Beyond Today

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What’s going on between Russia and Trump? Nov 28, 2018

Show notes

As far as the west is concerned, Russia hasn’t been playing by the rules for a while now. Accusations of meddling in the US elections, the Salisbury poison attack, and now seizing Ukrainian ships and sailors. But President Trump has a more complicated relationship with Russia than his predecessors and although he’s said he might cancel a meeting with President Putin over the dispute with Ukraine, there are questions about how close he is to the Russians. Questions that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller may soon answer as he enters the endgame of his investigation into Russian interference in Donald Trump’s election, and what those close to the now-president knew about it. Vitaliy Shevchenko in Moscow and Tara McKelvey and Anthony Zurcher in Washington prepare us for the upcoming flurry of news headlines.

Producers: Harriet Noble and Georgia Coan Editor: John Shields

Dream job denied: how do you bounce back? Nov 27, 2018

Show notes

Jason Lampkin was told he was going to be the next Michael Owen, and when he signed for Manchester United as a youth player, he wore the world renowned number 7 shirt. But things didn’t quite work out like that. This is a story about and the readjustments we all have to make when our future plans are dashed.

Producers: Seren Jones, Philly Beaumont and Jaja Muhammad. Editor: John Shields

Who will face justice for the war in Syria? Nov 26, 2018

Show notes

The war in Syria could be the crime of the century. The conflict has been raging for nearly 8 years and, in that time, some estimate that 500,000 people have been killed. The government of President Assad has caused more of these deaths but both sides have committed atrocities which have cost civilian lives. Who should face justice and will some sort of large scale tribunal like the one that followed the war in Yugoslavia ever be held? BBC Monitoring’s Amira Fathalla and Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen try to make some sense of the conflicting narratives of the Syrian war.

Producers: Becky Lipscombe and Harriet Noble.

Who is Michelle Obama? Nov 23, 2018

Show notes

Michelle Obama is so much more than the wife of the first black president of the United States of America. There’s a lot we already know about her – like her focus on public health, LGBT rights and girls’ education. But there’s still a lot we don’t know, and for the first time she's telling her story in her own words, with her new book "Becoming". We wanted to bring to you a few of our favourite snippets, read by Michelle Obama herself.

Producers: Jaja Muhammad and Harriet Noble

What happens when we #travel for the gram? Nov 22, 2018

Show notes

Social media has an ever increasing influence on where we go on holiday and what we do when we get there.

BBC journalist Jordan Dunbar tells us the story of a small country road in Northern Ireland that became a tourist hotspot overnight after featuring on Game of Thrones.

We also hear from author and Radio 4 presenter Timandra Harkness on Vienna’s new marketing campaign that encourages tourists to ditch the hashtag.

Producers: Duncan Barber and Lucy Hancock Editor: John Shields

How Saudi is my Uber? Nov 21, 2018

Show notes

Big tech firms and Saudi royalty are among the world’s richest people. When a young Saudi prince took power in Riyadh he quickly made friends in Silicon Valley. But then the murder of a US-based journalist threatened to derail his masterplan. We discuss the future of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and our connection to him through Saudi investments with Dharshini David, economist and BBC presenter and Amira Fathalla from BBC Monitoring.

Producers: Philly Beaumont and Georgia Coan Editor John Shields

Why are people so afraid of Universal Credit? Nov 20, 2018

Show notes

Concern over Universal Credit has been bubbling away for well over a year now as it's slowly rolled out across the country. The first thing the new Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said about the programme she took over this week is that it "can be better" and that she’ll listen to people’s concerns. John Owen from the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme tells us why it all seems to be going wrong. Producers: Heidi Pett and Georgia Coan Editor: John Shields

Is it ok to feel sorry for Theresa May? Nov 19, 2018

Show notes

Theresa May has had many tough weeks during her premiership, but this week could be the toughest – or even her last. Her ministers are resigning, Parliament is criticising her Brexit deal and members of her own party are writing letters calling for her head, but through all of this she keeps on going. Should we admire her resilience or is this a mess of her own making? When Tina tweeted about this last week she got a huge response, so we asked Joey D’Urso and Ben Wright from the BBC’s Westminster office to weigh in.

Producers: Harriet Noble, Jaja Muhammad Editor : John Shields

Oobah Butler: should news amuse? Nov 16, 2018

Show notes

Oobah Butler is a writer and professional mischief maker. Last year he made the news for hacking TripAdvisor’s review system by getting his fake restaurant rated number one in London. Whether he's blagging his way into fashion week as a knock off brand designer or sending fake versions of himself on to the BBC, his pranks are often both hugely elaborate and curiously insightful. We got him in to find out why he does it all.

Producers: Lucy Hancock, Jaja Muhammad and Seren Jones

Who’s helping teachers with tough kids? Nov 15, 2018

Show notes

We get inside one of the places where they try to teach pupils kicked out of mainstream school. 50,000 of them are now in what’s called alternative provision. Why are more children being excluded from school and what can be done to support them and the teachers who try to educate them? The BBC’s Noel Titheradge takes us through what he found and Kiran Gill, founder of The Difference, describes some of the solutions for teachers working in alternative provision and pupil referral units.

Producers: Becky Lipscombe, Jaja Muhammad and Philly Beaumont.

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