Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she's leaving office after clashing with President Donald Trump over the release of the Epstein files. Also: The US president sets next Thursday as a deadline for Ukraine to accept an American plan for a peace deal with Russia, which appears to give Moscow much of what it wants; bitter disagreements at the COP 30 climate summit in Brazil continue as the talks run overtime; scientists reveal what triggered the Santorini earthquake swarm earlier this year; and a Superman comic becomes the most expensive ever sold.
Newshour - 21/11/2025 21:06 GMT
Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.
CrowdScience - Why do we cry?
Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of frustration or tears of pain - humans are thought to be the only animals that cry tears of emotion. CrowdScience listener Lizzy wants to know: why do we cry for emotional reasons? What is its evolutionary benefit? And why do some people cry more than others?
It turns out that humans cry three types of tear: basal, reflex and emotional. The first kind keeps our eyes nice and lubricated and the second flushes out irritants such as fumes from the pesky onion, but the reasons for emotional tears are a bit harder to pin down.
Using a specially designed tear collection kit, presenter Caroline Steel collects all three kinds of tears. With them safely stashed in tiny vials, she heads to the Netherlands, to Maurice Mikkers’ Imaginarium of Tears. Looking at her crystallised tears under a microscope will hopefully unveil a mystery or two.
Marie Bannier-Hélaouët, who grew tear glands for her PhD, explains how the nervous system processes our emotions into tears. But why should we cry for both happiness and sadness, and for so many other emotions in between? Ad Vingerhoets, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Tilburg University, suggests we cry for helplessness - our bodies do not know how to process such intensity of feeling.
But do these tears bring relief? Lauren Bylsma, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, has been studying heart rates during crying episodes to find out. With her help, we also explore if women do in fact cry more than men, and why that might be.
Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producer: Eloise Stevens
Editor: Ben Motley
Photo: Fisheye woman having a cry - stock photo Credit: sdominick via Getty Images)
Global News Podcast - Russia warns Ukraine to reach deal or lose more territory
The US has handed Ukraine a draft peace plan which reportedly reflects many of Moscow's demands, like giving up land. Ukraine's president has held a call with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain. Berlin says the three leaders welcomed US efforts but stressed the need to safeguard European and Ukrainian interests. Also: officials in Nigeria say dozens of pupils and staff have been abducted from a Catholic school - the third mass kidnapping in a week; The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, says almost seventy children in Gaza have been killed in conflict-related incidents since Israel's US-brokered ceasefire with Hamas took effect last month; A growing number of women in South Africa learn to use guns to protect themselves against gender-based violence; The UN climate summit in Brazil is heading for a showdown over a draft text proposed by the hosts that fails to refer to the phasing out of fossil fuels; In a dramatic development - Mexico's Fatima Bosch, who walked out on organisers after she was publicly berated, is crowned Miss Universe; And how artificial intelligence is helping scientists differentiate between different lion roars.
The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
Newshour - Will Ukraine and Europe accept a US-Russian peace plan?
The US has presented Kyiv with a draft peace plan that appears to favour many of Russia's demands over those of the Ukrainians.
The widely-leaked US plan includes proposals that the Ukrainian government had previously ruled out, such as ceding areas of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls. Will Ukraine and Europe accept it?
Also in the programme: Why some South African women are training to use guns; the latest controversy around this year's Miss Universe; and we'll talk about Frida Kahlo's art and the pop-culture phenomenon the Mexican artist has become.
(Photo shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, on 19 November 2025. Credit: Umit Bektas/Reuters)
Focus on Africa - Gender-based violence declared a national crisis in South Africa
South Africa's president declares gender-based violence and femicide a national crisis after planned protests A campaign to encourage us to donate our bodies to medical science And Audrey Brown bids farewell to Focus on Africa Presenter Audrey Brown Producers: Nyasha Michelle, Yvette Twagiramariya, Patricia Whitehorne, Stefania Okereke and Sunita Nahar in London. Charles Gitonga is in Nairobi. Technical Producer: Francesca Dunn Senior Producer: Paul Bakibinga Editors: Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
Unexpected Elements - Some Beautiful Science
The Miss Universe pageant final has us considering the science of beauty. How much of our perception of beauty is genetic, and how much is down to personal experiences? We also look at the science behind competitions and the audience effect. Why do we sometimes perform better when we’re watched?
Also on the show, Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy explains why maths can be beautiful, and former Miss Universe Ireland and NASA datanaut Fig O’Reilly talks about balancing pageants and a career in science outreach.
Plus, the science behind death metal singing, why civet coffee tastes so good, and how ugly plants inflame allergies, on this week’s Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Caroline Steel, with Katie Silver and Sandy Ong Producers: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins with Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, Lucy Davies, Robbie Wojciechowski and Alice McKee
Global News Podcast - Zelensky: Ukraine needs a ‘dignified peace’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will speak to Donald Trump in the coming days about the new peace deal put forward by the US. Mr Trump's plan includes significant concessions to be made by Kyiv. What is his strategy with this provocative proposal? Also: Schools have been closed in parts of Nigeria after a new wave of attacks and abductions. Spain's attorney general has been found guilty of leaking confidential information about the boyfriend of a leading politician. And the old VCR gathering dust in your basement could be worth good money at auction.
Newshour - President Trump accuses Democrats of ‘seditious behaviour’
US President Donald Trump has accused Democratic legislators who urged members of the armed forces to disobey unlawful orders of sedition and suggested they should face the death penalty.
Also on the programme: a journalist who has followed the Epstein story for years tells us what might be in the files to be released; and American filmmaker Wes Anderson on the pros and cons of AI in the movies. (Photo: President Trump gestures after speaking during a meeting of senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia on September 30, 2025. Credit: Reuters)
Global News Podcast - Ukraine’s war children hoping for return to normality
As the US is reported to have drafted a deal with Russia on Ukraine, we look at the impact the war has had on Ukrainian children. Also: Facebook and Instagram start closing Australian teenager's accounts ahead of the social media ban next month. A court in the Philippines has found a former mayor, Alice Guo, guilty of human trafficking linked to a scam centre in her town. As fears mount of a Chinese invasion, Taiwan issues instructions to its citizens of what to do if war breaks out. We hear from the son of one of the Nazi war criminals sentenced to death in the Nuremberg trials, 80 years after they began. And a new exhibition explores the quirky, stylised world of the American film director, Wes Anderson.
The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk