BBC

Nolan talks to Unison's Patricia McKeown and Ulster University's Prof Deirdre Heenan.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas explored in HG Wells' novella, published in 1895, in which the Time Traveller moves forward to 802,701 AD. There he finds humanity has evolved into the Eloi and Morlocks, where the Eloi are small but leisured fruitarians and the Morlocks live below ground, carry out the work and have a different diet. Escaping the Morlocks, he travels millions of years into the future, where the environment no longer supports humanity.

With Simon Schaffer Professor of History of Science at Cambridge University Amanda Rees Historian of science at the University of York And Simon James Professor in the Department of English Studies at Durham University

We are also remembering Simon James who passed away this summer and who, we are told, really enjoyed this recording.

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Israel's defence minister has called for a 'comprehensive plan' to defeat Hamas if it reneges on the ceasefire. The Palestinian group has said that it's committed to the deal but it needs help to recover bodies from the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza. Also: the families of people who disappeared during the civil war in Syria are still seeking justice as graves of victims are discovered; the Australian swimmer and four-time Olympic champion, Ariarne Titmus, retires at 25; the Grand Sumo Tournament, which has left Japan for only the second time, is in London where 40 wrestlers will be seen at the Royal Albert Hall.

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]

More than a third of Ukraine’s scientific institutions have been damaged or destroyed by Russian bombing. Many scientists have either fled the country or are internally displaced, and that Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences is trying to operate on half its pre-war budget. The funding may be reduced but the science still matters, even in wartime. Perhaps especially in wartime. It is something the country can be proud of. Climate change has no borders and Ukraine is making a key contribution to our understanding of the global warming crisis. We hear from the scientists of Ukraine’s National Antarctic Scientific Centre, torn between the frontlines of a prolonged national conflict whilst simultaneously attempting to arm the world with the latest research on a warming climate from the white wilderness of Antarctica.

New official data shows that prices in China are falling again. The producer price index, which measures the amounts charged by factories, has been negative for three straight years and last month it declined by 2.3 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, with consumer prices also down during a holiday month, is the world's second largest economy stuck in a hole, and how hard will it be to fix?

Elsewhere we hear about the economic turmoil and rising living costs over the past year in Indonesia that's caused violent protests.

And Ed Butler speaks to Professor Sir Cary Cooper on why Germany wants to put its pensioners back to work.

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

As the government publishes key witness statements at the centre of a collapsed case involving two men accused of spying for China, we hear reaction from the former head of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, Dominic Grieve.

Also on the programme: former Downing Street Adviser Dominic Cummings claims that there was a serious breach of data with the highest security classification in 2020. The Cabinet Office has denied his claim.

And we visit the five-day festival of Japanese sumo wrestling that's taken over the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The Israeli military says that the Red Cross has received the bodies of two more Israeli hostages in Gaza. But many others remain and Israel is threatening to restrict the flow of aid into Gaza unless they are returned.

Also on the programme: almost all the Pentagon press corps has said no to new reporting restrictions; and the big stars of Sumo are set to wrestle at a tournament in London.

(Photo: People carry the coffin with the body of Israeli soldier Daniel Shimon Perez during his funeral in Jerusalem, October 15, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Akram has some difficult news to impart, and a decision is reached at The Bull.

Palestinians in Gaza are reportedly stockpiling food amid anxiety the aid flow will stop, if the Israel-Hamas ceasefire doesn't hold. Israel has warned that it will reduce humanitarian supplies, if Hamas doesn't soon hand over the remaining dead hostages. Also: warnings about a big increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere; what does that mean for the future? Kenya has declared a week of national mourning for the former prime minister, Raila Odinga, who's died at the age of eighty. Syria's interim president is meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow -- where he's expected to ask the Russian leader to hand over the former dictator, Bashar al-Assad - and the rise of AI-created erotica.

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]

It's been welcomed by small businesses but comes with new tariff costs. More than a billion small parcels were sent between India and America last year.

What will a $20 billion currency swap deal mean for Argentina?

And Greece proposes a workday which could run for up to 13 hours.