The Eurovision press pack and superfans are descending on Tel Aviv for the annual gala of glitter and Europop. But because it’s in Israel some of the focus will inevitably fall away from the songs and onto the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Steve Holden is a music reporter for BBC Newsbeat, and in Tel Aviv for the contest. He joins the BBC’s Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen to assess what difference, if any, Eurovision makes to such a long-running conflict. And voting in the Listen...
May 14, 2019•24 min
Uber made its stock market debut last week as boss Dara Khosrowshahi rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange to begin trading. But this story is about more than stocks and shares. It’s the story of a company that plans to dominate the global transport business, despite the fact that is has admitted it may never make a profit. We spoke to our technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones to find out how that works and also to Kim Gittleson from the Wall Street Journal podcast to find ou...
May 13, 2019•21 min
High-end hotels, $100 tips, a $7000 a night trip to Morocco… when German heiress Anna Delvey hit the New York party scene it seemed like she had, and could spend, it all. But the lavish social life Delvey, real name Anna Sorokin, created for herself was, along with her pretensions of European aristocracy, eventually exposed as a lie. As she’s sentenced to at least four years in jail for crimes including stealing more than $200,000, the BBC’s Vicky Baker helps us uncover some of the truth behind ...
May 10, 2019•17 min
Cricketer Alex Hepburn was jailed last month for raping a sleeping woman. The assault happened after Hepburn had set up a sexual conquest game on a WhatsApp group. The BBC’s Phil Mackie tells us about the trial, and we speak to lawyer Eleanor Law about the legal difficulties that arise when this kind of misogynistic behaviour goes to court. Plus self-confessed “reformed lad” Chris Hemmings explains why this culture exists and how best to tackle it. Producers: Duncan Barber and Seren Jones. Mixed...
May 09, 2019•21 min
The last couple of days has been huge for Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and their new baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. It’s a big moment for the royals as they work out the balance between raising their son in privacy and the celebrity status their baby gained the minute he was born. The BBC’s Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond tells Beyond Today how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are redefining the royal brand. Thanks to Ricky Thompson, Harpers Bazaar, ABC, and Mediaeval Baebes. Producer...
May 08, 2019•20 min
Thirty three years ago there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. We knew hardly anything about it at the time – only that radiation levels were rising in Western Europe. Of the emergency workers sent to tackle the blast, 28 died within months 19 have died since - 134 got acute radiation sickness. But now tourist groups visit the exclusion zone all the time - and scientists are studying there because the whole place has become a massive...
May 07, 2019•21 min
South Korea is thought to be one of the more progressive countries in Asia, with its technological advancements and dominance in pop music. But the recent introduction of 5G has led to a rise in secret recordings in public areas, including women’s changing rooms and toilets. The BBC’s Seoul correspondent Laura Bicker takes us through the rise of spy cams and how it’s fuelling the global porn industry. This is a re-upload of one of our most popular episodes, first published on 11 April. Producers...
May 06, 2019•20 min
At a time of political turmoil the results of this week’s local elections show people turning away from Britain’s two main parties. Both Labour and the Conservatives have lost votes to the smaller parties and the independents amid anger over the Brexit deadlock. So who would stand for election in this toxic environment? Nearly 9000 people in England and Northern Ireland have been elected as local councillors this week. We met one of them. 27 year old Charlotte Leach has become the new councillor...
May 03, 2019•16 min
Caster Semenya has achieved a lot. An Olympic and World champion, she’s won her last 29 races in a row. But yesterday the 28 year old South African lost her appeal against regulations restricting testosterone levels in female runners. Should she be punished for having a physical advantage? The South African sports journalist Mohammed Allie visited the village where she grew up and BBC Gender and Identity Correspondent Megha Mohan unpacks what Caster Semenya means for our understanding of gender....
May 02, 2019•22 min
We all know there’s a housing crisis. It’s something that’s happening in pretty much every desirable city all over the world, yet we rarely speak about the problem in global terms. We spoke to BBC Scotland correspondent James Cook, who has reported from LA, Edinburgh and Berlin. He tells us why we need to take a long hard look at the way our cities function and who they prioritise.
May 01, 2019•21 min
The biggest democratic event in the history of the world is under way in India with hundreds of millions of people voting in the country’s general election. We’ll find out on the 23rd of May whether the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been re-elected. He’s a polarising figure, loved and loathed in equal measure, who plays on his machismo. Women have had the vote since India gained Independence but last year the country was rated the most dangerous place for women in a controversial survey. Now ...
