The Global Jigsaw

BBC World Service
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May 30, 2025 • 32min

Netanyahu’s media squeeze

The Israeli government’s push to transform the media landscape has been described by critics as a “hostile takeover” that poses a threat to press freedom. In this episode we take a look at what people in Israel see about the war in Gaza on their TV screens. We examine the methods and the motives behind the prime minister’s media squeeze, and ask what this means for the country priding itself on being ‘the only democracy’ in the Middle East. Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Ivanova Twigg Contributor: Shaina Oppenheimer
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May 8, 2025 • 34min

The Trump effect on global media

We assess the damage to independent journalism globally by cuts to USAGM and USAID, described as “the chainsaw approach” of the Trump administration. The defunding of Voice of America, RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) and its multiple language services has been decried as “a gift to dictators”. Although these cuts are being disputed in court, they could have long-lasting implications for audiences around the world. Can the harm be undone?Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Twigg Contributors: Pascal Fletcher, Samia Hosny, Margaryta Maliukova, Andrey Vladov, Tom Lam, Sarbas Nazari, Moses Rono
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May 1, 2025 • 31min

The Kurdish issue: Part three

Will the call for the PKK to disarm end in a new era of peace for the Kurds, or is this just another turn in a tortured history? In February, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, released a jaw-dropping written message to his followers from his jail cell, calling for the group to lay down arms and disband. In this series we explore the Kurdish issue - the persecution, the resistance and their attempts to form a state. We ask what does the future hold for one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world scattered across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
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Apr 24, 2025 • 29min

The Kurdish issue: Part two

Will the call for the PKK to disarm end in a new era of peace for the Kurds, or is this just another turn in a tortured history? In February, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, released a jaw-dropping written message to his followers from his jail cell, calling for the group to lay down arms and disband. In this series we explore the Kurdish issue - the persecution, the resistance and their attempts to form a state. We ask what does the future hold for one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world scattered across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
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Apr 17, 2025 • 33min

The Kurdish issue: Part one

Will the call for the PKK to disarm end in a new era of peace for the Kurds, or is this just another turn in a tortured history? In February, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, released a jaw-dropping written message to his followers from his jail cell, calling for the group to lay down arms and disband. In this series we explore the Kurdish issue - the persecution, the resistance and their attempts to form a state. We ask what the future holds for one of the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world scattered across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
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Mar 6, 2025 • 33min

Life in occupied Ukraine: Kherson and Zaporizhzhia

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and Russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. Part 1 looks at “ripe for Russification” Crimea, which was annexed 11 years ago. Part 2 focuses on Moscow’s subsequent efforts to assert itself in the separatist East. And in Part 3 we explore the Kremlin’s challenges in subjugating occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. As time passes, the uncertainty over the future of what Ukraine calls “temporarily occupied territories” grows bigger. Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Twigg
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Feb 27, 2025 • 27min

Life in occupied Ukraine: Donbas

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. Part two focuses on Moscow’s efforts to assert itself in the separatist east. Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Twigg
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Feb 20, 2025 • 27min

Life in occupied Ukraine: Crimea

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and Russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. Part one looks at “ripe for Russification” Crimea, which was annexed 11 years ago. Part two focuses on Moscow’s subsequent efforts to assert itself in the separatist East. And in part three we explore the Kremlin’s challenges in subjugating parts of the newly occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. As time passes, the uncertainty over the future of what Ukraine calls “temporarily occupied territories” grows bigger. Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Twigg
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Dec 28, 2024 • 37min

The language of war: Ukraine

Kyiv’s answer to the Kremlin’s warspeak. In part one of this miniseries, we focused on Russia’s case, trying to see through Moscow’s war propaganda: its purpose and building blocks. In this episode, we turn to the Ukrainian side of this linguistic tug or war. Here we find that language itself is at the heart of this conflict, fuelling Ukraine’s “linguistic decolonisation”. Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Twigg
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Dec 21, 2024 • 28min

The language of war: Russia

Decoding the Kremlin’s warspeak to understand the power of propaganda as a weapon of war. “Let’s cut dill”, “a pop of cotton”, “meat assault”: expressions the average foreigner might struggle to understand. We analyse Moscow’s military jargon; in part two of this mini-series, we’ll explore Kyiv’s answer to it. Producer: Kriszta Satori, Vitaly Shevchenko Presenter: Krassi Twigg

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