This BBC Radio 4 show offers reactive features that delve into current events, going beyond the headlines to reveal deeper truths. It unearths stories that often go unreported, covering topics both in the UK and internationally. With a focus on investigative and analytical journalism, the programme aims to give listeners a fuller understanding of the news.
Episodes
Inside the China Spy Case
A BBC investigation casts new light on the espionage row that rocked Westminster.He was accused of spying for China. Then he was acquitted, but some still question his conduct. In his first interview since counter terrorism officers arrested him in a dawn raid, Chris Cash speaks to BBC Political Investigations Correspondent Joe Pike. Cash, a former political researcher, has given the BBC more than
America’s Corporate Exodus
American corporate power is heading south, with Texas now home to the headquarters of more major companies than any other state, beating out both California and New York - what could this mean for the politics of a vast and restless nation?Americans are a restless bunch - they are always on the move and the population of the country has gradually shifted west and south over recent decades as peopl
Are teenagers ready for work?
Fifteen-year-olds Jasmine and Javaris are in their final year of school in Newcastle upon Tyne. They’re among the thousands of teenagers around the country who are often being told by adults that the outside world is tough, with close to one million people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEETs) and questions asked about their resilience and readiness for work.Jasmine and Javar
Childline at 40
As Childline marks its 40th anniversary after the death of its founder, Dame Esther Rantzen, Currently explores how it transformed support for vulnerable children in the UK.Through interviews with staff, volunteers, experts and former users, it traces Childline’s origins in 1986 - a time when victims of abuse often went unheard. The programme shows how the service evolved from a telephone helpline
AI on the Farm
Artificial intelligence is beginning to transform many aspects of our lives - but what's its potential for farmers? Producers are facing more challenges than ever, from drought and heat waves to labour shortages and the spiralling price of fuel and fertiliser. Charlotte Smith explores how new technology could help their businesses become more productive and profitable. Could artificial intelligenc
America’s Gerrymandering Arms Race
What if you could map the outcome of an election before a single vote was cast?
This is the story of the drawing - and redrawing - of electoral battle lines in an unprecedented gerrymandering war that some observers say is undermining democracy in the United States. BBC North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher explores how a once-a-decade act of political admin has turned into a rolling proc
Taiwan: The Pacific Breaking Point
James Crabtree has spent nearly 15 years tracking politics in Asia as an author, journalist and analyst. In that time, one small island - separated from mainland China by a hundred miles of water - has remained the most dangerous point of contention in the world’s most important relationship. Now, he argues, something has shifted. Two developments over the past couple of years have made an already
The Return of the Youth Club
More than a thousand youth clubs have closed their doors since 2010. Local government spending on youth services was slashed by around three-quarters during the age of austerity leaving a generation of young people without places to play. The former youth worker turned journalist Neil Maggs considers the impact of these cuts and examines new government plans to spend £500m to revitalise the yo
The Dictators' Survival Guide
Xi Jinping is known to be a ruthless leader. In the last five years alone, China’s richest man, Jack Ma, China’s defence minister and the country’s foreign minister have all abruptly disappeared - some never to be seen in public again. Millions of Communist officials have been purged since Xi came to power.
But one man was thought to be untouchable: the head of China’s military forces, Zhang Yo
The WhatsApp Underground
In June 2026, racist violence erupted across Northern Ireland. Masked groups circulated lists of homes where people of colour were believed to be living, forcing more than a hundred people to flee.As houses burned around her, Maria barricaded herself inside with her two teenage daughters, filling buckets, mugs and the bath with water in case their home was attacked.Then across Belfast, other netwo
Pride Before the Fall
Across the country love for Pride events is waning. Councils are pulling funding saying that cash is better spent on potholes and emptying the bins and big companies, once eager to be associated with the Pride are withdrawing their support - and money. Last year the company that ran Manchester Pride went out of business owing millions of pounds, the bars of the city's world famous gay village on
Decency Politics
As a journalist, historian, constitutional scholar and member of the House of Lords, Peter Hennessy has been observing British public and political life for more than 50 years. But now he's retiring from the House of Lords, and as he does he's struck by the rancour that is corroding our politics. What, he has been asking himself, can we do to restore decency to the heart of political conversation?
Lebanon's Abandoned Lives
People who've had to abandon their homes because of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, explain what life is like in Lebanon, a country which has been repeatedly hit by war. A social worker describes how she thinks most Lebanese citizens now keep a bag of important belongings packed and ready to go by their front door in case they need to leave home at a moment's notice. A mother is close
England’s Identity Crisis
England’s men's football team is once again preparing to shoulder the hopes of millions across the nation. A World Cup is traditionally a time to come together, but this tournament takes place in a tense political moment, when the question of who is – and isn’t - English is being contested. Should Englishness be linked to ancestry and ethnicity, to living in the country for generations, as some s
When Shiraz Calls
A personal account of day-to-day life in Iran told through the calls of two Iranian sisters – one in the UK, the other in the Iranian city of Shiraz. Since the outbreak of war at the end of February, a near total internet blackout and a shutdown of international phone lines by the Iranian authorities has meant limited information has got out of the country. Despite the risks involved, the siste
Under Fire in the Strait of Hormuz
Sunil was 26 when he went to work on a ship for the first time. He travelled from Rajasthan, India to a port in Dubai for a job on an oil tanker. When he boarded the ship, he met Dalip, who was from a neighbouring village. They helped support each other when they felt homesick, working on a ship so far from home for the first time. But then a few weeks into their contract, Sunil heard a loud bang
Who’s Winning Muslim Voters?
