BBC Radio Podcasts from The Explanation
Understanding democracy in Hong Kong
Why are there democracy protests in Hong Kong?
Israeli-Palestinian relations
In 2021, Jeremy Bowen discussed the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Understanding Iran: Reconciling religion and democracy
Rana Rahimpour explains how religion, democracy and ideals combine in Iran
Afghanistan: Women, girls and their rights
How a turbulent history dictates the ever-shifting attitudes towards women and girls
Understanding how Russia has changed under Putin
Sarah Rainsford on how everyday life in Russia has changed under Putin
Understanding the Islamic State group
Quentin Sommerville on the rise, fall and potential re-emergence of IS
Understanding North Korea and the Kim dynasty
How the Kim family shaped one of the world’s most secretive countries
Understanding the rise of Boko Haram
How the militant Islamic group took hold in northern Nigeria
Understanding relations between Taiwan and China
Why is Taiwanese reunification so important to China?
Understanding the power that Saudi Arabia wields
How has the Saudi royal family maintained strong worldwide influence in spite of critics?
Understanding South Africa’s continuing quest for equality
Why has the post-apartheid dream of a ‘Rainbow Nation’ not been easy to realise?
Understanding the long history between Russia and Ukraine
What has bound Russia and Ukraine together, and what has pulled them apart?
How Syria's peaceful uprising became a civil war
Lina Sinjab tells Claire Graham about the conflict in her native country
Roe v Wade and abortion in America
Katty Kay explains how abortion became central to American politics
Cuba–United States relations
How a long, complex history between neighbours led to such an uneasy relationship
Who are the Uyghurs and why are they being persecuted?
John Sudworth tells the story behind China's treatment of its Uyghur minority
How Yemen has been engulfed by civil war
Nawal Al-Maghafi explains how war has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises
Sudan’s journey from independence to revolution
Mohanad Hashim explains some of the complex history of the country he grew up in
Ethiopia, Eritrea and border wars
Kalkidan Yibeltal explains the complex history between the two countries
How the Good Friday Agreement helped bring peace to Northern Ireland
Denis Murray reflects on the legacy of the 1998 agreement
Introducing The Explanation
On a mission to make sense of the world
Unspun World: Is Ukraine's counter-offensive a turning point?
Ukraine prepares a renewed offensive. Plus, what is a pangenome and how will it help us?
Unspun World: Could AI outsmart humanity?
Reporting from Ukraine's battlefields. Plus, how worried should we be about AI?
Unspun World: Can the US transform the world's economy?
President Biden puts America first. So will he succeed in reshaping the global economy?
Unspun World: What's it like reporting on the war from inside Russia?
Steve Rosenberg on the challenges for journalists still in Russia
Unspun World: Who can challenge Trump?
The race for the 2024 Republican White House nomination is about to heat up
What is the Wagner Group?
The mercenary organisation's operations have extended to many nations, but who are they?
Unspun World: Xi Jinping: President or emperor?
What do the growing ambitions of China's leader mean for the rest of the world?
How Lebanon’s economy collapsed
Protests, the port explosion and power cuts – what’s next for Lebanon?
Unspun World: Is Putin's time up?
The editor of the BBC’s Russian service, Famil Ismailov, analyses Vladimir Putin's future
Haiti's gang crisis
How competing gangs are carving up Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince
Unspun World: Is it time to return looted art?
What should we done with stolen treasures? Katie Razzall confronts colonialism's legacy
What is a war crime?
Even war has rules, so what happens when they are broken?
Who are the Rohingyas?
How the Rohingyas fled Myanmar to become the world’s largest stateless population
The EU
How the European Union evolved from a six-nation club to a major global player
Venezuela crisis
With more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia, how is Venezuela so poor?
What is Nato?
Will Nato continue to expand?
Kosovo–Serbia relations
Will Serbia ever recognise Kosovo?
Could Puerto Rico become America's 51st state?
BBC Mundo’s Ronald Avila-Claudio discusses what the future might hold for his homeland
The Global Jigsaw: Grain deal special
Russia and Turkey failed to reach an agreement to bring Ukrainian grain to the world
Unspun World: What has changed for women in Iran, a year after Mahsa Amini's death?
Iranian women are still fighting for freedom, despite government crackdowns
The Global Jigsaw: Wagner after Prigozhin
What next for the notorious group after the plane crash that wiped out its leadership?
