The Global Story

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)

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

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

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

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

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 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

** 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.

The American lawyer, oil lobbyist and master strategist Don Pearlman is said to have chain-smoked his way through almost every UN climate gathering from the early 1990s until his death in 2005. Some of those who saw Pearlman operate in Kyoto, where the first legally binding international agreement on climate change was agreed in 1997, say he created the playbook for stalling climate talks. The Kyoto protocol was never ratified by the United States, and Pearlman is now the subject of a major play, Kyoto, which has just transferred from London to the Lincoln Center in New York. As the COP30 climate summit takes place in Brazil, we speak to BBC climate journalist Jordan Dunbar, who’s been trying to piece together the true story of the man once nicknamed ‘the high priest of the carbon club’. Producers: Aron Keller and Cat FarnsworthEexecutive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Don Pearlman at the Kyoto summit / BBC.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – MBS – will be welcomed at the White House on his first visit to Washington since the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi led to global outrage. MBS has always denied involvement in Khashoggi’s murder. Nevertheless, both he and Saudi Arabia were ostracised after the killing. Tuesday’s meeting between President Trump and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler will build on a relationship between the two leaders which has endured the scandal. But can both parties walk away from these strategic talks with what they want? On Trump’s part, some movement towards the Abraham Accords; and for MBS, a chunky defence package. We talk to BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner. Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: President Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Brian Snyder/Reuters

In the last 72 hours, comments from President Trump and his administration have sparked fresh debate about whether the US could – or should – resume the kind of nuclear weapons tests that were halted over 30 years ago.The current debate centres on whether Trump plans to test nuclear delivery systems, such as missiles, or nuclear warheads. The latter would be a major reversal of a long-standing policy, as the US has not tested a nuclear warhead since 1992, but it’s unclear what the plans involve.Today, Tristan speaks to Serhii Plokhy, a history professor at Harvard and author of The Nuclear Age, about what it would mean to return to an era of nuclear testing.Producers: Viv Jones, Xandra Ellin, Aron KellerExecutive producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: Mushroom cloud rises during Operation Crossroads nuclear weapons test. Reuters

**This episode contains themes of sexual abuse and grooming** Calls to release all the Epstein files are growing, after Wednesday’s bombshell release of over 20,000 pages of documents related to the sex trafficking scandal. The private messages released by the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have increased scrutiny on what President Trump may have known about Epstein’s behaviour. The White House has told the BBC the documents ‘prove literally nothing’. The furore continues to intensify, but there is one woman who has all the answers: Epstein’s long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell. So who is the disgraced British socialite and what is her role in the scandal? Today we talk to the BBC’s New York correspondent Nada Tawfik, who has covered the case for over a decade.Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Aron KellerExecutive producer and senior news editor: China CollinsMix: Travis EvansPhoto: Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. US Department of Justice/PA Wire

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’s proposals. One man who has successfully negotiated with Russia – and with many of America’s 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 in Russia. Securing their release often required complex deals that took years to put together. What does it take to successfully negotiate with Putin’s Russia? Producer: Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Senior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Photo: Roger Carstens. Credit: BBC

The BBC has this week been rocked by a series of controversies, leading its Director General and Head of News to resign, and President Donald Trump threatening to sue the corporation over an edit it made to his January 6th, 2021 speech in one of its programmes, which the BBC admits was misleading. How did the management of the world’s most trusted news broadcaster reach crisis point, and what does this tell us about today’s media landscape? BBC culture and media editor Katie Razzall explains. Producers: Viv Jones, Xandra Ellin and Hannah Moore Executive producer: James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsThis podcast was edited on 12 November 2025. We removed a reference to Donald Trump “threatening to remove BBC journalists’ access to his press conferences". This statement should have been attributed to a reported briefing by a senior White House official.(Photo: BBC headquarters in London. Credit: Andy Rain/EPA/Shutterstock)

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 KellerExecutive Producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior News Editor: China CollinsPhoto: Social media apps on a phone.Yui Mok/PA

