The Global Story

BBC World Service

Global perspectives on one big story. In-depth insights from the BBC, the world's most trusted international news provider. Make sense of the news with our experts around the world, every Monday to Friday. Episodes will be ready by 10:30 GMT. Host Katya Adler and our BBC teams guide you through one major global news story each episode. From Beijing to Boston, Baghdad to Bangalore, our unrivalled reach will take you beyond the headlines to help understand and explore what’s happening. The Global News Podcast brings you the latest updates and, on The Global Story, we will drill deep into a single story. From the climate emergency, to the burning questions around Artificial Intelligence, to the movements of money and markets, and the power of the ballot and the bullet. Katya Adler has been a BBC correspondent and editor for more than 25 years, covering conflicts in the Middle East, political and economic crises in Europe, and drug cartels in Mexico. The Global Story team would like to hear your stories and experiences on the issues that we’re covering on the podcast. Please get in touch: [email protected] #TheGlobalStory and tell us your thoughts on what you would like us to talk about.

  • 29 minutes 10 seconds
    The President’s Path: The push to end the war in Ukraine

    On this episode of The President’s Path, Caitríona Perry, Sumi Somaskanda and Bernd Debusmann Jr discuss a week of major foreign policy developments in Washington DC.

    The proposed meetings between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could herald a new dawn in US-Russia relations, while critics fear Ukraine could be sidelined during negotiations to end the war in the country.

    Plus, the latest on the president’s plan to take over the Gaza Strip, which he reiterated during a visit from King Abdullah of Jordan. And how rising egg prices could be a major thorn in the side of the new administration.

    Producers: Tom Kavanagh and Charlie Jones

    Sound engineer: Mike Regaard

    Assistant editors: Sergi Forcada Freixas and Alice Aylett Roberts

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    15 February 2025, 9:50 am
  • 26 minutes 24 seconds
    Has one phone call sealed Ukraine's fate?

    In a surprise move this week, US President Donald Trump announced that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The pair held what Washington described as a "lengthy and highly productive" phone call, ending an effective boycott of high-level diplomatic dialogue with the Kremlin by western leaders. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke separately with President Trump, has emphasised his scepticism about Russia's readiness for peace. So, does this moment mark the first step towards formal talks?

    On this episode, Jonny Dymond is joined by the BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet. She dialled in from the Munich Security Conference, where Ukraine looks to be high on the agenda.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Alice Aylett Roberts and Tom Kavanagh

    Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    14 February 2025, 6:30 am
  • 26 minutes 24 seconds
    Antibiotics: A casualty of war?

    Antimicrobial drugs like antibiotics have saved countless lives and transformed the health of humanity. Before these drugs were discovered, even something as simple as a papercut could be life-threatening. Some of the greatest advances in the development of these drugs have been forged in wartime. But now those same wars threaten the progress that has been made.

    Host Jonny Dymond speaks with the BBC's Global Health correspondent Dominic Hughes about the hidden threat that wars around the world pose to modern medicine. And also the BBC’s Abdujalil Abdurasulov who has been speaking to soldiers and hospital staff in Ukraine to see how antimicrobial resistance is affecting their ability to treat casualties.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Peter Goffin and Mhairi MacKenzie

    Sound engineer: Mike Regaard

    Assistant editors: Alice Aylett Roberts and Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    13 February 2025, 6:30 am
  • 26 minutes 24 seconds
    El Salvador: Defeating the drug gangs, but at what cost?

    President Bukele has offered to house US criminals in El Salvador's mega-jail, built as part of his crackdown on drug gangs. Since taking office he has arrested thousands of people, but many remain in jail without facing trial.

    Host Jonny Dymond speaks to BBC Mundo's Leire Ventas who is one of the few journalists to have been inside the mega prison. Our correspondent in Central America, Will Grant, tells us the story of two mothers - one who welcomes President Bukele's approach and another who says it has torn her family apart.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Richard Moran and Mhairi MacKenzie

    Sound engineer: Ben Andrews

    Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    12 February 2025, 8:05 am
  • 26 minutes 26 seconds
    Are the US and Canada still friends?

    Will Canadians sour on this special relationship amid Trump’s tariff threats? Canada and the US share the world’s longest undefended border and one of the closest alliances in the world. But President Trump’s new tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium, and his comments about making Canada the 51st US state, have strained those longstanding ties. Can the friendship last?