Following last week’s local elections, it's clear there’s a huge shift happening when it comes to the voting habits of British Muslims across the country.Why are so many British Muslims moving away from the Labour Party? And are they really all going to the Greens?Presenter Rima Ahmed returned to her hometown of Harehills in Leeds, once a Labour stronghold, just before the local elections to speak
Prediction Markets: Betting on Disaster
Huge sums are being wagered on current events, from the weather to world wars, with fortunes being made - and lost. Mike Wendling investigates the rise of prediction markets.While gambling is a long-standing, if somewhat morally dubious, British pastime, there's a new crop of American companies which are supercharging the industry. They're called prediction markets.Who will win the World Cup? Will
About the Girls: The Puberty Puzzle
This week, as BBC Radio 4 explores what it means to grow up as a girl in 2026, health presenter Laura Foster is examining a striking scientific reality: that girls today are hitting puberty earlier than their parents and grandparents did. Question is why is this happening — and what does it mean for the adults they will become?With the trend showing no sign of slowing down, Laura speaks to leading
Licence to Hate - Racism on the Front Line
New data from the 2025 NHS Staff Survey, one of the largest workforce surveys in the world, shows that 1 in 5 minority ethnic staff report facing discrimination from patients or the public, compared with 1 in 20 of their white colleagues. The Royal College of Nursing reports that calls to their advice line about racism at work have increased by 55% in three years. This documentary listens closely
Power to The People: Rewiring Britain
Britain is turning electric, but the shift to renewable energy will require a major rewire. Business and Economy editor Douglas Fraser follows the journey of power generated on the north coast of Scotland to the socket in your living room, to discover the scale and the challenges of re-hauling the near century-old national grid.
From windfarms in Caithness, pylons in the Highlands and huge underse
How Not to Kill a Politician
What is it that drives ordinary people to condone political violence, and some to commit it? As democracies increasingly exist in conditions where violence can flourish, Stanford University polarisation expert Alison Goldsworthy will scrutinise the latest research showing it is dogmatism, not just authoritarian tendencies that enable it. This means we are all susceptible - including, uncomfortably
Britain by Bodycam
Every month brings a new headline about shoplifting, confrontations with retail staff and disorder on our high streets. As a result, more and more security guards have taken to wearing bodyworn cameras, now visible in every part of our lives, from supermarkets to coffee shops, railway stations to hospitals. For some they are a welcome deterrent and bring peace of mind. For others, they are a sign
Sophia v AI Slop
While browsing online, the journalist and author Sophia Smith Galer was surprised to find a biography of herself on Amazon. She discovered that it was full of inaccuracies - and most likely written using generative AI. It's part of a new phenomenon in publishing and flooding all parts of our information landscape: AI slop, low quality content made quickly using artificial intelligence.While we mig
A Place in Politics for British Muslims
Alongside rising levels of hate faced by British Muslims, are renewed questions about how well Muslims have integrated in British society.The BBC's Religion Editor Aleem Maqbool hears stories of anti-Muslim hatred, including that of London entrepreneur Usman Shah, pictured as part of the Heathrow Welcome campaign. Mr Shah describes how he made a bold decision to forgive and reach out to his abuser
Someone Else's Problem: Exporting the Housing Crisis
In cities across the country, councils are grappling with unprecedented numbers of people presenting as homeless. In London, mounting pressure on temporary accommodation has led some boroughs to place families far beyond the capital — in some cases more than 250 miles away, in County Durham.Charlotte McDonald travels to the North East to uncover why these long‑distance relocations are happening, a
Trump and Greenland: How MAGA went Arctic
Why does President Trump really want to takeover Greenland?The Arctic territory is rich in vital minerals and oil, and it hosts an important American military base as the race for dominance in the wider Arctic heats up between China, Russia and the USA.While the issue has become suddenly urgent, it's a proposal that has been years in the making - and drill down beneath Trump's recent stated reason
RAAC and Ruin
Between the 1950s and 1990s the material known as RAAC, Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, was used mostly in flat roofing, but also in floors and walls. It offered a cheaper alternative to standard concrete, but the discovery of its short lifespan has meant serious problems. It made the headlines when it was found in schools and hospitals, but it has been used in housing as well.A political
The Price of Meat
Buy a pack of beef in the supermarket and you’ll find it’s increased in price by 52% in five years. Try and trade down to some chicken and you’ll find it’s nearly doubled in just two years. Make a product unaffordable- whether that’s cigarettes, brandy or steak- and you inevitably open up the door to smugglers. Evidence isn’t hard to find with Dover Port Authority offering up just one snapshot.
