The Documentary Podcast

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Why young people are having less sex. The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Nigeria is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation. Over the past year the price of the staple food, rice, has more than doubled and a litre of petrol now costs more than three times what it did. Host Kupra Padhy hears what this means for people trying to make a living, feed their family or run a business. We bring together two women who run food businesses in the country. Onimba, a chef in Port Harcourt, tells us how on a recent visit to the market the price of a bag of sugar had doubled overnight. Plus, three health workers tell us how rising prices are not only having a direct effect on their families, but also their patients.

Bara?atu Ibrahim speaks to Jibra?il Omar, formerly Timothy Weeks; an Australian educator who was held captive for three years in Afghanistan by the Taliban. However Jibra?il Omar made news six years ago, after he converted to Islam whilst in captivity and astonishingly became a full-fledged member of the Taliban after his release. For some months, Bara?atu built up a relationship with Jibra?il over a messaging service whilst he was in Kabul. She spoke to him on two occasions, where he shared his story and gives the reasons of why he decided it was right for him to become a Muslim and moreover celebrate with his captors once they came back into power. This podcast has been edited since it was originally published.

Schools in Tibet are changing - and not for the better, say activists. Micky Bristow investigates China?s educational reforms: children as young as four separated from their families and forced into boarding schools, it?s claimed, learning in Chinese, not Tibetan. Is this an attempt at social engineering to undermine Tibetan culture, or is it, as China claims, a bold effort to bring progress to an underdeveloped region?

Diving With a Purpose is a collective of Black scuba divers who search for long-lost slave wrecks. They are on a mission to raise the silent voices of the captive Africans who went down with those vessels and bring them back into our collective memory. We join their youth diving program - YDWP - in Biscayne National Park, Florida Keys, as they head out onto the ocean in search of the Guerrero. The Guerrero was a pirate ship being chased by a British ship HMS Nimble when it ran aground in 1827. It had 561 captive Africans on board, of which 41 drowned.

How is Robert F Kennedy?s long record of spreading anti-vaccine misinformation impacting on his bid to be elected US President in 2024? In 2024 yet another Kennedy is making a bid for the White House. Robert F Kennedy Jr - nephew of the late President John F Kennedy - is enjoying strong polling numbers for an independent candidate. He?s running on a platform of promising to take on powerful vested interests to create a better life for the average American. But away from his Camelot-infused stump speeches, he is facing questions about his long and controversial record of spreading misinformation about the safety of vaccines. In this episode, the BBC?s Health and Disinformation Reporter Rachel Schraer investigates how Kennedy is building a base from across the political spectrum, in spite of, or because of, his views on public health policy.

Tumaini (?hope? in Swahili) Festival is a unique refugee-led celebration of music, culture and solidarity in Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Malawi. Founded by Tresor Mpauni, who lived in the camp after being forced to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo, it uses arts and culture to build connections between refugees and the host community in Malawi. Each year it welcomes musicians and artists from all over Africa, and hosts guests from all over the world within the camp; providing a space to celebrate the artistic skills and organisational talents of an increasingly marginalised refugee community. Against considerable odds, they?ve created the largest festival in Malawi with over 50,000 people attending and over 115 artists performing in 2023. It is the refugee camp?s largest source of commercial income.

Ghawgha is a singer-songwriter originally from Afghanistan. Growing up between Afghanistan and Iran, she now lives in Norway, as part of ICORN programme - a residency for artists at risk. However, the situation facing women and minorities in her native country still run deep in her music and her songs reflect the current situation in Afghanistan under a second Taliban rule. Ghawgha?s single of 2019, I Kiss You Amid the Taliban, celebrated the hard-gained freedoms of the new generation in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover in 2021. Kawoon Khamoosh follows Ghawgha as she works on and records her new album called Qaf. Qaf refers to a mysterious mountain that exists in legends where the mythological bird Simurgh had her nest and Ghawgha has been working with both poets from Afghanistan, as well as writing her own lyrics.

