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PODCAST

What in the World

BBC World Service

Helping you make sense of what’s happening in your world. Big stories, small stories and everything in between. Understand more, feel better. Five days a week, Monday to Friday.

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All Episodes

11:46

The darker side behind scam texts

What in the World ·

2025/12/04

You’ve probably had a call from someone pretending to be your bank - or even a family member - all to find out that it’s a scam. It’s part of a global, lucrative industry: the UN estimates that countries in east and southeast Asia lost an estimated $37 billion to cyber fraud in 2023, while the United States reported losses of more than $5.6 billion. But have you ever considered that the people behind these scams are sometimes victims themselves?Across South East Asia, in countries like Myanmar and

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8:56

Did India just end poverty in Kerala?

What in the World ·

2025/12/03

Kerala claims to be the first state in India to have ended extreme poverty. Over the past four years, various government departments have worked together to provide around 64,000 families living in extreme poverty with food, shelter, medical care and scholarships for their children. But what is extreme poverty and why are some people questioning this claim? The BBC’s Shruti Menon, who is from Kerala, explains all. She also chats us through how extreme poverty rates across India have plummeted in the

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12:00

Ukraine’s underground schools

What in the World ·

2025/12/02

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Thousands of schools have been damaged in the war. According to the UN children agency Unicef, only a third of Ukraine's schoolchildren currently study in-person, due to the threat of missile and drone attacks as well as shelling. Russia has attacked energy infrastructure so there are also frequent power cuts across the country. In this episode we hear what life is like for students in Ukraine right now.Initially Russian forces captured large

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9:56

Why are some sugary drinks more expensive?

What in the World ·

2025/12/01

Sugar taxes are in place in several countries including Mexico and the UK. And they’re evolving. Maybe you’ve noticed that some sweet fizzy drinks are getting more expensive? Buying drinks with added sugar has an extra cost, which is commonly known as sugar tax. It’s a way to discourage people from consuming too much sugar - something which can lead to poor health if consumed in excess. But do these sugar taxes work? Our BBC colleague Maria Clara Montoya has been looking into this with the help of

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13:05

Could this be the most valuable shipwreck in the world?

What in the World ·

2025/11/28

Colombian archaeologists have retrieved the first items from what’s thought to be the most valuable shipwreck in the world. A Spanish naval ship, the San José, was sunk by a British fleet off the coast of Colombia more than 300 years ago. It had a cargo of gold, silver and emeralds worth billions of dollars in today’s money. Treasure hunters had tried to locate the shipwreck for many years, before Colombia announced that it had discovered it back in 2015.But how can we be sure this is the actual San

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13:14

Are we in the age of trillionaires?

What in the World ·

2025/11/27

Elon Musk could be about to become the world’s first trillionaire. That’s after a record-breaking pay package - that could be worth nearly $1tn (£760bn) - was approved by Tesla shareholders. The electric car boss is already the world's richest man, but this would take his wealth to a whole new level. But who is Elon Musk and how did he make all this money? We explain all, as well as breaking down what a trillion dollars actually is. Plus, we hear from two special guests about what they would do with

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11:33

Do students learn best in their first language?

What in the World ·

2025/11/26

Children learn best when they’re taught in the language they use at home, research suggests. But there's the question about the power of world languages like English, Spanish, French or Arabic and how they could provide more opportunities to those who learn it, be it in education or a career. You’ve been messaging us about what languages you learned in at school. Say hello to Brian in Kenya and Christian in the Philippines!We then skip over to Nigeria, where our reporter Makuochi Okafor breaks down

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8:57

Why your plane’s GPS might be sabotaged (but don’t be...

What in the World ·

2025/11/25

GPS interference or GPS ‘jamming’ is getting more common. It’s when radio signals on the same frequencies as GPS satellites are used to overwhelm and block legitimate navigation signals. It’s led to pilots having to make emergency landings or switch to older non-GPS systems. The issue has become so prevalent that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) held a conference on it last year. Several European governments also believe it is intentional interference by Russia. BBC journalist Emilia

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14:27

COP30 made some progress, but not on fossil fuels

What in the World ·

2025/11/24

COP30, the big meeting where countries discuss climate change annually, has finished. This year it was hosted in the city of Belem in Brazil, in the Amazon forest, which is directly affected by it. The role of the two biggest emitters has also made headlines. The United States hasn’t taken part in the talks and China has kept a very low profile. This summit has ended without a clear commitment to phase out fossil fuels and that has angered protesters and activists, who participated in demonstrations

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11:34

The ancient origins of kissing

What in the World ·

2025/11/21

Scientists at Oxford University in the UK now think that kissing evolved more than 21 million years ago, and it wasn’t humans that started it.As a behaviour, it has no obvious survival or reproductive benefits but it’s seen across the world, in humans and animals alike.Victoria Gill, our Science Correspondent, tells us all about the research and what we know about if animals can be romantic like humans can.Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworldEmail: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22

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12:55

The drama at this year’s Miss Universe

What in the World ·

2025/11/20

Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch has been crowned Miss Universe at a ceremony in Bangkok, marking the end of an exceptionally scandal-filled pageant season. It's the 74th Miss Universe pageant and there was a lot of drama before a single contestant took to the stage.Early in November, Miss Mexico walked out of an event after she was told off by a Thai official and those who supported her were threatened with disqualification. Then in the days before the final, some judges resigned, one over claims the

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9:24

Epstein files: What are they and when will they be...