Apr 30, 2019•19 min
The multi-level marketing phenomenon is sweeping across social media as influencers post job adverts offering the chance of six figure incomes, cars and holidays in return for selling products online. More than 400,000 people in the UK are already signed up. We speak to BBC journalists Ellie Flynn and Jennifer Shaw about the darker side behind the enticing Instagram posts amid accusations of illegal pyramid selling, systematic targeting of vulnerable people by recruiters and even brainwashing. W...
Apr 29, 2019•19 min
On our Friday episodes we like to do something a bit different and speak to one person about their take on something we’re interested in. Today it’s Preet Bharara, who used to be one of the top public lawyers in the US. He had a reputation as a crusading prosecutor - taking down the mafia and big fraudsters - and there are hit TV shows based on his work. Following the publication of the Mueller report on Russia’s role in the 2016 election, he spoke to us about how the law, truth and justice are ...
Apr 26, 2019•23 min
On Easter Sunday six suicide bombings struck churches and hotels across Sri Lanka – killing more than 350 people and injuring hundreds. Since then Islamic State has claimed responsibility, while people in Sri Lanka have been kept in the dark after a social media black-out. We talk to Rajini Vaidyanathan, who has been reporting from Sri Lanka for the BBC, and Mina Al-Lami from BBC monitoring, who has been looking at what supporters of IS have been saying online Producer: Philly Beaumont Mixed by:...
Apr 25, 2019•18 min
The online fast fashion retailer Boohoo has revealed a 48% rise in their revenues, a sign that our appetite for cheap stuff is as big as ever. Meanwhile climate change activists Extinction Rebellion are preparing to march through the heart of London’s City protesting against what they call a ‘toxic financial system’ that’s built on greed. So just how much does consumer culture impact the environment and what can we do about it? We speak to podcaster and comedian Stevie Martin and BBC corresponde...
Apr 24, 2019•23 min
Lyra Mckee was killed at a riot in Londonderry last week. She was 29 and an acclaimed journalist who wrote about the Troubles and campaigned for LGBT rights. Since then the dissident republican group the New IRA have claimed responsibility for her death and apologised to her family. Her funeral on Wednesday is expected to be attended by thousands of people. We speak to three people connected to Lyra: Leona O’Neill was there the night she was killed, Aoife Moore grew up on the estate in Derry whe...
Apr 23, 2019•22 min
We all have our own conspiracy theories about who is listening to us through the internet. We probably have considered the idea that Facebook and Google control our lives – but these aren’t necessarily conspiracies. How might we have given the internet giants permission to spy on us? What connects a political scandal like Cambridge Analytica to Alexa and Google Maps? Matthew meets Shoshana Zuboff, who has been investigating this for years, to hear her theory that ties everything together. She ca...
Apr 18, 2019•21 min
Australian Rugby has sacked one of its biggest stars. Israel Folau has won 73 caps and was expected to play at this year’s World Cup in Japan. He’s now in trouble – although he’s appealing – after posting on social media that “hell awaits” gay people. Folau is a committed Christian who describes himself as “living for Jesus Christ”. Should he have been sacked for his religious beliefs? We talk to Jack Murley who hosts the LGBT Sports Podcast and also Harriet Bradshaw, a BBC journalist who has ma...
Apr 17, 2019•21 min
When Wikileaks released classified documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010, it and its founder Julian Assange became world famous. Many people see him as a hero, calling out the powerful and confronting them with their crimes. But the US government has accused him of stealing state secrets and hacking into its computers, and over the years rape allegations – which he denies - and Wikileaks’ actions around the 2016 US election have painted Assange as an increasingly complex figur...
Apr 16, 2019•23 min
On 4th March we heard from former gang member Jay about why he’d never leave the house without carrying a knife. Jay has since been asked to make a Radio 4 documentary investigating the solutions to knife crime. For the programme he met a trauma surgeon, a police commander and a local mayor. He also had a long conversation with a man called Callum, who is from Glasgow. Glasgow used to be the murder capital of Europe, but now that’s changed and the city’s seen as a model for how to stop violence....
