Sierra Leone is experiencing election fever ahead of its fifth election since the end of a brutal civil war in 2002. More than three million voters are expected to choose the next president, parliamentarians and local councillors.
And in the pod: A new report into human trafficking states that the number of boys caught up in the system has risen sharply. Why is this?
Also: we speak to Bogolo Joy Kenewendo. Not so long ago she was one of the youngest government ministers in Africa. How did she make her presence felt in the corridors of power in Botswana?
Mali's ruling military junta held a constitutional referendum on Sunday, but turnout was around 27%, with many people refusing to take part. We look at what was on the table, and what the outcome could mean in terms of the return to democracy.
Plus, as South Africa takes a step towards making universal healthcare a reality, we speak to the head of the country's National Health Insurance about why some people aren't happy about the situation.
And we speak to the director of a museum in Nigeria preparing to receive some of the Benin Bronzes looted during the days of British colonialism, about why returning the artefacts home is important.
Nine Egyptian nationals suspected of involvement in the sinking of a boat carrying hundreds of migrants off the Greek coast last week have pleaded not guilty after appearing in court. The men were arrested on suspicion of people smuggling and other offences following the disaster, which saw at least 78 people killed. We talk to someone who has been involved in migrant boat rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea.
Also in the pod: The effect of power shortages on South Africa's water supply.
CrowdScience listener Eileen cannot see images in her head of her memories. She only discovered by chance that most other people can do this. She wants to know why she can’t see them and if it is something she can learn to do.
Anand Jagatia finds out what mental images are for and whether scientists know why some people can’t create them.
Three per cent of the world’s population cannot see mental images like Eileen. And it is only recently been given a name – aphantasia.
Anand discovers why mental images are useful, why they are sometimes traumatic and how people who are blind or visually impaired can also create images of the world around them.
Contributors:
Emily Holmes, professor of clinical psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden
Adam Zeman, professor of cognitive and behavioural psychology, Exeter University, UK
Joel Pearson, professor of cognitive neuroscience, University of New South Wales, Australia
Paul Gabias, associate professor, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
Marijke Peters, Hannah Fisher and Jo Glanville, CrowdScience producers
Presenter: Anand Jagatia
Producer: Jo Glanville
Editor: Richard Collings
Production co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris
Sound: Jackie Margerum
As African leaders visit Ukraine and Russia to help negotiate peace , we ask what unique perspectives they can bring to succeed where others have failed.
Also in the pod: can you really buy your way out of a climate catastrophe? Our Environment Correspondent tells us why buying carbon credits could be insufficient at preventing overshooting our global temperature targets.
And, as Belgium refurbishes a museum holding African artefacts, we reignite a conversation between two young Congolese activists on the future of African artefacts taken during the colonial past.
As Pacific Ocean temperatures rise, a major El Niño is looming. Experts from the European Centre for Medium range Weather Forecasting, Magdalena Balmaseda and Tim Stockdale, join us to discuss how it is heating up the world and if it could herald in a new period of climate uncertainty.
Last month, Roland stayed up all night to watch the spectacular explosion of supernova 2023ixf. Now, Dr Charlie Kilpatrick, a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University, has identified the star that blew up 21 million lightyears away. A similar star in our galaxy, the exceptionally bright Betelgeuse, has been acting strangely. Dr Andrea Dupree, a senior astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, has been trying to figure out what is going on. Is this iconic star about to pop?
And from ageing stars to ageing flies, researchers have published a cell-by-cell map of fruit flies throughout the life of the short lived creatures, showing how they change. Steve Quake, professor of bioengineering and professor of applied physics at Stanford University, tells us what this means for us.
Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Ella Hubber
(Image: Illustration of the world map showing areas of rising temperatures. Credit: ClimateReanalyzer.org)
Nigerian students to get interest free loans for higher education. Thanks to President Bola Tinubu's new student loan bill. How will it work in practice?
Also in the pod: There has been a furious reaction in Egypt to Netflix’s recently released “Queen Cleopatra” miniseries. We look at why many in the country are upset that a black actor was cast in the leading role.
And American pop diva Beyonce on a global tour but why isn’t Africa part of her world?
The show that brings you the science behind the news, with Marnie Chesterton and an inter-continental team.
This week we take the headlines of the wildfires in North America, pull out the science and run with it. We explore what’s actually in smoke-polluted air, looking at the part the El Nino weather system plays in starting fires, and discover why a surprising element of air pollution is helping conservation biologists to track animals.
We look at how tobacco is not just bad for your lungs – it’s bad for some of the farmers who grow it too. We get the Kenyan perspective on farmers trying to move away from tobacco production.
We continue our quest to find The Coolest Science in the World with a researcher who studies grasshoppers that are the noisiest on the planet, but might not actually be noisy enough.
And as Ukraine struggles with the devastation caused by the destruction of the Kherson dam, we look at dam building along the Mekong river and ask why a lack of flood water might be causing a problem.
All that, plus your emails and whatsapps, and a listener gets an unexpected answer to a question about whether we can send taste and smell over the airwaves.
Presented by: Marnie Chesterton
Produced by Alex Mansfield, with Ben Motley, Margaret Sessa-Hawkins & Sophie Ormiston
How Nigeria's decision to drop a decades-long fuel subsidy scheme has impacted petrol prices in neighbouring Benin.
Also in the pod: six years since the BBC uncovered a sex for grades scandal, Nigerian lawmakers have passed a bill to fight sexual harassment in universities.
And the president of Uganda was a recent target of disinformation. We find out what happened and give some tips as to how you also can spot false information online.
The Kenyan government is reconsidering a controversial tax change that widens the tax base to include social media influencers and cryptocurrency holders. It's not the only country proposing drastic changes. Opponents of these changes are alarmed saying that this is coming when the cost of living is very high.
Also in the pod: South Sudan is facing the fallout from the conflict in neighbouring Sudan. There are fears that the war in Sudan will have a regional impact as more people seek refuge.
And... Tackling the pain of a loved one's dementia Elizabeth Mutunga shares her pain and what she's done about it.
