The Explanation

Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin.

World Service,351 episodes

Episodes

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The Global Jigsaw: How drones have changed war
Drones have reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine - and created new challenges
20 Apr 2024,32 mins
The Media Show: How Taylor Swift conquered the media
A lesson in “Swiftonomics” from the journalists who report on the pop phenomenon
18 Apr 2024,22 mins
How does the New York Stock Exchange work?
Valued at over $25 trillion, does it spread wealth or increase inequality?
16 Apr 2024,17 mins
The Global Jigsaw: Sudan: A year of war
Sudan faces the largest humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world
14 Apr 2024,39 mins
The Media Show: Building Trump's social media app
Billy Boozer tells the story behind the creation of Truth Social
11 Apr 2024,22 mins
The Global Jigsaw: Deconstructing Iran’s 'Axis of Resistance': Part one
The origins of the Iran-cultivated alliance of like-minded states and groups.
07 Apr 2024,29 mins
The Media Show: Fear, threats and intimidation
Have US diplomats been targeted by Russian sonic weaponry?
04 Apr 2024,22 mins
The Global Jigsaw: Moscow attack: disinfo wars
Who is behind the Crocus City Hall attack? We track the blame game.
31 Mar 2024,32 mins,
The Global Jigsaw: Contested waters: Helmand
How the waters of the Helmand river have driven tensions between Afghanistan and Iran
24 Mar 2024,25 mins
Unspun World: What's next for President Putin after winning re-election?
Plus, as Biden and Trump compete for the presidency, is the US close to civil unrest?
23 Mar 2024,27 mins
The Global Jigsaw - Contested waters: Crimea
How water is used as a weapon of war following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
17 Mar 2024,28 mins
Unspun World: Has Russia turned the tide in its war in Ukraine?
Plus, gang violence in Haiti, and the possibility of unmanned ships on the oceans
16 Mar 2024,27 mins
The Global Jigsaw: What hope for Haiti?
Gang violence has turned the small Caribbean nation into a “living nightmare”
10 Mar 2024,28 mins
Unspun World: What's life like on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank?
What will it take to bring peace to both Gaza and Ukraine?
09 Mar 2024,27 mins
Unspun World: Is a ceasefire in Gaza within reach?
Plus, Donald Trump's legal problems, and European farmers protest
02 Mar 2024,27 mins
Unspun World: What Alexei Navalny's death means for Vladimir Putin's grip on Russia
Two years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, can Putin keep control?
24 Feb 2024,27 mins
Unspun World: Can Israel win its war in Gaza?
John Simpson analyses Israel offensive in Gaza, China's economy and Indonesia's election
17 Feb 2024,27 mins
Unspun World: How Russia's economy has survived despite sanctions
Plus, examining the US military's role in the Middle East
10 Feb 2024,27 mins
Unspun World: Is Ukraine losing Western support?
Plus, how might the International Court of Justice’s ruling affect the war in Gaza?
03 Feb 2024,27 mins
Unspun World: Is the war in Gaza slipping away from Israel?
Plus, the implications of Iran’s missile strike on Pakistan
27 Jan 2024,27 mins
Unspun World: What's the West's strategy for the Houthis?
Have US and UK-led attacks on the Houthis in Yemen backfired?
20 Jan 2024,27 mins
What does the World Bank do?
Michelle Fleury on the origins and purpose of the global financial institution
06 Jan 2024,18 mins
What is sportswashing?
Dan Roan on why oil-rich nations are investing huge amounts of money in global sport
30 Dec 2023,17 mins
What is BRICS?
Can a group of emerging economies change the existing global economic hierarchy?
23 Dec 2023,17 mins
How does the World Health Organization work?
Tulip Mazumdar looks at the successes and failures of the WHO
16 Dec 2023,18 mins
What is Five Eyes?
Gordon Corera on the origins of the international spy network
09 Dec 2023,17 mins
Unspun World: Can anything break the stalemate in the Ukraine war?
Stories from the frontline as tensions rise from Ukraine correspondent, James Waterhouse
09 Dec 2023,27 mins
Unspun World: How migration is changing European politics
Migration is topping Europe's political agenda. Europe editor, Katya Adler, explains why
02 Dec 2023,27 mins
Unspun World: A pause in fighting in Gaza
A pause in fighting in Gaza but what’s it like for those living there?
25 Nov 2023,27 mins
The Global Jigsaw: Global perspectives on the Israel Gaza war
How the big players spin the conflict into narratives of their own
19 Nov 2023,39 mins