BBC Radio Podcasts from Boston Calling
Last call
The final episode of Boston Calling with Marco Werman
In retrospect
After eight years on the air, and more than 400 episodes, we’re taking a look back
Black lives matter
Protests in the US are sparking protests around the world
I can't breathe
Black Lives Matter organizer Darnella Wade: "No one is above the law"
Point of entry
Migrant children denied entry as US adds further restrictions at the US-Mexico border
Looking out for you
Experts say there’s a risk of 'vaccine nationalism' in the fight against Covid-19
The world stage
Nicholas Burns: US's ‘unusual’ absence from world stage is bad for Americans
Extra credit
An American teacher in China is trying to broker deals to get PPE to US hospitals
Life goes on
Temperature checks and nose swabs: what life could look like after lockdown
Coronavirus conundrums
WHO official says there’s "no fast track" to normal when it comes to reopening economies
Keeping faith
The coronavirus has changed how we live our lives, and how we deal with death
Coronavirus coping
Healthcare workers ‘feel powerless’ in choosing who to treat for Covid-19
In this together
Leon Panetta on coronavirus: ‘We’re paying the price’ of ignoring intelligence reports
This pandemic life
During this Coronavirus pandemic, governments are ‘dusting off plans built for wartime’
Refugee island
Syria’s conflict is now in its tenth year, but Syrians are not giving up on their future
Pandemic
Coronavirus is officially a pandemic. Nations step up their efforts to contain it
Exchange and influence
A top US university renews Russian tech partnership despite red flags raised by officials
Every 30 seconds
Every 30 seconds, a young Latino in the US turns 18. Their votes count more than ever
Leading the way
What $10 billion can buy to help fight climate change
Covid-19
Names matter. That’s why the WHO took its time to name the new coronavirus disease.
First in the nation
Despite security concerns, some US voters will cast ballots using their smartphones
Two sides to a story
A growing problem: how overuse of fertilizer harms the climate and endangers the public
Taking responsibility
Impeachment is in full swing, but US diplomacy and the work of the State Dept. carries on
Persian projects
Was the killing of Qasem Soleimani legal? US officials and legal scholars disagree
Power balance
‘This is much more substantial than the killing of Osama Bin Laden’
Hindsight is 2020
The US has been in Afghanistan for almost two decades. Now, it’s looking for a way out.
Screen time
Facebook content moderators in Europe are suing over alleged psychological trauma
The allegiance edition
“It’s an extraordinary circumstance, unlike any other we’ve had in our history.”
Ukraine under pressure
What does US military aid for Ukraine look like? We meet US troops stationed there
Wars and peace
An American computer expert is arrested for allegedly helping North Korea launder money.
First Peoples
The debate over who has the right to call themselves Native American.
The innovation edition
Saving our planet at an affordable cost with the latest innovations.
Unwanted attention
The impeachment hearings go public
It’s automatic
Robots are doing jobs humans used to do. Workers in many sectors are worried.
Power and diplomacy
Are students of diplomacy reconsidering their choice and impeachment’s teachable moment
Who's to judge?
The immigration status of thousands of Liberians in the US hangs on a court decision
Consciously green
Could you go plastic free? This London family did
Covert affairs
An FBI informant pressured to spy on New York mosques seeks a way out
Who's listening?
‘I would like you to do us a favour’: The phone call that ignited a political storm
The evangelical edition
Megachurches, hip hop, and podcasts: American evangelical Christians are ‘not a monolith’
The Mississippi: Pushed to the brink
With globalization and climate change, life on the Mississippi river is under threat
Into the thaw (Part two)
If Thwaites Glacier collapses, it would change global coastlines forever.
Into the thaw (Part one)
Is Thwaites Glacier doomed? Scientists race against time to find out.
400 years
A professor with Ghanaian roots unearths a slave castle’s history — and her own
20 years of Putin
The man and the moments that defined modern Russia
The long wait
'Peace is the highest desire’ says Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the US
Scoring points
The US-China trade dispute may be entering a dangerous new phase: currency warfare
Means of destruction
"People have somehow forgotten what happens when a nuclear weapon hits"
Breaking with tradition
Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is causing some Muslims to rethink making the hajj
Let’s talk
For many immigrant students, fear of deportation and family separation is a daily reality
Agree to Disagree
Immigrants in the US are very anxious about being asked if they’re citizens or not.
State of anxiety
A post-9/11 law could allow President Trump to bypass Congress to wage war with Iran
Refugee story
How one refugee family from Syria is starting over in California
Waste land
America's 'recycled' plastic is creating illegal wastelands in South East Asia
Notes from a new world
Rocketman, the Elton John biopic, gets toned down in Russia
Action plan
Cyberwarfare and the Pentagon’s plan for Iran
Oath of allegiance
Controversy over US citizenship, privacy, and next year's census. Who will be counted?
Travel plans
Immigrants and refugees make ideal guides for a museum in Philadelphia.
At what cost?
Have you heard how many weapons the US has sold to Saudi Arabia?
Be you for you
A transgender athlete supports the IAAF’s controversial definition of women.
Signs and signals
A sanctuary city tries to stop deportation flights
Heads Up
The US is fast-tracking facial recognition technology at its major airports
Safe spaces
Volunteers in the US form underground networks to house migrants with nowhere else to go
History in the making
The story of Mexican migration to the US goes back decades
Journey interrupted
‘During that selection, we were the chosen ones to die’
The legacy edition
‘There was a lot of discord around campus. They couldn’t keep sweeping it under the rug.’
Time to act
Activism has consequences; good and bad
Caste in America
Even with his Harvard University education, caste follows Suraj Yengde ‘like a shadow’
Conversations without borders
In the midst of a so-called crisis at the US-Mexico border, border tourism is thriving
Outside the lines
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova sparks a dicey debate over transgender athletics
The boy in the caravan
The story of a teenager who fled gangs in El Salvador to reunite with his mother in the US
Forty years of consequences
Protests, backchannels and secrets. The story of the Iranian Revolution
The Together Edition
A Salvadoran mother chooses loneliness in the US, to forge a better future for her son
The Influencer Edition
Influencers used to be able to disguise their #ads, now it won’t be as easy
Transatlantic Sins
Four hundred years ago pirates brought enslaved Africans to Virginia’s shores
Taboos, Bans and Barriers
Ada Hegerberg has been named best female football player in the world
Living Green in 2019
Deforestation, wildfires, and hurricanes characterised 2018. What can we expect in 2019?
The Friendship Edition
The Salvadoran women imprisoned for losing their unborn children
The Lungs of the World
The Amazon rainforest used to absorb greenhouse gases. Now, it may be emitting them
Addicted
America is addicted to painkillers and tens of thousands of people are dying of overdoses
Brain Gain
When war keeps students from starting high school on time, should they get an extra year?
The Migrant Caravan
Thousands of migrants have reached the US-Mexico border. Now what?
Unmade in America
General Motors is closing 5 factories, but the ripple effects will go beyond auto workers
Un-Thanksgiving
Not all Americans celebrate Thanksgiving; for many native people, it’s a day of sorrow
Into The Woods
Wildfires devastated her town in California, now Ellen VandenBerg is starting over
Identity Crisis
The US midterms are over, so what do the results mean for US immigration?
It’s All Political
She was a refugee from Afghanistan. Now she’s running for state office in the US
A Half Degree of Separation
Half a degree doesn't seem like much but in climate change, it makes all the difference
Time Served
The US is one of just a few Western democracies that prevent felons from voting
City of Angels
The story behind an iconic photograph taken moments after Robert Kennedy’s assassination
Trade and Tariffs
The US, Canada and Mexico have signed a new trade deal, but the trade war is not over yet
Well Read
John Kerry has a simple message for Americans who think politics is broken: vote
The New Normal
The destruction caused by Hurricane Maria didn’t stop this student from returning home
Untold Afghanistan
The American University in Kabul was under attack, but that’s not stopping these student
The Blockbuster Edition
Crazy Rich Asians isn’t just a summer blockbuster, it’s a cultural phenomenon
Northern Neighbours
Many US asylum seekers are now fleeing to Canada
Tech’d Off
Microsoft detects attacks by Russian hackers. What’s the state of US digital security?
No Place Like Home
Karolina Chorvath discovered her identity as a third culture kid. But what is a TCK?
The Survivor Edition
In northern Mexico a plane crashed just after takeoff and all 103 passengers survived
Recycle This
China warns the US: ‘Clean your recycling, or we won’t take it.’
Food for Thought
In the US-China trade war, midwestern soya bean farmers are caught in the middle
The Red Line
“What the president did is embarrassing, it's unprecedented, it's a diplomatic disaster.”
Baby Guaranteed
In Ukraine, surrogacy is legal, but some ask if it's exploitation.
Talk to Me
“I personally consider Russia to be a threat to many American national interests.”
Game On!
Mexico's football team changes the way it displays its player’s names on their jerseys.
It’s The Law
Inside one of the busiest immigration courts in the US.
The Father’s Day Edition
“What I remember about my dad is that he had this penetrating smile.”
The Unforgettable Edition
Young Navajo in the southwest grapple with a traumatic chapter in US history.
The Automated Edition
Bananas and foreign travel: What it means to be a computer hacker in North Korea.
The Heist Edition
How North Korean hackers became the world’s greatest bank robbers
The Deadline Edition
As NAFTA talks grind on, thousands of skilled workers wonder if they will keep their jobs.
Inside the Box
Braces from home: The next stage in global dental care?
On the Move
How Alabama is becoming the auto capital of the South
American Justice
Since 1978, the number of women in US state prisons has grown by more than 800 per cent.