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Are you ever too old to have a baby?. The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

The latest Beyoncé song, Texas Hold ?Em, has topped the charts in the US and UK. More significantly, however, this is the first time a black woman has gone to No. 1 in the US country music charts, provoking several talking points about diversity within the country music genre. Host James Reynolds brings together three African American women in country music, including musician Rissi Palmer who first reached the country charts in 2007 and has had several hits since. And, three people involved in country music on three continents, in Argentina, Nigeria and Sweden, tell James about their love for country.

Dr Irena Bradley and Kelly Latimore are both iconographers taking the ancient tradition of iconography into the 21st Century. Both interpret their icons very differently. Irena is more traditional in her approach - creating an icon is an act of worship and to bring in the faithful who look at them in the presence of God. However Kelly?s approach maybe considered more modern, painting images that reflect modern day social injustices within biblical settings. Nastaran Tavakoli-Far hears from both of them. What drives them to do what they do and do they see their work as inspired by god? She brings them together to hear how they relate to and interpret one another?s work.

The battle to keep the peace between people and elephants in northern Botswana. The earth?s largest land mammal, the elephant, is an endangered species. Poaching, habitat loss and disease have decimated elephant populations. But not in Botswana, which has the world?s biggest population of elephants. In the north of the country, in the area around the remarkable Okavango Delta (the world?s largest inland delta), elephant numbers are growing and they outnumber people. This can pose serious problems for the human population, particularly local subsistence farmers. A crop raid by elephants can destroy a family?s annual food supply overnight. Elephants also pose a risk to life in their daily commute between their feeding grounds and their water sources. John Murphy travels to the top of the Okavango Delta, to see what efforts are being made to keep both people and elephants safe, and to persuade locals that these giant animals are an asset not a liability. He also explores threats from further afield to this green jewel in the desert, the Okavango Delta, which animals and people alike depend on.

"A flood of disinformation has erupted across social media in the online propaganda battle that?s being waged alongside the physical conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Everything from video game clips falsely presented as genuine combat footage, to the outright denial of civilian deaths, have been deployed to try to skew the online narrative and warp public perceptions.

BBC Verify?s Olga Robinson and Shayan Sardarizadeh examine the trends in this alternative war over the Middle East with the help of Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, the independent investigative organisation."

In the mountainous east of Nepal many communities are dependent on tea. The nitrogen-rich soil of the high-elevation estates allow tea bushes to produce a unique flavour, but the picking has to be done by hand. Phanindra Dahal talks to farmers, factory managers, tea estate supervisors and leaders in the business to find out how this small nation is looking to compete globally and the challenges they are up against. One challenge is a complex relationship with its neighbour, India.

Claudia Piñeiro is a multi-award winning novelist, with many of her books being adapted for television. She's one of Argentina's most translated writers, as well as being a popular screenwriter and playwright. The BBC's Andrea Kidd joins Claudia in her apartment in Buenos Aires, as she works on her latest, as yet, untitled novel. It follows the story of two step-sisters, one a radio journalist, the other an escort, both unaware of the other's existence, until a dramatic incident brings their lives together. But was it an accident or something more sinister?

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Is #Me Too finally exploding in French cinema?. The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Russian authorities have announced the death of one of the country?s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Arctic Circle. Stephen Sackur spoke to him in Moscow in 2017 about the risks involved in being a prominent critic of President Putin.

It is two years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, left millions of Ukrainians as refugees, and wrought much destruction. When your home is invaded and everything is shattered and turned upside down, what happens to your life? Host James Reynolds hears from three women in Ukraine who, despite the dangers of war, chose to have a baby. At the start of the war, millions of women and children escaped to safety abroad. With the passing of time, some have decided to return. Three of those women come together to discuss their decisions to go back home.

The Bengal Famine, particularly the experiences of people in the rural areas who suffered the most, is not well remembered today. There is no memorial, museum, or plaque to the victims or survivors anywhere in the world.

One man has made it his life?s work to record their testimonies with paper and pen. Kavita hears from him, and tries to understand more about why the three million people who perished aren?t better remembered or memorialised in India, Bangladesh and Britain.

Presenter: Kavita Puri Series producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Emma Rippon Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore Production coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck Original music: Felix Taylor

With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee and Professor Joya Chatterji

Kavita Puri discovers a set of cassette tapes containing rare interviews with Indian civil servants who were on the ground across Bengal during the famine, shedding new light on colonial responsibility.

And as the need for relief in Bengal becomes ever greater, more pressure is put on the British government from India?s new Viceroy. He asks for more food imports. Could the War Cabinet and Prime Minister Winston Churchill have done more to help alleviate the famine in the middle of the war?

Presenter: Kavita Puri Series producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Emma Rippon Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore Production co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck Original music: Felix Taylor

With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee and Professor Joya Chatterji

Interviews conducted by Lance Brennan courtesy of University of Cambridge

Interviews with GS Khosla courtesy of University of Cambridge

Colonial authorities wanted to censor the famine. They were worried that Britain?s wartime enemies - the Germans and the Japanese - would use it as propaganda against them.

But as more and more starving people arrive in cities across Bengal, it becomes harder to suppress. Indian writers, photographers and artists document the humanitarian catastrophe, but it was risky, as the censor forbade mention of the famine. A British journalist and editor of the English language Statesman newspaper, in Calcutta, decides to challenge the censor and begins publishing photographs and scathing editorials about what was really going on in Bengal. It shocks the world. In London, the BBC reports on ?famine conditions? and, as we uncover, the British government tries to pressurise the broadcaster to tone down its coverage.

Presenter: Kavita Puri Series producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Emma Rippon Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore Production coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck Original music: Felix Taylor

With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee, Professor Joya Chatterji and Dr Diya Gupta

A boy decides how much rice he can give from a cigarette tin to hungry people. A Christian missionary sets up a makeshift relief hospital. A small child watches through the gates of his house in Calcutta as emaciated women clutching children ask for food.

As the food crisis deepens, shocking testimonies from the countryside show the extent of starvation. Many thousands of hungry people begin moving from the rural areas towards the cities.

Indians - including children - are forced into life-or-death decisions.

Presenter: Kavita Puri Series producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Emma Rippon Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore Production coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck Original music: Felix Taylor

With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee, Professor Joya Chatterji and Dr Diya Gupta.

Interview with Alan McLeod courtesy of the University of Cambridge

During the Second World War, at least three million Indian people, who were British subjects, died in the Bengal Famine. It was one of the largest losses of civilian life on the Allied side. But there is no memorial to them anywhere in the world - not even a plaque. Can three million people disappear from public memory?

From the creator and presenter of the award-winning series Three Pounds in my Pocket and Partition Voices, this is the story of the Bengal Famine of 1943. For the first time it is told by those who were there - farmers and fishermen, artists and writers, colonial British and everyday citizens. Nearly all of the testimony in the series has never been broadcast before.

Eighty years on, those who lived through it are a vanishing generation. Time is running out to record their memories.

We begin in 1942. As the Japanese sweep through South East Asia, Calcutta (now Kolkata) is inundated with hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers from all over the world. Fear of a Japanese invasion of British India provokes a consequential decision.

Presenter: Kavita Puri Series producer: Ant Adeane Editor: Emma Rippon Sound design and mix: Eloise Whitmore Production coordinators: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck Original music: Felix Taylor

With thanks to Dr Janam Mukherjee, Professor Joya Chatterji and Dr Diya Gupta.

Interviews with American soldiers courtesy of The National World War II Museum, New Orleans: nationalww2museum.org/

Interviews with G S Khosla and Debotosh Das Gupta courtesy of the University of Cambridge

Major General Dharitri Kumar Palit interviewed by Gillian Wright, 1987, British Library reference C63/195/09. Audio © British Library Board and the interviewee. The British Library has been unable to locate the family of the interviewee. Please contact [email protected] with any relevant information.

