What in the World

Oil prices have shot up since the US-Israel war with Iran began, and the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes, has been almost completely closed.

It’s been bad news for drivers, airlines and anyone already feeling the squeeze from the cost of living. But for some of the world’s biggest oil companies, it’s been very good news. Oil giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron are reporting huge profits.

And at the same time, we’re seeing record-breaking heatwaves, with wildfires raging in parts of Europe and Asia.

Our resident business expert, Emer Moreau, tells us about the oil giants’ profits and how the high costs are impacting all of us.

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In recent years, attachment theory has exploded into the public consciousness. On TikTok, videos tagged #AttachmentTheory have racked up hundreds of millions of views, with some advising users on how to become more securely attached.

The theory was first developed in the 1950s by John Bowlby, and suggests that the bonds we form with early givers shape our expectations in adult relationships. Further research has expanded our understanding of how we connect since then, and offered a more nuanced view on attachment. But this is not always reflected in popular videos online. We speak to Josh Elgin, a BBC journalist who’s been reporting on discussions of attachment theory.

Plus we hear from Dr Amir Levine, a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University and author of Attached, a book which played an influential role in bringing attachment to the mainstream.

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Ariana Grande has announced that she's planning to take a break from the public eye after her Eternal Sunshine tour ends in September. She started her performing career when she was a kid and has since become one of the biggest pop stars in the world, winning three Grammys and most recently portraying Glinda in the hit film Wicked.

But over the past couple of years, a lot of the conversation online about Ariana hasn't been about her music or acting: it's been about her appearance. That's despite her asking people repeatedly not to comment on her body over the years. Her most recent music video, Petal, went viral after some fans said they were concerned about how thin she was.

So, is it ever ok to talk about a celebrity's health or appearance? And where's the line between concern and scrutiny?

Chelsea Coates from the What in the World team joins us to discuss it all - and we hear how Ariana’s fans are reacting to her decision to take a break.

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If you are concerned about your health, you could speak to a health professional. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide. www.befrienders.org

Disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow showed the world hit by extreme weather events caused by disruption to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Today, even though the events of the film are highly unlikely to happen, scientists are concerned by changes to the AMOC.

The AMOC is a massive north-south system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean that carries warm surface water towards the Arctic and returns colder water thousands of miles south through the deep ocean. It impacts weather patterns across the world from north-west Europe, to west Africa and all the way to India. However, scientists are worried that climate change is weakening the system which could lead to dramatic changes in weather around the world.

BBC Weather presenter Sarah Keith-Lucas explains what the AMOC is, what exactly scientists are worried about and what the potential impacts could be if the AMOC is weakened or collapses entirely.

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Protests against undocumented migrants have been going on for months in South Africa. We’ve talked about them on the podcast before - people are protesting against illegal immigrants, and some of the marches have turned violent and deadly. Houses have been burned down, shops looted, and countries like Ghana and Nigeria have even evacuated some of their citizens from the country.

But these protests aren’t just affecting politics and South Africa’s relationships with other countries on the continent. They’re also impacting sports and pop culture.

Now, Tyla, the South African pop star, has taken Nigeria off her world tour dates. She hasn’t given a reason, but thousands of Nigerians had signed a petition urging her to stay away.

So that’s what we’re getting into today with Makuochi Okafor, our West Africa Reporter.

Plus, we hear from people in Nigeria on what they think about it all.

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It’s less than two weeks after Spain won the men’s World Cup, but suddenly the tournament is back in the headlines. This time it’s because of a plan from Fifa’s President Gianni Infantino to sell a stake in their tournaments to private investors. Infantino says it’s a chance to “turbocharge” the development of the game - and national associations have been offered millions of dollars if they agree to the plans.

It’s fair to say the plans haven’t gone down well with everyone - with European’s governing body Uefa saying their members won’t go to any World Cups (men’s or women’s) if the plans go through.

We talk to BBC Sport’s Isaac Fanin (fresh from a month at the World Cup) about what the plans are, what the response has been and what might happen next.

NB: We recorded this episode on Friday morning and it’s all changing so fast we have to keep rewriting this description…

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You might have heard Gen Z being called the “sober generation” - the data suggests that we’re less likely to drink than older generations, that alcohol-free brands are getting more popular with under-30s and there’s a huge push towards sobriety and wellness culture more generally. At the same time, pre-mixed cocktails are flying off the shelves - and new figures suggest that binge drinking has gone up.

So is Gen Z really drinking less than previous generations? Or is that just a myth?

In this episode, we go to one of London’s alcohol-free pubs to chat to three guests who all stopped drinking in their 20s: Millie, founder of the Sober Girl Society and author of HANGXIETY, Daniel, creative director of The Scene, a South Asian-led collective organising alcohol-free events in London, and Tyler, a content creator. We discuss how drinking culture is changing — and whether quitting alcohol is on the rise for Gen Z.

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This year alone, tens of millions of people have downloaded apps which help you identify birds, lots of them are Gen Z. In our gardens, local parks on the street or even just with phones sticking out of a window people are using these apps everyday. But why?

We hear from BBC Tech reporter Liv McMahon about just how big these apps are and what is making them so popular. Plus, we talk to young birders in the UK and Canada who tell us about their love for birds and what makes these apps so special.

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Dinosaur bones have become one of the world’s most expensive collector’s items, with some selling for tens of millions of dollars at auction. A Tyrannosaurus rex fossil recently sold for $50 million, making it the most expensive dinosaur ever auctioned. Some celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, have their own private collections. So why are the ultra wealthy spending so much money on dinosaur bones, and what does it mean for science?

We speak to BBC Climate and Science journalist Esme Stallard about why they have become so valuable, who is buying them, and why many scientists are concerned about private ownership. We also hear from Professor Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh and consultant on the Jurassic Park films, about why these ancient fossils matter and the growing debate over who should really own them.

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The headlines do sound slightly like the plot of a sci-fi film… but Open AI recently announced that one of its most advanced AI models went ‘rogue’ - and hacked a start-up called Hugging Face. The cyber attack, which the ChatGPT-maker called ‘unprecedented’, took place even though the AI model was being tested in a controlled environment. Open AI says they’re still investigating and they want to implement what they learn from this to stop it happening again.

But how was the AI model able to do this in the first place? And more importantly… should we be worried about AI chatbots taking over?

BBC Tech reporter Laura Cress gives us the lowdown on how OpenAI’s model managed to hack a company - and what safeguards governments and AI companies are putting in place to combat this.

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