The Global Story

Latest Episodes:

Are we really getting enough sleep? Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

We spend around a third of our lives sleeping. But many people struggle with insomnia or have difficulty staying asleep, and research shows that bad sleep can increase the risk of multiple health conditions. How harmful is bad sleep to our health? And what can we do about it? Jonny Dymond speaks with Professor Russell Foster, Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford, and author and sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan about how people can get enough sleep.

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 theglobalstory@bbc.com

Producers: Alice Aylett Roberts and Beth Timmins

Sound engineers: Mike Regaard

Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

Why has Israel gone back to war? Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

On Tuesday night, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that combat against Hamas in Gaza had resumed in full force.

This followed several hours of early morning air strikes targeting Gaza, which killed more than 400 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, making it one of the deadliest days of the conflict so far.

Jonny Dymond speaks to the BBC’s Jon Donnison, who witnessed the strikes from the Israeli border town of Sderot. He helps us to understand this latest escalation and why Israel has decided to return to war.

Producers: Richard Moran, Mhairi MacKenzie and Tom Kavanagh

Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

Putin: War or peace? Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

The Russian leader has been mulling a 30-day ceasefire proposal put forward by the US, ahead of talks with Donald Trump on Tuesday. Will Vladimir Putin accept a temporary pause in fighting, let alone a long-term deal? What are the pressures that could sway him toward peace, or cause him to drag out the war in Ukraine?

On this episode, presenter Jonny Dymond speaks to journalist Owen Matthews, author of the book “Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin’s War”.

Producers: Peter Goffin and Tom Kavanagh

Sound engineers: James Piper and Mike Regaard

Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

Maradona and the trial transfixing Argentina Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

Argentina’s football star Diego Maradona is once again back in the spotlight as a long-delayed trial examining the circumstances around his death gets underway in Buenos Aires. When Diego Maradona died in 2020, Argentinians took to the streets, united in both grief and in the celebration of a soccer legend. But it didn’t take long before suspicions around his death started to circulate. In today’s episode, we look at the trial involving his medical team and ask why Maradona’s legacy is still so strong.

Lucy Hockings is joined by Marcela Mora y Araujo. She’s a journalist based in Buenos Aires who translated Diego Maradona’s autobiography.

Producers: Laurie Kalus and Alice Aylett Roberts

Sound engineers: Mike Regaard and Jonny Hall

Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

Can tariffs convince Mexico to stem the flow of fentanyl? Mar 14, 2025

Show notes

Over the past decade fentanyl use has spiked, leading to tens of thousands of deaths in the United States. Most of the deadly drug enters the US via its border with Mexico, concealed deep within vehicles and even hidden inside food packages. The Trump administration has previously accused the Mexican government of colluding with the drug cartels. He’s now hoping that the threat of import tariffs on Mexico will stem the flow of the deadly drug into the US. The Mexican government has responded to potential import tariffs by deploying national guard troops along its northern border. So can Mexico’s new president Claudia Sheinbaum get the fentanyl crisis under control?

Jonny Dymond is joined by the BBC’s special correspondent Quentin Sommerville, who has been on the ground at the US-Mexico border and has visited one of the drug cartels’ operations. He also speaks to the BBC's Mexico and Central America correspondent Will Grant.

Producers: Richard Moran, Alice Aylett Roberts and Eleanor Sly

Sound engineer: James Piper

Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

Mohammed bin Salman: From pariah to peacemaker Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

How did Saudi Arabia come to host leaders from the US, Russia and Ukraine for peace talks? Just a few years ago, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was publicly identified as the man who ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. As a result, he was referred to as a pariah by former President Joe Biden. So, how did MBS go from pariah to peacemaker?

Jonny Dymond speaks to journalist Jonathan Rugman, producer of the BBC documentary 'The Kingdom' about the life of Mohammed bin Salman.

Producers: Richard Moran, Tom Kavanagh, Mhairi MacKenzie and Eleanor Sly

Sound engineer: Mike Regaard

Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

A reckoning for Duterte Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

The former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. Duterte oversaw a bloody war on drugs that left tens of thousands of people dead, but he remains extremely popular with many in the Philippines, who say he cleaned up their country.

On this episode, presenter Jonny Dymond speaks to the BBC's Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head about Duterte’s years in power, and why the current government in Manila has turned him over to the ICC.

Producers: Peter Goffin and Tom Kavanagh

Sound engineers: Mike Regaard and Jonny Baker

Assistant editors: Richard Fenton-Smith and Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

Can Syria ever be united? Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

When Syria's Bashar al-Assad was toppled in a lightning offensive in December, his successor Ahmed al-Sharaa promised to unite a broken country. Barely three months on, a surge in fighting between pro-Assad gunmen and transitional government security forces has reportedly left hundreds of civilians dead and exposed the enduring divides in Syrian society. As al-Sharaa vows a national dialogue will continue, has his grand vision for Syria already fallen at the first hurdle?

Jonny Dymond is joined by the BBC's Middle East correspondent, Lina Sinjab, and BBC Monitoring's MENA expert, Hesham Shawish.

The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experience to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com You can also message us or leave a voice note via Whatsapp on +44 330 123 9480.

Producers: Laurie Kalus, Tom Kavanagh and Mhairi MacKenzie

Sound engineers: Mike Regaard and Dafydd Evans

Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

Will Donald Trump take over Greenland? Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

The people of Greenland go to the polls for an election this week at a time when Donald Trump says he wants to take over the autonomous Danish territory. The US President hasn’t ruled out using military force, arguing that America needs the world’s biggest island for Arctic security. A majority of Greenlanders say they don’t want to be owned by the US, but many are asking serious questions about whether it should seek independence.

Jonny Dymond speaks with the BBC's Europe correspondent Nick Beake and Ulrik Pram Gad, a Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, about the Danish view of the potential US land-grab and the likelihood of an independent Greenland.

Producers: Peter Goffin, Tom Kavanagh and Alice Aylett Roberts

Sound engineers: Dafydd Evans and Mike Regaard

Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins

How North Korean hackers launched history's biggest heist Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

In February, hackers launched what is being considered the biggest heist of all time, when they stole almost $1.5bn from the cryptocurrency trading platform, Bybit. The record theft reportedly went down in just two minutes, and it set in motion a race against time to freeze some of the funds before the culprits could cash out. Soon, evidence began to point to Lazarus, an elite hacking group widely linked to the North Korean intelligence agency. So with analysis suggesting the country's malicious activity is on the rise, how are international governments fighting back, and are we more vulnerable to sophisticated cyber threats than ever before?

Lucy Hockings is joined by the BBC's cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy. They examine how the hack was carried out, and consider what it means for the wider crypto landscape, as Donald Trump announces his plans for a US cryptocurrency reserve.

Producers: Laurie Kalus and Eleanor Sly

Sound engineers: Dafydd Evans and Jonny Baker

Assistant editor: Sergi Forcada Freixas

Senior news editor: China Collins