For centuries, the Judaeo-Spanish language of Ladino was spoken in the vibrant streets of Thessaloniki. But today, it is a language on the verge of fading away, its echoes becoming fainter with each passing generation. Journalist and language enthusiast Sophia Smith Galer heads to the city to find out what happened to Ladino, and where its traces may still be found today - hearing from the teachers, community members and even singers who do not want Greece to forget one of their linguistic jewels.

Journalists in Pakistan say they?re under threat of abduction and even of being killed if they criticise the state authorities. Whoever is in power, legal action against journalists who?ve spoken out against the authorities is nothing new. Press freedom campaigners say that in 12 months 140 journalists were threatened or attacked with some saying that democracy itself is under attack. For Assignment Mobeen Azhar hears the allegations made by those who say they?ve been targeted to shut them up - allegations which the authorities deny.

Archive: AAJ News, May 2023 GNN, February 2023, Naya Daur February 2022, GEO TV October 2022

In Malaysian Borneo, indigenous people have struggled for land rights against companies and the state. Using new mapping technology, communities in Borneo?s rainforests are racing to prove their claims. We explore how technology and social media are being used and misused to shift the balance of power.

As the second anniversary of Russia?s invasion of Ukraine approaches, Oleg Boldyrev reports on how ordinary Russians are dealing with life in a country at war with its close neighbour. Are there new economic and social challenges, and what do we know of attitudes to the invasion? We talk to Russians across the country to gauge the mood.

Photo by ANATOLY MALTSEV/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (14329432c) People stand at a bus stop near an image depicting St. Isaac's Cathedral (back) on a sunny day in St. Petersburg, Russia, 02 February 2024. Temperatures in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, reached minus two degrees Celsius on the day.

Vik Muniz says he owes his artistic career to being shot as a young man, not because he had an epiphany about the meaning of his life, but because he won enough compensation from the accident to move to New York and kick-start his career in the art world. He is now probably one of Brazil?s most successful visual artists and his pieces can range from tiny specs that are photographed by microscopes to giant landscapes captured from helicopters. He is known for working with unconventional materials; some of his most famous works have been created out of sugar, chocolate and a plate of left over spaghetti. Andrea Kennedy went to New York to meet him as he prepared for an exhibition full of illusions.

Radio can be a lifeline for women: a place to speak out in safety; a place to find their voices. We hear from women taking to the air and making waves in the cracks left by the Taliban in Afghanistan; in Fiji's scattered archipelago threatened by climate change; in the migrant farmworker community of the Yakima Valley in North America's Pacific north-west; and in the Ecuadorean Amazon, where indigenous women are coming together to save their land from pollution and destruction by oil companies.

Putin?s re-election is certain, but there is still a lot at stake for the Kremlin. We look into the efforts aimed at achieving unequivocal victory in what seems to be the most oppressive election in Russia for two decades. What are the stories state media can and cannot touch, how much of a headache does dissent from the mothers and wives of soldiers pose to the authorities and does Putin really have body doubles? We have the answers.

Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Twigg Editor: Judy King Twitter handle of contributors: @VitalyBBC, @jen_mon1, @oivshina Original music: Pete Cunningham Sound engineer: Martin Appleby

When we first reported on the earthquake in February 2023, the scale was overwhelming. We heard from families who had escaped as buildings around them collapsed and rescue workers described the devastation as the worst they had ever seen. Each day the casualty figures mounted. It is now thought that at least 55,000 people died.

A year on, we have been catching-up with survivors to hear how their lives have changed. One family ? Iman, Karim and their 7-year-old daughter Nada ? had fled from the war in Syria to have a new life in Turkey. They lost family, friends and their home in the earthquake.

When host James Reynolds called the family up in the last few days, they told him they were doing much better. Young Nada, however, is still having nightmares about the floor shaking and people she has lost.

?I have a dream about my friend Iman, she died from the earthquake,? Nada tells James. ?I?m so sad about her, and I have a friend who moved to Canada ? I miss her so much.?

