The Why Factor

Follow the perilous journeys of refugees as they navigate through multiple countries, face harsh conditions, and encounter people smugglers. Hear from individuals who fled wars in Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, revealing the emotional toll, brutal experiences, and the search for a new sense of 'home'.

Former American prison officer and Nigerian former death row prisoner discuss the emotional and procedural aspects of executions. They delve into societal perspectives on the death penalty, challenges in the justice system, and the implementation of capital punishment in various countries.

We look inside the brain to find out why we lose our memories, and why there are some things we can not forget. We talk to a neuroscientist seeking to unlock the secrets to how we remember things. And, the woman who can’t forget an episode that occurred over 70 years ago.(Photo: Woman sits behind the driving wheel, forgetting something. Credit: Shutterstock)

Why do people all over the world enjoy stories about criminals and the people who bring them to justice? And what do the detective stories of a particular time or place reveal about that culture? From the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes to new South African crime fiction, Helen Grady investigates.(Photo: The shadow of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Credit: Peter Ruck/BIPs/Getty Images)

Renzo Piano, architect of the Shard building in London, explores the allure and symbolism of skyscrapers with experts. They discuss the design challenges, government involvement, engineering feats, and the potential consequences of pushing the limits too far.

Why do the rich want to get richer? Why when you’ve got a million or even a billion do you want more? Mike Williams asks a multi-billionaire and a multi-millionaire what drives them to keep making more money. He also speaks to a banker, who looks after the wealthy and a football agent, who represents high paid players and tries to discover whether the rich are different from everyone else.(Photo: Image of a superyacht believed to belong to a Vodka Tycoon. Credit: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Explore the intriguing stories of people who refuse to be rich, including a lottery winner who gave it all away, a vegetable stall holder who avoided accumulating wealth, and a businessman who set up a Christian project in Uganda. Delve into the motivations behind extreme altruism and the impact of selfless acts on individuals and communities. Discover the different reasons people choose to give away their wealth, from personal beliefs to a desire for impact and justice.

We’re rarely far away from a device telling us the time, yet sales of luxury watches have never been higher. Mike Williams explores why the seemingly obsolete technology in mechanical watches is still highly desirable, and what wearing one says about its owner.(Photo: Pocket Watch. Credit: Wolfman57 Shutterstock)

A recent study has shown that sad music has become increasingly popular, but why do people choose to listen to it, and what goes on in the brain and the body when they do so? Helena Merriman speaks to Japanese pianist and music researcher Dr Ai Kawakami who has some surprising answers about some of the positive feelings people experience when they listen to sad music. American writer Amanda Stern tells Helena why she regularly listens (and cries) to sad music and British composer Debbie Wiseman, known for her moving TV and film scores, explains what makes a piece of music sound sad. You’ll also hear pieces of sad music suggested by BBC listeners from all over the world. (Photo: A woman with headphones on, listening to sad music. BBC copyright)

Mike Williams asks why do we fly flags? They have many uses, from identifying symbols to signalling tools. But why a piece of cloth? Because it moves in the breeze, and movement catches the eye. The first flags were used by warlords in China, as China wove silk. Mike goes to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich to find out about the many uses of flags in merchant fleets and the navy, and hears from the designer of the new South African flag that it was all done in such a rush that his sketch had to be faxed and coloured in at the other end, to get the approval of Nelson Mandela who happened to be in a meeting in another city. Mike also talks to a German artist who replaced the two Stars and Stripes on the Brooklyn Bridge with white versions, and to the Russian who planted a titanium Russian flag on the floor of the Arctic ocean, to claim it for his country.Produced by Arlene Gregorius.(Photo: Faithfuls with flags of different countries gather at a beach. Credit: Tasso Marcelo/AFP/Getty Images)