Fifth Floor

Latest Episodes:

Being Thai Nov 17, 2017

Show notes

Thailand encompasses a large geographical, ethnic and cultural range, so is there such a thing as 'Thainess'? BBC Thai colleagues Watchiranont Thongtep, Thitipol Panyalompanun, Thanyarat Doksone and Jiraporn Kuhakan consider the question.

Image: A crowd celebrating Songkran, or the Thai New Year, in Bangkok Credit: LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/Getty Images

Reporting Mosul: A Journalist's Story Nov 10, 2017

Show notes

Three years ago, a lightning advance by about 800 jihadist fighters in northern Iraq morphed into a global threat. Nafiseh Kohnavard of BBC Persian has followed the fight against so-called Islamic State, and she witnessed the toughest battle for Iraqi forces, to retake Mosul.

Image: Nafiseh Kohnavard sitting wearing helmet and flak jacket in Mosul Credit: BBC

Insulted and spurned: Somali Gabooye Nov 03, 2017

Show notes

Qalib Barud of BBC Somali recently reported on discrimination in Somali society against a group of clans commonly referred to as the Gabooye.

Image: A shoemaker, one of the Gabooye clans, mends a shoe Credit: BBC

Apples, Dams and the Taliban Oct 27, 2017

Show notes

It's a short but risky journey from Kabul to the centre of neighbouring Wardak province - much of which is under Taliban control. BBC Afghan's Auliya Atrafi looked beyond conflict on his recent reporting trip - to the university local people built for themselves, and new power from an old hydro station.

Image: Landscape in Chak Valley, Wardak Province, Afghanistan Credit: BBC

India's Deccan Queen Oct 20, 2017

Show notes

The Deccan Queen train links Pune in the hills with Mumbai down on the coast, and is older than the state of India itself. It's also India's only train to have a dining car. BBC Marathi's Mayuresh Konnur is from Pune and knows it well.

Image: Train sign for Deccan Queen Credit: BBC

Kenya's Election Drama Oct 13, 2017

Show notes

The Kenyan presidential election took another surprising turn this week. The crisis has seen protests, a shock intervention from the judiciary, and now the surprise withdrawal of the main opposition candidate. Kenyans Esther Kahumbi and Dickens Olewe from BBC Africa share their stand-out moments.

Image: Kenya election protests: crowds protesting on streets, watercannons firing jets Credit: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images

Cameroon's Ghost town protests Oct 06, 2017

Show notes

Ghost town is the name Cameroonians have given to a civil disobedience action where daily life is brought to a standstill. It began last year as an expression of dissent in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon, but tensions between them and the Francophone dominated government go back to the 1960s. Last week a number of protestors demanding independence were shot dead by gendarmes. BBC Africa's Randy Jo Sa'ah was in Bamenda following the story.

Image: Demonstrators in Bamenda, the main town in northwest Cameroon Credit: Getty Images/stringer/AFP

Rwandan BBC journeys Sep 29, 2017

Show notes

Prudent Nsengiyumva and Didier Bikorimana are colleagues at BBC Great Lakes, a journey that began for Prudent entertaining his family with dining table news reports, and for Didier listening to the Great Lakes Lifeline programme which tried to reunite families separated by the 1994 genocide.

Image: Rwandan boy listening to transistor radio Credit: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images

New Comic Book Heroines Sep 22, 2017

Show notes

Two new super-heroines have been launched recently in comic book form. Pakistan Girl joins her established superhero colleague Pakistan Man, and in Nigeria a character called Ngozi joins Marvel's family of mutant super-beings. Can they make a difference in their neighbourhoods? David Amanor finds out from Halima Umar Sale of BBC Hausa and BBC Urdu's Henna Saeed.

Image: Pakistan Girl cartoon in library Credit: FAROOQ NAEEMAFP/Getty Images

The Uphill Battle For Hearts And Minds Sep 15, 2017

Show notes

Winning hearts and minds has always been a high priority for the US-led coalition which invaded Afghanistan nearly sixteen years ago. But the campaign hasn't always gone to plan, as with a recent airdrop of leaflets that caused so much offence that people rioted in the streets. Moheb Mudessir from BBC Afghan explains.

Image: Afghan Shepherd Boy Credit: GETTY IMAGES/HOSHANG HASHIMI

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