The Real Story

With journalists disbelieved, politicians distrusted, judges called ‘enemies of the people’, and scientists and experts dismissed out of hand, established democracies seem to be undergoing a crisis of trust. But what has caused it: growing affluence, austerity, growing inequality, the social media, or aggressive journalists? To what extent is the old democratic model damaged? Or is democracy becoming so advanced, is the attack on unelected authority so vigorous, that liberal democracies are starting to undermine themselves from within? Does the erosion of trust matter, and if so how can it be rebuilt? This week on Newshour Extra Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss trust and the lack of it.(Photo: A man dressed in blue surgical scrubs holds up a large syringe. Credit: Getty Images)

The trail of wrecked buildings, overturned cars, and broken boats in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma have reminded the world of the ferocious power of nature. Extreme weather events are becoming more common, more destructive, and much more costly. So who foots the bill to pick up the pieces? The global insurance industry is unable to cover the mounting losses. Meanwhile, governments hesitate to make taxpayers plug the growing gap between damage and the cost of repair. There is also hot debate over to what extent climate change is to blame and by extension what responsibility big industry and the developed world carry. This week on Newshour Extra Owen Bennett Jones and a panel of expert guests looks at how we are going to pay the price that comes with extreme weather.(Photo: A woman walks on a street on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin after it was hit by Hurricane Irma. Credit: Getty Images)

As tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar for Bangladesh we ask who's responsible for the violence in Rakhine state that's forcing them out. It all looked so different two years ago when Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi won landmark elections in Myanmar at the start of what looked like a new era for the country, free from dominance by the army. On this week on Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss what has gone wrong in Myanmar and ask why Aung San Suu Kyi - who made her reputation defending human rights - is refusing to denounce the military's actions against the Rohingya.Photo: Rohingya refugees from Myanmar's Rakhine state arriving at the Bangladeshi border. Getty Images

The spread of smartphones has come with increasing rates of depression in teenagers. Psychologists are debating whether too much time online and looking at screens is causing rising rates of obesity, depression and even suicide, or whether these problems are - for some reason - affecting all of society including teenagers.(Photo: Teenager using smart phone in bed. Credit: Getty Images)

The violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia - which left one woman dead and many others injured - have intensified the debate about the hundreds of statues and plaques commemorating Confederate leaders right across the United States.So, what is the best way to remember troubled history? Should monuments be re-named, removed or ignored? Does pushing for more removals risk inflaming the identity politics at the root of the clashes in Charlottesville? Plus - what parallels are there with the UK, where events in the US have renewed debate about the many monuments to historical figures in Britain? Owen Bennett-Jones and a panel of guests debate what should be done about statues that offend. (Photo of the statue of Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, in Charlottesville, Virginia by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Facial recognition technology - once a thing of science fiction - is coming to a screen near you. It’s already helping to smooth our travel experiences and assisting police to track and arrest suspects. Facial recognition offers alternatives to fingerprints, passwords and PINs. So where will the technology improve our security, and where will it ‘nudge’ our behaviour? What does it mean for society when corporations can increasingly recognise us as individuals? Are laws and procedures keeping up with the technology – particularly when it’s abused or it goes wrong? Plus - are there warnings in the widespread way the technology is being applied In China? Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss how facial recognition is quietly changing the way we live.(Photo: Facial recognition system showing a blue interface with a human head and biometrics data. Credit Maxiphoto/Getty Images)

As the 70th anniversary of the partition of British India approaches, Owen Bennett Jones is in Pakistan. In the massive, energetic, creative and sometimes violent city of Karachi, Owen and his guests ask how successful has Pakistan been, what was its purpose and have these goals been fulfilled? Also, was it meant to be an Islamic state at its birth and if so, how has that project gone? Pakistanis often blame foreign powers for their problems but how fair is that? Join Owen for Newshour Extra as we consider Pakistan's record and ask where the country might be heading.(Photo: a Pakistani labourer hangs wedding fabrics to dry after the dyeing process in Lahore. Credit: Getty Images)

In 2014 Narendra Modi's BJP returned to power winning a majority in India's parliament. He offered a billion Indians a blend of pro-business economics and a vision of India as primarily a Hindu state. In recent months, Muslims and Dalits - formerly known as untouchables - have been beaten and sometimes killed on suspicion of having slaughtered cows, which are sacred to many Hindus. So as India approaches the 70th anniversary of its independence Owen Bennett Jones is in Delhi to discuss with a panel of experts the BJP's Hindu Nationalism and ask how much of threat is it to India's secular republic.(Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images)

Water supplies are coming under pressure in many parts of the world. Too much water is taken out of rivers or pumped from underground aquifers to be sustainable. While water has been used as a weapon of war for centuries, could its scarcity become a cause of future conflicts? With a finite supply of fresh water and increasing demands being placed on it, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss the consequences on food production and social stability of an increasingly strained water supply for the planet's growing population.(Photo: waterfall Credit: Getty Images)

Half of all people born in industrialised countries today can expect to live to 100. What implications does that have for individuals and for societies around the world? Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss the many issues arising from an ageing society and ask whether one day we could live forever. (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)