We also hear messages from BBC listeners in Turkey and reunite with Harun, an English teacher in southern Turkey, and Bilal who is living in the east of the country and had his business destroyed last year.

A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team.

Russian authorities have announced the death of one of the country?s most significant opposition leaders Alexey Navalny in a remote penal colony in the Arctic Circle. Stephen Sackur spoke to him in Moscow in 2017 about the risks involved in being a prominent critic of President Putin.

Doctor Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist working with the UK?s most violent offenders, many of them serving life sentences at Broadmoor Prison for murder. Gwen believes that empathy starts with a recognition that there is a capacity for evil in all of us. She believes that for her patients, ?no matter what their history?, therapeutic treatment works. She speaks to the writer and convicted murderer Erwin James. Together they reflect on Erwin?s life story and how he came to commit the crime he did. Erwin asks Gwen about her relationship with Christianity and how it has supported her in her work.

Millions of residents living in Istanbul face the dilemma of whether or not to find out if the buildings where they live are resilient to earthquakes. Many cannot afford to do anything about it even if they are unsafe. A year on from the earthquakes in south-east Turkey that killed over 53,000 people, it is clear poorly built homes, hospitals and hotels that collapsed within seconds contributed to the high death toll. There are warnings that a similar fate awaits Istanbul, where scientists predict a major earthquake could strike any day now. Emily Wither looks at the challenges facing Istanbul and discovers a story of politics, poor urban planning and a struggle to find safe housing.

When an audio recording alleged to be from the Mayor of one of the world's largest cities started circulating online, reality was called into question. Mexico City's mayor, claimed the clip- which sounded like he was discussing a campaign against a political candidate- was AI generated. Others are convinced the audio is real. In this episode of Trending?s Power season, Jack Goodman and Laura García go on the hunt for answers. Using the latest AI detection tools, they explore the possibilities and limitations of verifying such content, and question how disinformation may shape Mexico's general election in June. Could AI disrupt elections around the world?

Greece is the birthplace of democracy. But how free is Greece?s media? Nikos Papanikolaou travels to his home town, Athens, to speak to journalists who have had their phones hacked by an advanced new spyware, been sued for defamation, and been under surveillance by the Greek national intelligence agency. In the south of the city he visits the widow of the an investigative journalist ? murdered just outside their family home. Nikos also hears from Members of the European Parliament ? those who want the EU to withhold funds until Greece improves the position for journalists ? and those outraged by the idea that Greece does not already have a free media.

Presented by Nikos Papanikolaou Produced by Giles Edwards.

This podcast was edited after it was published

Jon Foreman is a land artist. He creates work in natural spaces using natural materials like stones, sand, leaves and driftwood. Known for his mesmerising sculptures that harmonise with nature, Jon?s work has captured the imagination of art enthusiasts worldwide. His artwork may last as little as 10 minutes before the sea washes it away, but his sculptures are not meant to last; his art is a testament to the beauty found in the ephemeral moment. From the ancient tools he uses to create his sculptures to the modern technology he employs to capture it, we follow Jon's creative process as he takes us to his favourite location to work - the pristine beach of Lindsway Bay on the Pembrokeshire coast, west Wales.

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Could Taylor Swift swing the US election?

The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Some claim that the romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce has been manufactured by the NFL for political gain, and whilst that is clearly nonsense we look at the impact of Swift's relationship with the NFL.

Shaquem Griffin was born with amniotic band syndrome causing the fingers on his left hand not to fully develop. The pain was so intense that at 4 years of age he grabbed a butcher knife, planning to cut the hand off. His mother took the knife away, and scheduled an amputation the next day? Despite the obvious setback of only having one hand, Shaquem still fulfilled his dream and played in the NFL for four seasons. He tells us his story.

And Cyndy Feasel who watched on helpless as her husband, former NFL star Grant Feasel died the victim of alcohol abuse and a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. She tells us about one NFL wife?s story of concussions, loss, and the faith that saw her through.

Plus, in the year America elects its next president we explore the relationship between the Super Bowl and the Commander in Chief.

