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BBC World Service

Where the world and America meet. Every weekday, this is The Global Story.

The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it.

With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption.

The Global Story

On October 7 2023 Hamas attacked Israel, taking 251 people hostage. Gali and Ziv Berman were among them – twin brothers who lived on a kibbutz near the Gaza border. They were 24 years old. Now, after 2 years they are among the remaining hostages still being held in captivity. But in the last few days the prospect of ending the war in Gaza and releasing the remaining hostages seems closer than ever. That possibility gives Gali and Ziv’s older brother Liran Berman cautious hope. Liran speaks to Asma at length about his memories of October 7th, his quest to get his little brothers out of Gaza, and who he will give credit to if the peace deal succeeds. 
 
Producers: Valerio Esposito, Lucy Pawle and Cat Farnsworth 
Editor: Annie Brown 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
 
Image: Liran Berman by Valerio Esposito

One man's quest to get his brothers released from Gaza

Mediators for Hamas and Israel are set to meet in Egypt on Monday for indirect talks, after Hamas agreed to a US peace plan. 

It’s a stunning diplomatic breakthrough for Donald Trump, whose plan proposes an immediate end to fighting and the release within 72 hours of 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas. 

Today we discuss with the BBC’s State Department correspondent, Tom Bateman, how President Trump reached such a significant breakthrough with Israel and Hamas, and whether his approach to deal making could actually pay off. 
 
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins

Image: Gaza City on Sunday 5th October, 2025. Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

Is Trump on the brink of achieving peace in Gaza?

This week, some of the world’s most influential comedians have travelled to Saudi Arabia, for comedy festival organized by the government of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The bill for the Riyadh Comedy Festival includes superstars like Aziz Ansari, Dave Chapelle, Kevin Hart and Louis CK. And the event has attracted significant backlash, with critics accusing the participating comedians of helping Saudi Arabia to “comedy-wash” its record on human rights and free speech. 

We speak to the comedian Gianmarco Soresi, who has been highly critical of peers who chose to play the festival, and from BBC security correspondent and resident Saudi Arabia expert, Frank Gardner. 

Producers: Xandra Ellin and Valerio Esposito
Executive producers: James Shield and Annie Brown 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Senior news editor: China Collins

How a festival in Saudi Arabia rocked the American comedy world

On Monday, President Trump outlined his proposal for a peace deal in Gaza, a moment he described as ‘potentially one of the great days ever in civilisation’. In a press conference announcing the plan, the President name-dropped Sir Tony Blair and said the former UK Prime Minister would have a key role in the governance of post-war Gaza. Blair has been part of high-level talks with the US and other parties about ending the conflict. To many in the Middle East he remains a divisive figure who is remembered primarily for his role in the US-led invasion of Iraq. So how did Blair become a central figure in this latest plan to end the war in Gaza, and what does this tell us about diplomacy under Trump 2.0? Asma Khalid speaks to the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale, who charts the story of Blair’s involvement in the Middle East and his warm relationship with President Trump.

Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Viv Jones 
Senior news editor: China Collins 
Mix: Travis Evans 
Picture: Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair. Credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Why did Trump bring Tony Blair into the Gaza peace process?

After getting the red-carpet treatment at the UN in New York last week, the former al-Qaeda fighter who now leads Syria is about to hold an election. But is Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, really about to transition the country into democracy? Or does he have other plans? 

The BBC's senior international correspondent Orla Guerin joins us from Damascus, where she’s been speaking to Syrians about the country’s future. 
 
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior News Editor: China Collins
 
Image: Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Khalil Ashawi / Reuters

The rehabilitation of Syria’s ex-jihadist president

Mistrust in science has never been higher. Fewer people are getting vaccinated, a known vaccine skeptic is leading the most powerful health agency in America and an outbreak of measels in Texas this year led to the first fatalities in almost a decade. Then, in August, a gunman opened fire on the headquarters of the Centre for Disease Control with many speculating he was fuelled by misinformation about health.

