The Explanation Podcast
Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin.
Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin. Exploring the important questions about long-running stories and the latest global news. An honest, unvarnished, explanation of the world.
Featuring new episodes of The President's Path, Unspun World with John Simpson, and The Media Show.
Episodes to download
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Unspun World: Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border
Sat 4 Nov 2023
What are the chances that Lebanon will get involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict?
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Unspun World: Will Israel invade Gaza?
Sat 28 Oct 2023
Will Israel launch a ground assault in Gaza and, if they do, what's at stake?
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The Global Jigsaw: Who鈥檒l be Argentina鈥檚 next president?
Fri 20 Oct 2023
After a shock primary win, a far-right libertarian economist is in pole position
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Unspun World: Israel declares war on Hamas after deadly attack
Sat 14 Oct 2023
Israel starts 'a prolonged and powerful campaign' in Gaza. What will be the consequences?
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Unspun World: Are democracies hindering the fight against climate change?
Sat 7 Oct 2023
Short-term politics gets in the way of dealing with an ever-warming planet
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Unspun World: Can anyone in Russia challenge Putin now?
Sat 30 Sep 2023
Now Yevgeny Prigozhin is dead, can anyone in Russia challenge the president鈥檚 power?
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The Global Jigsaw: Wagner after Prigozhin
Fri 29 Sep 2023
What next for the notorious group after the plane crash that wiped out its leadership?
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Unspun World: What has changed for women in Iran, a year after Mahsa Amini's death?
Sat 23 Sep 2023
Iranian women are still fighting for freedom, despite government crackdowns
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The Global Jigsaw: Grain deal special
Sat 9 Sep 2023
Russia and Turkey failed to reach an agreement to bring Ukrainian grain to the world
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Could Puerto Rico become America's 51st state?
Sat 26 Aug 2023
蜜芽传媒 Mundo鈥檚 Ronald Avila-Claudio discusses what the future might hold for his homeland
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The EU
Sat 29 Jul 2023
How the European Union evolved from a six-nation club to a major global player
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Who are the Rohingyas?
Sat 22 Jul 2023
How the Rohingyas fled Myanmar to become the world鈥檚 largest stateless population
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Unspun World: Is it time to return looted art?
Sat 8 Jul 2023
What should we done with stolen treasures? Katie Razzall confronts colonialism's legacy
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Haiti's gang crisis
Sat 8 Jul 2023
How competing gangs are carving up Haiti鈥檚 capital, Port-au-Prince
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How Lebanon鈥檚 economy collapsed
Sat 1 Jul 2023
Protests, the port explosion and power cuts 鈥� what鈥檚 next for Lebanon?
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Unspun World: Is Putin's time up?
Fri 30 Jun 2023
The editor of the 蜜芽传媒鈥檚 Russian service, Famil Ismailov, analyses Vladimir Putin's future
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Unspun World: Xi Jinping: President or emperor?
Sat 24 Jun 2023
What do the growing ambitions of China's leader mean for the rest of the world?
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What is the Wagner Group?
Sat 24 Jun 2023
The mercenary organisation's operations have extended to many nations, but who are they?
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Unspun World: Who can challenge Trump?
Sat 17 Jun 2023
The race for the 2024 Republican White House nomination is about to heat up
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Unspun World: What's it like reporting on the war from inside Russia?
Sat 10 Jun 2023
Steve Rosenberg on the challenges for journalists still in Russia
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Unspun World: Can the US transform the world's economy?
Sat 3 Jun 2023
President Biden puts America first. So will he succeed in reshaping the global economy?
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Unspun World: Could AI outsmart humanity?
Sat 27 May 2023
Reporting from Ukraine's battlefields. Plus, how worried should we be about AI?
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Unspun World: Is Ukraine's counter-offensive a turning point?
Sat 20 May 2023
Ukraine prepares a renewed offensive. Plus, what is a pangenome and how will it help us?
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How the Good Friday Agreement helped bring peace to Northern Ireland
Sat 4 Mar 2023
Denis Murray reflects on the legacy of the 1998 agreement
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Ethiopia, Eritrea and border wars
Sat 25 Feb 2023
Kalkidan Yibeltal explains the complex history between the two countries