Unspun World: Can anyone in Russia challenge Putin now?
Now Yevgeny Prigozhin is dead, can anyone in Russia challenge the president’s power?
Unspun World: Are democracies hindering the fight against climate change?
Short-term politics gets in the way of dealing with an ever-warming planet
Unspun World: Israel declares war on Hamas after deadly attack
Israel starts 'a prolonged and powerful campaign' in Gaza. What will be the consequences?
The Global Jigsaw: Who’ll be Argentina’s next president?
After a shock primary win, a far-right libertarian economist is in pole position
Unspun World: Will Israel invade Gaza?
Will Israel launch a ground assault in Gaza and, if they do, what's at stake?
Unspun World: Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border
What are the chances that Lebanon will get involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict?
Unspun World: What's Israel's endgame in Gaza?
What's Israel's endgame in Gaza? Security correspondent, Frank Gardener, gives his take
The Global Jigsaw: Israel and Gaza special
The war of narratives reflecting power tilts in the Middle East
Unspun World: Can the US and China get along?
Biden and Xi's meeting builds bridges with deals on the military and fentanyl trafficking
The Global Jigsaw: Global perspectives on the Israel Gaza war
How the big players spin the conflict into narratives of their own
Unspun World: A pause in fighting in Gaza
A pause in fighting in Gaza but what’s it like for those living there?
Unspun World: How migration is changing European politics
Migration is topping Europe's political agenda. Europe editor, Katya Adler, explains why
What is Five Eyes?
Gordon Corera on the origins of the international spy network
Unspun World: Can anything break the stalemate in the Ukraine war?
Stories from the frontline as tensions rise from Ukraine correspondent, James Waterhouse
How does the World Health Organization work?
Tulip Mazumdar looks at the successes and failures of the WHO
What is BRICS?
Can a group of emerging economies change the existing global economic hierarchy?
What is sportswashing?
Dan Roan on why oil-rich nations are investing huge amounts of money in global sport
What does the World Bank do?
Michelle Fleury on the origins and purpose of the global financial institution
Unspun World: What's the West's strategy for the Houthis?
Have US and UK-led attacks on the Houthis in Yemen backfired?
Unspun World: Is the war in Gaza slipping away from Israel?
Plus, the implications of Iran’s missile strike on Pakistan
Unspun World: Is Ukraine losing Western support?
Plus, how might the International Court of Justice’s ruling affect the war in Gaza?
Unspun World: How Russia's economy has survived despite sanctions
Plus, examining the US military's role in the Middle East
Unspun World: Can Israel win its war in Gaza?
John Simpson analyses Israel offensive in Gaza, China's economy and Indonesia's election
Unspun World: What Alexei Navalny's death means for Vladimir Putin's grip on Russia
Two years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, can Putin keep control?
Unspun World: Is a ceasefire in Gaza within reach?
Plus, Donald Trump's legal problems, and European farmers protest
Unspun World: What's life like on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank?
What will it take to bring peace to both Gaza and Ukraine?
The Global Jigsaw: What hope for Haiti?
Gang violence has turned the small Caribbean nation into a “living nightmare”
Unspun World: Has Russia turned the tide in its war in Ukraine?
Plus, gang violence in Haiti, and the possibility of unmanned ships on the oceans
The Global Jigsaw - Contested waters: Crimea
How water is used as a weapon of war following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Unspun World: What's next for President Putin after winning re-election?
Plus, as Biden and Trump compete for the presidency, is the US close to civil unrest?
The Global Jigsaw: Contested waters: Helmand
How the waters of the Helmand river have driven tensions between Afghanistan and Iran
The Global Jigsaw: Moscow attack: disinfo wars
Who is behind the Crocus City Hall attack? We track the blame game.
The Media Show: Fear, threats and intimidation
Have US diplomats been targeted by Russian sonic weaponry?
The Global Jigsaw: Deconstructing Iran’s 'Axis of Resistance': Part one
The origins of the Iran-cultivated alliance of like-minded states and groups.
The Media Show: Building Trump's social media app
Billy Boozer tells the story behind the creation of Truth Social
The Global Jigsaw: Sudan: A year of war
Sudan faces the largest humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world
How does the New York Stock Exchange work?
Valued at over $25 trillion, does it spread wealth or increase inequality?
