We take a closer look at the impact of the newly imposed US tariffs and hear from Lesotho - at 50% it is one of the hardest hit countries. Does the small landlocked country have a backup plan for its industries?
Algeria says it shot down a military drone near the border with Mali, while Mali says one of its unmanned aircraft crashed. The incident comes amid escalating tensions between Algeria and its southern neighbour. So why have the two countries grown apart?
And why are so few wildlife safaris owned and run by black people on the continent? We hear from one Ugandan man who went from being a tour guide, to setting up his own successful safari business.
Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Sunita Nahar, Amie Liebowitz and Yvette Twagiramariya
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Pat Sissons
Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
On World Rat Day, we’re getting ratty! We look at the biology behind the eternal struggle between rats and rat poison, and we hear about rat-on-rat warfare and other forms of pest control.
We don’t play games when it comes to rats, but we know someone who does. Dr Michael Brecht from the Humboldt University of Berlin tells us how he played hide-and-seek with lab rats and what that tells us about the behaviour of play.
On the topic of ‘rat’ behaviour, we are joined by Dr Zach Berry from the University of Southern California to talk about the psychology behind ratting people out in the workplace, testing the loyalty and morals of the Unexpected Elements team.
And speaking of rats in the workplace… we hear a first-hand report on whether African giant pouched rats might just be better staff members than humans when it comes to detecting tuberculosis at APOPO labs.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Anand Jagatia, with Tristan Ahtone and Christine Yohannes
Producer: Imaan Moin, with Debbie Kilbride, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Noa Dowling, Harrison Lewis and Sophie Ormiston.
Studio Manager: Cath McGhee
The shares of Apple were among brands worst hit after US tariffs were announced, but President Trump maintained the American economy would ultimately "boom". Also: release date of Nintendo Switch 2 console revealed.
How Myanmar’s tragic earthquake left a 500km scar on the surface of the earth in just 90 seconds. Also, more hints of a link between shingles vaccines and reduced dementia, and how earth’s first oxygen breathers seem to have evolved way before there was enough oxygen to breath.
Judith Hubbard is a seismologist and earthquake analyst who has been gleaning what scientific information we can find on the tragic quake that struck Myanmar last week.
There seems to be some sort of link between the herpes virus that causes shingles and some people’s risk of Alzheimer’s dementia. At least, the latest paper appears to confirm so, according to an analysis published in Nature this week. Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University and colleagues have looked at data from public health records in NHS Wales in the UK, and have retrospectively performed a “natural experiment”, finding a clear suggestion that a vaccine against the virus that causes shingles seems to confer a lower likelihood of developing dementia over the subsequent seven years. Quite why this happens remains moot.
And a long time ago, and for a long time, life on earth was nought but bacteria. The atmosphere was also nearly devoid of oxygen. These ancient bacteria leave scant fossil records, whilst the rocks show a clear time – known as the Great Oxidation Event – when earth’s atmosphere transformed to something more like the oxygen rich air we breath now. A pervading chicken-and-egg question asks whether the atmosphere changed and life adapted, or did life somehow evolve and transform the atmosphere? A team publishing in Science this week have performed an innovative analysis of bacterial genomes that suggests that the ability to use oxygen in respiration evolved some 900 million years before the atmosphere transformed. The question still stands, but as the team explain, the new analysis provides at least a clear timeline for why we breath the way we do today.
Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Alex Mansfield
Production Coordinator: Josie Hardy
(Image: People ride a scooter past the rubble of damaged Buddhist pagoda in Mandalay on April 3, 2025. Credit: Sai Aung MAIN / AFP via Getty Images)
Are benefits from the African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa) dead in the water after steep US tariffs on Africa are announced?
Senegal's parliament approves revisions to a controversial amnesty law
And raising awareness of autism in Somali culture
Presenter : Audrey Brown
Producers: Daniel Dadzie, Bella Hassan, Ash Mohamed and Yvette Twagiramariya
Technical Producer: Chris Kouzaris
Senior Producer : Paul Bakibinga
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi.
Global leaders warn they will hit back at trade tariffs on US imports. As markets tumble, Donald Trump insists the US will emerge stronger. Also: study suggests shingles vaccine could reduce risk of dementia.
The US President Donald Trump has announced universal 10% tariffs on all imports into the US. There will also be a 25% tariff on all foreign-made vehicles. Also: BBC team reaches quake-hit city of Mandalay in Myanmar.
The president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, will soon be stepping down from the role after serving the maximum two terms. In an interview with podcast host Audrey Brown, he reflects on the achievements and challenges of the past 10 years in office.
A new study reveals the pitfalls and barriers limiting women entrepreneurs from growing their businesses online - so how can these issues be addressed?
And some of Britain's prestigious boarding schools are setting up campuses in Nigeria. Who will benefit?
Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Sunita Nahar, Tom Kavanagh and Amie Liebowitz here in London. Frenny Jowie in Nairobi
Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne
Technical Producer: Jonny Hall
Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
An Israeli air strike is reported to have killed at least 19 people at a UN clinic in northern Gaza, after Israel announced an expansion of its offensive in the territory. Also: the American actor Val Kilmer has died.
Parts of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, are now a burnt-out shell after the army recaptured the city from the RSF paramilitary group. Also: has there been a major evolution in the design of the American baseball bat?
