Vik Muniz says he owes his artistic career to being shot as a young man, not because he had an epiphany about the meaning of his life, but because he won enough compensation from the accident to move to New York and kick-start his career in the art world. He is now probably one of Brazil’s most successful visual artists and his pieces can range from tiny specs that are photographed by microscopes to giant landscapes captured from helicopters. He is known for working with unconventional materials; some of his most famous works have been created out of sugar, chocolate and a plate of left over spaghetti. Andrea Kennedy went to New York to meet him as he prepared for an exhibition full of illusions.

In the Studio: Vik Muniz

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The number of labels to describe different types of mental disorder has mushroomed in recent years. New categories include Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Prolonged Grief Disorder and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Many classifications have been created or influenced by a book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Advocates of DSM say labels help people take ownership of their situation, provide them with answers, treatments and social support. Critics think it creates stigma, medicalises normality and leads to a glut of unnecessary and harmful drug prescriptions. UK based musician Jay Emme asks if labels help or hinders in everyday life and whether it’s time to drop the terms ‘mental’ and ‘disorder’?

Labelling the world: The power of DSM

Park Jung-oh defected to South Korea from the North 26 years ago. Hearing how North Koreans in the Hwanghae Province suffer from food shortage, he started throwing bottles filled with rice and a USB stick into the Yellow Sea, hoping they would land on North Korean shores. Did his messages ever reach anyone? Rachel Lee from BBC Korean brings us this extraordinary story. Plus, Madina Dahiru Maishanu, the youngest presenter at BBC Hausa, shares stories from her award-winning show, Mahangar Zamani, and Thomas Naadi tells us about Stevie Wonder's love affair with Ghana. Produced by Alice Gioia and Caroline Ferguson. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)

The Fifth Floor: Message in a bottle to North Korea

Vast areas of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul remain under water after the worst flooding in 80 years. Homes have been destroyed, thousands are without power or drinking water, and entire towns remain cut-off. The torrential rains began in Rio Grande do Sul at the end of April, saturating the ground and bursting the banks of the Taquari and Caí rivers. Those rivers flow into the Guaíba, which has led to severe flooding in the state capital, Porto Alegre. We bring together three residents of Porto Alegre and volunteer rescue workers to share their experiences of the flooding.

BBC OS Conversations: The floods in Brazil

When Father Père Basile was 12 years of age, he started thinking of a religious life. But it never crossed his mind that he would someday be living in a cloistered abbey in the south of France producing wine. This monastery has incredible history as it is the site of the oldest papal vineyard in the world, dating back to the 14th Century. When Pope Clement V moved the papal capital from Rome to Avignon in France, his palace needed a steady stream of wine and so the vineyard was planted in Le Barroux. Presenter Colm Flynn travels to the abbey to meet Fr Père Basile, and hears his amazing story of growing up as the son of wealthy, world-travelling diplomats, and turning his back on that to pursue a deeper calling in life.

Heart and Soul: Glorifying God through wine

A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast. EncroChat: The crime family brought down by their violent messages.
The Global Story brings you one big story every weekday, making sense of the news with our experts around the world. Insights you can trust, from the BBC, with Katya Adler. For more, go to bbcworldservice.com/globalstory or search for The Global Story wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This programme contains descriptions some of you may find upsetting.

In the Studio: Vik Muniz

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