The Media Show: How Taylor Swift conquered the media
A lesson in “Swiftonomics” from the journalists who report on the pop phenomenon
The Global Jigsaw: How drones have changed war
Drones have reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine - and created new challenges
Nuclear weapons - which countries have them?
We look at the nuclear powers and those who want to join their club
The Media Show: Secrets of the Celebrity Interview
Coaxing megastars to say things they’ll later regret, and can you teach creativity?
The Global Jigsaw: Deconstructing Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’: Part two
The loose coalition of allies and proxies, sworn against Israeli and US influence
Goodbye to the International Space Station
It was a triumph of international collaboration - a laboratory for hundreds of astronauts
The Media Show: Behind the information iron curtain
How freedom of the press no longer exists in many parts of the world
The Global Jigsaw: Turkey's foothold in Africa
Ankara is touting itself as a “non-colonising” alternative to Western powers
What is the dark web?
The origins of the dark web, cyber crime and internet censorship across the world
The Media Show: Reporting the US campus protests
Why student journalists have been crucial to the world’s understanding of the story
Unspun World: What is Israel's plan for Gaza?
Plus, the mood on the Ukrainian frontline and South Africa's general election
The Global Jigsaw: How China sees itself in Africa
Beijing says it is building, not buying, Africa. Do people in Nairobi agree?
The Media Show: Netflix and the Baby Reindeer Fallout
How a “true story” is alleged to be something rather more complicated
Unspun World: Why are US-Israel relations at an historic low?
Plus, Georgia's mass protests and China's influence on Western countries
The Media Show: Reporting ringside at Usyk v Fury
Reporting on Usyk v Fury in Riyadh amidst allegations of ‘sportswashing’
Unspun World: How has the Russia-China relationship changed?
Plus, what an assassination attempt tells us about Europe's politics
The Media Show: Is this the TikTok election?
Exploring the role of Big Tech in a crucial election year around the world
Unspun World: Will the UK's election change its place in the world?
Plus, can Iran's governing elite win back popular support?
The Media Show: The Business of News
Are people willing to pay for journalism?
Unspun World: The new threats to global peace and security
Plus, why did the ANC fail to win a majority in South Africa?
The Media Show: How to interview a Prime Minister
We speak to a journalist who sat down with Rishi Sunak
Unspun World: Israel's war cabinet fragments
Plus, why isn't economic growth having a greater impact on the US presidential election?
The Global Jigsaw: The evolution of the Islamic State Group
After a lull in activities, in 2024 IS claimed to be behind several major attacks
The Media Show: How podcasts took over the world
In the space of 20 years, podcasting has gone from hobby to big business
Unspun World: Is Ukraine preparing for a deal?
Plus, what is the future of Nato?
The Media Show: Julian Assange - journalist or activist?
The WikiLeaks founder and his impact on journalism
Unspun World: The UK election
Plus, what impact is extreme heat having on the world?
The Media Show: Reporting Biden’s Health
Is the White House press corps doing its job?
The Media Show: The war reporter who stopped to help
Why Oz Katerji decided to temporarily stop reporting and help injured Ukrainians
What makes a good peace mediator?
Brokering peace between warring nations, how does it work and what causes failure?
The Media Show: Reporting from the scene of the Trump shooting
Journalists from BBC, Bloomberg and Getty share their account of a moment in history
Why is the Gulf Stream and AMOC so important to our climate?
Complex ocean currents keep Europe warm and bring rain to Africa, but could they end?
The Media Show: Can memes win the US election?
Why supporters of Kamala Harris believe the battle to win is online
The global arms trade
Which countries supply weapons and which countries buy them?
The Media Show: Who will inherit the Murdoch empire?
How Rupert Murdoch is locked in a legal battle with three of his children
Big Tech – too big to hide from?
We find out how Big Tech companies may know more about you - than you do.
The Media Show: Online rumours and real-world consequences
How misinformation on social media fuelled the recent anti-immigration riots in England
The Global Jigsaw: The Taliban’s war on women
The group’s return to power in Afghanistan has seen the erasure of women from public life
What is the United Nations?
Striving for peace & equality on a healthy planet, is the United Nations fit for purpose?
The Media Show: Social media as crime scene
How police are using social media to find evidence against rioters in the UK
US Supreme Court
Do nine justices in the Supreme Court fairly represent the diversity of views in the US?
