logo
episode-header-image
May 2021
29m 5s

India’s pandemic politics

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

The pandemic’s impact on politics is being picked over in India after a disappointment for the BJP in West Bengal's state election. Mark Tully was born in India in 1935 and reported from across the subcontinent for the BBC for many years - working as the chief of its Delhi bureau for some of that time. He still lives in the city and has recently been shielding at home – and sent us this long view of how Narendra Modi’s government has dealt with this emergency.

After a sluggish start – and some concerns about public reluctance - Germany’s vaccination campaign is gathering pace. The government has agreed to lift some restrictions for vaccinated people. But the new social divide between the vaxxed and the un-vaxxed is sparking some awkward new emotions — and some new German words to describe them. Damien McGuinness reports from Berlin.

During the last twenty years, a new generation of Afghan girls have grown up aspiring to work outside the home – some even daring to start up their own businesses. But the past year has been tough for them, and there are fears of what increased Taliban influence may mean for their enterprises. Charlie Faulkner met one young woman wondering how long she can stay afloat.

The Galapagos Islands off Ecuador are a showcase of marine life in all its variety - but the country's fishing fleets are fuming over plans to extend the limits of environmental protection zones. Dan Collyns examines the delicate balance between saving the fishing industry and protecting the planet.

And in the week that France commemorated one of its greatest sons – Napoleon Bonaparte, who died 200 years ago - Julia Buckley gleans some personal insights into the man behind the myth in an unexpectedly intimate museum of his belongings in the Dordogne.

Up next
Oct 4
Dubai’s hidden sex trade
Kate Adie introduces stories from Dubai, The Dominican Republic, Denmark, Spain and Australia.Dubai is often described as one of the safest cities in the world - but safe for who? In the shadows of shining skyscrapers and shopping malls is an exploitative sex trade. Runako Celina ... Show More
28m 59s
Sep 27
Palestinian lives in the occupied West Bank
Kate Adie presents stories from the occupied West Bank, the US, Brazil, South Korea and Russia.When the UK government recognised a Palestinian state, he said he was acting “to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution.” But Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ... Show More
28m 45s
Sep 20
Europe's migrant challenge
Kate Adie introduces stories from across Europe, Nepal, Ghana, and Moldova-Transnistria.As countries across Europe harden their stance on immigration, Fergal Keane retraces the journeys refugees have taken over the years, including stories he has heard from Ireland, Syria, Turkey ... Show More
28m 34s
Recommended Episodes
May 2021
May 9, 2021 | On GPS: Bombing in Kabul; Beijing’s brinksmanship in Taiwan; India’s COVID crisis; the post-pandemic boom
Airdate May 9, 2021: Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates talks about Biden’s pressing foreign policy issues – from the prospect of a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan to China’s brinksmanship in Taiwan. Then, the Lancet says India may suffer 1 million COVID deaths by August 1st; Far ... Show More
40m 17s
Jun 2021
The Struggles of India’s Vaccine Giant
When the coronavirus hit, the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, seemed uniquely positioned to help. It struck a deal with AstraZeneca, promising a billion vaccine doses to low- and middle-income nations. Earlier this year, a ban instituted by Prime Mini ... Show More
28m 1s
May 2024
India’s historic election
India’s general election ends this weekend, with Prime Minister Nerendra Modi leading the polls. Today on “Post Reports,” we unpack where Modi’s support comes from and what a win for his party would mean for the world’s largest democracy.Read more:For more than a month, people a ... Show More
27m 41s
May 2021
West Bengal elections: a turning point for Indian politics?
On 6th May, Mamata Banerjee was sworn as Chief Minister of West Bengal for a third term after leading her party to a landslide victory in the State elections against India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In this episode of World Review from the New Statesman, Jeremy Cliffe ... Show More
44m 21s
Oct 2022
Afghanistan's economy in focus
A new report shows that the economy of Afghanistan has shrunk by more than a quarter in the last year, since the Taliban took over. We speak to the former mining minister of the country, Nargis Nehan about the situation there at the moment. Fanny Yeung, the executive director of ... Show More
26m 51s
Oct 2020
Ep 173, presented by the European Commission: Pandemic politics — Farming feuds — Hospitality hopes
Political activity in a pandemic, transatlantic turbulence, the EU's farming future and what the hospitality industry wants from politicians to weather the coronavirus crisis are all up for debate in this episode of EU Confidential. POLITICO's Andrew Gray, Rym Momtaz and Matthew ... Show More
34m 14s
Jul 2021
Daily: THE MODI POLITIC – India’s deadly descent into despotism
India’s brutal second wave of COVID is now receding, leaving behind intensified poverty, economic carnage, a staggering estimated 400-700m infections and a death rate of approximately 2%. But things were already going catastrophically wrong in the world’s largest democracy thanks ... Show More
29m 43s