Beyond Today

This week the award-winning actress Felicity Huffman, who stars in Desperate Housewives pleaded guilty to fraudulently conspiring to win a college place for her daughter. The star is one of dozens of wealthy people, including Full House actress Lori Loughlan, who’ve been caught up in this scandal. We speak to Nada Tawfik and John Mervin from the BBC’s New York bureau about the case and Mitchell Stevens, associate professor of Education and Sociology at Stanford University about what it tells us about privilege, wealth, and elitism in the US.

Producers: Seren Jones, Philly Beaumont

The Eurovision press pack and superfans are descending on Tel Aviv for the annual gala of glitter and Europop. But because it’s in Israel some of the focus will inevitably fall away from the songs and onto the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Steve Holden is a music reporter for BBC Newsbeat, and in Tel Aviv for the contest. He joins the BBC’s Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen to assess what difference, if any, Eurovision makes to such a long-running conflict.

And voting in the Listeners’ Choice Award at the British Podcast Awards closes tomorrow! Vote for Beyond Today here: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote

Producers: Harriet Noble and Duncan Barber

Uber made its stock market debut last week as boss Dara Khosrowshahi rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange to begin trading. But this story is about more than stocks and shares. It’s the story of a company that plans to dominate the global transport business, despite the fact that is has admitted it may never make a profit. We spoke to our technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones to find out how that works and also to Kim Gittleson from the Wall Street Journal podcast to find out who did make money last Friday.

Producers: Duncan Barber and Philly Beaumont.

High-end hotels, $100 tips, a $7000 a night trip to Morocco… when German heiress Anna Delvey hit the New York party scene it seemed like she had, and could spend, it all. But the lavish social life Delvey, real name Anna Sorokin, created for herself was, along with her pretensions of European aristocracy, eventually exposed as a lie. As she’s sentenced to at least four years in jail for crimes including stealing more than $200,000, the BBC’s Vicky Baker helps us uncover some of the truth behind the lies of the fake heiress.

Producer: Harriet Noble

Cricketer Alex Hepburn was jailed last month for raping a sleeping woman. The assault happened after Hepburn had set up a sexual conquest game on a WhatsApp group. The BBC’s Phil Mackie tells us about the trial, and we speak to lawyer Eleanor Law about the legal difficulties that arise when this kind of misogynistic behaviour goes to court. Plus self-confessed “reformed lad” Chris Hemmings explains why this culture exists and how best to tackle it.

Producers: Duncan Barber and Seren Jones.

The last couple of days has been huge for Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and their new baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. It’s a big moment for the royals as they work out the balance between raising their son in privacy and the celebrity status their baby gained the minute he was born.

The BBC’s Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond tells Beyond Today how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are redefining the royal brand.

Thanks to Ricky Thompson, Harpers Bazaar, ABC, and Mediaeval Baebes.

Producers: Philly Beaumont, Lucy Hancock and Jaja Muhammad.

Thirty three years ago there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. We knew hardly anything about it at the time – only that radiation levels were rising in Western Europe. Of the emergency workers sent to tackle the blast, 28 died within months 19 have died since - 134 got acute radiation sickness. But now tourist groups visit the exclusion zone all the time - and scientists are studying there because the whole place has become a massive laboratory what happens in the aftermath of a nuclear disaster. BBC science correspondent Victoria Gill went there earlier this year and tells us how to assess the risks of radiation.

South Korea is thought to be one of the more progressive countries in Asia, with its technological advancements and dominance in pop music. But the recent introduction of 5G has led to a rise in secret recordings in public areas, including women’s changing rooms and toilets. The BBC’s Seoul correspondent Laura Bicker takes us through the rise of spy cams and how it’s fuelling the global porn industry.

This is a re-upload of one of our most popular episodes, first published on 11 April.

Producers: Seren Jones and Lucy Hancock

At a time of political turmoil the results of this week’s local elections show people turning away from Britain’s two main parties. Both Labour and the Conservatives have lost votes to the smaller parties and the independents amid anger over the Brexit deadlock. So who would stand for election in this toxic environment? Nearly 9000 people in England and Northern Ireland have been elected as local councillors this week. We met one of them. 27 year old Charlotte Leach has become the new councillor for Mobberley in Cheshire. She’s unusual because the average councillor in England is a 59 year old white man according to a recent BBC survey. We found out what makes her tick.

Produced by Harriet Noble and Philly Beaumont

Caster Semenya has achieved a lot. An Olympic and World champion, she’s won her last 29 races in a row. But yesterday the 28 year old South African lost her appeal against regulations restricting testosterone levels in female runners. Should she be punished for having a physical advantage? The South African sports journalist Mohammed Allie visited the village where she grew up and BBC Gender and Identity Correspondent Megha Mohan unpacks what Caster Semenya means for our understanding of gender.

Producers: Harriet Noble and Duncan Barber