BBC

26th April – 1st May 2026

Writer: Tim Stimpson

Director: Mel Ward

Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge … Charles Collingwood

Ben Archer … Ben Norris

David Archer …Timothy Bentinck

Ruth Archer … Felicity Finch

Helen Archer … Louiza Patikas 

Natasha Archer … Mali Harries 

Tom Archer … William Troughton 

Lilian Bellamy … Sunny Ormonde

Alice Carter … Hollie Chapman 

Chris Carter … Wilf Scolding

Susan Carter … Charlotte Martin

Ian Craig …  Stephen Kennedy 

Amber Gordon … Olivia Bernstone

George Grundy … Angus Stobie

Bert Horrobin…  David Sterne

Tracy Horrobin … Susie Riddell 

Adam Macy … Andrew Wincott  

Kirsty Miller …. Annabelle Dowler 

Lottie Summers ... Bonnie Baddoo

Erik Hakansson … Steven Hartley

Debbie Aldridge ... Tamsin Greig

Some hot topics of conversation this week include the ever evolving Peter Mandelson vetting saga, phones being banned in schools and robots who can take over the world... sorry robots who can take over sports. Helping Andy make sense of it all are Daliso Chaponda, Catherine Bohart, Hugo Rifkind and Ria Lina.

Written by Andy Zaltzman.

With additional material by: Jade Gebbie, Christina Riggs, Henry Whaley and Angela Channell

Producer: Georgia Keating

Executive Producer: Richard Morris

Production Coordinators: Asha Osborne-Grinter & Caroline Barlow

Sound Editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.

For the longest time, Africa’s migration story has largely been one way: people leaving the continent in search of opportunity. But that story is beginning to shift. Africa’s young diaspora who were born and raised in Europe, the United States and Canada are increasingly choosing to move to countries their parents once left.

Focus on Africa podcast host Charles Gitonga spoke to Dr Maryam Abdishakuur who grew up in Denmark and moved back to her native country, Somalia in her twenties, and Danielle Wanjiku Natche, who grew up in the US and moved to Kenya - where her mother is from - in 2019.

Presenter: Charles Gitonga

Producers: Fana Negash and Basma El Atti

Technical Producer: Terry Chege

Senior Producer: Carolyne Kiambo

Editors: Priyanka Sippy and Maryam Abdalla

A third of the world's fertiliser is sourced from the Persian Gulf region. Farmers' are now predicted to produce smaller crops this year, affecting 10 billion meals a week.

French car maker Renault says there's been a huge increase in interest in electric vehicles since the start of the war in the Middle East.

And "slàinte mhath" or "cheers" in English! The USA is to cut import duties on scotch whisky, following the recent visit of King Charles II.

One report says the US may deploy a hypersonic missile in the Middle East for the first time, as part of efforts to put pressure on Iran to reach a deal. This comes as a deadline passed for Donald Trump to secure authorisation from the US Congress to continue the war against Iran. US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, argues President Trump does not have to comply with the War Powers Resolution because the cease-ire agreement reached with Iran paused the clock on any such obligation. Also: head of one of the world's biggest fertiliser manufacturers warns the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz could cost the world up to 10 billion meals a week. Russia deploys nearly 800 emergency workers in the Black Sea port of Tuapse, after it was hit by Ukrainian strikes for the fourth time in two weeks. Danish study suggests weight-loss drugs could help people with alcohol problems cut down on harmful drinking. New footage of security breach outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner shows the moment the gunman bursts through a checkpoint on the floor above the ballroom where President Trump and others were dining. Hundreds of protesters take to the streets of South Africa in a wave of anti-migrant demonstrations. British couple, Lindsay and Craig Foreman, speak to their family from inside Iran's notorious Evin prison. And researchers map the nose of a mouse for the first time, detailing the position of more than 1,000 smell receptors.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.

Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.

Get in touch: [email protected]

The head of one of the world's biggest fertiliser manufacturers has warned that the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz - as a result of the war on Iran - could cost the world up to ten billion meals a week. Svein Holsether, who runs Yara, said farmers in the poorest countries would be hit first by the interruption to production and supply caused by the ongoing hostilities. We hear from two countries particularly affected by the shortage in industrial fertiliser.

Also in the programme: despair then relief for the Oscar winner who thought an airline had lost his award; and for the first time the nose of a mouse has been mapped showing us more about the way mammals smell.

(Photo: Farmers in Aceh labour amid possible fertilizer shortage due to war in Middle East. Indonesia, 28 March 2026. Credit 2026 Shutterstock Editorial. EPA/Shutterstock )

Also, Springhill Inquest, Belfast Marathon & should we have a smoke-free generation?

Myanmar's military government says the detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been moved to house arrest, and her sentence reduced to 18 years. State media have shown a picture of the Nobel laureate sitting with two uniformed men. Her son says the published image is old and he has had no reassurance that his mother is still alive. Also: Republicans and Democrats clash over a deadline for Donald Trump to secure authorization from the US Congress to continue the war against Iran; Britain's terror threat level is raised to "severe", a day after two Jewish men were stabbed in an attack in London; Islamist militants in Mali call for the country to come together to bring down the military government, days after trying to seize power; and a new sculpture by the the elusive British street artist, Banksy, suddenly appears in central London.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.

Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Pastor Jane Codrington grew up in a conservative faith environment before leaving the institutional church to found We Are Church - a community for those excluded by traditional structures. Set within a quiet, gated Johannesburg neighbourhood reflecting the city’s wealth and social divides, the church brings people together to connect, belong, and celebrate community. Jane emphasises this is not a ‘queer church’- though LGBTQ members are welcome, but a space for anyone pushed to society’s edges. Some consider what she is doing blasphemous. She has faced accusations of “harbouring sin” or “leading people to hell,” alongside hostility for her radical inclusivity. Jane reflects on the personal cost of leaving the institutional church and the heartbreak she has experienced in her family. She speaks candidly about grief, doubt, and how her faith has been reshaped by both loss and radical inclusivity.

The raised threat level means an attack is highly likely in the next six months, the government says. The former head of the UK's National Counter Terrorism Security Office, Chris Phillips, tells us authorities should have taken a much stronger line against protests in which anti-Semitic sentiments were shared.

Also in the programme: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth spends another day on Capitol Hill answering questions about the Iran war and when it might end. And should an algorithm decide which school your child is allowed to attend?