my private podcast channel
The trio hoping to soothe global tensions through musical collaboration. They mix Chinese and American songs to focus on similarities not differences. Also: helping disadvantaged teens go to the prom; and a K-pop first.
Presenter: Valerie Sanderson. Music composed by Iona Hampson
A first report into the Air India crash finds fuel switches were in cut off position just after takeoff. Also, President Trump visits flood victims in Texas, and how emergency vaccines have saved thousands of lives.
On this day in 1995, at the height of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the Bosnian Serb army captured what was supposedly the UN "safe area" of Srebrenica. In the ensuing days, thousands of Bosnian Muslim women were raped. 8000 Muslim men and boys were murdered. It was Europe's worst massacre since the Second World War.
Also in the programme: a Liberian historian on whether his fellow citizens should be outraged by President Trump's remarking on the Liberian leader's "excellent English"; and Scottish writer Irvine Welsh on his sequel to Trainspotting 30 years on from the publication of the original novel.
(Photo: Bosnian Muslim women react as they stand amid grave stones of victims killed during the Srebrenica genocide, at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial in Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 11 July 2025. Credit: Reuters/Amel Emric)
Here's a conundrum that has captivated scientists: when Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, our planet was essentially a ball of molten rock. Any water that might have been present during the planet's formation would surely have boiled away immediately. Yet today, water covers about 70% of Earth's surface.
So where did all this water come from? And more intriguingly, when did it arrive? Listener Bill in the USA wants to know, and Presenter Caroline Steel is after answers.
Assistant Professor Muhammad Abdul Latif is an early earth physicist at United Arab Emirates University. He explains how his modelling has helped us to understand when water first appeared in our universe.
The early earth was not a water-friendly place - a hellscape of molten rock, volcanic eruptions and constant bombardments from comets and asteroids, with high levels of solar radiation. These conditions would have evaporated the water. And according to Professor Richard Greenwood at Open University, our earth’s molten iron core would have been a ball of rust if there had been water in the proto-earth mix.
So if the water hasn’t always been here, where did it come from?
At the Natural History Museum in London, Professor Sara Russell has been comparing the isotopic "fingerprint" of Earth's water with water found in the asteroid Bennu, captured and brought back by the recent Osiris Rex NASA mission. It’s a good match for earth’s water, but could it really be the answer to our question?
Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Marnie Chesterton Editor: Ben Motley
(Image: Man overlooking the sea from cliff top. Credit: Gary Yeowell via Getty Images)
Gaza's largest remaining hospital, the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, has stopped admitting casualties because of Israeli troops operating nearby. We speak to a doctor who is an emergency physician there.
Also on the programme: Kurdish PKK rebels have begun disbanding after a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state; and scientists say the mystery interstellar object spotted last week by astronomers could be the oldest comet ever seen, possibly more than seven billion years old.
(Photo: Medical personnel work in an operating room at Nasser Hospital, which Gaza's health ministry says is at risk of shutting down due to the Israeli blockade of fuel, as the ongoing shortage has already forced the facility to reduce its capacity. Credit: Reuters)
A recent US-brokered peace deal may have raised hopes of stability in eastern DRC. However, miners have told the BBC that M23’s control of mineral-rich areas could keep the conflict going.
US aid cuts are forcing HIV clinics across Africa to shut down, with South Africa hit hardest. Experts are also warning that this could stall vaccine research and reverse years of progress.
And Uganda has overtaken Ethiopia as Africa’s top coffee exporter, shipping 47,000 tonnes in just one month. How did they do it?
Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Bella Hassan, Stefania Okereke and Nyasha Michelle Technical Producer: Pat Sissons Senior Journalist: Yvette Twagiramariya Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
Kurdish militant PKK group begins disarming, starting a process designed to end the Turkish conflict. Also: Southern Gaza’s last hospital is forced to stop admitting patients as Israeli troops surround the facility.
Shark Awareness Day on 14th July sends us on a deep dive into marine biology.
First, we learn how shark-inspired materials could help make aeroplane flights more efficient.
Next, we hear about the fish that don’t flee from sharks... instead, they seek them out to help them hunt.
Bob Duke, Meyerson Professor of Music and Human Learning at the University of Texas, Austin, joins us in the studio to reveal how and why the iconic Jaws music taps into our psychology to leave us trembling.
We also hear about a couple of tiny islands in the Southern Ocean, on which an unexpected predator is wreaking havoc.
Plus, why a tiny fish is being ground up and fed to other fish.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements. Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Leonie Joubert and Christine Yohannes Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Imaan Moin, Minnie Harrop and Margaret Sessa Hawkins
Keir Starmer announces a "one in, one out" pilot scheme to deter illegal migration. Also: The original Jane Birkin handbag sells for millions, and why chimps have been wearing blades of grass.
The CEO of Gaza aid group Project Hope tells Newshour there is ‘no justification’ for the killing of civilians seeking medical care, after an Israeli strike killed 15 Palestinians, including ‘at least 8 children’, waiting outside its clinic in central Gaza. The IDF said it had been targeting a Hamas fighter who took part in the October 7th attack. Also on the programme: we speak to Brazilian President Lula De Silva's chief foreign policy advisor following Mr Lula's pledge to match 50% US tariffs; and the original Birkin handbag has been sold at auction for more than ten million dollars. (Pictures A Palestinian woman reacts as casualties are brought into Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following an Israeli strike, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed)