came back from their summer break on Tuesday and it already feels like months ago. A lot of politics has happened since then and what with the betrayals, the tears, and the memes it’s become the biggest reality show since Love Island.It’s difficult to figure out who is really in charge of events at the moment since MPs voted to take over the Brexit process from the Prime Minister. To help us understand what’s happened and to prepare us for what seems like an inevitable general election, with just 56 days to go before the Brexit deadline, we spoke to Tom McTague. Tom writes for The Atlantic and is co-author of ‘Betting The House: The Inside Story of the 2017 Election’.Producer: Duncan Barber. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast. Editor: John Shields.

Amid the Brexit chaos, there’s another story that went viral this week. A teenage boy in Bristol has lost his eyesight because of his poor diet. Since leaving primary school, he had been eating only French fries, Pringles and white bread, as well as an occasional slice of ham or a sausage. The story provoked strong opinions about what we should and shouldnt be eating.We speak to author and journalist Eve Simmons about our complicated national relationship with ‘good’ and ‘bad’ food. Robbie Davison, who runs a social enterprise that provides hot meals for people in poverty, explains what well-meaning people get wrong about poverty and bad diets.If you feel like you may be affected by issues in this programme, you can find support on the BBC Action Line - https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/Producers: Lucy Hancock, Seren Jones Mixed by Nico Raufast Editor: John Shields

A recent government survey found that 5% of gay people in the UK had been offered conversion therapy in order to “cure” them, and that 2% had undergone it. It’s a small percentage, but it’s still pretty shocking that the practice happens here at all. For a documentary for Radio 1 and 1Xtra, James Barr and Dan Hudson from the “A Gay and A NonGay” podcast travelled to Northern Ireland to find out more about life for LGBTQ+ people there. As part of the trip James had a taster of what it’s like to have gay conversion therapy, and they and producer Phoebe Keane sit down with Beyond Today to explore what it’s like, the devestating impact it can have, and why it’s still happening. Their documentary series “From Gay to Non Gay?” is available now on BBC Sounds. Producer: Harriet Noble Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his advisers have a plan for staying in power and getting us out of the EU. They are picking their way through it and today they held a special cabinet meeting to discuss calling an election. Tomorrow, MPs are back in parliament with a chance to stop them taking us out of the EU without any deal. While the politicians figure out their next moves the anger is growing on both sides and, whatever happens over the next two months, there seems no prospect of this abating. We speak to Sky’s political correspondent Lewis Goodall, who has watched the talk of coups and treason building at political rallies. We also hear from Jan Hofmeyr from the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in South Africa about how a country can reconcile its differences. Producers: Philly Beaumont, Lucy Hancock and Seren Jones Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Sara Pascoe’s first book explored the anatomy of the female body. Now the comedian has turned her attention to masculinity. Sara came to the Beyond Today studio to talk about her new book, what RuPaul’s Drag Race can teach us about gender roles, whether sex workers should be prescribed on the NHS and why men shouldn’t have to pay the bill on a first date.Producers: Alicia Burrell and Philly Beaumont Mixed by Weidong Lin

The prime minister's decision to suspend parliament prompted an angry backlash from MPs and opponents of a no-deal Brexit. It sparked protests across the country, a legal challenge and a petition with – at the time of writing - around one and a half million signatures. The government claims the five-week suspension in September and October will still allow time for MPs to debate Brexit.It’s another of those moments in the Brexit saga, and there seem to have been loads of them, that leaves people feeling pretty confused. When the news broke the Beyond Today team started getting messages from friends and family asking what on earth is going on?! People think that as we work at the BBC and it’s our job to follow Brexit, we have the answers. But it’s all become so complicated that honestly, we’re not sure anymore. So we compiled the questions we were sent, added some of our own, and put them to Chris Morris from the BBC’s Reality Check team.Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

Wildfires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest are burning at a record rate. It’s caused global anger and anxiety with more than three million people sharing the hashtag #PrayforAmazonia. Criticism has been directed at the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro for failing to protect the rainforest and rejecting $22 million of aid money. In this episode we look at who has ownership over the Amazon and other places of environmental importance like the Arctic. We speak to Jon Lee Anderson, a journalist at the New Yorker Magazine who has been visiting indigenous people in Brazil for years. We also hear from BBC journalist Camilla Veras Mota who last week travelled to see the fires in Porto Velho. And Juliana Gragnani from the BBC’s Brazilian service tells us what Brazilians make of all the outside attention and who they blame for the fires.Producer: Duncan Barber. Mixed by Andy Mills. Editor: John Shields.

One year ago, a 15-year-old girl from Sweden started protesting outside the Swedish parliament, urging the government to pay attention to the world’s climate crisis. Now Greta Thunberg has become the face of environmental activism. Two weeks ago, when Greta set sail to America on a zero carbon boat, the internet exploded with some fairly vicious commentary. She was called a ‘pig-tailed school drop-out’ and climate change advocates rushed to, sometimes just as viciously, defend her. This week her boat is due to arrive in New York, hometown of fossil fuel champion, US president Donald Trump, what will happen next nobody yet knows. In this episode, we hear from Justin Rowlatt who met her when she was last on dry land in Plymouth and Swedish journalist who knows all about her family background. We’ll also hear from writer Julian Baggini, who is worried about Greta’s role in the culture wars. How could pinning too much on one teen activist be oversimplifying the climate problem?Producers: Seren Jones, Lucy Hancock Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

In this re-release of one of our favourite recent episodes, Tina speaks to filmmaker Louis Theroux. Back in July he came in to tell us about his documentary Surviving America’s Most Hated Family and why, 13 years on, he’s still interested in the Westboro Baptist Church. We also talk to him about nudity, why he’s not into hallucinogenic drug rituals, the problem with no-platforming and how he became the most widely meme-d journalist in Britain.

Tina Daheley speaks with Mobeen Azhar, a journalist and filmmaker for the BBC who travelled to Portland, Oregon to make a film about the death of a 19-year-old African American. The footage of Larnell Bruce running for his life went viral at the time, raising alarm about white supremacy. But in Oregon, Mobeen uncovered a story far more complex than he’d ever anticipated.Produced by Jessica Beck Mixed by Weidong Lin Edited by John Shields

This week, Manchester United footballer, Paul Pogba received racial abuse online from anonymous accounts after he missed a penalty. He’s the third player in a week to be racially abused on social media following a penalty miss. In response, teammate Harry Maguire tweeted that social media users should have to verify their identity before opening an account.Kerry Allen is a media analyst covering China for BBC Monitoring. She explains how social media works in a country where ID checks are enforced on social media. Bernie Hogan from the Oxford Internet Institute focuses on the role of design in social media. He tells us how the format of a social media platform can affect how we nice are to each other. Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

Last week around a hundred people in Iceland walked up the side of a windswept rocky mountain to attend the funeral… of a glacier. Okjokull’s death was a result of climate change, and scientists predict that within 200 years all of Iceland’s glaciers will go the same way. So, what does the death of Okjokull mean for a country whose national identity is woven into its frozen landscape? And, why is ice melting in the subarctic a warning to the rest of the world? We speak to the author Andri Snaer Magnusson about how you write a eulogy to a glacier, and what Okjokull’s death means to Iceland and its future. We also talk to climate scientist Ruth Mottram from the Danish Meteorological Institute about the science behind melting ice sheets and why the death of Ok should matter to us all.Producers: Alicia Burrell and Jessica Beck Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

Office space company We Work have just released their prospectus ahead of their stock market flotation next month. Their vision of the future of work is a utopian one forged from the Silicon Valley tech boom. It’s a vision of work-based community that some say creates a culture of ‘hustle porn.’ We speak to Wall Street Journal business podcast presenter Kim Gittleson about whether they can deliver on their promises. We also speak to Maddy Savage about modern work culture and how striving for perfection has permeated many aspects of millennial life. She reports from Sweden, the capital of work-life balance, where a growing number of young people are seeking help for clinical ‘burnout.’Producers: Lucy Hancock, Duncan Barber, Sean Allsop Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

Earlier this month, India imposed a media blackout in Kashmir while they stripped the region of its autonomy, causing panic, outrage and protests. As the tensions between India and Pakistan escalate, we look at how we got here and what could happen next. And what does Priyanka Chopra have to do with it? Yogita Limaye, the BBC’s India correspondent, and BBC Pakistan and Afghanistan Correspondent Secunder Kermani assess whether the intractable conflict can ever be solved.Producers: Harriet Noble, Jessica Beck and Duncan Barber Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

Arous was an idyllic holiday resort on Sudan’s Red Sea coast, a slice of paradise offering an escape to up to 30 scuba-diving tourists in the late 1970s and early 1980s. But it held a secret, one so outlandish it’s just been made into a Netflix movie. The BBC news website’s Middle East Editor Raffi Berg tells us a tale of espionage, exodus and wind-surfing. Producer: Harriet Noble Mixed by Weidong Lin Editor: John Shields

Everyone who has heard the story of a woman on a Tinder date spending £15,000 on wine at the Shard seems to have loved it. The voice note has whipped around social media. But as soon as you’ve heard it you start to wonder if it’s true. Nesta McGregor from Radio 1’s Newsbeat tells us how some fairly basic research revealed it as false. We pick up the investigation and attempt to track down the source of the story while David Robson, author of ‘Intelligence Trap’, tells us about the origins and enduring appeal of urban myths.Producers: Lucy Hancock and Jaja Muhammad Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

The average student debt after a three year degree course in England is £50,000. It’s a large sum that can be off-putting when you hear tales of jobless graduates and self-made entrepreneurs. Student debt is lower in Wales and Northern Ireland and less still in Scotland where you don’t pay fees, but even here student debt has doubled in the last decade.In this episode we speak to Natalie Olah. She’s written a book - based on her experience at university and after - called ‘Steal As Much As You Can’. It’s a sort of self-help guide aimed at people from less well-off backgrounds navigating higher education and professional life.We also speak to Chris Havergal, news editor at the Times Higher Education Supplement, about the options young people have as students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland get their A Level results this week, as do those studying level 3 BTEC qualifications.Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Weidong Lin Editor: John Shields

The financier Jeffrey Epstein was in a Manhattan prison awaiting trial for sex trafficking when he was found dead in his cell last weekend. The multi-millionaire moved in the richest social circles with people like Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. But with his death, apparently by suicide, how much can we really know? And will his victims ever find justice? Nada Tawfik, the BBC reporter in New York following the case, tells us the details of Epstein’s life and crimes. And we hear from Spencer Kuvin, an attorney who represented some of Epstein’s victims. Producers: Harriet Noble and Jessica Beck Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Last week Championship side Derby County announced Wayne Rooney, the former England captain, would be joining the team as a player-coach on a reported £100,000-a-week contract and will wear the number 32. Derby also secured a “record-breaking sponsorship” deal with the online casino 32Red. The news has raised questions about football’s links to gambling at a time when the industry is booming and smartphones have made it easier to place bets than ever before. So, is the transfer more than just a savvy football deal? BBC 5Live reporter Katie Shanahan tells us about the two teams — Huddersfield and Derby — who collaborated with betting firms this summer. We also speak to sport finance expert Dr Dan Plumley about how much the gambling industry contributes, and comedian Lloyd Griffith about what a healthier relationship between football and the bookies could look like. Producers: Alicia Burrell and Duncan Barber. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast. Editor: John Shields. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem visit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/

Cyntoia Brown was 16 when she was jailed for life for murder. This week she walked free after the Governor of Tennessee granted her clemency. She was backed by a number of powerful celebrities including Kim Kardashian who used social media to highlight her case as part of a campaign to get young black Americans out of unfair jail sentences. We speak to Samantha Schmidt from the Washington Post about the details of the case. We also hear from Kevin Sharp, former judge who went to the White House with Kim Kardashian. Producers: Philly Beaumont, Jessica Beck Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

“There is no plan for no deal because we are going to get a great deal.” That’s what Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, said in July 2017. A no-deal Brexit was once a fringe idea, but it’s now what Johnson’s government is working towards to fulfil his pledge to leave the EU by the end of October.So has no deal become inevitable? Daniel Kraemer has been working on this for the last four months in the BBC’s Westminster newsroom. He tells us how Brexit has come down to a political showdown between two middle aged Conservative politicians called Dominic – one working towards no deal and the other trying to stop it. We also hear about the emotional appeal of no deal from Fintan O’Toole, the Irish journalist and author of ‘Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain’. Producer: Duncan Barber. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast. Editor: John Shields.

Boris Johnson’s government is “turbo-charging” plans for leaving the EU without a deal at the end of October. People are asking each other if we’re going to have enough food, whether they should be stockpiling tins and if it’s going to cost more money. Companies are stockpiling ingredients and today supermarkets have asked the government to change the law so they can work together to stop stuff running out after 31 October. David Gregory-Kumar tells us lamb farmers are particularly worried that a new tariff on exports could lead to a mass cull of Brexit lambs. We also speak to Daniel Saladino about what fresh tomatoes tell us about the intricate food system we’ve built, and in what way we rely on Europe for the sunshine, the labour and even the bees that fertilise our food.