Freddie’s second verse

BBC health correspondent James Gallagher investigates how our noisy world is damaging our health. He finds out why noise increases our risk of health problems, like heart attacks, sleep problems and anxiety, and can even affect how long we live. James spends two days in Barcelona – one of the noisiest cities in Europe – to meet the people whose health is being ruined by noise and the scientists and doctors trying to solve the problem. He also visits London to be experimented on in a lab to find out how noise changes the body, and hears from Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, one of the loudest places on the planet.

16 Maalis 202549min

According to Kenya’s Health Ministry, between 2020 and 2023, about 16,000 women in Kenya decided to undergo a sterilisation procedure known as tubal ligation. While some of them already had children and didn’t want any more, others were saying no to motherhood altogether: they’re women who define themselves as child-free, meaning they have consciously decided never to have children. BBC Africa's Danai Nesta Kupemba has been looking into the this movement and has spoken to two Kenyan women who have recently committed to a child-free life.Also on the show: stories about people celebrating Ramadan around the world, with BBC Urdu's Aliya Nazki, BBC Indonesia's Silvano Hajid and BBC Arabic's Khitam Amer; cricket enthusiast Janhavee Moole reporting for BBC Marathi on India's recent success at the ICC Champions Trophy; and the ship fixing Africa's internet blackouts with Daniel Dadzie in Ghana. Presented by Faranak Amidi. Produced by Hannah Dean, Alice Gioia and Caroline Ferguson. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

15 Maalis 202526min

On his first day in office, Donald Trump froze foreign aid funding, ordering an immediate review into USAID, the government agency which was running programmes in around 120 countries. The review was swift and the cuts severe. President Trump’s team concluded that tens of billions of dollars were being spent in ways which “did not serve” or “harmed" US interests. We hear from USAID employees who describe the shock of suddenly losing their own jobs, and the grim anticipation of the impact the cuts will have on people around the world. We also hear from people running treatment centres around the world, and about the impact on HIV provision in Africa.

15 Maalis 202523min

For centuries, ayahuasca has been a sacred plant for the Shipibo-Konibo peoples of the Peruvian Amazon. Part medicine, part spiritual ceremony, ayahuasca and other plant medicines are revered practices. But in recent years, a boom in Western interest in psychedelics has started to reshape ayahuasca ceremonies and practise. Fuelled by celebrity endorsements, a new wave of tourists are heading to purpose-built resorts in the Peruvian jungle to take ayahuasca, guided by shamans from the Shipibo-Konibo tribes. In this episode of Heart and Soul, reporter Janak Rogers travels to the Peruvian Amazon to explore this so-called ‘psychedelic renaissance’. From candlelit jungle ceremonies to bustling tourist strips, Rogers uncovers the allure of ayahuasca for Westerners seeking help and healing. But as the ayahuasca boom transforms local communities, challenges arise: the rise of unscrupulous shamans, the commercialisation of Indigenous knowledge, and risks faced by vulnerable travellers.

14 Maalis 202526min

Set among endless sugar-cane fields in a remote part of southern Florida, Restoration Destination is a community made up of registered sex offenders. Created by a Christian ministry as a response to state laws which ban them from living close to where children gather, it is now home to more than 100 men who have been placed on Florida’s sex offenders register for life. Through therapy, counselling and support, Restoration Destination aims to reduce their likelihood of reoffending and help them reintegrate into society. Journalist Conor Garrett goes to Restoration Destination to ask if the men who live there deserve a second chance. ***This programme contains interviews with convicted sex offenders, references to sex crimes and other scenes which listeners may find upsetting***

13 Maalis 202526min

Guatemala’s been going through huge political upheavals. Protestors brought the country to a standstill with roadblocks and national strikes which lasted more than one hundred days, until they got the government they had voted for. Many of the protestors came from different indigenous communities, descended from the Mayans, who have their own language and culture and make up more than half of the 18 million population.Now there’s talk of an ‘Indigenous Spring’ after years of racism and discrimination. But is life really improving for these communities and is it possible to turn the Central American country around after years of corruption? Jane Chambers travels around the highlands and lowlands of Guatemala talking to the people who are trying to make changes and hearing from others whether they think it’s really working.

11 Maalis 202526min

Ghanaian fashion innovator Kwaku Bediako is redefining luxury with sustainability at its heart. We step inside his world as he transforms second-hand garments into bold, high-fashion pieces, worn by global stars such as Stevie Wonder and Ian Wright. It was when he noticed how much material was being thrown away, that he decided to create a new brand, Cacao, where discarded fabrics can become the material for garments worn to red carpet events across the world. Kwaku has been commissioned by music producer GuiltyBeatz to make him a bespoke outfit ahead of this year's Grammy awards in LA and Daniel Dadzie goes with Kwaku as he hunts for second hand clothes at Kantamanto, Accra's largest thrift market. It's a place where the past fashions of Europe meet their future in Africa.

10 Maalis 202526min

Extraordinary stories from global women's history, as told by the people who were there. We hear about the Jewish feminists who demanded to pray as freely as men, the fight for transgender women rights in Indonesia, and the career of legendary American painter Georgia O'Keeffe.

9 Maalis 202552min