This week BBC cameraman Ron Skeans was attacked at a rally for President Donald Trump in Texas. A man in a Make America Great Again hat pushed him over and shouted “F*** the media”. It was a shocking incident for Ron and his colleagues but, given the frequency and ferocity of the President’s criticisms of the mainstream media, perhaps not unexpected. Correspondent Gary O’Donoghue and producer Eleanor Montague were with Ron in El Paso and explain what happened and why it matters. This episode con...
Feb 15, 2019•19 min
It’s 14 February, in theory the most romantic day of the year, but not so fun if you’re single. Is there a rational way to find love in the era of big data? Justin Rowlatt presents Business Daily on the BBC World Service and has spoken to a multi-millionaire Ed Conard, who says he has the business-like answer. We also hear from Dr Helen Fisher from the Kinsey Institute, who is also the scientific advisor for the dating site Match.com. She tells us about the science behind attraction. Read more a...
Feb 14, 2019•17 min
This week we heard that we are in the middle of a biodiversity crisis, but are we in a position to save the bugs, and ourselves, from extinction? We hear from biologist Adam Hart and go back to the grandma of environmentalism, Rachel Carson, to find out why we need bugs to survive and what we can do to save them. Thanks to Audible and Recorded Books for allowing us to play Silent Spring. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Producers: Lucy Hancock and Philly Beaumont Editor: John Shields
Feb 13, 2019•19 min
Hungarian women with four or more children won’t have to pay income tax for the rest of their working lives, according to a plan announced by the country’s prime minister Viktor Orban. He says it’s to reverse Hungary’s falling population rate, critics argue it’s a way of controlling immigration. We speak to the BBC’s Nick Thorpe, who lives and works in Budapest with his 5 children. And we also hear from author Thomas Chatterton Williams who is writing a book on racial identity, about what links ...
Feb 12, 2019•19 min
The fact that a rich, powerful man had an affair and is getting divorced shouldn’t be of more than passing interest. But with the Amazon boss Jeff Bezos things are a bit different. Not only is there the eye-watering amount of money involved, he’s worth around $130bn, but the story took a remarkable turn last week when he published a blog post revealing he was being blackmailed with dirty photos he’d sent his mistress. If the world’s richest man can’t protect his privacy, what hope is there for t...
Feb 11, 2019•22 min
With the trend in anti-Semitism and the growth of far-right politics sweeping through Europe, it’s a worrying time to be Jewish. But young Jews in Germany have found a place to celebrate Jewish culture. Last weekend in Frankfurt, Jews from all over Europe flocked to ‘Jewrovision’ to celebrate their identity in the most joyful way. Lucy Hancock and Amie Liebowitz joined the party.
Feb 08, 2019•17 min
The impact of social media on our mental health has been creeping into the news headlines. Politicians have been quick to challenge tech companies, calling for better regulation following the suicide of 14 year old, Molly Russell. We talk to Dr Bex Lewis of Manchester Metropolitan University, Dr Cal Newport of Georgetown University and an experimental psychologist from the Oxford Internet Institute, Prof Andrew Przybylski, to find out what effect all that unlimited and unregulated content really...
Feb 07, 2019•21 min
How far are you prepared to go to stand up for your beliefs? Two years ago, Ruth Potts and Mel Evans were part of a group that cut through an airport security fence and chained themselves to a Boeing 767. They did it to stop the Home Office deporting 60 people on a flight to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Along with the 13 other people they did this with, they became known as the Stansted 15 after being found guilty of endangering the safety of an aerodrome. They were sentenced today, followin...
Feb 06, 2019•21 min
It’s been called the trial of the century. The Mexican drug kingpin El Chapo has been in court in New York for the past few months accused of smuggling hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States. The trial has given us the best glimpse yet into life inside one of the world’s biggest drugs gangs - the Sinaloa Cartel named after the state in Mexico where it was founded. If you wrote a Hollywood movie about a notorious drug lord it wouldn’t be far off what we’ve found out about the life o...
Feb 05, 2019•19 min
A mother was convicted last week of mutilating her 3 year old daughter’s genitals. It’s been illegal for more than 30 years, but the women, who can’t be named, is the first person to be convicted of FGM. She’ll be sentenced next month. Anna Collinson and Jessica Furst work for the Victoria Derbyshire programme, they tell us how they got caught up in the story when they received an email about the case. We also hear from Nimco Ali, who is a leading campaigner against FGM. She tells us about her e...