    On this episode, presenter Jonny Dymond speaks to Jayme Poisson, host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation podcast Front Burner, and The Global Story’s reporter Peter Goffin.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Peter Goffin and Mhairi MacKenzie

    Sound engineer: Jack Graysmark

    Assistant editors: Sergi Forcada Freixas and Richard Moran

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    11 February 2025, 7:30 am
  • 28 minutes 36 seconds
    The World Cup kiss that's gripping Spain

    Luis Rubiales, the former president of Spain's football federation, is on trial accused of sexual assault for kissing the player Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup medal ceremony.

    Hermoso told the trial last week that the incident "stained one of the happiest days of my life". Rubiales, who has denied any wrongdoing, is expected to give evidence in the coming days.

    Host Lucy Hockings speaks to The Global Story's very own Sergi Forcada Freixas about how the incident stole headlines from the World Cup win. And our gender and identity correspondent Sofia Bettiza explains how the case has fuelled a conversation on sexual assault and consent that has been simmering in Spain for years.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Richard Moran and Beth Timmins

    Sound engineers: Stephen Bailey

    Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    10 February 2025, 6:30 am
  • 29 minutes 28 seconds
    The President’s Path: Trump's foreign policy disruption

    As world leaders line-up to visit the new President at the White House, Donald Trump has started outlining the first major foreign policy plans of this administration.

    Caitríona Perry, Sumi Somaskanda and Courtney Subramanian chat about Trump's disruptive foreign policy plans and how the US interacts with the rest of the world. They also look at Trump's new loyalist inner circle.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. Follow or subscribe to The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts, so you don't miss an episode. You can email us at [email protected]

    Producers: Charlie Jones and Alice Aylett Roberts

    Sound engineer: Mike Regaard

    Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    8 February 2025, 6:30 am
  • 25 minutes 59 seconds
    Is the working from home era over?

    Many companies are calling staff back to the office for more or all of the working week. When the Covid-19 pandemic upended the usual way of doing business around the world, most firms were forced to change their typical operating practices, allowing employees to work remotely where possible. But what may have looked like a permanent revolution at one stage is becoming a distant memory for some workers.

    Host Caitríona Perry talks to the BBC’s employment correspondent Zoe Conway and Stanford University economics professor Nicholas Bloom about whether working remotely for all or part of the week is better for business efficiency, and why some employers are calling time on the practice.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Peter Goffin and Laurie Kalus

    Sound engineers: Mike Regaard, Stephen Bailey and Annie Smith

    Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    7 February 2025, 9:50 am
  • 26 minutes 12 seconds
    Trump’s Gaza plan: The end of the two-state solution?

    President Donald Trump wants to take over Gaza and rebuild it as an international hotspot for business and tourism. The plan could drastically change the future of the Middle East. For decades, US presidents have said that establishing a sovereign Palestinian state, to exist alongside Israel, is the only way to achieve a permanent peace. But can that ever happen if Gazans are moved out of Gaza, as President Trump has suggested?

    On this episode, presenter Jonny Dymond speaks to the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams and the longstanding – if distant – diplomatic hopes for two-state solution.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Peter Goffin and Mhairi MacKenzie

    Sound engineers: Mike Regaard and Annie Smith

    Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    6 February 2025, 6:30 am
  • 22 minutes 48 seconds
    Can Trump win a trade war with China?

    The long-running economic battle between the world's two biggest economies has escalated. This week US President Donald Trump brought tariffs against China in an effort to strongarm the growing superpower into submission and strengthen American markets. But Beijing hit back, raising its own tariffs, escalating a trade war that could have implications for both countries. Trump is betting that tariffs will make America, and American people, richer. But does anyone win in a trade war? On this episode, Lucy Hockings speaks to the BBC’s Asia Pacific editor Micky Bristow, and Ritika Gupta, a North America business correspondent, about why Trump loves tariffs and what impact a trade war between China and America could have on the global economy.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Alice Aylett Roberts, Mhairi MacKenzie and Eleanor Sly

    Sound engineer: Stephen Bailey

    Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    5 February 2025, 6:30 am
  • 26 minutes
    Syria's illegal drug empire

    The deposed President Bashar al-Assad has been linked to the multi-billion dollar trade of a narcotic called Captagon. Syria's new rebel leaders have promised to stamp it out. So what will it take to end the country's association with the drug? Presenter Caitríona Perry speaks to the BBC's Emir Nader, who has been reporting on the drug trade in the Middle East.

    The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at [email protected] You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

    Producers: Peter Goffin and Eleanor Sly

    Sound engineers: Mike Regaard and Jonny Baker

    Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

    Senior news editor: China Collins

    4 February 2025, 6:30 am
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