And we speak to SpongeBob Square pants best friend Patrick Starr as he prepares to give an alternative commentary of Sunday's game for younger viewers!

After explicit faked photos of Taylor Swift went around the world, US politicians have called for new laws to criminalise the creation of deepfake images. The term ?deepfake? describes how artificial intelligence ? AI ? can be used to digitally alter pictures, audio or video and trick us into seeing or hearing something that is not real.

It is not just the famous who are being targeted. Host James Reynolds hears the story of how a daughter?s voice was copied and used to make a scam phone call to her mother.

?She said mom I messed up, and all of a sudden a man said ?put your head back and lay down? and that?s when I started to get really concerned that she was either really hurt or something more was going on,? Jennifer tells us. ?And then she goes ?mom, mom, these bad men have me, help me, help me and she starts crying and sobbing.?

Thankfully her daughter, Brianna, had not been kidnapped but the call has had a lasting effect on the family.

Technology has made the process of adjusting images easier but artificial intelligence provides the means to create media from scratch to generate completely fake content. We bring together two women ? in the US and Australia ? who have had their faces manipulated using AI to produce malicious pornographic images and videos.

What does it mean to be a Buddhist today?

For this last programme in a special series on religion in the 21st century, Heart and Soul on the BBC World Service brings together three global Buddhists from Singapore, the USA and the UK.

Venerable Canda Theri Bhikkhuni is the only fully ordained bhikkhuni, or female Buddhist monastic, in the UK. She founded the Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project, which aims to provide the country?s first monastery where women can train towards full ordination.

Heng Xuan Tio is based in Singapore and is the co-founder of Handful of Leaves, an online community which aims to show young people how Buddhism is relevant to their modern lives.

And Lama Rod Owens is a Black gay Buddhist teacher and author based in the USA. His teaching focuses on social change, identity, and spiritual practice.

For this special discussion programme, the BBC?s Alice Bhandhukravi brings them together to discuss Buddhism?s difference branches, how it?s been interpreted in western countries, the differences between monastic and lay Buddhism, and the unique challenges of following a 2,500-year-old faith tradition in the present day.

Presented by Alice Bhandhukravi.

Ireland is known as the land of a hundred thousand welcomes. But the government says the country has run out of accommodation to house all new eligible refugee arrivals. Some properties earmarked to house asylum seekers have been fire-bombed and others are subject to protests. Hundreds of people seeking asylum have been forced to sleep in tents in Dublin and elsewhere. Ireland has taken in around 100,000 people from Ukraine and the number of people seeking international protection from other countries has increased four-fold since pre-Covid times. The government has slashed benefits for new arrivals from Ukraine and limited to three months the time it will guarantee to house them. As the country leads up to local, national and European elections, migration is rising up the political agenda. Is Ireland?s reputation for tolerance under threat?

Fentanyl is deadly. Thousands of Americans die every year from a drug overdose ? the majority of them after using a synthetic opioid like fentanyl. It was developed as a legal, and effective, pain killer. Now, fuelled by insatiable US demand, it is illicitly produced in makeshift laboratories in Mexico by organised crime groups. In the first part, Assignment travels to the Mexican Pacific port of Manzanillo. This is one of the main entry points for the chemical ingredients required to make fentanyl. It is a town where Mexico?s powerful cartels have fought for control, and where the mayor lives under armed guard after a failed assassination attempt. In the second part, we cross the border into the US from Mexico to explore the devastation this lethal drug has left in its wake in San Diego County. Presenter / producer: Linda Pressly Producer: Tim Mansel Producer in Mexico: Ulises Escamilla

This Podcast was originally published in March 2023

Over the summer, a mysterious Twitter persona published details of over 14,500 social media accounts - all of them controlled by real-life Serbian citizens, it's claimed. They stand accused of posting? whatever the President?s party tells them to.

It?s long been rumoured that Serbia?s ruling SNS party commands the online activity of a small army of citizens, dubbed ?bots? by the opposition. But this kind of list, naming and shaming thousands of ordinary Serbians, is unprecedented.