Feb 04, 2019•19 min
In the past few years what we think of as normal has changed completely. Ideas and personalities once considered fringe have become mainstream and extreme attitudes seem more acceptable. So who defines the new normal and what will the consequences be? We speak to Peter Pomerantsev from the London School of Economics, who has made a documentary for Radio 4 on the subject. He’s also the author of "Nothing is True and Everything is Possible". He tells us why politicians and the media need to change...
Feb 01, 2019•21 min
Once a futuristic symbol of all that Venezuela could become, a building called El Helicoide in the country’s capital is now the headquarters of the intelligence services and a prison for political prisoners. We speak to Karenina Velandia, who has been investigating the prison, about the dramatic collapse of the once-wealthy country she grew up in. You can read her report here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-46864864 Producer: Heidi Pett
Jan 31, 2019•18 min
Apple reported falling sales of the iPhone this week. A category-defining product since its launch in 2007, other smartphone makers have largely been playing catch up. The company is blaming a slowdown in China for the fall in revenues, but it also faces serious competition on price and design from China and beyond. Jen Copestake from BBC Click assesses Apple’s dwindling dominance and what that could mean for the company and its customers. Producers: Duncan Barber and Philly Beaumont....
Jan 30, 2019•19 min
We’ve been hearing a lot about R. Kelly since a documentary came out in the US earlier this month detailing allegations of abuse and sex with underage girls, spanning several decades. These are allegations he denies. We spoke to veteran music reporter Jasmine Dotiwala, documentary maker Joyce Trozzo, and Hollywood music lawyer Dina LaPolt to explore whether things are really going to change in the music industry.
Jan 29, 2019•20 min
When 15 year old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died after eating a baguette from Pret containing sesame seeds, a campaign to get better food labelling was launched. Now the Government has started a consultation into strengthening current labelling laws to protect allergy sufferers. But are we getting more allergic to food and what scientific research is being done to find out why some people have more extreme reactions than others? The BBC’s health and science correspondent James Gallagher takes us th...
Jan 28, 2019•19 min
Korean culture is increasingly playing a bigger role in our lives: We eat Korean BBQ, watch Korean dramas, and buy Korean cosmetics. But the big drive behind the Korean wave is Korean Pop, better known as K-pop. The country’s music industry is taking the world by storm, penetrating the top music charts in Europe and North America. With the help of journalists, Tamar Herman and Jenna Gibson, and K-pop industry expert Bernie Cho, we ask who made Korea cool? Producers: Georgia Coan and Seren Jones ...
Jan 25, 2019•21 min
Izzy Posen looks and seems like a normal student. But his life before university was far from the norm. He grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish community in North London, speaking no English and attending an illegal school. This is the story of a man who chose to leave everything he knew behind, and the freedom and anguish that came with that decision. Reporter: Alice Porter Producer: Harriet Noble Mixed by: Nico Raufast Editor: John Shields
Jan 24, 2019•19 min
When toddler James Bulger was abducted from a shopping centre in Merseyside in 1993 and murdered by two ten-year-old boys the country was appalled. Now a new short film has been made and nominated for an Oscar. ‘Detainment’ uses the original police interviews with the boys as a basis for the drama. It’s causing a lot of controversy as the family weren’t consulted and now want people to boycott it. We hear about the original trial from Winfred Robinson, who covered the story for the BBC, and Ente...
Jan 23, 2019•22 min
Politics on both sides of the Atlantic feels a bit stuck. The government in the US has been shut down for the longest period in its history and politicians here can’t agree on how to make Brexit work. But there are people challenging existing power structures. Last week we heard from Gina Martin, the 27 year old who has got a law banning upskirting through Parliament. And today we’re talking about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She’s only been in office for a few weeks, but she’s already using her so...
Jan 22, 2019•22 min
The third Monday in January is known as Blue Monday as a combination of money worries and winter weather push us to a collective low. Seventy per cent of the country also think things are getting worse, according to a poll from Ipsos Mori. But that’s not actually the case - in many circumstances life has improved. Rachel Schraer from BBC Reality Check and Joey D’Urso, a producer in the BBC political unit, tell us there are many reasons to be cheerful. They should know. They’ve seen the stats. Pr...
