PODCAST · news
The Global Story
by BBC World Service
Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption.
Episodes
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Europe protests: A continent in crisis?
“They've surrendered their country to vandals,” claimed Donald Trump this week, as videos of protests and looting across France spread across social media and TV news bulletins. The US president has framed the unrest in France – and similar protests across Europe, as a migration problem. “They’re...
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Who gets to decide Ukraine's future?
Can Ukraine still rely on America? More than 80 years after the Yalta conference reshaped post-war Europe, some observers fear a new era of great-power diplomacy could once again shape the continent's future. Reports of a possible meeting between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have...
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They were loyal Democrats. Then came Gaza
Midterm elections in the United States are normally about domestic issues such as the economy and the cost of living. They’re often a pulse check on voter sentiment towards the party in power, or a reflection of local political battles and regional trends. Midterms are rarely impassioned...
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Is Trump sacrificing Ukraine for cheaper diesel?
America’s pain at the pump could have major implications for the future of the war in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump wants to bring down fuel prices for Americans. One way he’s trying to do it is by reopening the door to Russian energy, reversing a policy designed to deprive Russian President...
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America’s rogue ambassadors
A diplomat’s job is traditionally to represent their country’s interests while maintaining good relations with their host nation. But some of Donald Trump’s ambassadors are taking a different approach. On Tuesday, Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned from her ambassadorship in Greece after serious...
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Why Trump is not going to war with the Houthis
Is Washington leaving Saudi Arabia to fend for itself? Last week, Houthi rebels launched a series of missile strikes on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. Surveillance footage showed a fireball erupting as airport passengers ran for cover. At least 14 people have been killed and hundreds were…
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Could Gen Z bring down India’s Modi?
This week tens of thousands of young people have taken to the streets of Delhi, India’s capital, demanding changes to the electoral system and the resignation of the country’s electoral commissioner. Thousands have been detained by police in the process. They represent the ‘cockroach’ movement, a...
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Was World War Two worth it? Some US conservatives have doubts
Since World War Two ended, most people living in the United States or Europe have generally upheld a consensus about its morality; that it was a just war fought against an evil Nazi regime, and the allies were right to fight it. But in a viral podcast debate with the British conservative Sir…
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Are we really living in unprecedented times?
Politicians and commentators keep telling us we are living through unprecedented times. But how unusual is the world we are living in, really? John Simpson has spent 60 years reporting for the BBC, witnessing some of the most consequential moments in modern history. He was on the plane that…
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What’s really happening with plague in Russia?
A plague scare in Siberia has become a Rorschach test for public health fears in a post-Covid world. Russian officials are investigating the death of a worker at a plague research laboratory. They say she died of pneumonia. But speculation online has suggested she may have died from pneumonic...
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Why French teenagers are fighting for their education
What began as a revolt over public school funding has spilled into a much bigger fight over the future of France. Now, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets, and clashes with police have left teenagers and officers injured. More than 6,000 people have been arrested, most of…
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The warnings before 7 October
Israel is marking three years since the 7 October attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed by Hamas-led attackers and a further 251 hostages were taken back to Gaza. The commemorations come in the final weeks of a pivotal election campaign. Benjamin Netanyahu’s record on national…
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Smart glasses or ‘pervert glasses’?
At a recent Meta product launch, Mark Zuckerberg promised that the company’s smart glasses would give wearers “new superpowers”, but what are they? Amid criticisms of its privacy and child protection policies, Meta is betting big on smart glasses as a way to restyle the company’s image, but they...
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America’s global hunt for execution drugs
Why do executions in the United States keep going wrong? Last week, Tennessee attempted to carry out the execution of Christa Pike, a convicted murderer who had spent three decades on death row. But the execution did not go as planned: After she was injected with two lethal doses of…
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How white South Africans became the face of Trump’s refugee policy
In the last year, the US has admitted just 13,000 refugees — a fraction of the number it has accepted in previous years. And almost all of those new arrivals have been white South Africans. The Trump administration says Afrikaners are fleeing persecution in South Africa. But there is little...
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Inside the Flydubai attack that could upend Israeli elections
How did the passengers of Flydubai's flight FZ1073 prevent a catastrophe after a cockpit attack? And what does this incident mean for Israel at a politically charged moment? On Wednesday, a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after one pilot allegedly stabbed the other. The...
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Is Meta dying?
Fifteen years ago, the film The Social Network told the story of Facebook’s rise to global prominence. As Meta faces growing scrutiny from regulators and pours billions into AI, a new movie examines what the company allegedly knew about the harms linked to Facebook. Jeff Horwitz is the journalist...
