Plane manufacturing giant Boeing has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Videos of a dramatic door blowout onboard an Alaskan Airlines flight swept through social media in January. BBC reporter Thomas Mackintosh tells us about his chat with Cuong Tran, the man who was just inches away from the hole in the plane.

We also hear from the BBC’s North America Business Correspondent Erin Delmore, who tells us what might be behind the other incidents involving Boeing this year and how the company has responded.

Plus we discuss the allegations of a whistleblower who appears to have taken his own life in between testifying against the company.

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Some women with afro and curly textured hair use chemicals to straighten their hair. But using these products can lead to burns and skin irritation. And some of the ingredients, like formaldehyde, are carcinogens. Some studies have shown a link between their use and higher rates of some cancers.

Kate Holden, a hair and scalp expert, tells us how chemical straighteners work. Dorcas Wangira, the BBC’s Africa Health correspondent, explains the health effects of using these products. Mary Isokariari from the What in the World team discusses why some women feel pressure to straighten their hair. Chinenye Ézémbu in Nigeria tells us why she chemically relaxes her hair and Deborah William shares her health issues, which she thinks are linked to her use of chemical hair straighteners.

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Idris Elba, one of the actors rumoured to be the next James Bond, is leading a project to turn an island in Sierra Leone into an eco-city. The new plans for Sherbro Island include wind-powered renewable electricity, solar farms and a film studio. The hope is that the island will become a tourist destination for people seeking the sun.

The BBC’s David Waddell spoke to Elba about his new project. David joins us to explain the actor’s motivations and his vision for the city.

But we can’t not mention Akon City! Grammy award-winning artist Akon also has plans to transform a part of Africa. In 2018, the Senegalese-American said he would build ‘Akon City’ on the coast of Senegal. The R&B star said he wanted to create something like Wakanda from Marvel’s Black Panther. However, the project has been hit by delays and has barely got off the ground. Borso Tall, a journalist based in Senegal, takes us though the latest.

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The Philippines is one of the most at risk countries in the world from the effects of climate change. At the same time, it has some of the most expensive energy in Southeast Asia and relies heavily on imported coal. But a recent report by the NGO Climate Analytics found that, by 2050, the Philippines could get its energy entirely from renewable sources.

Is it feasible? Three Filipinos give us their thoughts. Jhesset Enano is a journalist, Mitzi Jonelle Tan is a climate activist and Joshua Miguel Lopez works for Reboot, a youth-led organisation working towards a just energy transition.

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In Cameroon, 62 football players have been suspended from the domestic league for double identification or age fraud. One of them is 17 year old Wilfried Nathan Doualla who was part of the Indomitable Lions squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

There have been claims of age fraud in Cameroonian football for a long time now. Last year, 21 members of their under-17s squad failed age tests. Some of them were found to be in their late 20s and early 30s. But these allegations aren’t just limited to Cameroon - there have also been cases in Ghana and Nigeria.

BBC Sport Africa reporter Oluwashina Okeleji explains why some players lie about their age and how clubs use MRI technology to work out if a player is under 18. Former Premier League footballer and Ghana international Kwesi Appiah talks about his experience of how age impacts players on the pitch. And Alex from the What in the World team chats about other cases of age fraud and age controversy outside football, from gymnastics to Mariah Carey.

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At least six trans people have been killed in Mexico since the beginning of the year. Human rights groups say that Mexico is the second most dangerous country to be trans, after Brazil.

One of the women killed was Samantha Gómez Fonseca, a trans activist and politician. She was shot multiple times in a taxi in Mexico City. Miguel Fuentes, from the LGTBQ organisation Yaaj, tells us about her life. Naran Sofia Martin del Campo explains the daily challenges that come with being a trans woman in Mexico. And BBC journalist Marcos Gonzalez talks about the culture in Mexico and attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people.

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Muslims around the world are observing the holy month of Ramadan. It's a month of fasting, reflection, community and family time. But this year it feels different.

Iqra Farooq, a BBC journalist in London, explains how people have traditionally marked Ramadan and how the Israel-Gaza war is impacting those traditions.

We also hear from Muslims, from Gaza to Sudan, who discuss how the conflict is affecting them and their families during Ramadan.

An online storm has engulfed Kate Middleton. Rumour and speculation have swirled ever since she underwent planned abdominal surgery at the start of the year. Kensington Palace said from the beginning that she wasn’t expected to resume Royal duties until after Easter but that did nothing to stop the pressure mounting over a lack of public appearances.

Over the weekend the Palace released a photo of the Princess of Wales with her children but then people started noticing odd details. Soon the press agencies that distributed the photo had issued a “kill notice” - over concerns that it had been digitally altered or edited. Eventually Kate issued a statement on Instagram, admitted “experimenting” with editing and apologised for any “confusion” the picture may have caused.

This PR disaster has done nothing to quell the rumours.

In this episode we break down the timeline of the story so far, the BBC’s Jacqui Wakefield looks into how the image may have been edited and we get some PR tips from crisis management expert Molly McPherson.

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These days tickets for big music tours and sports events can sell out in a matter of seconds. And not everyone who buys a ticket is planning on going. Touts, scalpers, resellers (whatever you know them as) are using increasingly high-tech ways to snap up all the tickets before real fans get a chance, then selling them on for dizzying amounts.

It’s not just big stars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, it’s also huge sports events like the Cricket World Cup, the Superbowl and the Euros.

We hear from Rachel Lee, a reporter in South Korea, and Roxy Gagdekar, a reporter in India, about the scale of the problem in their countries. Plus we speak to Alessandro Moretti, a criminologist who’s spoken to some prolific touts to study their secrets.

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By the end of March, the Academy Awards and the Grammys will have finished, with hours of dedicate coverage, posts and memes galore. But viewing figures in the US show less people are tuning in. There’s a tendency to highlight the glitziness and importance of these events in the US, UK and Europe, but are award shows held to the same standard everywhere? And do these shows even matter anymore?

Noor Nanji, the BBC’s Culture Reporter and Fan Wang, a BBC Journalist in Singapore tell us about what award shows exist across Asia, and whether winning an award holds the same weight culturally. Nyasha Michelle, a journalist at BBC Africa also gives us a glimpse into Africa’s award show industry.

Plus, what do you have to do behind the scenes to actually win an Oscar? It's not as simple as putting in the best performance. Stars like Oppenheimer's Cillian Murphy, Maestro's Bradley Cooper, Killer of the Flower Moon's Lily Gladstone and the studios behind them have been on the campaign trail to try and secure that famous golden statue.

We get some Hollywood insight into what it takes from Jillian Chilingerian, the co-founder of Offscreen Central.

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