Beyond Today

72 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire two years ago this week. Since then the first part of a public inquiry has taken place looking at the events of that night. The next phase, which will investigate why the 24-storey tower was wrapped in combustible cladding, will start next year. Kate Lamble from the BBC Grenfell Inquiry podcast tells what we have learnt so far. We also speak to Gill Kernick, who used to live in Grenfell Tower and works in risk management. She tells us what should be done to avoid this kind of disaster again.

Produced by Philly Beaumont, Duncan Barber, Alicia Burrell

Charlie Brooker started his career writing video game reviews before he went on to become a TV critic. He’s written and presented two successful TV series, Screenwipe and Newswipe, which pulled apart the news and what we watch on TV. But he’s best known as being the creator and writer of the hugely successful Black Mirror series, which looks at our unease with technology and has attracted some huge names. Series 5 is no different: Miley Cyrus is part of the cast. Charlie Brooker came into the Beyond Today studio to talk about his new series. He also touched on porn, phone addiction and what he thinks of Boris Johnson as a comic character.

Producers: Philly Beaumont, Jaja Muhammad and Lucy Hancock.

After Melania Geymonat and her girlfriend Chris were attacked on a London bus last week they chose to share the photo of the aftermath of the attack, and their story, with the world. They wanted people to understand something about what they and other lesbian couples face, not just violence but also the subtle ways in which their relationships are undermined and laughed about by men. On today’s episode Melania explains why she chose to go public about the horrific incident. And couple Bex Wilson and Becky Priest talk about what it’s like for their relationship to be fetishised and misunderstood.

Producers: Duncan Barber and Harriet Noble

James Bridle wants us to think about technology in a different way. His book ‘A New Dark Age’ is a slightly foreboding look at our relationship with the digital world, arguing that as it gets more complex our understanding of it diminishes. His work addresses a lot of the themes we talk about on Beyond Today and, as on a Friday we often like to take a step back from the news and hear from someone we’re interested in, we decided to grab him for a chat while he was over from his home in Greece. Here he talks internet cables under the sea, drones drawn on pavements, and how our phones are causing climate change.

Producers: Lucy Hancock and Harriet Noble

There are lots of reasons you may want to take a DNA test. Perhaps you want to find out where in the world your DNA comes from or connect to relatives. But people don’t always know what they’re getting themselves into and some make shocking discoveries about their families. We speak to Rebekah Drumsta from the NPE Friends Fellowship, a charity which helps people come to terms with finding out that one of their parents isn’t a biological relative.

DNA tests also raise questions about healthcare. We hear from Nick in Kentucky, who thinks his life was saved after a DNA test spotted a hard to diagnose condition. So should they be used alongside traditional healthcare services such as the NHS? Kathy Hibbs from 23andMe tells us how the company would like to work with the NHS. And Adam Rutherford, who is a geneticist and author of ‘The Book of Humans: A Brief History of Culture, Sex, War and the Evolution of Us’, tells us why he’s sceptical about the idea.

Producers: Duncan Barber and Harriet Noble.

Helena Kornilova is a 29 year-old Russian model and biochemist. She’s also a blogger and Instagram influencer with 280,000 followers. She’s been in the news in Russia because she’s been exposed as a fraudster after recommending medical advice and, in particular, supplements to buy. But this isn’t just a Russian problem, influencers all over the world are selling products and giving health advice even though they are not qualified. We hear from Dr Jen Gunter, who describes herself as the fiercest advocate of women’s health. She has spent a lot of her professional career challenging dubious medical claims. We also talk to Olga Robinson from BBC Monitoring about how the authorities in Russia are clamping down on bloggers and influencers.

Producers: Seren Jones and Philly Beaumont

China has ramped up efforts to prevent people from reading about the student protests of 1989 that ended in bloodshed when the government sent tanks into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Activists have been arrested and censorship has been stepped up, with bans placed on English-speaking foreign media such as CNN and the BBC.

We speak to the BBC’s longest serving foreign correspondent John Simpson, who was in Beijing in 1989. We also examine how the truth has been suppressed and what the government has done to erase Tiananmen from the history books. One person who is trying to keep the memory alive is a secretive artist called Badiucao, also known as ‘the Chinese Banksy’. Danny Vincent, who reports from Hong Kong for the BBC, has travelled to Australia to meet him. And Yaxue Cao from chinachange.org tells us about the Chinese artists who have been rounded up and what it’s like to be a young dissenting voice in China.

Producers: Duncan Barber and Lucy Hancock.

Most of the President’s family flew in for a guided tour of London’s hotspots with the royals on the first day of their state visit to the UK. Protesters waved their banners and everyone waited for Trump to start tweeting. The President and First Lady Melania Trump went to Buckingham Palace for a private lunch and welcome ceremony. But could the Queen’s role be more than just ceremonial? Former presidential aide Mary Jo Jackobi and our royal correspondent Jonny Dymond tell us how she, and her horse riding skills, helped change one president’s mind before. Could she do it again?

Producers: Philly Beaumont and Duncan Barber.

Tomorrow night in Madrid Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will face each other in the Champions League final, the pinnacle of the club game. With Chelsea having beaten Arsenal in Europe’s second tier competition the Europa League on Wednesday, it’s been a huge week for English football. And there’s even more to come. Next week the Women’s World Cup starts, where England are expected to do well, and the men’s team compete in the Nation’s League semi-finals on Thursday to add to their unexpected run to the World Cup semi-finals last year. With the club game also in such good shape, and some of our big-name footballers becoming true role models - speaking out about racism and mental health - are we entering a great era for the English game? Football writer and broadcaster Daniel Storey joins us to discuss

This episode features excerpts from “A Royal Team Talk: Tackling Mental Health”, available on BBC iPlayer.

Email us at [email protected] or use #beyondtoday

Producers: Harriet Noble and Duncan Barber

This week Malaysia ordered several thousand tonnes of imported plastic waste to be sent back to the countries it came from. The country’s government says it has become a dumping ground for wealthier nations and that much of the refuse has been imported illegally. Some of it is from the UK. We talk rubbish with comedian Phil Wang who was brought up in Malaysia and the BBC’s South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head, who has been visiting waste recycling plants in Thailand.

You can email the Beyond Today team at [email protected] or comment on social media using #beyondtoday

Producers: Philly Beaumont, Lucy Hancock