Currently
Politikk og nyheterHistorieReactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.
Siste episoder av Currently podcast
- Flag Town (00:27:42)
In towns and cities across Britain, flags are appearing in ever greater numbers. On rooftops, down terraced streets, outside pubs and community centres, they flutter as both a statement of pride and a challenge to what many feel the country is becoming. In York, the group known as the Flag Force see their work as part of a wider national campaign. For them, raising the Union Flag or the Cross of St George is about honouring history, heritage and a sense of belonging they believe is slowly being stripped away by government neglect, the cost of living crisis and, above all, immigration.The Flaggers insist their cause is not rooted in racism or exclusion, but in the preservation of British culture. Yet for others, the message is harder to separate. To some, the same symbols that inspire pride in one street can read like a warning in another. Not a call for unity, but a signal that certain people do not belong.At the heart of this story is a clash of meanings. Supporters describe the flags as an antidote to division, a way to bring fractured communities together under a shared identity. Opponents counter with flags of their own, from Switzerland to Bermuda to the rainbow Pride flag, aiming to show that being British can mean welcoming different cultures rather than resisting them.The result is a patchwork of banners across the country, each one loaded with history, politics and personal belief. What was once a simple piece of fabric is now a frontline in a debate about who we are and who we want to be. The very symbols meant to unite us are instead exposing how deeply divided we remain.Presented and Produced by Jonny I'Anson Edited by Clare Fordham
- Scotland Wants You (00:28:08)
Nick Eardley explores the Scottish dimension to one of the most contentious issues facing the UK – immigration. With lower birthrates and a population that’s aging faster, Scotland desperately needs people to come here and take up jobs in critical sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and hospitality. And now with Reform biting at their heels Labour plan to adopt a much tighter immigration policy. So does this ‘one size fits all’ immigration policy risk making Scotland’s problems worse?Nick’s investigation probes into another central question: are higher immigration levels something that the average Scot is ready to accept? On the surface, Scotland presents itself as a hospitable, inclusive country, known for its strong values of egalitarianism. It avoided last year’s wave of immigration riots which hit parts of England and marred Labour’s first few weeks in power but recent protests outside asylum hotels in places like Perth and Falkirk suggest public opinion is shifting.The recent rise in support for Reform UK reveal a complex picture. While there’s much enthusiasm for Scotland from immigrant communities, there are surprising undercurrents of resentment surfacing.Nick will explore the often contradictory narratives and perspectives surrounding immigration in Scotland. His journey will uncover whether Scotland’s reputation for openness aligns with current attitudes, or if this image masks deeper ambivalences - does the old Scottish adage, about inclusivity - “We’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns,” still reflect the country today?Presenter: Nick Eardley Producer: Peter McManus Sound: Gav Murchie
- Corn Belt People (00:27:46)
Amid the crowds and bustle of the 2025 Iowa State Fair, Anna Jones takes the temperature of rural Iowans almost a year into Trump's second term. Anna finds out how the farming constituency - largely Trump supporting in 2024 - are feeling about global trade tariffs and promises to Make America Great Again. She explores their perceptions of America's position in the world - and how they feel the rest of the world views the rural Midwest. Produced and presented by Anna Jones for BBC Audio Bristol
- Germany: United and Divided (00:28:24)
A programme marking the 35th anniversary of the Treaty of Unification that brought East and West Germany together after 40 years of separation. Historian Katja Hoyer was born in East Germany in the 1980s. Then, her home town of Guben was a bustling hub of the GDR's chemical industry, shrouded in smog and crowded with people. Today, it is clean and beautifully rebuilt, but also rather desolate and depopulated as residents debate how best to revitalise the region. 40% of people in Guben now vote for the right wing AfD party and express disappointment with life 35 years after reunification. Why? Katja reports from Guben and discovers that people in the east feel hugely underrepresented in every sphere of German life. They believe that the united Germany is run on western terms and resent government intrusion from Berlin – especially the imposition of ‘green’ infrastructure. The AfD wins approval with its policies on this and migration, as well as a more pro-Russian stance on the war in Ukraine. Katja talks to the city mayor, librarian, AfD politician, journalists, a rapper, pub owner and people who grew up in the GDR. . Presenter: Katja Hoyer Producer : Susan Marling A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4
- White Coats v the White House (00:29:11)
What is going on with US science? Science Journalist Roland Pease asks whether the rounds of cuts, reorganisations and political strong-arming can be weathered, and how they will likely affect us all.80 years after Vannevar Bush proposed what became the pact between government and universities that led to decades of global scientific dominance, is the edifice being toppled?Bush’s report “Science, The Endless Frontier” led to the unwritten pact between university scientists and government funding that underpinned US leadership until now. “Trust us with the money, we’ll give you the global scientific advantage”.Today, US scientists fear the Trump administration is ripping up that agreement. Mandating what and what can’t be studied, who can study it, and re-defining expertise, government funded science in the US is being withered. The specialist agencies are either being closed down or defunded to the extent that many tens of thousands of government scientists are already unemployed. Multi-year experiments are being closed down uncompleted. Top universities are besieged by mandates on who and how they hire, tied to their future funding. Data streams that benefit researchers around the globe are being switched off. Even definitions of what counts as evidence are being re-drafted.Science is a complex, interwoven and international activity. The administration's declared aim is "Restoring Gold Standard Science", but scientific bodies fear its actions will cede global leadership to China, and that the whole world may be poorer.Can the coming storm be weathered, even if we can no longer predict it?Produced by Alex Mansfield Written and Presented by Roland Pease
- Turn Right for Wales (00:28:13)
In early June this year Nigel Farage held a press conference in the South Wales steel town of Port Talbot. He announced Reform UK’s commitment to the re-industrialisation of Wales, including the re-opening of Port Talbot’s blast furnaces and a return to coal mining in the South Wales Valleys. His controversial announcement was the opening shot in Reform UK’s campaign for the Welsh Senedd elections in May next year. Those elections could be a watershed moment for British politics. In a startling and far-reaching “perfect storm” of circumstances, Reform UK may become the largest party in Wales and could even, conceivably, end up forming the government. Whatever the outcome, a substantial Reform presence in the Senedd would be a major step forward for a party which didn’t even exist just a few years ago. It could also be a significant indication of what could happen across the UK as we look ahead to the next general election in 2029.Political journalist Will Hayward has been watching and reporting on Reform’s rise in Wales. Now he explores how Wales could become the setting for their biggest breakthrough yet. Current polls show Reform neck-and-neck with the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru and the Labour party currently in a distant third place. This is potentially a seismic shift in Welsh politics. Labour have dominated Wales not just in the last 26 years since devolution began, but for over a century. From the general election of 1922 onwards, Wales has always returned a majority of Labour MPs, making it the most successful democratic party in history. Yet this run of success could be about to come to a crashing halt. To understand how next year’s elections might play out, Will speaks to politicians from across the spectrum in Wales, including current and former Welsh party leaders, and to Reform’s man in Wales, Llŷr Powell. Will explores Reform's ambitions and policies for Wales; he considers whether this is really a right-turn politically for a nation that’s famously left-leaning; and he asks what a Reform victory in the Senedd elections could mean for the rest of the UK. Presenter: Will Hayward Producer: Jeremy Grange Executive Producer: Michael Surcombe An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4Photo credit: Rob Norman
- The Dark Enlightenment (00:28:53)
Is a radical political philosophy guiding the actions of the Trump administration?Curtis Yarvin is suddenly all over American media. A computer engineer turned political blogger, he's known for writing long screeds that advocate for a radical reform of governance - dismissing America's democratic values and instead calling for the return of an absolute monarchy. For years, these ideas were buried in the blogosphere, but they began to gain traction after Donald Trump was first elected to the White House. With Mr Trump back in the oval office, some observers think this once niche school of thought is what's inspiring some of the president's more controversial policies - from Elon Musk's DOGE to attacks on elite institutions like Harvard University to the widespread dismantling of DEI programmes. How did Curtis Yarvin's ideas become so influential - and how important is he, really?ARCHIVE:Triggernometry podcast, The Case Against Democracy, Youtube, July 23 2023. Hermitix Podcast, Gray Mirror of the Nihilist Prince with Curtis Yarvin, Youtube, June 19 2020 Marc Andreessen on his Techno-Optimist Manifesto / YouTube, Start Up Archive / Jan 20 2025Presenter: Mike Wendling Producer: Lucy Proctor Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Mix: James Beard
- Out for Delivery (00:28:37)
When a parcel delivery goes awry, Polly Weston does what every angry person in 2025 does... she searches the internet for similarly angry people to bask in the shared experience of being annoyed. Naturally, she finds countless groups on social media devoted to people complaining. There are posts from people furious about the delivery which never turned up at the designated time; or the parcel strewn on a doorstep, or with a photo in a mysterious unknown location; or, most annoying of all, the message to say "sorry we missed you" when they were absolutely, undeniably, incontrovertibly in the house and poised by the door waiting for the parcel at the time... But hidden in amongst the social media fist waving, she notices surprising posts from another group of people - delivery drivers themselves. On these groups, the delivery drivers explain the reasons why customers have the experiences they do, and the reasons why things go wrong. A single phone call to one delivery driver who she tracks down is more enlightening than any AI customer service chatbot could hope to be, and it sparks weeks of recordings with many people who have worked across all the different courier companies over the past ten years. As the proposed merger between EVRi and DHL hits the headlines, this is the story of the multi-drop parcel courier industry and its recent history, as told by the drivers.In 2013, 1.7 billion parcels were processed annually in the UK, in 2023, it was 4 billion, and it's projected to climb to 5.6 billion by 2028. How does an industry deliver that kind of growth? What does it mean for the people doing the work? And how exactly do you deliver to 270 locations in a single shift?Produced and presented by Polly Weston in Bristol Editor: Chris Ledgard
