What in the World

Social media platforms, like Instagram and Xiaohongshu, are full of shopping tips to help you spend. But they can also help you save, partly by providing support and advice through groups of like-minded individuals - or, in China, da zi. This is a growing trend, especially among young women. The BBC’s Sylvia Chang explains why they’re joining, and how this could impact China’s economy. We also hea...

Challengers. Poor Things. Saltburn. Three Hollywood movies released in the last six months which haven't held back on sex. However, the stats tell us movies in America are actually getting less steamy… A study from The Economist suggests that sexual content in movies has dropped by 40% since 2000. BBC Culture reporter, Annabel Rackham, explains what’s behind this Hollywood trend. Intimacy co-ordin...

Epic Games. Microsoft. Riot Games; owners of the biggest computer game titles in the world and part of a gaming industry which has been valued at $200 billion. That’s more than the music and entertainment industry combined. It’s not all plain sailing though. Epic Games, which created Fortnite, recently cut 870 jobs. Microsoft, which now owns Activision-Blizzard; famous for the Call of Duty and Red...

Zimbabwe has a brand new currency; it’s called the ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold) and it’s backed by the country’s gold reserves. This is the third time they’ve launched a new currency in ten years and 80% of transactions in the country are now carried out in US dollars. Can the government persuade its citizens that this one will remain stable and not deflate? The BBC’s Zimbabwe correspondent Shingai Nyoka e...

Demonstrations over the war in Gaza have taken place at several universities in the US over the past few weeks. They have spanned from Columbia University in New York, to universities in Chicago, Texas and California. In the last month, more than a thousand people have been arrested. The BBC’s North America Correspondent Nomia Iqbal explains what has been happening and how this might affect the up...

Nature conservation is effective at protecting animals and plants - and we’re getting better at it. That’s according to a new major study published in the journal Science. Esme Stallard, a BBC climate and science reporter, explains what conservation is, where it’s worked (including for humpback whales), and why we need it. Plus, we hear from two people who work in conservation. Charles Emogor has...

Modest fashion has been steadily gaining more global recognition over the past decade, with longer hemlines spotted on the runway. It’s now estimated to be worth around $300 billion. But modest fashion isn’t just religious coverings, loose dresses, or even your grandmother’s cardigan. At Modest Fashion Week in Istanbul there was everything from faux fur, to gold silk and platform heels. Megan Lawt...

Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown and other cities have been suffering blackouts for weeks. It’s disrupted hospitals and daily life for many. Most of Freetown’s power comes from a Turkish ship floating off the country’s coast - and they’ve massively reduced electricity supply to the city because of unpaid bills. Karpowership is one of the world's biggest floating power plant operators, with several...

President Biden has just signed a law that says TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance has nine months to sell the app or it will be blocked in the US. We hear what TikTok users in the US think about the ban - and how it would affect them. Liv McMahon from the BBC tech team explains why the US government has done this, how TikTok has responded - and why it won’t be easy to sell the app. And the BBC’s K...

Nuclear weapons have been back in public conversation recently - partly due to rising tensions between Iran and Israel. Outside of the news, they have also been featured a lot in films and TV shows. (Think Oppenheimer and Fallout). But, what are nuclear weapons? And is it likely they’ll be used again? Or, have we learnt from what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? The BBC's security correspondent...

There’s been massive flooding in Dubai, with twice the annual amount of rain in a single day. Roads, runways and shopping malls were flooded. Meanwhile, West Africa has been dealing with one of its worst heatwaves. Late March and early April saw consistent temperatures above 40 degrees centigrade, sometimes even at night. We know a warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme weather...

The metaverse has been talked about as the next big thing in technology: a virtual world which will become a part of our daily lives (think Ready Player One). Mark Zuckerberg even changed his company’s name from Facebook to Meta in 2021, such was his commitment to building his own metaverse. But what actually is a metaverse? And how close is it to becoming a reality? Technology reporter Omar Mehta...