President Donald Trump has warned that he will target Nigeria if the government there "continues to allow the killing of Christians". For months, campaigners and politicians in Washington have been alleging that Islamist militants were systematically targeting Christians in Nigeria. But how true are the claims that there is a persecution – or even a genocide – of Christians in the West African country? And how does Nicki Minaj come to thank him for his intervention? We speak to the BBC’s global religion correspondent, Lebo Diseko. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Cat Farnsworth Executive producer: Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: People walk along a street flanked by St. Joseph Catholic Church and Kano Road Central Mosque in Kaduna, Nigeria, 4 November, 2025. Credit: Marvellous Durowaiye/Reuters)

The man Donald Trump has called a "great leader", and who has long provoked admiration in MAGA circles, suddenly finds himself in an unusual position – at odds with the US president on an issue of critical importance. Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, is visiting the White House on Friday to try to resolve a dispute over Russian oil and gas. Orban wants to keep buying it, but Trump wants countries to wean themselves off Russian energy and help put the brakes on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Will Trump choose to keep an old friend close, or put pressure on Putin? We speak to Nick Thorpe, the BBC’s correspondent in Budapest, who has covered Orban since the 1980s. Producer: Viv Jones Executive producer: James Shield Senior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Suzanne Plunkett, Reuters.

Even before Zohran Mamdani was elected as New York’s first Muslim mayor, his critics frequently cited London as a sort of cautionary tale, suggesting that New York under Mamdani could go “the way of London.” That’s because London already has a liberal, Muslim mayor - Sadiq Khan. But is that where the similarities end? We talk to Tim Donovan, a former BBC reporter who covered London politics for decades. And we ask Mr Khan himself what it’s like to be a local politician with an international profile - especially when your most persistent critic, is a tenacious man called Donald Trump? Producers: Xandra Ellin, Valerio Esposito and Cat Farnsworth Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Image: New York City mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, waves to his supporters after winning the 2025 New York City Mayoral race. Jeenah Moon / Reuters

For years, Colombia has been one of the United States’ closest allies in the region – a key partner in the war on drugs. But now this relationship is coming under strain amidst a personal feud between President Trump, and Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro. In today’s episode, we speak to BBC Mundo’s William Marquez to examine the history of the US-Colombia alliance, and what might be at stake if it falls apart. Producer: Aron Keller Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Credit: Reuters/Luisa Gonzalez

The Trump administration faces a Supreme Court challenge on Wednesday over its use of tariffs, an economic policy that has upended global trade.This case, which has been described by the President in epic terms, questions the legality of Trump’s signature economic policy - and poses one of the biggest existential threats to his second term so far. In today’s episode, we speak to small business owners across the US, and to BBC business reporter Natalie Sherman, who will be at the Supreme Court this week.Producers: Hannah Moore and Valerio EspositoExecutive producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsImage: US President Trump unveils new tariffs on so-called Liberation Day. Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Discussion of nuclear weapons has returned both to our news cycle and to the cultural conversation. Last week, President Donald Trump said that the US would resume testing nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, several recent films and books imagine a near future scenario where a nuclear attack is threatened or carried out. Tristan talks to Carlo Masala, professor of international relations at the Bundeswehr University Munich and author of If Russia Wins. His book imagines a scenario where Russia attacks a Nato country to see whether the alliance will respond, risking a nuclear confrontation. Masala believes Russia is already engaged in ‘hybrid warfare’ with Europe, and he wrote his book as a warning to the west. Producers: Viv Jones, Aron Keller, Xandra Ellin and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsImage: A photo published by Swedish armed forces that it says shows a Russian mig-31 fighter jet that took part in the violation of Estonian airspace. Swedish Armed Forces/ Reuters.Credits: The War Game (1965) / Dir: Peter Watkins / BBCDr Strangelove (1964) / Dir: Stanley Kubrick / Columbia Pictures A House of Dynamite (2025) / Dir: Kathryn Bigelow / Netflix

On Thursday, Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China held a closed-door meeting in South Korea. The subjects of negotiation ran the gamut — from rare earth minerals, to fentanyl, to computer chips — and, according to President Trump’s subsequent news conference, the two parties reached a long-awaited deal. But exactly what did the world’s two most powerful men agree to? The BBC’s China Correspondent, Laura Bicker, joins us to discuss. Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin Executive Producer: Annie Brown Senior News Editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans IMAGE: U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they hold a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein.