The Media Show - TV’s Hidden Dilemma
The makers of global hits on a difficult year for TV
The Media Show: Telegram founder arrested
What the Pavel Durov case means for the future of social media
The Media Show: Why Korean TV rules the world
From Squid Game to The Masked Singer some of the most popular shows come from South Korea
The Media Show: Russia’s alleged influencer propaganda plot
US says YouTubers have been paid to post videos with “hidden Russian government messages”
The Media Show: Trump’s Pet-eating Conspiracy Theory
Tracing the origin of the rumour that spawned an extraordinary political soundbite
The Media Show: Reporting the Predator at Harrods
How the BBC exposed the billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed
The Global Jigsaw: Yemen: A tale of three cities
Sanaa, Aden and Taiz - stuck in a “no war, no peace” limbo
The Media Show: Secrets of The Sidemen
The manager of Europe’s biggest YouTube creators reveals their strategy
Unspun World: What will Iran's strategy be?
We look at the debate inside Iran in the wake of Israel’s assault on Hezbollah
The Media Show: Reporting from inside Gaza
The BBC’s Rushdi Abualouf on life for journalists in a warzone
Unspun World: The Middle East, a year on from the October 7th attacks
Analysing the prospects for the Middle East after a year of fighting
The Global Jigsaw: Yemen: A frozen conflict
Ten years on, where do the warring parties in Yemen stand?
The Media Show: ISIS Prisons Museum
The journalists documenting the atrocities of the so-called Islamic State
Unspun World: Israel's Middle East strategy
John Simpson analyses Israel’s long-term strategy in the Middle East
The Media Show: The king of reality TV
How Andy Cohen created the Real Housewives phenomenon
Unspun World: The Middle East: The regional perspective
Analysing attitudes of other regional powers towards Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon
The Global Jigsaw: Turkey’s anti-LGBT drive
What’s behind the evolution of the Turkish president's anti-LGBT narrative?
The Media Show: Ballots, bias and big tech
Ros Atkins is in Washington DC and asks what role the media is playing in the election
Unspun World: What will Iran do now?
How the Iranian regime might respond to Israel’s attack
The Global Jigsaw: Russia’s “special demographic operation”
Why is the Kremlin worried about population decline?
The Media Show: Trump's winning media strategy
The pundits and pollsters who got the election wrong
Unspun World: What does the US election tell us about America?
How the US presidential campaign highlighted the deep divisions in the country
The Media Show: US Election and its impact on media
Why Trump’s victory poses a credibility challenge for journalism
Unspun World: What can the world expect from a second Trump term?
John Simpson explores the implications of a second Trump term for US foreign policy
The Media Show: Jake Paul v Mike Tyson
What the Jake Paul v Mike Tyson boxing bout on Netflix tells us about the future of media
Unspun World: Could Russia's war with Ukraine escalate?
John Simpson examines the risk of nuclear escalation in Russia’s war with Ukraine
The Media Show: BBC presenter defection
Mishal Husain leaves the BBC after 26 years to join Bloomberg
The Media Show: Reddit's rise
Why Reddit is one of the world’s fastest growing social networks
The Media Show: Reporting Syria and reaction to Luigi Mangione
Syria enters a new era for journalists after the fall of the Assad regime
The Media Show: CNN’s Syria report controversy
CNN faces backlash over Syrian prisoner misidentification
The Global Jigsaw: The language of war: Russia
Decoding the Kremlin’s warspeak
The Media Show: Jeans, cars, deodorant
Advertising legend Sir John Hegarty on creating some of the world’s most famous ads
The Global Jigsaw: The language of war: Ukraine
Kyiv’s answer to the Kremlin’s warspeak
The Media Show: media trends in 2025
Media predictions: what we'll see in 2025
The Media Show: Meta drops fact-checkers and Grand Theft Auto 6 hype builds
Why Mark Zuckerberg has changed tactics ahead of President Trump’s return
The Media Show: Reporting the LA fires
Challenge and dilemma for journalists reporting on the LA wildfires
The Media Show: Prince Harry’s legal victory and TikTok’s future
Prince Harry gets a formal apology from Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers and a payout
Unspun World: What's behind the growing tensions between China and Taiwan?
In Taiwan, John Simpson reflects on the last 60 years of Chinese politics
Mindu Hornick: Interview with an Auschwitz survivor
Tim Franks speaks to Mindu Hornick, who survived the Nazis' largest concentration camp
The Media Show: China’s AI rise
DeepSeek shakes up tech, raising security and influence concerns in the West
Unspun World: How will Trump's second presidency affect the war in Ukraine?
John Simpson reflects on how the collapse of the Soviet Union has shaped Putin’s Russia
The Media Show: Bill Gates on tech and politics
Microsoft co-founder discusses social media, Trump, and his concerns over misinformation
Unspun World: Donald Trump’s whirlwind start to his second term
John Simpson examines Donald Trump’s first few weeks in office
The Media Show: Understanding the attention economy
How big tech is reshaping how we pay attention
Unspun World: Is Western support for Ukraine holding firm?
John Simpson examines whether Western support for Ukraine is holding firm
The Media Show: Diplomacy and the media and 100 years of The New Yorker
The battle to report Ukraine, Russia, and government narratives
The Media Show: Mehdi Hasan on journalism, opinion, and independence
The former MSNBC star on why he’s now flying solo
Unspun World: Is Russia’s war in Ukraine nearing an endgame?
John Simpson analyses whether Russia’s war in Ukraine is nearing an endgame
The Media Show: Jeff Bezos' Washington Post shift
How the Amazon founder has triggered resignations at the paper he owns
Unspun World: Can Ukraine continue to rely on US support?
John Simpson examines whether a European army could provide a bulwark against Russia
Unspun World: How will Donald Trump’s tariffs affect global markets?
John Simpson looks at whether an economic downturn is on the horizon
The Media Show: Revealing Facebook
A former Facebook executive describes life inside the company and its leadership culture
Can Germany's ailing economy get back on track?
Ed Butler interviews Dr Joachim Nagel, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank
The Media Show: Investigating Michael Jackson
Dan Reed on Leaving Neverland 2 and the legal battle over Jackson’s legacy
Unspun World: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin negotiate over a ceasefire in Ukraine
John Simpson analyses the negotiations over a ceasefire in Ukraine
The Media Show: Are pirated books powering AI?
Copyright row as authors say Meta trained its AI without their consent
Unspun World: How might Gaza be governed in the future?
John Simpson examines how Gaza could be governed in the future
The Media Show: What teenage boys are watching online
How the Netflix drama Adolescence has started a conversation about online influence
The Media Show: Trade wars, tariffs, and Trump’s media strategy
Challenge for journalists to explain economic uncertainty
Trump's tariffs explained
Ben Brown and Sumi Somaskanda examine the key questions about US tariffs
The Media Show: Britain's steel crisis and SNL’s leap across the Atlantic
Reporting the battle to save the UK’s last major steelworks
The Global Jigsaw: The Kurdish issue: Part one
What does the future hold for Kurdish people?
The Media Show: Washington leak culture
Pentagon hunt for the officials talking to journalists
The Global Jigsaw: The Kurdish issue: Part two
What does the future hold for Kurdish people?
The Media Show: Piers Morgan’s YouTube bet
Why the former tabloid journalist believes online is his future
Unspun World: What part did Trump play in Canada’s election?
John Simpson analyses US President Donald Trump’s influence on Canada's election results
The Global Jigsaw: The Kurdish issue: Part three
What does the future hold for Kurdish people?
The Media Show: Tina Brown on her fight for quality journalism
Legendary magazine editor on press freedom, editorial integrity and the MAGA era
Unspun World: Vladimir Putin’s game plan
John Simpson analyses Russia’s current strategy in Ukraine
The Media Show: Misinformation and the India-Pakistan Standoff
How false claims have flooded social media during border tensions
Unspun World: What's next for Gaza?
John Simpson examines the Israeli government’s plans for Gaza
The Media Show: Full-time for Lineker at the BBC
How a social media post led to football presenter’s departure
Unspun World: The UK's new EU deal
James Landale analyses the UK’s new deal with the EU
The Media Show: NYT editor Joe Kahn, and travel presenter Simon Reeve
Journalism in a divided America and documentary storytelling in Scandinavia
Unspun World: Will Israeli criticism change Netanyahu's Gaza stance?
Will criticism from within Israel force Netanyahu to change his approach in Gaza?
The Media Show: Can NPR survive Trump’s cuts?
CEO of US public radio sets out survival strategy
What does a new president mean for Poland?
John Simpson analyses what Karol Nawrocki’s victory means for Poland’s government
The Media Show: Will AI kill the advertising industry?
Meta’s plan for new tools that will let anyone make ads
Unspun World: Trump's immigration crackdown
John Simpson analyses the US president’s decision to deploy troops to California