The Global Story

Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. 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 is a news podcast hosted by BBC World Service, with 626 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

BBC World Service hosts The Global Story, a news show with 626 episodes published.

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  The Global Story

  Is Kim Jong Un the real winner of the Iran war?

  Aug 19, 202627 min

  President Trump took to Truth Social last weekend to announce that the US will "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea. He cited his "very good relationship" with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, but he also accused South Korea of failing to help the US in its war with Iran – comments that suggest major new cracks in the US’s relationship with a key ally. To understand the reaction from South Korea, we speak to the BBC’s Seoul Correspondent Jake Kwon about whether Trump’s sidelining of South Korea is a major foreign policy shift for the US. Producers: Aron Keller and Mhairi MacKenzie Executive producer: Martine Powers Mix: Travis Evans Digital producer: Sam Gruet Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A South Korean soldier stands next to a TV broadcasting a news report on a possible summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, October 22, 2025. Credit: Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji

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  The Global Story

  The West Bank settler siege

  Aug 18, 202627 min

  Two Palestinian families in the village of Qusra in the West Bank have been under siege by Israeli settlers for over a week. The Palestinian-American owner of one of the homes traveled to the West Bank from Ohio on Monday, after asking for protection from the US embassy. His visit comes after the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called those involved “Israeli terrorists”, amid mounting international pressure on Israel’s government to deal with the situation. We speak to the BBC’s Jon Donnison, who has been reporting from Qusra, and ask whether the West Bank is at a tipping point. Producer: Sam Chantarasak Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Digital producer: Matt Pintus Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Palestinian-American Loui Ridi, whose home in the occupied West Bank has been encircled by militant settlers for more than a week, hangs a U.S. flag after gaining access to his besieged home in Qusra. August 17, 2026. Credit: Ammar Awad TPX/Reuters.

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  The Global Story

  The challenger to Netanyahu, with New Yorker editor David Remnick

  Aug 17, 202627 min

  Benjamin Netanyahu has been a major figure in Israeli politics for a long time. You could have just turned 30 years old and never known a time when he wasn’t either prime minister or somewhere near the top of Israeli politics. But could that be about to change? With less than three months until the Israeli general election, Netanyahu is struggling in some polls. His rival is a man who is little known outside of Israel – former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot. In some international media, Eisenkot is being dubbed the ‘anti-Netanyahu’. But is that accurate? We speak to David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, who has spent time with Eisenkot for a major profile piece. Producer: Xandra Ellin Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Digital producer: Tom Bage Senior news editor: China Collins Image: Israeli opposition leader and former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot speaks on a phone outside a conference for his campaign ahead of Israeli elections, in Dimona, Israel, July 6, 2026. Reuters/Amir Cohen

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  The Global Story

  ‘Spermageddon’: what’s going on with male fertility?

  Aug 14, 202627 min

  Wearing loose cotton boxer shorts. Icing your testicles. Doing blood transfusions to ‘clean’ your body of microplastics. Eating raw garlic. These are all unproven methods to boost sperm count being promoted by wellness influencers. On TikTok and Instagram, hashtags such as #malefertility, #semenanalysis and #sperm attract hundreds of millions of views, while, in the White House, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has claimed that men’s fertility is in drastic decline, partially due to unhealthy diets. What scientific evidence is there to claims that the average sperm count and quality is falling? And how do these claims play into men’s anxieties about their masculinity? On today’s show, the BBC’s global health reporter, Jacqui Wakefield, speaks to men across the world concerned about their fertility, and to reproductive experts who help explain what’s really going on. Read Jacqui’s article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8921982pgzo Producers: Hannah Moore and Mhairi MacKenzie Executive producer: Sam Bonham Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Simon from Miami, who is trying to boost his sperm count by wearing ice packs in the sauna. Credit: BBC.

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  The Global Story

  Is Iran really trying to kill Trump?

  Aug 13, 202627 min

  Last month, President Trump secretly swapped planes via a catering truck as he left a Nato summit in Turkey. The elaborate ruse, first reported by the Washington Post, was in response to a possible threat from Iran. But how serious were the US administration’s fears of an assassination attempt? And does the Iranian regime have the capability to carry out such an operation beyond its borders? We speak to Parham Ghobadi, a senior reporter at the BBC’s Persian Service, and Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post, to understand more about what transpired on Air Force One, the history of Iran’s alleged assassination plots, and why the Iranian regime’s prime target might be its own citizens. Producers: Mhairi MacKenzie, Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin Executive producers: Martine Powers and James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Digital producer: Sam Gruet Studio manager: Mike Regaard Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A catering truck is parked on the other side of Air Force One, before U.S. President Donald Trump's departure from Ankara en route to Washington after his participation in the NATO leaders' summit, at Ankara Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. Credit: Reuters/ABC-TV/Pool/File Photo

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