The Trump administration has centred on Tren de Aragua – a Venezuelan prison gang – as a justification for cracking down on Venezuelan immigrants, and for several attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea. When President Trump designated the gang a Foreign Terror Organisation, and invoked a 1798 law that allows presidents to swiftly deport citizens of enemy countries, civil rights groups accused his government of using these measures as a way to deport Venezuelans without due process. Trump has argued he’s acting to "eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to US soil". We speak to Jonathan Blitzer, staff writer at the New Yorker, who has been reporting on how Tren de Aragua became a major focus of Trump’s domestic and foreign policy. Producers: Viv Jones and Aron Keller Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsImage: An alleged member of the Tren de Aragua in detention. Reuters.

After months of tense negotiations, President Trump has announced that he has terminated trade talks with Canada. The reason: a new Canadian TV commercial featuring an anti-tariff message from an old Ronald Reagan speech. The ad played during a World Series game and ran on various US cable channels, angering President Trump.The ad is just the latest skirmish between the US and its neighbour to the north. We speak to the BBC’s senior Canada reporter, Nadine Yousif, about how we got here and what the future has in store for the relationship between the two countries.Producers: Valerio Esposito and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: Annie Brown and James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: US President Donald Trump (R) meets Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney (L) in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington DC,7 October, 2025. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The controversial right-wing podcaster Candace Owens is being sued by the French president and his wife in a US court. The Macrons are accusing Owens of spreading a conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was born a man. So where has this theory come from?We speak to the BBC’s Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, host of the Fame Under Fire podcast, about what the Macrons are risking by filing the lawsuit – and whether it’s only adding more fuel to the flames.Presenter: Tristan RedmondProducer: Sam Chantarasak and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: Annie Brown Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: Candace Owens. Rebecca Cook/Reuters)

President Trump is in Asia this week to strike deals with several countries, including with China. One of the big questions overshadowing the trip is Taiwan’s future. China has long vowed to "reunify" with self-governing Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force. On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US wouldn’t abandon the island in exchange for a favourable deal with China. But a tug of war has been playing out inside the Trump administration over whether a military battle for Taiwan – if China did try to seize it – would be in America’s best interests. We speak to writer and analyst James Crabtree about what to expect from Trump’s visit to Asia and where Taiwan goes from here. Producers: Viv Jones and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Image: Taiwanese people observe the changing of honor guards in Liberty Square in Taipei. Ritchie B Tongo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock.

Giorgia Meloni is Italy’s first female Prime Minister, and her political star has risen rapidly - from working class roots in Rome, to becoming one of the most important and divisive leaders in Europe. A populist whose party has roots in Italian fascism, and who takes a hard right stance on migration and family values, she has formed a kinship with Donald Trump, who this month alone has promoted her autobiography and her speeches online, and called her “beautiful” on stage. In today’s episode, journalist Barbara Serra joins us to discuss Meloni’s increasingly crucial role in US-European relations. Producers: Hannah Moore and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: YOAN VALAT/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock

Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, the US has contributed billions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan for food and medical care – a lifeline in a country ravaged by two decades of war. But earlier this year, following deep cuts to USAID under the Trump administration, more than 400 USAID-backed medical clinics have closed, and for pregnant women in desperate need of care, the impacts are devastating. The BBC’s South Asia and Afghanistan correspondent, Yogita Limaye, tells us about the families she met on her recent reporting trip, and the lives lost because women did not get the care they needed. Producer: Hannah Moore Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsPicture: Taliban bans female medical education, Afghan female doctors and midwives face setback, Kabul, Afghanistan, 24 Dec 2024. Samiullah Popal/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

***This episode contains themes of sexual abuse and grooming*** The memoir of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's most well-known accusers, was published posthumously this week, repeating allegations against Epstein as well as Prince Andrew. The revelations come as Prince Andrew gave up his royal titles, amongst renewed and increasing scrutiny over his relationship with the convicted sex offender Epstein. Prince Andrew continues to vigorously deny all the allegations, but the loss of his titles is a big symbolic moment that allows the rest of the Royal Family to distance themselves from him. His downfall was accelerated by a disastrous 2019 interview with the BBC. We speak to the interviewer Emily Maitlis, now host of the News Agents podcast, about that day, and how Prince Andrew’s story gives us an insight into the ways in which Jeffrey Epstein functioned. Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Lucy Pawle and Xandra EllinExecutive producer: China CollinsSound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Photo: Prince Andrew. Credit: Toby Melville/Reuters)

The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed for 2 days as the police investigated a brazen heist which resulted in the theft of France's “priceless” crown jewels. Thieves wielding power tools broke into the world's most visited museum in broad daylight, before escaping on scooters with eight items of jewelry of great historical significance.Erin Thompson, Professor of Art Crime at The City University of New York, tells us about the crime that has stunned France - and the rest of the world. Producers: Viv Jones, Aron Keller, Valerio Esposito and Cat Farnsworth Executive producer: Annie BrownMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsImage: A security employee near the glass Pyramid of the Louvre Museum, Paris. Benoît Tessier/Reuters

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

On Wednesday, President Trump confirmed that he has authorised the CIA to take covert lethal action in Venezuela. The revelation came off the back of a series of US strikes on Venezuelan boats accused of transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea, which resulted in the death of 27 people in what some human rights experts are calling "extrajudicial executions". The US military operation has the region on edge, leaving analysts wondering whether this is just part of a new war on drugs, or a push to bring down the Maduro regime. The BBC's Will Grant briefs us on these latest developments, and the CIA's history in Latin America. Producers: Viv Jones and Valerio Esposito Editor: Annie Brown and James Shield Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Image: Miguel Gutierrez/Shutterstock

Reporting on the war in Gaza has only been possible because of the work of Palestinian journalists, because the Israeli government will not let foreign broadcasters – including the BBC – inside the territory to report freely, even now a ceasefire is in place. One month ago, freelance journalist Ghada Al-Kurd began sharing voice notes with us, talking about her life, her family, and her days reporting in Gaza City. Her job is dangerous – almost 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza in the past two years – and even with a ceasefire in place, safety is far from reach.Ghada has continued to report for us through her displacements, sharing her treasured memories of pre-war Gaza, and her fears and hopes for its future.Producer: Hannah Moore.Executive producer: James Shield.Mix: Travis Evans.Senior news editor: China Collins.Image: Ghada Al Kurd

“If there’s a fight, we’ll fight to the end”, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, of the increasingly fierce trade war playing out between the US and China. As President Donald Trump threatens imposing 100% tariffs on goods coming from China, his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, has restricted US access to its rare earth minerals – which are vital to producing everything from smartphones to fighter jets. With the two leaders due to meet in South Korea later this month, can they break the stalemate, or will they plunge the world’s two biggest economies into a global trade war? BBC China correspondent Stephen McDonnell joins us to discuss how the world’s two largest economies got locked in stalemate – and what it could mean for the cost of the goods we all buy.Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Hannah Moore Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Image: Russian Matryoshka wooden dolls, depicting US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

