Zimbabweans are once again experiencing triple-digit inflation, ahead of August’s presidential election. We look at the state of the economy, which is once again a huge point of contention ahead of the vote.
Plus, as soldiers from Morocco and Israel carry out joint drills for the first time we examine what the two countries are hoping to get out of their new kinship.
And after many of us were gripped by the search for the Titan submersible, we speak to the Egyptian man who holds the record for the world’s deepest scuba dive.
Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid, but how to pick a date for your festivities?
The Islamic calendar says look to the moon, but haven’t we always chosen to order life on earth by using the planets, moons and stars?
We hear about the Mayans who tracked Venus and the astronomer who proved that comets weren’t bad omens.
Having looked at the outsourcing of decisions to the sky, we wonder why we can’t just trust our brains and wonder what neuroscience has to say about it.
And now that AI is able to make decisions for us, we hear about the computer-predicted proteins doing work that would otherwise take millions of years of evolution.
Our ‘Under the Radar’ story this week comes from Brazil, where we meet the Lionfish – hear how these kings of the coral reef are upsetting the ecosystem by eating most of it.
In our ongoing quest to find The Coolest Science in the World, we hear from a scientist doing amazing things with immersive audio.
And Marnie learns about the engineer trying to build roads through fresh volcanic lava, and reflects on how we predict eruptions.
All this plus your emails and WhatsApps, and a lot of mango chat.
Presented by Marnie Chesterton
Produced by Ben Motley, with Alex Mansfield and Sophie Ormiston
Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris
We discuss the living legacy of Ghanaian author and champion of women's rights Ama Ata Aidoo, who died recently at the age of 81 with journalist Dr Sharihan Al-Akhras.
Also in the pod: we discuss with journalist Mark Lobel the story of a young man who was trafficked to London for an illegal organ donation operation.
And Serge Stroobants, from the Institute for Economics and Peace's tells us why 2022 was the "worst year in conflict, this century".
As the Kremlin sends the Wagner boss to Belarus following a dramatic weekend in Russia, what happens to the thousands of Wagner mercenaries serving in Africa? We discuss three possible scenarios with Senior Analyst for the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, Julia Stanyard
Also in the pod: How disposing of plastics without care can end up clogging up drains and causing floods
And, we speak with Luis Munana from the acclaimed Netflix series Young, African and Famous
Please note: This is a shorter version than the original podcast. A longer version is available here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct3j6y.
Humans can walk for miles, solve problems and form complex relationships using the energy provided by daily meals. That is a lot of output for a fairly modest input. Listener Charlotte from the UK wants to know: how efficient are humans? How do they compare to cars, other animals and even to each other?
Presenter Marnie Chesterton pits her energetic self against everything from cars to rabbits to find out how she shapes up.
Marnie also explores whether humans are born equal when it comes to fuel efficiency. Does the energy from one banana get converted into the same amount of movement from person to person? Marnie gets on a treadmill to find out how efficient she really is. With contributors from Herman Pontzer, Duke University, Rhona Pearce, Loughborough University and Christian Gammelgaard Olesen from Wolturnus wheelchair manufacturing company.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producer: Caroline Steel
Editor: Richard Collings
Production co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris
(Image: Illustration of an airplane, a red car and a female wheel chair user. Credits: Getty Images)
We focus on Ciyaal Weero, the Mogadishu gangs terrorising residents of Somalia's capital. They emerged in outlying districts of the city in late 2021, and have been using extreme violence to rob and extort people.
Plus, we speak to the lawyer who represented the family of a Nigerian man who died whilst being restrained by police in Switzerland in 2018, after all of the officers in question were acquitted over his death.
And we catch up with South Africa’s Nandi Madida to talk about how she’s using her radio show to promote African artists.
Over the last week, news of “synthetic human embryos” has made headlines around the world. Science in Action is getting to the bottom of the sensational story.
We talk to two of the researchers who have made the embryo models from stem cells in their labs; Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz from the University of Cambridge and California Institute of Technology, and Professor Jacob Hanna from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. They tell us how they made the embryo models, what their aims are, and their own ethical considerations.
The scientific community is excited, but not surprised, by the breaking research. We hear how Dr Andreia Bernardo, group leader at Imperial College London, could use these structures in her future research.
Finally, Director of the Reproductive Sociology Research Group at Cambridge University, Professor Sarah Franklin, and Professor of Law at Stanford University, Hank Greely, tackle the legal and ethical constraints on this kind of work, and why it is important for understanding the health of mothers and babies.
Italy's former PM Silvio Berlusconi died on 12th June. Known for his lavish spending on Milan football club and his tumultuous relationship with Italian justice, the late media magnate had also a lesser-known passion: relaxing in Malindi. He was once quoted saying that he just 'could not get enough of the Kenyan coast'. Today, Malindi attracts European tourists, particularly Italians. A former manager of the super-luxury hotel Lion in the Sun, where Berlusconi stayed, reveals how the once fishing village became a destination cherished by Italians, including the late Silvio Berlusconi.
Also in the pod: as politicians and investors meet in Kenya to discuss how to harness renewable energy in Africa, a young policy adviser from Kenya tells us why she believes that wind energy has a promising future
And two young Sierra Leoneans discuss the importance of voting in this year's presidential elections
A look at some unexpected elements of congestion: Why does pollen make so many of us wheezy, and sneezy? What can it tell us about the distant past? Plus, we take a look at what we can learn from the construction and engineering behind aquatic snot palaces.
Plus your enemy’s enemy can be your friend – hear about the tiny viruses that invade certain bacteria. Speaking of bacteria, we look at the latest place to hunt for new antibiotics – the fur of a certain animal, and with reports of famine emerging from North Korea, we hear about the scientist who is said to have saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived.
