The Explanation

BBC World Service

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.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

346 episodes
Updated Friday

Episodes346

Newest first

Feb 24, 2024 · 27 min
Unspun World: What Alexei Navalny's death means for Vladimir Putin's grip on Russia
Two years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, can Putin keep control?
Feb 17, 2024 · 27 min
Unspun World: Can Israel win its war in Gaza?
John Simpson analyses Israel offensive in Gaza, China's economy and Indonesia's election
Feb 10, 2024 · 27 min
Unspun World: How Russia's economy has survived despite sanctions
Plus, examining the US military's role in the Middle East
Feb 3, 2024 · 27 min
Unspun World: Is Ukraine losing Western support?
Plus, how might the International Court of Justice’s ruling affect the war in Gaza?
Jan 27, 2024 · 27 min
Unspun World: Is the war in Gaza slipping away from Israel?
Plus, the implications of Iran’s missile strike on Pakistan
Jan 20, 2024 · 27 min
Unspun World: What's the West's strategy for the Houthis?
Have US and UK-led attacks on the Houthis in Yemen backfired?
Jan 3, 2024 · 18 min
What does the World Bank do?
Michelle Fleury on the origins and purpose of the global financial institution
Dec 25, 2023 · 18 min
What is sportswashing?
Dan Roan on why oil-rich nations are investing huge amounts of money in global sport
Dec 20, 2023 · 18 min
What is BRICS?
Can a group of emerging economies change the existing global economic hierarchy?
Dec 13, 2023 · 18 min
How does the World Health Organization work?
Tulip Mazumdar looks at the successes and failures of the WHO
Dec 9, 2023 · 27 min
Unspun World: Can anything break the stalemate in the Ukraine war?
Stories from the frontline as tensions rise from Ukraine correspondent, James Waterhouse
Dec 6, 2023 · 18 min
What is Five Eyes?
Gordon Corera on the origins of the international spy network
Dec 2, 2023 · 27 min
Unspun World: How migration is changing European politics
Migration is topping Europe's political agenda. Europe editor, Katya Adler, explains why
Nov 25, 2023 · 27 min
Unspun World: A pause in fighting in Gaza
A pause in fighting in Gaza but what’s it like for those living there?
Nov 19, 2023 · 39 min
The Global Jigsaw: Global perspectives on the Israel Gaza war
How the big players spin the conflict into narratives of their own
Nov 18, 2023 · 27 min
Unspun World: Can the US and China get along?
Biden and Xi's meeting builds bridges with deals on the military and fentanyl trafficking
Nov 12, 2023 · 40 min
The Global Jigsaw: Israel and Gaza special
The war of narratives reflecting power tilts in the Middle East
Nov 11, 2023 · 27 min
Unspun World: What's Israel's endgame in Gaza?
What's Israel's endgame in Gaza? Security correspondent, Frank Gardener, gives his take
Nov 4, 2023 · 27 min
Unspun World: Tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border
What are the chances that Lebanon will get involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict?
Oct 28, 2023 · 27 min
Unspun World: Will Israel invade Gaza?
Will Israel launch a ground assault in Gaza and, if they do, what's at stake?