logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2022
41m 11s

Colombia's first leftist leader

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In more than 200 years as a republic, Colombia has never elected a left-wing leader - until now. Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 rebel group, narrowly won in a very polarised election. He said Colombia “voted for change.” BBC Mundo’s Daniel Pardo, who's from Bogota, witnessed the celebrations.

North Korean trash Seoul politics professor Kang Dong-wan is fascinated by life inside North Korea, and based his latest research on the vast array of packaging washed up on South Korea’s Five West Sea Islands. BBC Korean’s Jungmin Choi tells us what he discovered there, and what it reveals about life inside the communist state.

Russia's lost generals Why are so many Russian generals dying in the Ukraine conflict? At least four have been killed, possibly more, and yet it's usually rare for a general to die in battle. BBC Russian's Olga Ivshina explains what the high casualty rate tells us about the way Russian forces are fighting.

The imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi The deposed former leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been moved from house arrest to solitary confinement in prison. BBC Burmese editor Soe Win Than tells us what's known about her previous living conditions, and the significance of the junta's decision to put her behind bars.

Vietnamese brides China has a huge sex imbalance in its population, with 10% more men than women. This legacy of the one child policy has had a huge impact on neighbouring Vietnam; it's estimated 100,000 Vietnamese women married to Chinese men. Bui Thu from BBC Vietnamese spoke with one woman who married for love about her experiences.

(Photo: Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez. Credit: Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

Up next
Apr 2024
My Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It’s a period of prayer, celebrations and community gatherings and Muslims worldwide observe it by fasting from dawn to sunset. As this year’s Ramadan draws to a close, Faranak Amidi is joined by three BBC World Service colleagu ... Show More
27m 10s
Mar 2024
From prison to president
After an election held just days after his release from prison, Bassirou Diomaye Faye is set to become Senegal's next president, and at 44, the youngest in the country’s history. From Dakar, the BBC's Khadidiatou Cissé and Thomas Naadi tell us more about the new Senegalese leader ... Show More
40m 56s
Mar 2024
Women's radio in Afghanistan
As a new school year starts in Afghanistan, 330,000 more girls will be excluded from secondary education, one of the ways in which women and girls are increasingly confined to their homes under the Taliban regime. In light of this, BBC Media Action is running the Women’s Voice ra ... Show More
41m 1s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2022
Putin's Soviet Ambitions
Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union three decades ago, Russia has been grappling with how to keep its old empire close to it, using a variety of tactics. This week, Russia stunned Nato member states when it embarked on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Andrew Harding spent th ... Show More
28m 27s
Jan 2022
Fear and Fatalism in Kiev
More than a hundred and twenty thousand Russian troops are sitting on Ukraine’s border, with talks still underway to reduce tensions, but no sign of success so far. Yet Ukraine has already experienced Russia's invasion of Crimea, and Russian backed troops taking over an eastern r ... Show More
28m 47s
Mar 2023
Ukraine’s Second Spring Of War
Kate Adie presents stories from Ukraine, Malawi, Switzerland and Germany.Bakhmut has long been a prize for Russian forces since it invaded Ukraine a year ago. Tens of thousands of troops have died in a protracted fight for the city, in what is the longest battle of the war so far ... Show More
28m 18s
Sep 2023
Kim Jong Un and Putin’s Budding Bromance
Ben and guest host Max Fisher talk about the latest headlines on the Russia/Ukraine war, including Putin’s refusal to sign a new grain deal with Turkey’s Erdogan, a rumored visit by Kim Jong Un, more drones in Russian airspace, and a rise in pro-Russian disinformation in Europe. ... Show More
1h 25m
May 2024
Protests in Georgia
Kate Adie presents stories from Georgia, Serbia, Colombia, Thailand and the PhilippinesGeorgians have been protesting for weeks about a draft law requiring organisations to declare foreign funding, which many see as a turning point in Tbilisi's relationship with Russia and the We ... Show More
28m 37s
Sep 2022
The Presidents of Finland and South Korea on threats from their neighbors
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on why Vladimir Putin is not likely to accept defeat in Ukraine and why Europe will remain united against Russia, even if it means a very cold winter. Then, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol tells Fareed why North Korea is still an imminent thr ... Show More
40m 9s
Jul 2022
Suspicion and mistrust in the Donbas
Stories from Ukraine, Afghanistan, the US and Rwanda. Russia is focusing its military might on Ukraine's east where some of the locals have been heavily influenced by Vladimir Putin's propaganda machine. Allegiances have become blurred, with Ukrainian informants tipping off Russi ... Show More
28m 49s
Sep 2022
Who is still friends with Putin?
On the day when most of the world’s leaders and officials are gathering in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, President Putin is notable by his absence. He is one of only six heads of state who was not invited. Also, at a summit in Uzbekistan, Putin faced concerns by t ... Show More
34m 57s
May 2023
North Korea Truth & Lies: Challenging the Propaganda, w/ Ju-Hyun Park
In the U.S. we’re taught that North Korea is a horrible backwards dictatorship where every person is captive to an evil regime run by a mad man who has an inexplicable hatred of the U.S., freedom and democracy – and is always on the edge of launching a nuclear missile to destroy ... Show More
48m 33s
Feb 2022
Trudeau's Brutal Trucker Crackdown, Ukraine/Russia War Lust, Guests: Frances Martel on the Entire World, Patrick K. O'Donnell on George Washington
On today's show, we open with the another Ukraine/Russia war hype update. Russia-backed forces slightly increased the shelling of a region of Ukraine that is not Kiev, yet the American media and NATO and the Big Joey administration all consider this evidence that Putin is about t ... Show More
56m 23s