The Global Story

Preppers have long been planning for the worst-case scenario. Are governments now doing the same?

 The UK government has launched a national “Be Ready” campaign, urging people to keep enough food, water and medicine at home to prepare for three days of disruption. Other European countries have similar policies.

But for preppers, whose mission it is to ready themselves for a future disaster, this is old news. Have the preppers been vindicated? And what exactly are we prepping for?

(Photo: Prepper Drew Miller inside a well-stocked fortified bunker that is still under construction on 23 August, 2019, Lost City, West Virginia.Credit: Michael S. Williamson/ Getty Images)

Producer: Josephine Casserly and Xandra Ellin

Executive producer: Martine Powers

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Digital producer: Charlie Firth

Senior news editor: China Collins

Can a new crop of Democrats in Congress end the war in Iran?

Democrats have taken control of both chambers of Congress in the US midterm elections, dealing a major blow to President Donald Trump. The result could have significant implications for US foreign policy – and for the conflicts unfolding overseas.

The Global Story’s Asma Khalid and Tristan Redman explore what the results mean for America’s role in the world. They hear from Democratic Representative Jason Crow and Damian Murphy of the Center for American Progress about how congressional Democrats plan to challenge Trump’s foreign policy agenda – from the wars in Iran and Ukraine to America’s relationships with its allies and adversaries.

Producers: Hannah Moore, Lucy Pawle and Xandra Ellin

Executive producer: Martine Powers

Digital producer: Sam Gruet

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo:Democratic US Senate candidate and Texas State Representative James Talarico speaks after his victory in the US midterm elections during an Election Night rally in Austin, Texas, US, November 3, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Mike Segar

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, many Russians who opposed the war – or feared being sent to fight in it – fled the country. In much of the West, they were welcomed as courageous dissidents. But four years on, the number of Russians being forcibly returned from the US to Russia is rising.

Is the tougher stance on Russian asylum seekers evidence of the Trump administration seeking closer ties with Moscow? Or is it part of a wider immigration crackdown, driven by domestic politics?

In this episode, Tristan Redman speaks to the BBC’s Will Vernon about the Russian refugees he has met who face persecution if they are forced to return home.

(Photo: The FSB arrests someone in 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Producers Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Digital producer: Sam Gruet

Executive producer: Martine Powers

Senior news editor: China Collins

The AI juggernaut Anthropic could "pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity,” its owners warned last week, “if not developed, deployed, and operated with appropriate safeguards, oversight, and security measures.”

It’s one of many similarly dire predictions AI companies have made about their own products in recent months, but this one is distinct, because it is part of the company’s pitch to future shareholders. Anthropic will be the first fully AI-focused company to list on the US stock market, with what is expected to be a record-breaking valuation. Launching its IPO means revealing truths about its finances and its ethics to the public.

So what’s in that public filing? And why does Anthropic’s leadership want investors to believe AI might destroy the world? The BBC’s AI correspondent Marc Cieslak joins Asma Khalid to explain.

(Photo: CEO and co-founder of Anthropic Dario Amodei looks on during the 56th annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 2026. Credit: Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

Producer: Xandra Ellin

Executive producers: Hannah Moore

Mix: Travis Evans

Studio manager: Ben Andrews

Digital producer: Tom Bage

Senior news editor: China Collins

Londoners can now travel in autonomous cars for the first time, after Uber was granted a licence to operate a test fleet of self-driving vehicles. Each vehicle must have a safety driver behind the wheel, but the UK government says fully self-driving cars will be available in late 2027.

Driverless cars are the latest threat facing London’s iconic black cabs, over a decade after the introduction of ride-sharing apps revolutionised transport in the city.

Tristan Redman meets Tom Scullion, who has been a cabbie for over 30 years, and asks whether one of the world’s hardest memory tests – the Knowledge – can compete with AI.

Producer: Sam Chantarasak

Executive producer: James Shield

Mix: Travis Evans

Digital producer: Charlie Firth

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Black cab driver Tom Scullion. Credit: BBC

Latino voters in Florida — including 68% of Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County — helped fuel Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential victory.