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Did a farmer foil a plot to attack a UK military base?
In the early hours of Sunday morning, three vans were spotted near a British military base used by the United States for its bombing operations in Iran. A huge police operation followed, bomb disposal teams were spotted on the scene, and five men were arrested on suspicion of explosive and...
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The Super El Nino: what happens when it hits us?
Climate scientists have put out a dire warning about this year’s El Niño; that it will likely be the worst in recorded history. And if previous ‘super’ El Niños are anything to go by, that means that this cycle will bring extreme weather - flooding, drought, wildfires, and hunger- across the…
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Katseye, America and the dark side of K-pop perfection
What happens when K-pop’s gruelling formula meets the American music industry? The global girl group Katseye has gone from a reality-show experiment to a global phenomenon. With chart-topping hits, a viral Gap campaign and a sold-out international tour, the group has become one of the biggest...
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Is a free press at serious risk in Trump’s America?
Last week, President Donald Trump barred CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House, accusing them of spreading "fake news". After their reporters had their press passes revoked and were denied access to the building, the three outlets launched a joint legal challenge, arguing that the move…
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Inside China’s push to become the world’s AI superpower
China’s President Xi returns to the White House on Thursday for the first time in over a decade. A priority for both leaders will be to discuss AI. The two countries are currently locked in a fierce competition for AI dominance, amid dire warnings from US tech executives in recent weeks that the...
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Why the world wants American surrogates
The United States is one of the few wealthy countries where commercial surrogacy remains legal. Bans elsewhere in the world, combined with a largely free-market approach at home, have made the US an international destination for would-be parents from around the globe – fuelling the industry’s…
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Searching for Russia’s missing soldiers
While Russia’s president continues to insist that his, “special military operation” in Ukraine is succeeding, the estimated number of Russian soldiers killed and wounded in this war tells another story; 1.4 million casualties since February 2022. For that loss, Russia has gained just 2% of...
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Dave Ramsey: Iran, tariffs and affordability
As the midterm elections in America approach, the economy is one of the deciding factors for how people will vote. Before his second term started, President Trump promised to tackle the so-called affordabilty crisis. But since then, the war in Iran has led to soaring gas prices and a range of...
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Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, and the politics of staying silent
One of the most successful songwriters of all time is facing the biggest controversy of his nearly two decades in the public eye. Where does pop star Ed Sheeran go from here? On Tuesday, every support act for Sheeran withdrew from his US stadium tour, following a decision to drop rapper…
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Will the Houthis tank the global economy?
Over the last week, the Houthis - an Iran-backed militant group in Yemen - have captured two strategic islands along the Red Sea coast, consolidating its control of a key international shipping route known as the Bab al-Mandab strait. Saudi Arabia has relied on access to the strait for exporting…
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The Canadians who want out of Canada
As Canada continues to wage a trade war with the US, an internal battle is being fought over the country’s identity. Next month, voters in Alberta, the country’s wealthiest province, face a referendum on whether they want the opportunity to explore a separation from Canada. Supporters say Alberta...
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Can the US and China stop AI from killing us all?
China’s President Xi Jinping will meet Donald Trump later this month with the issue of AI governance high on the agenda. In recent weeks there has been increasing concern around the risks that AI might pose to humanity, after a safety researcher at Anthropic suggested the technology could, "kill...
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Did America win the ‘war on terror’?
Why can’t America quit the Middle East? September 11 marked a shift in the American psyche, and altered the way the United States saw its place in the world. Shortly after the attacks, President George W Bush announced the ‘war on terror’, a policy that would implicate the United States in…
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How the AfD is rewriting German history
For the first time since World War Two, a far-right party has made a significant win in Germany – taking almost 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been labelled as “right-wing extremist” by domestic intelligence, is leading the national polls.…
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Why America's allies are sanctioning West Bank settlers
On Tuesday, the government of the United Kingdom announced sweeping sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and accused settlers of ‘ethnic cleansing.’ Soon after, 11 other countries, including Canada, France, Spain and Poland, announced a ban on goods imported from illegal...
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Can Dubai’s luxe image survive the war with Iran?
As the summer holiday season draws to a close, foreigners travelling to and from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates are facing delays, cancellations and severe travel warnings. The disruption comes as a result of the UAE’s position in the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran. Throughout the conflict,...
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Was Saudi Arabia involved in 9/11?
