The Fourcast

Last week, Azeem Rafiq gave a devastating account of the racism he faced at Yorkshire Cricket Club, and it's turned the cricket world upside down. 

Is this a watershed moment for English cricket? Or is there a deep-rooted racism in the gentleman's game that's too entrenched to eradicate? 

In today's episode, Rafiq sat down with our sports reporter Jordan Jarrett-Bryan to discuss his cricket career and what he hopes will change after his story. 

And a warning, this episode contains some upsetting language and themes.

Two sisters, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, were brutally murdered by a stranger in North West London in June 2020. And what followed on from that tragedy is unimaginable.

An inadequate police response that meant their bodies were found, not by officers, but by the boyfriend of one of the sisters. And then, the unthinkable; two police officers found guilty of misconduct, after they took photographs of the murdered women and shared them in a WhatsApp group, actions that the Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick described as “unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply insensitive.”

Today, our former Senior Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel comes out of retirement to tell the story of what happened that night and the shocking events that followed, and what it tells us about the so-called “canteen culture” in the Met Police.

In Wales right now there are stories of people waiting for hours in agony as ambulances struggle to reach patients.

A backlog in demand for help after months of lockdown, and Covid cases still stubbornly high, the situation is bleak ahead of winter.

And even when ambulances do arrive and take patients to hospital, there are sometimes no beds left inside.

Our Home Affairs correspondent, Andy Davies has been out with one paramedic crew in south Wales as they tried to cope with this unprecedented crisis. 

They think it’s all over. But is it?

COP26 was billed as our last chance to save the planet from climate catastrophe. To keep 1.5 alive. So did world governments rise to the challenge?

Climate journalist Simon Roach explains all the details in the Glasgow Climate Pact.

The most exclusionary summit ever.

That’s the cry from critics here at the COP26 climate conference – with accusations that voices from the Global South and climate activists aren’t being heard.

Today we speak with Namibian activist Ina-Maria Shikongo and UN Youth Climate Delegate Sophia Kianni, on their experience at COP26, and to London Mayor Sadiq Khan on whether politicians are doing enough. 

Westminster is once again in crisis, amid the chaos surrounding the Owen Paterson lobbying affair.

The MP was found to have broken the rules and was meant to be suspended, but MPs voted to overturn the system rather than suspend their colleague, only to then U-turn the next day. Mr Paterson maintains he did nothing wrong but has resigned his seat.

The crisis has thrown up questions that have been asked before: should MPs be lobbyists? Should MPs have second jobs? Who should oversee the conduct of MPs? Who should be allowed a seat in the Lords? Is the Prime Minister shirking responsibility or are his poll numbers immune to scandal?

Correspondent Paul McNamara discusses what exactly Owen Paterson did, whether the system is broken, and what this all tells us about not just what MPs are up to, but what this government thinks it can and cannot get away with.

Are you sick of the five day grind? How does a four-day week sound? 

Around the world, companies are trailing the four-day week, with one study in Iceland proving to be an “overwhelming success”. Researchers said that the trials, in which workers were paid the same amount for shorter hours, showed that productivity remained the same or even improved in most workplaces. 

In today’s episode, we speak to one of the researchers behind that trial, as well as to a company in Scotland where they have already switched to a four-day week. Does it really work, and could it soon be coming to an office near you? 

Sources: WBTV, ITN 

Cobalt is an essential component for things like electric cars and rechargeable batteries. And cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo is fuelling the planet’s green revolution - but at a heavy price. In the copper belt around the city of Kolwezi, Africa Correspondent Jamal Osman tracks down the men who are risking their lives to work the mines, and the families living with the life changing consequences of these risks. 

In this podcast, Jamal tells Krishnan Guru-Murthy about his recent trip to the DRC for Unreported World, and what he found there. 

COP26 has only just begun, but has it already ended? 

The big leaders have gone home, leaving their major commitments on the table. Some aim for net zero carbon by 2050, some 2060, others 2070. Disappointed? You’re not alone. We all know that urgent action needs to be taken now.

There is some good news: more than 80 nations have pledged to cut methane emissions and world leaders have promised to end deforestation by 2030.

Is it too little too late, or are we finally making progress?

Today, our climate journalist Simon Roach breaks down what COP26 has offered so far, and what hope he has for the rest of the conference.

Booster Covid jabs are now being given in the UK to over-50s, those with underlying health conditions, and health and social care staff.

  But what are they, how much protection do they offer and will we all need to have a third dose of the vaccine at some point?   Today, FactCheck's Georgina Lee tells us everything we need to know about boosters and discusses whether we should really be jabbing Britons three times when parts of the world haven’t even had one dose yet?  

Sources: Sky News, DW News, ABC News, NBC News