Jan 21, 2019•18 min
Jon Ronson’s new podcast ‘The Last Days of August’ explores the reasons behind the death of the famous porn performer August Ames, who killed herself in 2017. It is a sad story that casts light on an industry of outsiders who support each other under difficult circumstances. We also spoke to Jon about how the internet transformed pornography and what we can all learn from that. He also tells us why porn films have such weird titles and how people react to his distinctive voice. Producer: Duncan ...
Jan 18, 2019•22 min
Gina Martin is a 27-year-old woman with a full time job. Two years ago a stranger at a festival took a photo up her skirt without her permission. After she discovered there was no law preventing it, she found herself in Parliament, campaigning for politicians change it. This week the upskirting law was officially passed. Gina tells us what it took to win.
Jan 17, 2019•23 min
The UN say there are as many people with intersex traits in the world as people with red hair. All over the world, children with intersex traits are being operated on to be sex assigned at birth. The BBC’s gender and identity correspondent Megha Mohan has met the people at the forefront of the intersex identity debate including Rosie, a six year-old with ambiguous genitalia, and those leading the way in Kenya. She tells us about sex, its misunderstood relationship with gender and asks who should...
Jan 16, 2019•20 min
As MPs prepare to vote on the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan, we get the view from outside parliament. We speak to protesters on both sides who think that the current situation is getting embarrassing and shows the country in a bad light. We also hear from bemused tourists and speak to the BBC World Service’s Rob Watson on how he is reporting the country’s “biggest political crisis since World War Two”. Producers: Philly Beaumont and Duncan Barber. Editor: John Shields. Mixed by Nico Raufast....
Jan 15, 2019•20 min
Andy Murray’s defeat at the Australian Open today might have been his last ever match as a professional tennis player. Even with a very dodgy hip, he showed the fight and determination characteristic of his career to make it a five set thriller. He’s clearly one of Britain’s greatest sports stars, but there’s a lot we can learn from him irrespective of our talent with a tennis racquet. Simon Mundie from the Don’t Tell me the Score podcast explains how we can all be more like Andy Murray. Produce...
Jan 14, 2019•21 min
Nish Kumar has made his career trying to make us laugh about the news. He talks to Matthew Price about what it’s like to be a Remainer on the tour and how he enraged some Leave voters into unplugging his mic. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast. Producers: Lucy Hancock and Jaja Muhammad. Editor: John Shields.
Jan 11, 2019•22 min
The announcement by Jaguar Land Rover that it is cutting 4,500 job has been blamed on falling car sales in China, uncertainty about Brexit and the future of diesel. But what’s the longer term picture when it comes to the car industry? Rapid improvements in electric battery and self-driving technology mean that cars will change enormously in the coming years according to experts. Plus the public floatation of Uber this year is raising big questions about who controls transport in the future and w...
Jan 10, 2019•21 min
Across the country networks of so-called paedophile hunters are working to catch child sex offenders. They pose as boys and girls online, arranging to meet with men and then circulating videos of these “stings” online. Around 150 charges have been brought because of their work, but the naming and shaming extends to innocent families too. Andy Smythe and Catrin Nye from the Victoria Derbyshire Programme tell us the story of a paedophile hunter and the daughter of a man who was caught. Producers: ...
Jan 09, 2019•23 min
Now when talk about R Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey we always focus on victims and alleged abusers… but what about all the people who may have stood by and allowed an abuse of power, something they knew was wrong, to happen? Are we all guilty, and when we do witness abuse, what can we do to stop it? Producers: Philly Beaumont and Lucy Hancock. Contributors: Ione Wells, Jackson Katz and Noor Fadel Editor: John Shields
Jan 08, 2019•20 min
Kevin Spacey made his first court appearance today over allegations of sexual assault. He entered the court surrounded by a media scrum, one that has accompanied the #MeToo movement since it began over a year ago. But the huge attention the campaign has attracted so far hasn’t been matched by criminal convictions or court appearances. As well as the difficulty in prosecuting sexual assault allegations, what added complications come with putting a celebrity on trial? The BBC’s Nada Tawfik, and la...
Jan 07, 2019•22 min