But now, ahead of next week’s midterm elections, some of those voters are questioning their loyalty to Trump, and to the Republican party. Many are focused on the administration’s immigration crackdown — thousands of people arrested and deported by ICE — and also on questions about Trump’s influence in Latin America and his plans for the future of Venezuela and Cuba.

What have Trump’s policies meant for the people living on both sides of the Florida Straits? The Global Story’s Asma Khalid speaks with Sumi Somaskanda, a chief anchor at BBC News in Washington, and BBC Cuba correspondent Will Grant.

Producer: Hannah Moore

Spanish voice over: Laura Plitt

Mix: Travis Evans

Executive producer: Martine Powers

Digital producer: Richard Kenny

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: A woman and a man walk past graffiti with the colours of the Cuban flag in Havana, Cuba, October 4, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Ricardo Arduengo

A ceasefire has come into effect in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky, on the front line of the war with Russia. Thousands of residents have been trapped there, cut off from food, water and electricity.

The ceasefire has been brokered by an unexpected figure: the US First Lady Melania Trump. But the Vatican is also claiming credit for the truce, raising questions about who helped bring it about – and what it might mean for the people caught up in the fighting.

After years of war and worsening conditions for civilians, a pause in the fighting could offer some relief. But how much protection will it really provide? And can this ceasefire hold?

(Photo: US first lady Melania Trump, 24 September, 2026. Credit: Finn Gomez/Reuters)

Producer: Josephine Casserly and Xandra Ellin

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Executive producer: Martine Powers

Digital producer: Charlie Firth

Senior news editor: China Collins

Brazil has just come through a fierce electoral campaign that saw left-wing incumbent Lula face Flavio Bolsonaro, son of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president convicted of plotting a coup.

Election night brought a series of unexpected turns before incumbent Lula Da Silva was declared the winner. Flavio Bolsonaro refused to accept the result and has called for the election to be annulled. But the result is significant: Brazil, Latin America’s largest democracy, has broken a trend that has seen right-wing candidates, many aligned with Donald Trump, win elections across the region.

So what does a Lula victory mean for Latin America? In this episode, we speak to Nathalia Passarinho, an editor at BBC Brazil and BBC Mundo.

Producers: Valerio Esposito and Aron Keller

Mix: Travis Evans

Executive producer: Bridget Harney

Digital producer: Charlie Firth

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after his victory in the presidential runoff election, October 26, 2026. Credit: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters.

The polls suggest a tight race in Israel’s upcoming election. Candidates are doing all they can to win the approval of young and first-time voters, who are set to play an influential role.

Israel’s security is front and centre in the campaign, as are the events of the Hamas-led October 7 attacks. And polls suggest that young Israelis are increasingly supporting right-wing and far-right parties. In an outcome that will likely be determined by fine margins, that’s important.

In this episode we speak to the BBC’s Middle East correspondent Lucy Williamson, who has been following the candidates on the campaign trail and speaking to young voters.

Producers: Xandra Ellin and Lucy Pawle

Mix: Travis Evans

Executive producer: Martine Powers

Digital producer: Charlie Firth

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, wave flags and cheer at Mahane Yehuda market, ahead of Israel's national election, in Jerusalem, October 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

The American journalist and former marine, Austin Tice, disappeared 14 years ago while covering the civil war in Syria. Despite the best efforts of US officials and Austin’s family, what happened to Austin has remained a mystery.

In a new podcast for the BBC and NPR’s Embedded, our colleague Josh Baker, along with his reporting partner Sara Obeidat, spend three years searching for answers - and discover information that provides the clearest account of what really happened.

(Photo: A poster of missing journalist Austin Tice at the National Press Club, May 2023. Credit: Getty Images)

Producer: Mhairi MacKenzie

Executive Producer: Cat Farnsworth

Digital Producer: Charlie Firth

Studio Engineer: Jonathan Greer

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins