Download How do you win a Nobel Prize?
The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious award in the world. Whether you win it for physics, chemistry, literature, medicine, economics - or, the most coveted of all, the peace prize, the process of choosing a winner is extremely secretive.
President Donald Trump has been pretty clear he thinks he deserves it. But this year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition in Venezuela.
The BBC’s Mark Lowen has been to Oslo in Norway, to get rare access to the room where the Nobel Peace Prize is decided. He explains the history of the awards, who makes the decisions and what you get if you win.
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Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: Emily Horler, Chelsea Coates and Julia Ross-Roy
Editor: Verity Wilde
Published on Friday, 17th October 2025.
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