My blessed boy: The millennial saint

Many countries have condemned President Trump in recent days for his proposal to “take over” the Gaza strip while “resettling” Palestinians in neighbouring countries. We hear from two women in Gaza, returning to what’ is left of their homes. Weam shares with us an audio diary of her recent experiences and we bring her together with Farida to discuss why they want to stay where they are. Donald Trump’s proposal for Gaza would be the largest shift in US policy on the Middle East in decades. Many other nations still support the two-state solution, which would create two separate states – Israel and an independent Palestine – something the Netanyahu government of Israel is against. For our second conversation, we bring together two Israelis who have been involved in past peace talks. What do they think of Donald Trump’s plan?

8 Helmi 23min

The Muslim feminist movement is growing in Turkey with young women becoming increasingly vocal about their rights and place in a traditionally patriarchal society. Emily Wither has been speaking to the co-founders of the country’s first Muslim Feminist association about how they have overcome pushback from their own communities, threats to their organisation and navigated a civil society that’s rooted in secularism.

7 Helmi 26min

After talks in Germany on government spending collapsed, chancellor Olaf Scholz was forced to dissolve his coalition and call for snap elections, to be held on 23 February. The new chancellor looks like a foregone conclusion - opposition leader Friedrich Merz. But there is so much more at stake in these elections than the next few years in the chancellor's seat. In the run up to Germany’s snap general elections Jeremy Cliffe goes to Ludwigshafen, a symbol of Germany's economic woes.

6 Helmi 26min

In September last year, musician Michael Smith of North Carolina was charged with stealing millions from music streaming services. The US Department of Justice has accused him of using artificial intelligence tools and thousands of bots to fraudulently stream songs billions of times - taking millions of dollars of royalties which otherwise would have been paid to real artists. The case has been labelled as ‘unprecedented’ and ‘the first of its kind’. But could fraud on music streaming services actually be much more prevalent than any of the platforms let on? BBC Trending speaks to music industry insiders, and those fighting back against streaming fraud.

5 Helmi 17min

Spain is the world’s largest producer of olive oil. But successive, brutal droughts have led to plummeting production, whilst prices have reached record highs. For 2024 / 2025, the weather’s been better - Spain’s predicted to increase the quantity of olives harvested. Even so, this remains a stressed industry. Climate change hasn’t gone away - as we saw so devastatingly last year in Valencia. And in some areas of Spain, the scarcity of water has persisted, with predictions of a near 90% drop in olive production. Critics say super-intensive farming - the rise of the olive ‘mega-farm’ – may also further threaten depleted water resources. Meanwhile, the soaring price of the olives that produce ‘liquid gold’ means rural law enforcement is taken up with cases of theft by criminal gangs targeting this precious commodity.For Assignment, Linda Pressly and Esperanza Escribano report from the olive groves of Spain at harvest time.

4 Helmi 26min

Since President Trump was inaugurated in January, migrants – and especially the border the US shares with Mexico - have dominated the news. In this bonus edition, we share an episode first broadcast in March 2024 and provide updates on the people we met. The first part charts some of the fallout from the first Trump administration’s policy of forcibly separating migrant children from their parents on the southern border back in 2017/2018. The second half explores the deeply troubling impact of organised crime and the cartels on migrants as they journey across Mexico towards the United States.

3 Helmi 56min

BBC Eye investigates police abuse of psychiatric detention in China. In 2012, China introduced a law to curb the widespread abuse of psychiatric hospitals by the authorities, but it hasn’t worked. We reveal how the police found ways to circumvent the law, allowing them to punish protesters without going through the criminal justice system. With almost no checks and balances, the number of people being illegally sent to psychiatric hospitals is said to be surging. Testimonies from protestors, detained for months in secure psychiatric wards reveal how they were restrained, forcibly treated with psychoactive drugs and even subjected to electric shock therapy. Their crime? “Picking quarrels and troublemaking” the catch all offence police use against anyone threatening to disturb “social harmony”.

2 Helmi 26min

Thousands of women in Iran were arrested in 2022 after the Woman, Life, Freedom protests against the mandatory hijab. Many of them were sent to Evin, a notorious prison known for housing people with political charges. Through multiple reliable sources BBC Persian has pieced together what day to day life is like for women in Evin and turned it into an animation, 'Songs from Inside'. Presented by Faranak Amidi. Produced by Caroline Ferguson, Alice Gioia and Hannah Dean.'Songs from Inside' is part of the BBC 100 Women series and is available to watch on the BBC World Service YouTube page. To find out more about the other inspiring and influential women on this year's list go to bbc.co.uk/100women. You can also follow BBC 100 Women on Facebook and Instagram.(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

1 Helmi 21min