President Trump’s administration may have frozen foreign aid but this week it’s giving Argentina a $20 billion lifeline. It's a move his critics are suggesting is more about politics than sound economics. Argentina’s president, the chainsaw-wielding Javier Milei, is a friend and close ally of Trump’s. On on Tuesday, Milei will visit the White House to discuss the details of this new rescue plan. We ask the BBC’s South America correspondent, Ione Wells, whether Trump is ditching ‘America First’ economics to bail out Argentina, or whether this is a financial gamble that could pay off. Further reading: "How Milei's 'Thatcherite' economics divided his nation - but won over Trump" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9865l8540eo Producer: Viv Jones. Executive producer: James Shield. Mix: Neil Churchill. Senior news editor: China Collins. Photo:Reuters/Al Drago

Donald Trump is in Israel today on a victory lap after securing what he claims is the beginning of lasting peace in the Middle East. The Gaza ceasefire – and with it, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners – follows weeks of intense talks brokered by American negotiators. Some of the hostage families have credited the US president with achieving the ceasefire, but his team has more experience in the New York real estate world than in diplomacy. So how exactly did they achieve a deal? And will Hamas really agree to its next phase – disarming and having no role in Gaza’s future? Guest: Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent. Producers: Lucy Pawle and Sam Chantarasak. Executive producer: James Shield. Mix: Travis Evans. Senior news editor: China Collins. Image: A member of the internal security forces loyal to the Palestinian group Hamas, mans a checkpoint in the Gaza Strip. Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP via Getty Images.

Israel and Hamas have approved President Trump’s plan for a ceasefire and approved a framework including the release of all the hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Gaza. It is being described as the first phase of a wider agreement, but is the deal secure enough to last?We speak to Liran Berman, whose brothers Gali and Ziv are amongst the last hostages, Laila Ezzat Al Shana, a mother in Gaza, and the BBC’s state department correspondent, Tom Bateman. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Aron Keller Executive producer: James Shield Senior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis EvansImage: Reactions in Gaza after President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire. Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters

It’s been called ‘Australia's trial of the century’. Erin Patterson, the mushroom murderer, was sentenced last month and given a life sentence, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Both the prosecution and the defence are lodging competing appeals. Patterson wants her conviction overturned, and if her appeal succeeds there could be a retrial. Her prosecutors, however, say her 33 year sentence is ‘manifestly inadequate’ and they want to see her receive longer jail time.These are the latest developments in a story that has launched a flurry of true crime podcasts, books and documentaries. A TV drama is in production, and one of Australia's most eminent writers has announced she’s writing a book about it.The BBC’s Katy Watson talks us through how this suburban triple-murder story became the focus of the increasingly voracious true-crime industry.Producers: Viv Jones, Xandra Ellin and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsImage: Erin Patterson. AAP/James Ross via REUTERS

The billionaire Larry Ellison could soon control huge portions of America’s AI, attention economy and legacy media. He already owns swathes of AI infrastructure and is preparing to takeover TikTok, whilst his son, whose company already owns Paramount, is preparing a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. So who is this ‘CEO of everything’, and how is his family dynasty becoming the 21st Century’s Rockerfellers? Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Aron Keller Executive producer: Annie Brown Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison look on, at the White House, in Washington, US, 3 February, 2025. Credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

On October 7 2023 Hamas attacked Israel, taking 251 people hostage. Gali and Ziv Berman were among them – twin brothers who lived on a kibbutz near the Gaza border. They were 24 years old. Now, after 2 years they are among the remaining hostages still being held in captivity. But in the last few days the prospect of ending the war in Gaza and releasing the remaining hostages seems closer than ever. That possibility gives Gali and Ziv’s older brother Liran Berman cautious hope. Liran speaks to Asma at length about his memories of October 7th, his quest to get his little brothers out of Gaza, and who he will give credit to if the peace deal succeeds. Producers: Valerio Esposito, Lucy Pawle and Cat Farnsworth Editor: Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Image: Liran Berman by Valerio Esposito

Mediators for Hamas and Israel are set to meet in Egypt on Monday for indirect talks, after Hamas agreed to a US peace plan. It’s a stunning diplomatic breakthrough for Donald Trump, whose plan proposes an immediate end to fighting and the release within 72 hours of 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Today we discuss with the BBC’s State Department correspondent, Tom Bateman, how President Trump reached such a significant breakthrough with Israel and Hamas, and whether his approach to deal making could actually pay off. Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsImage: Gaza City on Sunday 5th October, 2025. Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

This week, some of the world’s most influential comedians have travelled to Saudi Arabia, for comedy festival organized by the government of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The bill for the Riyadh Comedy Festival includes superstars like Aziz Ansari, Dave Chapelle, Kevin Hart and Louis CK. And the event has attracted significant backlash, with critics accusing the participating comedians of helping Saudi Arabia to “comedy-wash” its record on human rights and free speech. We speak to the comedian Gianmarco Soresi, who has been highly critical of peers who chose to play the festival, and from BBC security correspondent and resident Saudi Arabia expert, Frank Gardner. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Valerio Esposito Executive producers: James Shield and Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins

On Monday, President Trump outlined his proposal for a peace deal in Gaza, a moment he described as ‘potentially one of the great days ever in civilisation’. In a press conference announcing the plan, the President name-dropped Sir Tony Blair and said the former UK Prime Minister would have a key role in the governance of post-war Gaza. Blair has been part of high-level talks with the US and other parties about ending the conflict. To many in the Middle East he remains a divisive figure who is remembered primarily for his role in the US-led invasion of Iraq. So how did Blair become a central figure in this latest plan to end the war in Gaza, and what does this tell us about diplomacy under Trump 2.0? Asma Khalid speaks to the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale, who charts the story of Blair’s involvement in the Middle East and his warm relationship with President Trump.Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Viv Jones Senior news editor: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Picture: Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair. Credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

After getting the red-carpet treatment at the UN in New York last week, the former al-Qaeda fighter who now leads Syria is about to hold an election. But is Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, really about to transition the country into democracy? Or does he have other plans? The BBC's senior international correspondent Orla Guerin joins us from Damascus, where she’s been speaking to Syrians about the country’s future. Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior News Editor: China Collins Image: Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Khalil Ashawi / Reuters

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 Image: Martin Pope / Getty

Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu visits the White House later today, as details from the Trump administration’s 21-point plan to end the war were revealed over the weekend. As Israel continues its offensive in Gaza City, Netanyahu has vowed to ‘finish the job’ against Hamas and shows little sign of making concessions to end the war. Netanyahu has a proven history of getting what he wants from US presidents – so will the same happen at Monday's meeting?Today we speak to the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet who has reported on Netanyahu for three decades.Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Xandra Ellin, Aron Keller and Cat Farnsworth. Executive producer: Annie Brown Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China CollinsImage: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

On Monday 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.Today on the Global Story science journalist Adam Rutherford explains 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 CollinsImage: President Donald Trump, in front of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., delivers remarks linking autism to childhood vaccines and to the use of popular pain medication Tylenol for pregnant women and children, claims which are not backed by decades of science, at the White House. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

On Tuesday night, Donald Trump signalled a drastic U-turn in his position on Ukraine, claiming in a Truth Social post that Kyiv could win the war against Russia, and take back all the land it has lost. The Kremlin was quick to dismiss his assertion, saying it has, “no alternative” but to continue its offensive. So, is this just another rhetorical turn from the US president, or has something materially changed in Ukraine’s favour? Vitaly Shevchenko, Russia editor for BBC Monitoring, joins us to discuss. Producers: Hannah Moore and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins

Heads of state and high-level diplomats have descended on New York to attend the 80th annual United Nations General Assembly. During a meandering address, President Trump railed against immigration and green energy, claimed credit for a spate of recent diplomatic victories, and questioned the legitimacy of the UN as an institution. How right is the president about the diminishing power of the UN? And what is his vision for a path forward?Today, Asma reports from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where she speaks to BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale and BBC New York Correspondent for the United Nations Nada Tawfik.Producers: Samantha Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: Annie Brown Sound engineer: Travis Evans Editor: China Collins(Photo: Donald Trump speaks during the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Credit: Sarah Yenesel/EPA/Shutterstock)