Why has the BBC brought back a Polish Language Service 20 years after the previous version was scrapped - and how are AI and social media making this one different? Plus, OTY has previously discussed what’s termed “news fatigue”, now a listener in the US raises the possibility of “Trump fatigue”. And BBC Sounds is coming to an end this week for those outside the UK, with international users switching to a new BBC app. We hear more listener comments on the change. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer:...
Jul 19, 2025•9 min
BBC Trending is the show that investigates stories related to online trends, social media, and viral phenomena. We speak to its editor about a recent edition focussing on North Korea - and a listener asks about the programme’s wider editorial remit and why there are not more uplifting news stories? Plus BBC Sounds has finally been given a date for its turn off - we hear your initial thoughts on its replacement. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for the BBC ...
Jul 12, 2025•9 min
The BBC has introduced a paywall for people looking at parts of its website from within the United States. We hear listeners’ reactions to being asked to pay for something they previously got for free, whilst others outside the US ask if it sets a precedent for the rest of the world. We are joined from New York by the BBC Studios executive in charge of the project, Rebecca Glashow. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Jul 05, 2025•9 min
The BBC News Persian service has provided expertise and analysis to the whole of the BBC, in spite of being banned from Iran. We hear how journalists with BBC News Persian have been broadcasting reports about the situation in Iran and we are joined by the head of its service. Plus, The Killing Call tells of the murder of Indian music star Sidhu Moose Wala. The executive editor of World Service documentaries tells us of the various challenges producers faced in its making. Presenter: Rajan Datar ...
Jun 28, 2025•9 min
The proposed switch from BBC Sounds to a new BBC app has been weighing heavily on the minds of some listeners. Many of you have been unhappy. Well it seems listener power has prevailed and there has been an important change! We bring you the BBC’s update. Plus , the true crime podcast series The Con: Kaitlyn’s Baby, is about one apparently pregnant young woman’s desperate lie. We speak with its presenter Sarah Treleaven. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production fo...
Apr 26, 2025•9 min
A number of journalists working for BBC Russian have been labelled “foreign agents”, severely restricting their professional and private lives. We hear from the editor of BBC News's Russian service about the impact. Plus, a listener has been in touch to praise a moving eyewitness report on Newsday. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Apr 19, 2025•9 min
The documentary Donald Trump’s New World Order set out to explain the reasons behind these turbulent times. Presenter Jamie Coomarasamy reveals how he overcame the problems of staying up to date when the Trump Administration seems to be announcing new policies day by day? We hear your views. Presenter Rajan Datar Producer Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for BBC World Service
Apr 12, 2025•9 min
We hear listeners’ reactions to the news that in the near future BBC Sounds is to end for international online listeners, and a new BBC app is to launch in its place. We put your points and questions to the BBC and, with the help of a media expert, investigate what this might all mean for you. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC
Mar 22, 2025•9 min
In a special edition, Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th US president was comprehensively covered by all BBC World Service news shows, including a special edition of the Global News Podcast. But what challenges do the Trump presidency present for journalists, including the BBC’s news teams? We’re joined by a senior news editor and we hear listeners’ feedback. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Feb 01, 2025•9 min
For our first show of the new year, four listeners from Brazil, the US, the UK and Italy set the agenda for what they would like from the BBC World Service in the coming year. Do they want different types of programmes, does news fatigue affect them, and how much do they feel the BBC World Service is still needed in 2025? Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Jan 04, 2025•9 min
It was billed as too close to call right up to the night itself, but in the end the US presidential election saw a clear victory for the Republicans. We hear listeners' views on World Service coverage of the vote, and are joined in the studio by the team behind the election night show America Decides. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Nov 16, 2024•9 min
We hear listeners’ bugbears about one aspect of news programmes that really annoys them: why do live interviewees sometimes get abruptly cut short by the interviewer? We go behind the scenes to reveal the pressures of live news production with one of the BBC’s news editors, Karen Martin. Plus, a listener tells us what he likes so much about his favourite programme: Weekend. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Apr 13, 2024•9 min
Stumped is a weekly digest of news, features and debate from the world of cricket - but are you bowled over by it? We hear your comments and are joined by one of its hosts, Alison Mitchell. Plus, a listener asks why, when listening online, the volume level changes so much? Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Mar 23, 2024•9 min
The Reith Lectures are an annual tradition, started in 1948 by the BBC’s first director general. In a special edition, we hear your thoughts on the programme, and we’re joined by the man who gave this year’s address. We also talk to the BBC executive who commissioned it. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Jan 06, 2024•10 min
In a specially extended edition, we have Jon Zilkha, the controller of BBC World Service English, in the studio to answer listeners’ questions about what they’ve heard on the World Service in the past year. Some are happy - others feel there’s work to be done! Topics include news coverage of the Middle East conflict, proposed schedule changes and the BBC’s long-term finances. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Dec 30, 2023•26 min
We hear listeners’ thoughts on the BBC World Service’s reporting of the ongoing events in the Middle East. We ask if the war in Ukraine really has dropped out of the news headlines and discuss the issue of “news fatigue” with the head of journalism at World Service English, Simon Peeks. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Nov 18, 2023•9 min
We examine arts programming on the BBC World Service as we talk to the teams behind two of its long-running shows: In the Studio and The Cultural Frontline. Do you enjoy these arts series? Or does arts programming in general leave you cold? Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for BBC World Service
Nov 11, 2023•9 min
The recent women’s football World Cup has been widely hailed as a success for the international game. We hear your thoughts on the BBC’s coverage. Plus, a listener asks if there’s a place for sports reporting in a serious news show. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Sep 02, 2023•9 min
A documentary recently told the story of a 14-year-old American schoolboy who is on a mission to prevent billions of batteries going into landfill. We hear your feedback on this positive, solutions-focused programme, and the show’s presenter and producer join us to explain the process of working with young people. Plus, we hear some initial reaction to the World Service's coverage of football's Women's World Cup. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for the BB...