- The Great British Trade-Off (00:28:19)
In the years since Brexit, British businesses have had to constantly adapt to ever changing rules and regulations about trading with the EU. The current government is making moves to make some of that process easier. To find out more about the consequences of (almost) a decade of Brexit, we catch up with three very different businesses to find out if they've been thriving, surviving, or downsizing.Presenter: Adam Fleming Producer Ivana Davidovic Editor: Max Deveson Sound editor: Sarah Hockley
- Crossing the Line (00:28:18)
Louise Lancaster - approaching 60 - received one of Britain's longest ever jail terms for peaceful protest, in July 2024.She served part of her sentence in HMP Bronzefield, the UK's highest security women's prison, alongside some of Britain's most notorious killers.Louise was one of five Just Stop Oil activists involved in bringing much of the M25 to a standstill in November 2022, and has taken part in several other high profile acts of direct action climate protest.The judge, in sentencing Louise and a number of co-defendents, told them:"Each of you has some time ago crossed the line from concerned campaigner to fanatic."You have appointed yourselves as the sole arbiters of what should be done about climate change, bound neither by the principles of democracy nor the rule of law."Journalist and producer Patrick Steel has been following Louise's story for several years, and has intimately recorded access to Louise, and her family and friends. In this documentary, Patrick explores Louise's transition from law-abiding Middle England mum and special educational needs teacher, to law-breaking direct action eco-activist, and criminal.Has Louise indeed 'crossed the line'? Are her actions a heroic self-sacrifice for the greater good of tackling climate change, or are they damaging and reckless fanaticism?Presenter: Patrick Steel Producers: Patrick Steel and Carys Wall Sound Design: Tom Drew A Bespoken Media / Fat Toad Films production, from an idea by Terry Macalister
- One Week in Gaza (00:28:29)
The daily realities and private thoughts of a young woman living through war.Every morning, Hanya Aljamal sees the same man from her balcony. “He has this tiny garden in the middle of all this concrete stuff,” she says. “Just across the road, there’s a blown-up building. Yet he’s cultivating these little herbs and plants. And I look at that and it just looks like the purest form of resistance.”Hanya has been living in a war zone for 20 months. In daily audio diaries, she describes what she sees and hears from her balcony and in her work for an aid organisation, from drones and kites to funeral marches and sun rises. Her insights and reflections offer a window into life in a place devastated by conflict.Producer/presenter: Simon Maybin Editor: China Collins Sound mix: Eloise Whitmore Production coordinators: Hattie Valentine & Gemma Ashman
- Ireland's Pot of Gold (00:28:10)
As the UK Treasury grapples with a massive financial ‘black hole’, its once impoverished neighbour, the Irish Republic, is grappling with the dilemma of how to spend a bounty of €14bn.It’s a 'pot of gold' which the Irish government didn’t expect – and surprisingly didn't want - but was eventually forced to accept by a European Court ruling that the mighty US corporation, Apple, had underpaid taxes on its extensive Irish-based operations. Added to a mighty windfall from other companies, taking advantage of its low corporate tax policies, Ireland is now one of the richest countries in the European Union. Dublin's River Liffey waterfront, once a depressed, neglected area, has been transformed into 'Silicon Docks’, a gleaming hub of high rise offices, housing American tech giants including Google, Meta, Airbnb and Docusign. While other western economies haved struggled and stagnated Ireland has attracted new, dynamic American firms. It's estimated that 700 multinational tech and pharmaceutical companies have bases across Ireland, employing more than 150,000 people. Politically, the country may be tied to Europe but economically it straddles both sides of the Atlantic.Despite these riches, Ireland has a severe housing crisis, a crumbling health system, weak transport and energy infrastructures and a myriad of other demands on the public purse. While the politicians argue over how the money should best be spent there are growing concerns that Donald Trump's arrival in The White House, could bring these lucrative tax benefits to an end.For a country so dependent on global trade and the American multi-nationals in particular, it's a moment of serious economic jeopardy, as the BBC's Ireland correspondent, Chris Page, reports.Presenter: Chris Page, BBC Ireland Correspondent Producers: Kathleen Carragher and John Deering Sound Engineer: Kris McConnachie
- Excluded (00:28:30)
Permanent exclusions from schools in England have risen over the last decade. Neil Maggs explores why this might be happening - and what happens to the children who are excluded from the classroom. He visits a pupil referral unit where children are sent if they are excluded from a mainstream school; a school in the North East of England that excluded just one pupil last year to see what it's doing differently, and speaks to experts to see what factors lie behind school exclusions. Presenter: Neil Maggs. Producer: Fergus Hewison. Technical producer: Richard Hannaford. Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith.
- Madeira's Drugs Crisis (00:28:02)
The beautiful Atlantic island of Madeira has a chronic problem with a cheap synthetic drug imported through the post. The drug - nicknamed Bloom - is so easy to get hold of, so cheap and so addictive that authorities are struggling to cope. Helen Clifton has spent time with police and frontline services to get an idea of how big a problem Bloom now is across Madeiran society. She comes face to face with addicts, and hears about the desperate social impact of a drug more addictive than heroin.With authorities trying - but failing - to stop the supply, Bloom addicts are in full sight on the streets amongst locals and tourists.So how can Madeira get a grip on its Bloom problem, before it grows out of control? Presenter/Producer: Helen Clifton Additional reporting: Erica Franco Research: Liliana Jardim
- The Three Babies Mystery (00:28:10)
On a cold night in January 2024 a dog walker finds a baby in a bag - a foundling. She's named Elsa, after the Frozen character.Reporter Sanchia Berg begins to follow the case, gaining rare access to the Family Court and to the police investigation. DNA tests reveal Elsa is the sibling of two other babies found abandoned in the same area over recent years. What has happened to the mother?Produced by Lucy Proctor Mixed by James Beard Edited by Matt Willis
- NHS: Painful Decisions (00:28:29)
The latest figures on NHS finances don't make pretty reading. NHS England alone faces a projected deficit of £6.6 billion for this financial year and the situation looks as bleak right across the NHS in Wales, Scotland and Northern IrelandThe NHS has always had to make tough choices about what to prioritise but this deficit is prompting health bosses to make decisions that were previously unthinkable to balance the books.New research shared exclusively with the BBC by the independent think tank The Kings Fund, surveyed Chief Executive and financial leaders across the NHS in England about the kind of difficult decisions they are having to make because of the huge deficitsBut faced with having to make efficiency savings, cutting staff numbers and rolling back on patient services, BBC Health correspondent Dominic Hughes learns how painful these decisions really are, from the people having to make them.Presenter: Dominic Hughes Producer: Jay Unger Editor: Richard McIlroy Executive Editor: Pete Wilson
- The Big Mortgage Time Bomb (00:28:20)
Vicky Spratt investigates how people have remained trapped in high interest mortgages since the financial crash of 2008.Some of these so-called ‘mortgage prisoners’ are homeowners who were formerly customers of Northern Rock, a bank which was famously nationalised by the UK Government.Since then, these customers have not been able to move out of their high interest mortgages and many are now living in poverty, and often suffering from poor mental and physical health.There are tens of thousands of ‘mortgage prisoners’ in the UK, and housing journalist Vicky travels to Hartlepool and Blackpool to speak with two of them. She wants to find out how the issue arose and what the Government can do to help.Presenter: Vicky Spratt Producer: Emily Uchida Finch Executive Producer: Rosamund Jones Assistant Producer: Sam Stone A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
- The Landscape Revolution (00:28:46)
After Brexit, we left the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, the CAP. For many people - whatever they made of Brexit - this was a golden opportunity to come up with something better. A NEW farming policy, which would encourage efficient food production while rewarding farmers for environmental work.Nearly a decade later, where have we got to? This is a programme about agricultural policy, so if you're not a farmer you may not think it's for you. But farm policy is also environmental policy and food policy...so the seismic shift that farmers are going though right now will have an impact not just on their lives and businesses, but on the landscapes we see, the food on our plate and price we pay for both.Presented by Charlotte Smith Produced by Heather Simons
- Russia's New War Elite (00:29:27)