If true, their activity represents a form of political corruption according to Serbia?s public prosecutor. The government?s response has alarmed observers - it shrugged off the story, publishing instead a veiled tongue-in-cheek ?admission?.

But who is behind the list, and can it be trusted? BBC Trending has analysed the data in an attempt to establish if the ?bots? are indeed real people. And whether their accounts show evidence of co-ordinated activity.

Featuring interviews gathered on the ground in Belgrade, we hear from opposition politicians, pro-democracy activists and a self-professed real-life ?bot?. She tells us she trolled the President?s opponents under threat of losing her job ? as a receptionist at a state-controlled electricity company in a small Serbian town.

Reporter: Sam Judah

Modern Cairo is a crowded metropolis. The city?s ?thousand minarets? are now dwarfed by a new skyline of slick tower blocks. Modern highways fly over bustling kiosks where residents gather to smoke and buy soda drinks. Inspired by the lives of their neighbours, playing out among mosques, high rise buildings and on busy streets, Egyptian writers and graphic artists, including Deena Mohamed, Shennawy and Mohamed Wahba bring their thousand-year-old capital to life.

The Pakistani author, Awais Khan, is working on his latest thriller, His Sister?s Secret, a look into the dark side of dating and family life. But Awais is also struggling with a familiar challenge for many authors - writer?s block ? which is stopping him finishing the book he hopes could win him a global publishing deal. Join fellow author Paul Waters as he watches Awais take a radical step to tackle this problem and try to finish his first draft. Along the way Paul meets other international authors who share how they cope when the words won?t flow. But will Awais manage to finish his own story?

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. Elon Musk says Chinese electric vehicles could destroy competition. The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

The BBC revealed this week that more than half the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed since Israel launched its retaliation for the Hamas attacks in October. The war has left tens of thousands dead or injured?and an estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced. There are shortages of water, food, and medicines.

This week, three US doctors who recently left Gaza share their experiences of working in a hospital in the territory with host James Reynolds. ?Blast waves hit the operating room, you can see your metal table with all the instruments rattle, doors slam, the plaster falling off the walls,? Dr Chandra Hassan, from international humanitarian NGO MedGlobal tells us. ?You learn to live with that, and you sleep out of exhaustion.?

The escalation of the military activities left many people with no choice but to flee their homes. 35-year-old Layan and her two daughters, 12-year-old Sama and Elya, who?s 8, had to take a long ? and at times dangerous ? journey from Gaza City to Khan Younis in the south. They have since managed to cross the border into Egypt, where they are now living safely in Cairo. They share their experiences of leaving the Gaza Strip and Layan tells us why she feels guilty leaving the rest of her family behind.

A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team.

What does it mean to be a young Hindu in 2024? The world's Hindu population is projected to rise by 34%, by 2050 to nearly 1.4 billion. So how does one of the world?s oldest religions fit with today's world more than 4,000 years after its inception? In the second of three discussion programmes looking at religion in the 21st century, Rajeev Gupta is joined by 36-year-old Indian-born banker Om Dhumatkar who runs a YouTube channel explaining Hindu scripture, 23-year-old Prasiddha Sudhakar, a student of information security at Carnegie Mellon University and 22-year-old Thomas Awad, a student at Cambridge University and follower of the Swaminarayan Hindu sect. With Rajeev, they discuss how they apply ancient traditions in the modern world, the way people respond to their Hindu identity and the things they want others to learn about their faith.

When Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso after her team?s world cup victory last summer, it set a match to Spanish gender relations. On every chat show, on every campus, in every couple?s bedroom, arguments started - does a kiss count as sexual violence? What is consent? Has feminism gone too far? 53% of Spaniards think it has, and that it is discriminating against men. Now, Rubiales is facing criminal trial. ?Se acabó? (it?s over) trended after the kiss, but this battle is far from over. For Assignment, Sofia Bettiza travels to Madrid to hear how the Rubiales case tapped into a rift in Spanish society that has been splitting further apart for decades.