Deep Dive

Brain tumours are rare, but the gaps around them reveal something much bigger about modern cancer care. In this episode, we unpack why brain tumours are still so often diagnosed in crisis, with nearly half found in emergency settings in England. We explore why symptoms can be missed, why survival remains among the lowest of major cancers, and why access to specialist tests, genome sequencing, clin...

This episode explores the 2026 Ebola outbreak response plan in Central Africa, highlighting innovative strategies like AI mobility tracking, community engagement, and decentralized response teams. Discover how these lessons are shaping global health security and pandemic preparedness.

In this episode, we unpack the latest findings from the World Health Organization’s Global Hepatitis Report 2026 —a sobering assessment of where the world stands in the fight against viral hepatitis. Despite years of global commitments, the data tells a more complicated story. Progress has been made in tackling hepatitis B and C, but not at the pace needed to meet the 2030 elimination targets. Mil...

Iran’s missile program sits at the centre of the current escalation in the Middle East. In this episode, we examine the key issues raised in the April 3, 2026 Iran Update Special Report by the Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threats Project. The report argues that the ongoing U.S.–Israeli military campaign is not simply about retaliation—it is a deliberate effort to degrade Iran’s...

Britain’s birth rate has quietly fallen to one of the lowest levels in its history. Yet surveys consistently show that most young people still want children. So what’s changed? In this Deep Dive episode, we unpack the growing gap between the number of children people hope to have and the number they actually do. Drawing on the latest research from the Centre for Social Justice report The Baby Bust...

What if the global economy is running on only half its potential? In this episode of Deep Dive Podcast , we unpack groundbreaking insights from the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2026 report , which examines the laws and policies shaping women’s economic opportunities across 190 economies . The findings reveal a massive gap between legislation and reality, and the economic consequences a...

Dive into the Children’s Well-being and Schools Bill and explore how this landmark legislation is reshaping child welfare in the UK. From family group decision-making to multi-agency teams and corporate oversight of care providers, we break down the key reforms, the new digital safety nets, and what it means for vulnerable children. Essential listening for policymakers, social workers, and anyone...

Sugar and alcohol taxes are supposed to make harmful products less affordable. Instead, they’re doing the opposite. This episode breaks down how bad design, exemptions, and frozen tax rates are making these products cheaper over time — and what governments could change tomorrow.

Global Cancer Prevention Explained explores how cancer risk is shaped — and reduced — using evidence from the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s 2024–2025 biennial report. This episode connects global cancer data, prevention policy, genomics, microbiome science, and early detection to show how research becomes real-world health impact. A clear, engaging deep dive into the science and st...

Pandemics, debt, geopolitics, AI, and the fragile world economy As 2026 approaches, global risk is no longer about isolated shocks. It is about convergence. In this Deep Dive, we walk through a global risk matrix that ranks today’s most serious threats by likelihood and economic impact, separating noise from genuinely system-level dangers. From low-probability but catastrophic scenarios like pande...

The Heart Disease Europe Could Stop takes a deep dive into the cardiovascular crisis shaping lives across the European Union. Cardiovascular disease remains Europe’s leading cause of premature death, yet nearly 76 percent of cases are linked to modifiable risk factors , raising a difficult question: why is a largely preventable disease still killing so many? In this episode, we unpack a major new...

What happens when honesty backfires? In this episode of Deep Dive , we unpack a provocative idea from new research: that being transparent about science and policy doesn’t always strengthen trust—it can sometimes weaken it. We explore the “transparency paradox,” why the public often expects perfection from science, and how uncomfortable truths can erode confidence in experts. Is the answer decepti...

In this Deep Dive episode, we explore The Hidden Threats Shaping Our Planet’s Future through insights from the United Nations Environment Programme’s Frontiers 2025 report. From ancient microbes reawakened by melting ice, to rivers being restored by tearing down dams, to the challenges of protecting ageing populations and the dangers of toxic pollutants stirred up by floods — the report reveals em...

England’s dementia pathway is buckling — from the scrapping of the national diagnosis-rate target in January 2025 to growing waits that leave families in limbo. We unpack what removing the 66.7% benchmark has meant for accountability and access, and why early identification keeps slipping down the agenda. Drawing on new findings, we explore a stark picture: nearly one in three people wait over a y...

In this episode of Deep Dive , we unpack the latest findings from the Global Findex 2025 report to explore how mobile phones are transforming access to financial services worldwide. From mobile money platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa to the surge of digital payments in Latin America, we examine the data behind a decade-long shift that’s bringing banking to billions. We also discuss the gender and in...

Join us on this week’s Deep Dive as we unravel the Post Office Horizon IT scandal—a story of “phantom shortfalls” that ruined thousands of lives. We’ll trace Horizon’s rollout, hear from former postmasters who faced wrongful convictions and financial ruin, and explore how a supposedly infallible system became a weapon of injustice. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Horizon’s bugs and design flaws...

In a rare moment of cross-party unity, Parliament is fast-tracking legislation that could transform care for thousands of cancer patients left behind by the system. This week on  Deep Dive , we investigate the surprising political story behind the Rare Cancers Bill – and why MPs who can’t agree on Brexit or budgets are suddenly aligned on this issue. We’ll unpack: The shocking math behind so-calle...

What happens when a long-overlooked condition meets one of life’s most vulnerable moments? In this episode, we unpack the World Health Organization’s groundbreaking new recommendations on managing sickle-cell disease during pregnancy, childbirth, and the interpregnancy period. From pain management to fetal monitoring, this conversation explores how global health experts are rethinking care to redu...

In this episode, we explore the stark new data from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland’s landmark report on Tobacco-Related Cancers in Ireland (1994–2022) . Despite decades of progress in reducing smoking, tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of cancer — and the report finds that nearly 15% of invasive cancer cases in 2022 were still caused by smoking . We dig into the trends in inci...

In this episode, we dive into the  WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 , marking 20 years since the launch of the  WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) . The report reveals how far the world has come—and how far we still have to go—in the fight against tobacco, which remains one of the leading causes of preventable death globally. We explore: The rise and global spread of ...

As traditional news media continues to lose ground, where are people really getting their information — and can they trust it? In this episode, we dive into the  Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025 , the most comprehensive global analysis of how news consumption is evolving. From the decline of TV and print to the dominance of TikTok, YouTube, and influencers as news sources, the report pai...

In this episode, we unpack the alarming resurgence of cholera sweeping across 26 countries, as detailed in the latest World Health Organization situation report. Despite fewer reported cases compared to last year, the death toll has more than doubled—raising urgent questions about access to clean water, vaccine shortages, and the impact of conflict and climate change. From South Sudan to the Democ...

In this episode, we dive into the latest FAO–WFP early warning report that reveals a stark reality: millions of people across 13 countries are at risk of acute food insecurity between June and October 2025. From the worsening hunger crisis in Nigeria to famine-like conditions in Sudan and Gaza, we explore the key drivers—conflict, economic collapse, climate extremes—and the global failure to act f...

In this episode, we dive into the changing landscape of global vaccine financing. As traditional donor support declines, countries like Nigeria are navigating new paths to fund immunisation systems—partnering with multilateral development banks like the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and others. These institutions, more often associated with roads and infrastructure, are now helping bui...

In this episode, we unpack the latest Child Labour: Global Estimates 2024 report by the ILO and UNICEF, which reveals that 138 million children are still engaged in child labour globally — with 87 million in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. Why, despite decades of progress, are so many children still denied their right to childhood, education, and safety? We explore the data, trends, and human stories be...