Russians who sign up to fight in Ukraine earn big money in salaries and bonuses – and the Kremlin is even more generous to families of those killed in battle. Average compensation packages for a dead son or husband are worth about £97,000. In less-wealthy Russian provinces, where most recruits are from, that’s enough to turn your life around. Reporter Arsenii Sokolov finds out how the relatives of the tens of thousands of men Russia has lost in the war are spending the money – and asks whether the pay-outs will help create a new “patriotic” middle class that supports Vladimir Putin.Besides the cash, there are many privileges offered to soldiers and their families, and to bereaved relatives of the fallen. Their children can go to university whatever their grades. And the Kremlin has started a programme called “Time of Heroes” that claims it will fast-track selected returning servicemen into elite positions in local politics and business. But can Putin’s attempt at social engineering really work? And will “deathonomics” – as one economist calls it – really boost the economy of the provinces that have suffered most from the huge death toll?Presenter: Arsenii Sokolov Producer: Tim Whewell Sound engineer: Neil Churchill Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Penny Murphy
- The Choice: How Assisted Dying Works (00:28:44)
California is one of ten US states where assisted dying is lawful and in some respects it’s a model for how the practice might work in Britain.Introduced in 2016, it’s available to those who are terminally ill and are expected to die within six months. Patients must self administer the lethal medication - the same as what’s proposed in England and Wales. BBC Medical editor Fergus Walsh travels to San Diego to meet 80 year old Wayne who’s planning to end his life. He’s terminally ill with heart failure and in excruciating pain from a severely damaged spine.“I just don't see any merit to dying slow and painfully and hooked up with intubation and feeding tubes. I want none of it,” he said. The programme hears from doctors and patients on both sides of the argument. Opponents warn assisted dying is putting the vulnerable at risk such as people with disabilities or mental illness. Michelle Carter is 72 and has advanced cancer. She believes people should have a choice but has completely ruled out having an assisted death“Suicide dying is not for me..I choose palliative care. I have God and I have good medicine,” she said. There are important differences between the law in California and what is proposed here. Patients can get access to lethal medication in 48 hours in California. If assisted dying is legalised in England and Wales, it will take about a month for terminally ill patients to be approved.Across California, around 1 in every 300 deaths is now medically aided. But in Canada assisted dying accounts for around 1 in 20 deaths - that’s 15 times the rate in California - and one of the highest in the world. The law was introduced in 2016 - the same as California - and is open to those with an incurable medical condition which causes intolerable suffering. Initially it was just for the terminally ill, but that requirement has been dropped. In Canada, nearly all medically assisted deaths are carried out by doctors who inject the lethal dose. Fergus meets one doctor who has helped hundreds of people to die. She says she sees it as a “ sacred duty.” But another tells him that Canada has “fallen off a cliff” when it comes to assisted dying and that it is being used as an alternative to social or medical support. Finally Fergus returns to California to witness Wayne end his life surrounded by his wife and children. “I’m all in. I’ve never had any question about it,” Wayne tells himReporter: Fergus Walsh Producers: Paul Grant and Camilla Horrox Technical Producer: David Crackles Production Management Assistant: Katie Morrison Editor: Clare Fordham
- The Price of Equality (00:28:35)
Thousands of female council workers across Britain have lost out on pay and benefits worth billions because of unequal pay over decades. Now claims for compensation and demands to reform pay and grading threaten to capsize council finances, upset male council workers and cause massive cuts to local services. Anushka Asthana investigates why such pay discrimination is still happening despite being illegal for the last fifty years. And she discovers what the price of equality might actually be, for the women seeking it and the millions of us living in places where our local council has ignored the problem for years. Presenter: Anushka Asthana Producers: Jonathan Brunert and Leela Padmanabhan
- Britain’s Shrinking Army (00:28:43)
Ash Bhardwaj finds out why the British Army is shrinking at a crucial juncture for the future of UK defence. He speaks to new recruits to understand what drove them to a career in the army – and visits secondary schools across the country to ask whether it’s really true that young people don't want to fight for their country. We hear from insiders who’ve been at coalface of recruitment over the last ten years, who tell us where we’ve been going wrong, and how we might start to get it right. Presented by Ash Bhardwaj Produced by Artemis Irvine A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
- Welcome to Currently (00:01:12)
Reactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.