What in the World ·

2025/11/19

After months of mounting pressure, US lawmakers have just voted to release all of the so-called Epstein files. So documents from criminal investigations into the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before his death could soon be made public. The vote was passed in the House of Representatives 427-1 and the Senate unanimously fast-tracked it without a formal vote. Now it’s down to US President Donald Trump, who’s already said he’ll release them.This story has been around for a while, and it’s become a bit

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9:37

Sudan: Studying in a war zone

What in the World ·

2025/11/18

In Sudan, where a civil war has been raging for over two years, millions of students have had their education disrupted. Over half of all schools are in conflict zones. Many schools are being used as shelters and many students have missed their exams. In some parts of the country there is no education at all.Sudan is one of the biggest countries in Africa. It’s mostly Muslim and is also one of the poorest countries in the world. More than 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and around

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11:25

How can islands protect against typhoons and hurricanes?

What in the World ·

2025/11/17

Both Jamaica and the Philippines have been battered by tropical storms in the past month. Hurricane Melissa, a category five storm, was the worst storm to ever hit Jamaica and one of the strongest so far to affect the Caribbean, leaving at least 30 people dead. And super-typhoon Fungwong displaced more than a million people in the Philippines, only days after an earlier storm claimed hundreds of lives. Neither region is a stranger to storms - the Philippines is hit with an average of 20 typhoons

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13:47

Would price caps on reselling tickets stop touts?

What in the World ·

2025/11/14

These days, buying concert tickets is a huge expense. If fans miss out, they can often find tickets on resale sites at hugely inflated prices. Sometimes people resell their tickets because they can’t go but there are also lots of “professional resellers” or ticket touts playing the system and making loads of profit. They buy tickets in bulk from the original seller platform, then mark them up to fans. We hear from a Taylor Swift super fan, who has spent hundreds on resale tickets.Now, a group of

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13:36

Do tech bros know something we don’t?

What in the World ·

2025/11/13

Prepping is a big deal in the US. There’s even a reality TV show called “Doomsday Preppers”. Prepping is when you stockpile loads of stuff - food, water, medicine - in case of a disaster, nuclear war or an unstoppable virus. Now billionaires are taking it to the next level, building underground mansions and self-sustaining bunkers that look like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is building a $100 million compound in Hawaii—complete with plans for a huge

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10:20

Are Nicki Minaj and Trump right about Christian...

What in the World ·

2025/11/12

Are Christians being targeted and killed in their thousands in Nigeria? That’s the claim made by US President Donald Trump in several social media posts. He’s blamed the Nigerian Government for allowing the killing of Christians, and has threatened to stop aid and send troops into the African country. It not only caught the attention of Nigerians, but also rapper Nicki Minaj. In a post on X that’s been seen more than 50 million times, she said she’s grateful to Trump, writing that no group should be

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11:56

Are we one step closer to discovering life on other...

What in the World ·

2025/11/11

Do aliens exist? What’s out there in the universe beyond Earth? These are some of the questions which have plagued astronomers and film producers for years. Well, now astronomers are revisiting these questions following the discovery of a possible atmosphere around an Earth-sized planet about 40 light years away. The exoplanet is called Trappist-1e and may be able to host life. BBC science presenter Caroline Steel joins us to explain what we need to know about this discovery. Plus, we speak to

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12:46

COP30: What’s changed in the past decade for the...

What in the World ·

2025/11/10

The COP30 climate summit is taking place in the Brazilian city of Belém for the next two weeks. It's run by the United Nations (UN) and every year is one of the biggest events in the calendar, especially for world leaders and environmental campaigners. This COP is in the Amazon rainforest. The country's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, says it will be an historic summit because it is "a COP in the Amazon, not a COP about the Amazon". All world leaders are invited, but not all attend. US

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12:01

How did New York’s mayor-elect Mamdani win over young...

What in the World ·

2025/11/07

New York has chosen its new mayor - Zohran Mamdani. He’s a Muslim, was born in Uganda, and loves Arsenal. He’s also pretty young. The politician has been making waves online with his social media campaign and united a huge Gen Z force behind him. From viral moments like jumping in the sea in a suit to walking the entire length of Manhattan, he’s probably appeared on your timeline. So, what made his campaign go down so well with younger voters? We speak to BBC journalist Nathalia Jimenez, who has

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