Aug 25, 2023•9 min
We are now well into the second month of changes affecting Focus on Africa and its switch to being primarily a podcast with a repeat radio airing later that same day. So how is it going down with listeners? Is it alienating those of you who do not have access to digital platforms? Does it feel less “live”? Or does the focus on it being a podcast mean it can now attract a wider audience from the African diaspora globally? We speak to the editor of Focus On Africa, Alice Muthengi. Presenter: Rajan...
Jul 15, 2023•9 min
World Book Club took to the air over two decades ago and it is still going strong. Each month an author is quizzed by a live audience. We speak with its long-running host Harriett Gilbert and ask how do you make a show appeal to those who are not heavy readers? And listeners give their thoughts. Plus, how a recent edition of HardTalk on Iranian Kurds hit the nail on the head for a listener in the US. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown Production for BBC World Service...
Jun 17, 2023•9 min
Last week, we aired an interview with the boss of BBC World Service English about how and why there had been some notable alterations to the schedule, with four shows coming to an end: Digital Planet, Tech Tent, The Cultural Frontline and World Football. Now you tell us what you think of the changes. Plus, listeners ask why is the data lite version of podcasts not available? We’ll investigate. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service...
Apr 08, 2023•9 min
We begin the first show of the new year with your thoughts on what you heard on the BBC World Service over the past 12 months. What subjects in 2022 caught your attention? And what shows perhaps didn't quite hit the nail on the head? The Inquiry, the Documentary, Outside Source, the Forum and Hardtalk all fall under the spotlight. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown Production for the BBC World Service
Jan 07, 2023•10 min
BBC World Service English controller Jon Zilkha lays out his vision of how the World Service will develop in 2023, and explains more about how financial cuts and the BBC‘s commitment to a “digital first” approach will affect what you hear. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for BBC World Service
Dec 31, 2022•11 min
The controller of BBC World Service English, Jon Zilkha, responds to your comments, views and questions - be they favourable or critical, in the first of a two-part special edition of Over to You. It has been yet another tumultuous year all over the world and the BBC World Service’s job has been to reflect that - but also to provide insight and diversion from the current affairs agenda. So how well do you think they are fulfilling that brief? Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon. A Wh...
Dec 24, 2022•10 min
We examine how the BBC World Service marked a year since the Taliban took control in Afghanistan. What are the challenges facing teams on the ground? And how do you keep listeners engaged? We speak with the head of journalism, Simon Peeks. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service
Aug 20, 2022•9 min
When thousands of protesters took to the streets of Sri Lanka, what were the challenges of covering this civil unrest? We talk to the BBC’s South Asia correspondent. Plus another in our insightful and often revealing series How I Hear, about your everyday listening habits. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon
Aug 13, 2022•9 min
Surviving the Siege of Mariupol told of the experiences of Mariupolchanka FC, a professional women’s football team in southern Ukraine. Listeners tell us what they thought about this compelling story. Plus, Hidden Sport took its audience on a global journey to discover the world’s lesser-known sports. But how were the sports chosen? We find out. Presenter Rajan Datar. Producer Howard Shannon.
Jun 04, 2022•9 min
We return to the ongoing issue which is worrying many listeners: disinformation. Has the war in Ukraine made tackling it a more urgent priority? How does the BBC’s team differentiate between fact and fiction, and is social media in some way to blame? We ask the BBC’s disinformation editor, Rebecca Skippage, where priorities lie. Plus, was the right terminology used in the documentary series Black Music in Europe? A listener in Kenya says not. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon...
Apr 16, 2022•9 min
Your reactions to the news that future BBC funding is to be up for discussion. How might it affect the World Service? Plus listeners give their fond farewells as we say goodbye to a familiar voice on BBC Outside Source, Nuala McGovern. Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon
Jan 29, 2022•9 min