Inside ARIA
ARIA is the UK government’s bold new bet on science and technology. Its mission? To chase breakthroughs so radical they could spawn trillion-pound industries and reshape everyday life.The Advanced Research and Invention Agency was created to be fast-moving - exempt from the usual public sector bureaucracy. No slow funding rounds. No rigid procurement rules. Just speed, agility, and a mandate to ta
Highways to Hell
Alex Forsyth emerges from traffic jam Britain to ask why roadworks take so long and cause so much disruption to our daily lives. Are there better ways to manage the necessary maintenance of our roads and associated infrastructure? And why do Britons spend so many hours stuck in jams or creeping along the highways every year?
Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producer: Jonathan Brunert
Left Out: the political radicalisation of young women - and the silence surrounding it
At the 2024 general election, something remarkable happened: young voters broke away from the political mainstream, but in opposite directions. Young men moved to the right, while young women swung just as strongly (if not, more) to the left.While the shift among young men dominated headlines and airwaves, sparking endless commentary and think pieces, the shift among young women was largely ignore
Are You Ready?
We face an increasing range of threats as a nation – from climate change to pandemics and artificial intelligence – and yet, emergency preparedness is seen as a thing of the past that belonged to an era of civil defence and nuclear war. But as the frequency and severity of extreme events begins to test the ability of emergency services and the government, what is the role of individuals in respond
Four Months in Gaza
A raw and intimate perspective on the terror, anger, and hope of living through war.As bombs hit ever closer to her home in central Gaza, Hanya Aljamal spots her elderly neighbour tending to his garden. “He's been raking the earth,” she says, “prepping the soil for new seeds. Given everything that's already happening, it's quite interesting seeing him do that right now. I mean, if grandpa thinks i
Playing Spies
The words "spy ring" conjure up images straight from the enigmatic literary worlds of John le Carre and Graham Greene.
But the recent prosecutions of a group of Bulgarians and the arsonists who set fire to a warehouse containing communications equipment for Ukraine, suggest a new, less glamorous front in the hidden world of espionage.
Necessity is the mother of invention and the expulsion of Rus
If at First You Don’t Secede
A lot has happened since the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.The Conservatives have been deposed at Westminster. Labour — the political force that once dominated Scottish politics — is back in power. Reform is eating into both parties' votes. The SNP has been in government in Scotland for 18 years and is expected to win next year’s Holyrood election. But the last decade has been a trying on
I Fought in Ukraine
Its thought over 2000 Brits have fought in the Ukraine war. May of them are seasoned soldiers, veterans of Afghanistan, Syria and Northern Ireland who are just taking on another call of duty. There are others who have never picked up a gun before but gave up their day jobs to join the fight against RussiaNick Garnett meets the soldiers to find out why they have given up jobs, said a goodbye to fam
From Anglesey with Love
In the summer of 2020, Radio 4 producer Polly Weston found herself at Nathan Gill’s house. She’d been sent by a random postcode generator, for an episode of The Patch. What followed was a wide-ranging interview about his life and career, how he became involved in UKIP, his involvement in campaigning for Brexit, and his subsequent responsibilities in the Brexit party after they stormed to victory i
Immigration: The Danish Way
Could the solution to Britain’s immigration problems lie in the Danish model? A model based on harsh restrictions on who can enter the country and strict rules for immigrants requiring not just integration but assimilation – and all promoted by a centre-left government.In this documentary BBC Political Correspondent Iain Watson explains why some prominent Labour MPs now think it’s the answer they’
Garden of England
Kent is the Garden of England - if you view it from the air, it’s covered in square miles of plastic, where the millions of tonnes of soft fruit are grown that feed the nation. Aidan Tulloch takes us inside the world of the summer fruit pickers recruited to work for a season on a blueberry farm in Kent. In early summer thousands of people arrive in UK airports, hired on short-term visas to help pi
The Split
David Baker’s Jewish identity and faith have always been central to who he is - and so is his affiliation with Israel. But he has been re-evaluating that relationship since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza.For many decades after the founding of Israel, most British Jews were unequivocal in their support. And that is still the case for many Jews in Britain. But there
Flag Town
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 S
Scotland Wants You
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
Corn Belt People
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 res
Germany: United and Divided
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
White Coats v the White House
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,
Turn Right for Wales
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
The Dark Enlightenment
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
Out for Delivery
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 str
The Great British Trade-Off
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
Crossing the Line
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 pa
One Week in Gaza
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.”Han
Ireland's Pot of Gold
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 taxe
Excluded
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
Madeira's Drugs Crisis
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 fa
The Three Babies Mystery
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 b
NHS: Painful Decisions
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 unthink
The Big Mortgage Time Bomb
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 livin
The Landscape Revolution
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'
Russia's New War Elite
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 Choice: How Assisted Dying Works
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
The Price of Equality
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
Britain’s Shrinking Army
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 la
Welcome to Currently
Reactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.
