Podcast · 286 episodes
The Global Story, page 10
by BBC World Service · English
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.
All episodes, page 10
How the National Guard shooting accelerated Trump’s immigration crackdownHow the Nov 26 Washington, D.C. National Guard shooting (suspect Rahmanullah Lackenwald, Afghan) rapidly accelerated Trump’s immigration crackdown, including asylum pauses and broader travel-ban…8 Dec 2025 · 27 min · 16 chapters
The Fifa-Trump bromanceThe episode examines how FIFA’s World Cup draw and a newly created “FIFA Peace Prize” are being used to court U.S.5 Dec 2025 · 27 min · 12 chapters
How did a Chinese spiritual movement build a US media empire?How Falun Gong followers built the Epoch Times into a conservative U.S. media empire, and what its rise says about U.S. media/political polarization.4 Dec 2025 · 28 min · 13 chapters
Why has Trump pardoned Honduras’s drug trafficker ex-president?The episode explains why U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras convicted in the U.S. for drug trafficking and weapons offenses.3 Dec 2025 · 27 min · 7 chapters
The death of readingThe episode argues that smartphones and visual/oral media are driving a “post-literate society,” reversing the 18th-century “reading revolution” and reshaping education, concentration, and democracy.2 Dec 2025 · 27 min · 15 chapters
Whatever happened to Iran’s nuclear programme?Whether the June “12-day war” involving Israel/US strikes destroyed Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and whether it sparked new freedoms in Iran.1 Dec 2025 · 27 min · 13 chapters
When popes get politicalHow popes use moral authority and diplomacy to shape politics, focusing on Pope Leo (formerly Robert Prevost) and comparisons with Pius XII, John Paul II, and Francis.28 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 14 chapters
Shein: How the fast fashion disruptor ran into real world problemsShein’s rise as ultra-fast fashion and e-commerce “disruptor,” plus controversies over worker treatment, environmental impact, transparency, and its Paris store backlash; also how U.S.27 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 16 chapters
The international drama of Miss UniverseThe BBC Global Story episode explains why Miss Universe is surging back into public view, focusing on 2024/2025 Thailand pageant chaos and the business/power struggle behind it, plus how pageants…26 Nov 2025 · 26 min · 14 chapters
Can Trump’s Gaza plan turn a ceasefire into permanent peace?Whether Donald Trump’s UN-backed 20-point Gaza plan can turn the Oct 10 ceasefire into lasting peace, and what happens if it fails.25 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 16 chapters
The decision facing ZelenskyA late-stage debate over a proposed US 28-point “peace plan” for Ukraine—reportedly favorable to Moscow—amid battlefield pressure, possible Russian advances (including Pokrovsk), and a Ukrainian…24 Nov 2025 · 26 min · 15 chapters
Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?Whether Donald Trump’s administration is responding to a “genocide of white South Africans” (especially Afrikaner farmers) and how that claim has driven U.S.–South Africa tensions, including a U.S.21 Nov 2025 · 32 min · 15 chapters
What is Sudan’s war really about?Sudan’s war (since 2023) and why it continues, rooted in earlier Darfur violence; it’s described as a civil war/proxy war with foreign backing, driven by power and resources, and producing mass…20 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 12 chapters
The oil lobbyist who tried to sink the first big climate dealHow an American oil lobbyist, Don Perlman, helped derail or weaken early climate negotiations—especially the 1997 Kyoto Protocol—by exploiting the COP process’s consensus rules and legal/wording…19 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 12 chapters
The Saudi prince's long road to rehabilitationMBS’s “rehabilitation” and return to Washington after years of Western ostracism following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi; the episode also weighs what Saudi Arabia and the Trump…18 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 8 chapters
Is the world entering a new age of nuclear testing?Whether the US and other powers are moving toward a new era of nuclear testing, and what that would mean for deterrence and global risk.17 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 11 chapters
Ghislaine Maxwell, the Epstein Files, and the scandal that won’t go awayThe episode revisits the renewed U.S. political fight over the “Epstein files” and what they may reveal about Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking network and Donald Trump’s possible knowledge.14 Nov 2025 · 30 min · 12 chapters
The hostage negotiator’s guide to making deals with Putin’s RussiaRoger Carstens, former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPIHA), explains how the U.S.13 Nov 2025 · 28 min · 17 chapters
Why is Trump threatening to sue the BBC?A BBC crisis over a disputed Panorama documentary edit of Donald Trump’s Jan 6, 2021 speech, escalating into a $1 billion lawsuit threat by Trump and resignations of BBC leadership.12 Nov 2025 · 26 min · 12 chapters
Is social media dead?Whether social media is “dead” or evolving into something more algorithmic, AI-driven, and broadcast-like; includes “dead internet theory” and how consolidation (Facebook/Instagram, Yahoo/Tumblr,…11 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 13 chapters
Why Trump is threatening to go 'guns a-blazing' into NigeriaThe episode examines why Donald Trump and some U.S. conservatives are alleging “existential” persecution of Christians in Nigeria and threatening military action.10 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 11 chapters
Viktor Orban’s dilemma: Trump’s favour or Russian oilThe episode explains why Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s upcoming Washington meeting with President Donald Trump is tense despite their close ties.7 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 13 chapters
A tale of two cities: London’s lesson for New York’s first Muslim mayorLondon’s mayor Sadiq Khan explains why he became a MAGA target and what it means for Zoran Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim mayor, amid U.S.6 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 9 chapters
What’s behind Trump’s rift with Colombia?The strained U.S.–Colombia relationship under Donald Trump and President Gustavo Petro, framed through decades of U.S. anti-drug policy and Colombia’s evolving armed groups.5 Nov 2025 · 27 min · 14 chapters