Beyond Today

Blue Story, a film about two young black boys from different London postcodes who get caught up in rival gangs went on general release on Friday. By Saturday two cinema chains, Vue and Showcase, had pulled the film from all their cinemas. The decision was made after a mass fight broke out at the Star City multiplex, in Birmingham. Six people have been arrested and although Showcase has reversed its decision, there has been a huge backlash with people calling the move racist. We speak to the BBC’s Tolu Adeoye, and Andrew Efah who worked with Rapman. And we also hear from Vic Santoro, one of the actors in Blue Story.

Presented by Tina Daheley

There are more than 150 billionaires in the UK, but is that concentration of immense wealth actually a sign of failure? Should anyone ever be worth a sum of money that has nine zeroes in it?

For decades nobody seemed to question wealth: it was something to aspire to, and the idea that money would trickle down to the rest of society was widespread. But things seem to be shifting. Mainstream politicians are questioning what, until just a few years ago, was the accepted wisdom that it’s fine to be filthy rich as long as you pay lots of tax along the way and then become a philanthropist.

We hear from the BBC’s Business editor Simon Jack, and check in with Kerry Dolan, who’s been helping to compile the Forbes rich list for the last 25 years. And our producer Lucy Hancock went to meet artist Darren Cullen, who runs a museum of neoliberalism.

Presented by Matthew Price.

This was the year that the world’s most famous drag queen, RuPaul, brought his critically-acclaimed TV show to the UK. The series has helped bring British drag queens and topics that affect the LGBT community to a wider audience. But, does appreciation of drag always mean there’s acceptance in society?

In this episode we speak to Baby Lame, host of the official Drag Race UK podcast on BBC Sounds, to get the lowdown on life as a drag queen. We also talk to journalist and author Amelia Abraham about what happens when queer culture goes mainstream.

You can listen to the Drag Race UK podcast on BBC Sounds, and watch the whole series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK on iPlayer.

Presenter: Matthew Price

Once more the NHS is at the heart of a general election campaign and politicians on all sides are promising to improve the health service. With more than four million patients on the NHS waiting list and delays in A&E at their worst level since records began, many people believe the health system in struggling. But, what's not as widely talked about is the way the service is dealing with the growing number of people needing treatment for their mental health.

In this episode we speak to Ellen Welch, a general practitioner who’s written a book about the history of the NHS and to Catherine Renton, a patient who has been on the NHS waiting list for mental health treatment for 18 months. We also talk to trainee junior doctor Samara Linton about her experiences of working on the front line at a NHS psychiatric unit, and why she thinks it’s not just the public’s mental health that is suffering.

If you feel affected after listening to today’s episode, you can get help by going to our website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/

Presenter: Matthew Price

Plastic surgery has never been cheaper or more accessible. The industry is booming: it’s worth an estimated £19 billion. The results of cosmetic self- improvement are readily available on Instagram, and appear in the breaks of Love Island. More people than ever are considering going under the knife. Despite all the moralising about plastic surgery, it doesn’t seem to put people off seeking it.

We speak to Mobeen Azhar who made TV programme where people seeking surgery watch procedures live on screen, and Christine Rosen, an academic who has been charting its cultural rise. They explore why people are seeking it, the dilemmas of normalising of plastic surgery.

Presented by Tina Daheley.

Three days later and the fallout from Prince Andrew’s BBC interview keeps coming: today university students and a big accountancy firm are distancing themselves from the duke. Prince Andrew appeared on Newsnight to address controversy over his ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But it backfired after critics called the interview a “car crash”.

On the same weekend the other royal drama The Crown returned to TV screens after a two year break. In this episode we talk to the royal historian and advisor on the Netflix drama Robert Lacey, who has just published a book to go alongside the series. He tells us about Prince Andrew’s relationship with the Queen and how this all might play out on TV in the future. We also hear from the BBC’s royal correspondent Jonny Dymond

Presenter: Tina Daheley

There was a story in October you may have missed: a 15-year-old boy from London was stabbed to death after getting off a bus on his way home from school. Baptista Adjei was one of the youngest people to be murdered in the capital this year.

In this episode we speak to BBC London’s Greg McKenzie, who’s been reporting on knife crime in 2019, including the death of Jodie Chesney. She was the 17-year-old girl who was fatally stabbed in an east London park in March. Today two teenagers were sentenced to life for her murder.

In this episode we look into why we hear about some innocent victims more than others.

Presenter: Tina Daheley

We know that one in four people will suffer from a mental health problem at some point in their life and that anxiety seems to be on the increase. The latest research suggests that rates of psychological distress and illness are especially high among undergraduates.

Presenter: Tina Daheley

The 2019 general election is in full swing and political parties are relying on digital campaigning more than ever before. Targeted marketing has made a profound change in how political parties can reach you and our compulsion to click, like and share can be used against us in surprising ways.

We speak to Kirk J. Torrance, a former digital strategist for the SNP, who worked on their landslide 2015 campaign. The BBC’s Maryam Ahmed has built an algorithm to catch all targeted political advertising on Facebook for this election. And Latika Bourke, reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald, tells us how the Australian election was won with the help of Game of Thrones.

Presenter: Matthew Price

Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have been going on for months now. In the past few days the violence has escalated and schools are being closed for safety reasons. The row centres on a fight for national identity. For Hong Kong protestors this is a fight for freedom from influence from mainland China. For the Chinese authorities it is a fight to protect their nation.

In this episode, we meet Maggie Watson, a cake maker from Derby who was surprised to witness the ferocity of this row at a cake competition in Birmingham. We speak to Vincent Ni from the BBC’s China desk who explains why this happened and what it tells us about the Chinese psyche.

He explores how the scars of the past affect trading relationships with Western mega brands like the NBA, Versace, Dior and Gap and how China is sensitive to foreign interference in its affairs.

Presenter: Tina Daheley