Apr 15, 2019•23 min
The climate protest group Extinction Rebellion has been causing quite a stir. Its members recently stripped almost naked in the House of Commons. They have also shut bridges, poured buckets of fake blood on the ground outside Downing Street and blockaded the BBC. For this episode we invited Extinction Rebellion’s Clare Farrell into the Beyond Today studio to find out why they think breaking the law is key to saving the planet. We also spoke to Phil Jones, who edits the Jeremy Vine show on Radio ...
Apr 12, 2019•22 min
South Korea is thought to be one of the more progressive countries in Asia, with its technological advancements and dominance in pop music. But the recent introduction of 5G has led to a rise in secret recordings in public areas, including women’s changing rooms and toilets. The BBC’s Seoul correspondent Laura Bicker takes us through the rise of spy cams and how it’s fuelling the global porn industry. Producers: Seren Jones and Lucy Hancock Editor: Harriet Noble Mixed by Andrew Mills...
Apr 11, 2019•19 min
If it feels like politicians have been talking about Brexit forever, it’s because in a way they have. From Thatcher campaigning to stay in Europe in 1975, to her ideological successors pinning their careers to getting us out in 2016, the Conservative Party has been at odds over Europe for decades. We speak to the Today programme presenter Nick Robinson, who for years as the BBC’s political editor watched the fray. Producers: Heidi Pett and Alva White Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: Harriet Noble...
Apr 10, 2019•21 min
This is the story of Zain Qaiser. A student who made hundreds of thousands of pounds blackmailing porn users with cyber attacks from his parents’ house in East London. He spent almost £5,000 on a Rolex watch, £2,000 on a stay in a Chelsea hotel and £70,000 in a shopping centre casino. Today he was jailed for more than six years. But for every Zain there’s a Fabian. Fabian Wosar destroys the kind of ransomware that Zain Qaiser used to extort money. Fabian is so successful that cyber gangs leave t...
Apr 09, 2019•21 min
There’s a story you won’t hear much about today — because it’s a story that didn’t really happen. The former chief executive of Barclays John Varley and three other former senior bankers were on trial accused of fraud, the first time criminal charges were brought against the head of a global bank for activities during the financial crisis. And this morning the jury was discharged. The BBC’s business editor Simon Jack has been covering the crisis and its aftermath since the beginning. He spoke to...
Apr 08, 2019•18 min
There are a few moments when the podcast phenomenon really took off - and one of them is in 2009 when a comedian began interviewing people he knew in his garage. “WTF with Marc Maron” has grown to be a podcast juggernaut - each month it’s downloaded 6 million times and it’s just celebrated its 1000th episode. Some of the most famous people in the world have talked to Marc - rockstars, A-List actors, and a former president of the United States. Marc Maron sat down with Beyond Today to talk about ...
Apr 05, 2019•26 min
Chelsea has come under the spotlight this season after Manchester City's Raheem Sterling was alleged to have been racially abused by some supporters during a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge last December. The incident led to four fans being suspended by the club. This was followed just a few days later by alleged anti-Semitic chanting by Chelsea fans at a match in Hungary. The Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck responded by greeting supporters at the turnstiles before a Premier League win at Bri...
Apr 04, 2019•20 min
Last week a story surfaced that seemed, on the face of it, a little bit odd. A far right youtuber in Austria, Martin Sellner, had his house raided by the authorities after revealing he’d received a $1500 donation to his movement Generation Identity. The money was from the suspect in the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand. This story takes us from the world of YouTubers back to the Crusades and tells us how extreme ideas spread around the world.
Apr 03, 2019•19 min
Donald Trump, Imran Khan, George Weah… all over the world voters have shown their dissatisfaction with politicians by voting in anti-establishment candidates, sometimes former celebrities. The next in line might be Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who plays a president on Ukrainian TV and won the first round of the country’s presidential elections in real life. Could electing popular celebrities overcome our distrust of unpopular politicians? Olga Robinson from BBC Monitoring and Senior Elections ...
Apr 02, 2019•21 min
It’s a big moment for true crime fans with another documentary out this week. ‘The Case Against Adnan Syed’ is being released in four parts by HBO and Sky. He’s the man who arguably started our addiction for true crime. 340 million people downloaded the original telling of this story on the Serial podcast. Now, his case is being seen on TV. It’s just one of many true crime documentaries being pumped out this year, along with The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann and The Ted Bundy Tapes. Kelly-Le...
Apr 01, 2019•19 min