Increasingly this misinformation is being exported around the world.

Marianna Spring is the BBC’s Social Media Investigations Correspondent and tells the story of how suspicion of science in America helped radicalise a British mom with devastating consequences.

Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: Annie Brown
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins 

Image: Martin Pope / Getty

Are conspiracy theories America’s biggest export?

Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu visits the White House later today, as details from the Trump administration’s 21-point plan to end the war were revealed over the weekend. As Israel continues its offensive in Gaza City, Netanyahu has vowed to ‘finish the job’ against Hamas and shows little sign of making concessions to end the war. Netanyahu has a proven history of getting what he wants from US presidents – so will the same happen at Monday's meeting?

Today we speak to the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet who has reported on Netanyahu for three decades.

Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Xandra Ellin, Aron Keller and Cat Farnsworth. 
Executive producer: Annie Brown
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins

Image: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Why Netanyahu gets what he wants from the US

On Monday President Trump and the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a press conference in which they made extraordinary new claims about autism. They suggested a potential link between the use of Tylenol during pregnancy and the development of autism. They also advocated spacing out childhood vaccinations.

The two men's interest in the link between vaccines and autism goes back decades but these claims did not originate in the US. They trace back to the UK in 1998, when disgraced former doctor Andrew Wakefield first published his now-debunked theory linking MMR vaccines to autism cases in children.

Today on the Global Story science journalist Adam Rutherford explains how the Wakefield vaccine conspiracy became the biggest medical disinformation disaster in recent history, and how these ideas found fertile ground in the Trump administration.

Producers: Viv Jones, Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: Annie Brown, James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins

Image: President Donald Trump, in front of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., delivers remarks linking autism to childhood vaccines and to the use of popular pain medication Tylenol for pregnant women and children, claims which are not backed by decades of science, at the White House. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The disgraced UK doctor behind autism misinformation

On Tuesday night, Donald Trump signalled a drastic U-turn in his position on Ukraine, claiming in a Truth Social post that Kyiv could win the war against Russia, and take back all the land it has lost. The Kremlin was quick to dismiss his assertion, saying it has, “no alternative” but to continue its offensive. 

So, is this just another rhetorical turn from the US president, or has something materially changed in Ukraine’s favour? Vitaly Shevchenko, Russia editor for BBC Monitoring, joins us to discuss. 

Producers: Hannah Moore and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins

Why is Trump suddenly saying Ukraine can win the war?

Heads of state and high-level diplomats have descended on New York to attend the 80th annual United Nations General Assembly. During a meandering address, President Trump railed against immigration and green energy, claimed credit for a spate of recent diplomatic victories, and questioned the legitimacy of the UN as an institution. How right is the president about the diminishing power of the UN? And what is his vision for a path forward?

Today, Asma reports from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where she speaks to BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale and BBC New York Correspondent for the United Nations Nada Tawfik.

Producers: Samantha Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: Annie Brown
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Editor: China Collins

(Photo: Donald Trump speaks during the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Credit: Sarah Yenesel/EPA/Shutterstock)

Trump asks: What’s the purpose of the UN?

Since conflict broke out in April 2023, it has been almost impossible for international media to report from Sudan. In that time, stories of horrific violence and sexual violence have been told by hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the country.

Feras Kilani, the BBC Arabic special correspondent, has just returned from Sudan, where he got a rare insight into life in the country. Mercy Juma, the BBC Africa correspondent also tells Lyse Doucet about the survivors of ethnic violence and sexual assault she met in Chad, the neighbouring country where hundreds of thousands have fled.

The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists around the world. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell The Global Story. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com. You can also message us or leave a voice note on WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. #TheGlobalStory

This episode was made by Richard Moran, Bethan Ashmead-Latham and Alix Pickles. The technical producers were Matt Hewitt and Hannah Montgomery. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Jonathan Aspinwall.

Rare access inside Sudan's forgotten war

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