Twenty-five years on from the deadliest terror attack in history, thousands of grieving families are still fighting for answers. In early 2000, two young Saudis arrived in San Diego. They had never been to America, spoke almost no English, and had no idea how to open a bank account or rent a…
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How the world sees Lindsay Clancy
Lindsay Clancy faces first-degree murder charges over the deaths of her three young children. But if her case had happened elsewhere, the charges might have looked very different. Clancy’s trial in Massachusetts has captured international attention. It has divided public opinion and ignited…
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Is the AI backlash actually a Chinese psy-op?
Accusations of foreign interference have been making headlines this week. Elon Musk’s X alleges that China has been stirring up a backlash against American data centres. Israel and Russia have denied allegations from Spain’s prime minister that they’re partly to blame for the migrant crisis in...
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Is the world giving up on the US dollar?
America’s national debt recently hit a new milestone of $40 trillion. It is estimated that interest payments on the national debt are now the second largest expense in the US government budget, trailing only social security. How was the US able to borrow so much and for so long? One answer,...
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Nepal: Covering a disaster in your own country
As the world watches the aftermath of devastating floods in Nepal, journalist Anup Kaphle has been asking a difficult question: When does coverage of a natural disaster cross from rightful global concern into spectacle? Kaphle is the group editorial director of Kantipur Media Group, Nepal’s…
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Inside Afghanistan’s secret schools for girls
Five years after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban’s near-total crackdown on the rights of women and girls has made the country ‘a global outlier with no parallel in the modern world’, according to the United Nations. The Taliban governed for five years in the late 1990s...
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Did Emily ruin Paris?
The Netflix show Emily in Paris has been lauded by French President Emmanuel Macron, who presented its creator, Darren Star, with the prestigious Légion d’Honneur last year. “You make France shine across the world,” Macron said. Many critics disagree. The programme, about a hapless American...
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Trump 'tightens the noose' on Iran. Will it backfire?
There have been a lot of sanctions programmes against Iran. But this week US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast, which promises to go further than ever before. It will punish not just Iran but any country helping Iran - including China. It is the Trump...
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Canada’s Mark Carney fights back
What are the costs of standing up to your biggest trading partner? Canada recently walked away from trade talks with the US hours before Trump's deadline to impose major tariffs on Canadian goods. Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a defiant tone, acknowledging that Canada was now locked in a…
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Will the new cancer vaccine survive RFK Jr’s America?
A new personalised vaccine given in combination with a drug has stopped skin cancer returning in patients during a trial, representing a potentially watershed moment in cancer treatment. Scientists used mRNA technology, which was used for some Covid-19 vaccines. But that technology - and vaccines...
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The campaign to replace Zelensky
Last week Ukraine's popular ex-defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections, in what is widely seen as the biggest challenge to Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Zelensky, whose five-year presidential term ended in May 2024, has been…
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The end of Harry and Meghan’s American dream
The Duke of Sussex told the BBC last year that he, “can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back.” So what’s changed? Prince Harry and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, plan to move back to the UK later this month. Their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are...
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Jason Arday, DEI, and the dilemma facing black academics
How did a prominent Cambridge professor come to embody the fault lines around DEI in higher education? Three years ago, Jason Arday was celebrated as the youngest black professor ever appointed at the University of Cambridge. But recent questions about his academic work and his life story became...
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Is Kim Jong Un the real winner of the Iran war?
President Trump took to Truth Social last weekend to announce that the US will "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea. He cited his "very good relationship" with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, but he also accused South Korea of failing to help the US in its war with...
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The West Bank settler siege
Two Palestinian families in the village of Qusra in the West Bank have been under siege by Israeli settlers for over a week. The Palestinian-American owner of one of the homes traveled to the West Bank from Ohio on Monday, after asking for protection from the US embassy. His visit comes after the...
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The challenger to Netanyahu, with New Yorker editor David Remnick
Benjamin Netanyahu has been a major figure in Israeli politics for a long time. You could have just turned 30 years old and never known a time when he wasn’t either prime minister or somewhere near the top of Israeli politics. But could that be about to change? With less than three months until…
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‘Spermageddon’: what’s going on with male fertility?
Wearing loose cotton boxer shorts. Icing your testicles. Doing blood transfusions to ‘clean’ your body of microplastics. Eating raw garlic. These are all unproven methods to boost sperm count being promoted by wellness influencers. On TikTok and Instagram, hashtags such as #malefertility,...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption.
HOSTED BY
BBC World Service
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How many episodes does The Global Story have?
The Global Story currently has 671 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Global Story about?
Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s...
How often does The Global Story release new episodes?
The Global Story releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 671 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
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You can listen to The Global Story on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
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The Global Story is created and hosted by BBC World Service.
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