Crimes and Misdemeanours
Is Facebook doing enough to moderate hate speech?
The Incredible Journey
How Summer and Muntaser got married as bombs fell in Yemen
Friends and Followers
Revelations about Narendra Modi’s official app provoke outrage on social media.
Undercover
A young Russian journalist accidentally gets a job in a fake news factory.
It’s Not Easy Being...
Greenbacks, green energy and Green Day. A take on a colour with shades of meaning.
Reunited
After 15 years, a family reunited in the US. New immigration policy could split them up.
Walls We Don’t See
There are all sorts of barriers keeping people from coming into the US.
Right to Bear Arms?
A former US homeland security adviser says we need to address gun violence.
Roots
Years after an immigration policy separated his family; a man finds his ancestral village.
The Local Edition
What global stories can we find without leaving Boston?
On the Waterfront
Life along the coast is changing. Are people adapting fast enough?
The Breakthrough Edition
The “a-ha’’ moment and what happened next.
The Protest Edition
Six stories about people finding all sorts of ways to take a stand.
Better Together
A love story that began at the outbreak of the Korean War.
Face Value
A pilot programme to use facial identification machines is underway at nine US airports
All Dressed Up
We meet the women who make our clothes.
The Case of the Stolen Fortune Cookie Fortunes
In the US every Chinese meal comes with fortune cookies. Their story is full of intrigue.
The Ripple Effect
A hurricane in Puerto Rico leads to a shortage of IV fluid bags on the US mainland.
Dance Lessons
Ever heard of the clave? It's the foundation of salsa, boogaloo, mambo, and more.
The Second Amendment
The US has the highest firearm ownership rate in the world. By far.
At the Movies
The voice acting world is facing questions of identity and representation.
The Taste of Victory
The new mayor of Helena in Montana has made history — and now just wants to get to work
The Future is Now
Are Facebook, Twitter and Google learning from their mistakes?
The Scientific Edition
Victoria Barrett aged 18 years is suing the Trump administration over climate change
Speak Out
Sexual harassment at work is a global problem. Now, the world is talking about it.
At Your Civil Service
How climate change and Donald Trump brought an end to one diplomat's career
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered
One Boston family's wish to get a letter to their grandmother in Puerto Rico
The Mystery Edition
A retired FBI agent launches a probe to discover who betrayed Anne Frank.
Unsung Heroes
She inspired the DREAM Act. Some say that makes her the first “Dreamer”.
Coast to Coast
Among the things climate change is bringing to this small Inuit town: cruise ships
From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love
In Limbo
The US is the only home they’ve ever known. But now the ‘Dreamers’ fear being deported.
Water, Water, Everywhere
After Harvey, hundreds find refuge in Houston-area mosques
Get It Off Your Chest
Syrian president Bashar al Assad has become a darling of the American far right.
The Eclipse Edition
We could see the largest single movement of humans across US territory
Under Construction
The most ‘broken’ town in America is back on its feet
Breathcatcher
Two teenage journalists get an interview with the US Secretary of Defence
Entanglements
How Putin learned to stop worrying and love internet espionage
Are You Afraid of The Dark?
A solar eclipse rallied Americans around science. Could it again?
Is It Safe?
An American relief worker brings his wife and children to Mosul.
I’m on Your Team
The US might never have gained its independence without help from Russia.
A Crime to Hate
“We won’t call something anti-Semitism until we really know it’s anti-Semitism."
‘Caught up in the Policy’
Why Iraqi immigrants in the US are getting sent back to Iraq
The Great Escape
Could a massive refugee programme offer relief to besieged Syrians?
Is There an App for That?
How secure is Donald Trump’s mobile phone? (Hint: not very)
Look Closer
What really happened in that clash between Turkish security personnel and DC protesters?
The Backstory
Donald Trump’s merchandising man, Dave McNeer, explains how he got his job
It is all Words
What did the phrase 'America First' mean in the 1700s?
What Comes Next
Donald Trump’s victory left half the nation cheering, and half the nation in tears
The Import Export Edition
Activists in France draw strength from the Black Lives Matter movement in America
A Question of Time
Some refugees, stuck in camps in Greece, are considering returning home
Disunited States of America
"I saw my brother in these boys. I saw my son in these boys,” Why one activist spoke out
Fight or Flight
How an unauthorised immigrant became a US Marine—and then a US citizen
Do the Right Thing
A US governor advocates on behalf of Syrian refugees as other politicians turn them away
Rerouted
The Migration Project helps Guatemalan families find missing loved ones.
Taking a Stand
In Boston, Latinos push back against Donald Trump supporters in their neighbourhood.
On a Mission
The story of a 20-something CIA officer who took on the Taliban.
Outside Looking In
A Republican and a Democrat share their thoughts about watching the election from abroad
Only in Texas
Why a Nicaraguan immigrant in Florida supports Donald Trump’s tough immigration policies