Korean shamans hold significant cultural importance in Korean society. They are often shown in Korean dramas and films, adorned in shiny and colourful traditional attire, dancing on sharp knives, summoning spirits, and banishing demons. They offer fortune telling services and perform rituals to help people with their personal issues. In South Korean media, shamans are often portrayed as deceitful...

India’s live music scene is thriving with higher ticket sales and more concerts from international artists. To meet demand, the country is renovating old venues. And the government has simplified tax rules to encourage more stars like Ed Sheeran to perform. Megan Lawton, a BBC reporter in Toronto, has been speaking to fans in India and people who work in India’s live music industry. Among other th...

In this episode we chat with someone who just LOVES steak, and eats it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But Eric’s not the only one who loves beef: its consumption is going up around the world. But many people are also concerned about its huge carbon footprint - and how it impacts climate change. BBC climate reporters Georgina Rannard and Marco Silva explain why cows are so bad for the environment...

Women’s basketball is more popular than ever. Ratings for the WNBA are growing and the professional league has plans to increase its number of teams. Monday was a huge day for the sport, as the best college players in the United States gathered for the WNBA draft. The professional teams picked the college players who will join them for the next season. Dozens of women, including Caitlin Clark - wh...

Iran has carried out direct strikes on Israel for the first time. It’s believed to be a retaliation for a deadly strike on its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus. The bad blood between both countries goes back many years. And it’s involved several countries in the region, including Lebanon and Syria. Previously, Israel and Iran had been engaged in a years-long shadow war - attacking each oth...

P-pop, or Pinoy pop, is a growing genre of music in the Philippines. It stems from OPM (Original Pilipino Music). You may be more familiar with K-pop, which is a multibillion-dollar industry. P-pop is hoping to get a slice of that global success. One of P-pop’s biggest groups is Alamat. Each member comes from a different region of the Philippines and sings in their local language. In Manila, Hanna...

Famine is imminent in northern Gaza, according to the United Nations. There is some aid going into Gaza, but it’s severely limited and aid workers face dangerous, sometimes deadly conditions. Last week there was widespread international criticism after seven people from World Central Kitchen died in an Israeli airstrike. Israel has said the attack was due to “grave mistakes”. The UN says over 200...

When it comes to elephant conservation, Botswana is the world leader. It is now home to more than 130,000 elephants — or around a third of the world's elephant population. But this growing number poses major problems for humans: the animals destroy homes and crops, and even injure and kill people. To manage its elephant population, Botswana allows so-called “trophy hunting”. Hunters from abroad pa...

On Monday, millions of people across Mexico, the US and Canada saw a total solar eclipse. That’s when the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, blocking its light. But it’s not just eclipse-chasers who are excited. Scientists are too. They’re using the opportunity to study the Earth's upper atmosphere (known as the ionosphere), the Sun’s corona, and even animal behaviour. So, could this solar...

Over the last few decades, most countries in Europe have abolished compulsory military service. But following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the debate around conscription has returned. Last year Latvia restarted mandatory military service for men between 18 and 27. And now other countries are expanding their policies on conscription and encouraging their allies to follow suit. Last month Denmark p...

Vinícius Júnior is one of the top footballers in the world but recently he broke down in tears when asked about the racist abuse he’s suffered from fans while playing for Spanish side Real Madrid. It’s sparked a fierce debate about racism in the sport and in Spain itself. The Brazilian has said that La Liga “belongs to racists”, so what can be done about the problem? We’ve got BBC Sport presenter...

Welcome to the future. There are some people who already live with an implant inside their head. Noland Arbaugh is one of them - he’s paralysed but can now work a computer with his mind. There could be more people with brain chips if Elon Musk's hopes for his company, Neuralink, come true. He wants humans to merge with artificial intelligence to stop AI from taking over the world. That’s not happe...

Senegal's democracy was put at risk earlier this year when former president, Macky Sall, tried to hold onto power by delaying elections and putting political opponents in prison. But the election went ahead and Senegal now has a new president. Who is Bassirou Diomaye Faye and with him in charge, what’s the future for the country? From Dakar, BBC correspondent Thomas Naadi tells us more about Faye'...