
The Explanation
The Explanation is a snackable audio guide giving you the backstory behind the headlines. In each episode, presenter Claire Graham meets a BBC News correspondent who has lived and breathed these stories. She’ll hear clear analysis along with powerful archive. The Explanation will go back in time to unpack complex chains of events and will make the stories in question easier to understand.
Latest episodes

Aug 6, 2024 • 17min
Big Tech – too big to hide from?
We find out how Big Tech companies may know more about you - than you do.Host Claire Graham talks to the BBC's cyber correspondent for the BBC World Service Joe Tidy, about how Big Tech companies not only track what you do online – but what your friends do – and what your friends of friends do – to then target you through marketing.Billions of people access Big Tech companies on a daily basis – to interact on social media sites – but at what cost – your privacy?Produced by Cathy Young for the BBC World Service.

Aug 1, 2024 • 23min
The Media Show: Who will inherit the Murdoch empire?
News emerged last week that Rupert Murdoch is attempting to change his family’s legal trust to preserve the editorial stance of his media outlets after his death. Several of his children are fighting back. Jim Rutenberg, writer at large at The New York Times has been following the family for more than two decades. He got the scoop and he joins us alongside Murdoch biographer Claire Atkinson.
The BBC’s David Sillito reflects on Huw Edwards’ guilty plea to making indecent images of children - 41 images that had been shared with him by another man on WhatsApp. We look at how the story broke and the challenges of covering it for journalists inside the BBC.
Also on the show, Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy reflects on his experience competing on the TV dance competition, Strictly Come Dancing.
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Simon Richardson

Jul 30, 2024 • 18min
The global arms trade
Which countries supply weapons and which countries buy them? We learn how uncertainty, tension and conflict are leading to increasing military spend across the world. Host Claire Graham talks to the BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale, about the big industry players and their geopolitical ties. Produced by Cathy Young for the BBC World Service.

Jul 25, 2024 • 23min
The Media Show: Can memes win the US election?
Do memes hold the key to the White House? Supporters of Kamala Harris hope so. Already online communities have sprung up to boost her campaign and they’re chopping up her speeches and appearances to flood the internet with viral clips. Their aim is to swing the youth vote in Harris’ favour and get other disengaged voters to turn out on election day. Will it work?
Also on the show, as the Olympics begin in Paris, how a sports journalist prepares for a gruelling 19 days of events.
Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson

Jul 23, 2024 • 17min
Why is the Gulf Stream and AMOC so important to our climate?
Complex ocean currents keep Europe warm and bring rain to Africa, but could they come to an end?The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a system of ocean currents within the Atlantic Ocean, transporting warm water north towards the Arctic and returning cold water south towards Antarctica. The Gulf Stream is a component of AMOC, which carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico, up along the eastern coastline of the United States.
AMOC and the Gulf Stream enable heat to be distributed around our planet, and ensure Europe experiences milder weather compared to Canada, despite being on a similar latitude.AMOC’s currents are driven by changes in water density due to changes in ocean salinity and temperature. Increasing ocean temperatures and freshwater flows from melting ice sheets due to climate change, have the potential to weaken AMOC. This could lead to cooler temperatures in Europe and a drop in rainfall in key agricultural areas in places like Africa and Asia, in turn affecting millions of people.Host Claire Graham talks to the BBC’s Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt. Produced by Cathy Young for the BBC World Service.

Jul 18, 2024 • 23min
The Media Show: Reporting from the scene of the Trump shooting
The Media Show hears from journalists who were witness to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Gary O'Donoghue was reporting live on the BBC World Service when the shots were fired, and Hadriana Lowenkron was at the rally for Bloomberg. Anna Moneymaker, a photographer for Getty Images, describes how she managed to capture what has become a defining image of the event. Some in the US have since accused the media of fostering a hostile environment for politicians, and Ros and Katie discuss the nature of political discourse with Jay Caspian Kang of The New Yorker and Megan McArdle, a columnist at The Washington Post.
Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson

Jul 16, 2024 • 18min
What makes a good peace mediator?
Brokering peace between warring nations, how does it work and what causes failure? We look at Qatar’s role in the Middle East and at insight gained from the Northern Ireland peace process. Host Claire Graham talks to Lyse Doucet – the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent about how the state actors in peace mediation have changed and adapted over time. Plus Lyse tackles the question - can you really be a mediator if you are not neutral? Produced by Cathy Young for the BBC World Service.

Jul 11, 2024 • 23min
The Media Show: The war reporter who stopped to help
Oz Katerji was reporting from outside the children’s hospital in Kyiv that was hit after Russia launched a wave of missiles on Ukraine earlier this week. He explains how he reached the decision to stop being a journalist and - for a few hours – join the rescue effort.
Also in the programme, how should newsrooms engage with populist movements, some of which are hostile to the press? After the National Rally faced a surprise defeat in the French elections, did the media get the story wrong? Ros and Katie speak to Dr Ayala Panievsky, presidential fellow at City University and Victor Goury-Laffont, politics reporter at Politico Europe.
Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson

Jul 4, 2024 • 23min
The Media Show: Reporting Biden’s Health
In the aftermath of his halting debate performance, the editorial boards of some major US newspapers have called on Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. We ask why this issue is only being discussed widely now, and talk to Annie Linskey, White House reporter, The Wall Street Journal, who raised a comprehensive set of concerns about Biden’s health but faced a backlash from others in the media. We also speak to Nayeema Raza, co-host, Semafor’s Mixed Signals podcast and Jill Abramson, former executive editor, The New York TimesAlso on the show, we hear from El Hunt, commissioning editor for The Evening Standard, about what it is like reporting from the Glastonbury Festival and hear Ros Atkin's remix of the BBC News' theme tune in his debut DJ set at Glastonbury and how Louis Tomlinson of One Direction bought football home to Worthy Farm.
Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins
Producer: Simon Richardson

Jun 28, 2024 • 26min
Unspun World: The UK election
John Simpson, in discussion with the BBC's unparalleled range of experts across the world, examines the key issues for voters in the UK’s imminent general election, explores the plight of women in Afghanistan after almost three years under Taliban rule and looks at the impact of the extreme heat affecting parts of the world this summer.