BBC OS Conversations: Three months after the fall of Assad

Honey bees, cow dung and mulch; how a company in Zimbabwe is protecting forests in order to offset the carbon emissions of people around the world. Even though many flights are grounded at the moment, there is still a need to reduce the amount of carbon we pump into the atmosphere. But what happens when you can’t reduce it any further? You can offset it. Charlotte Ashton discovers a company based in Zimbabwe that runs one of the largest projects of its kind in the world and finds out where your money goes if you choose to offset your carbon emissions. Carbon Green Africa’s project focuses on protecting Zimbabwe’s existing forests, rather than planting new trees and her journey takes her to some surprising places. In a programme recorded last November, Charlotte finds that preventing deforestation not only helps her assuage her flight shame, but helps give people in a remote part of Zimbabwe new jobs, more food and an oven powered by cow dung! Presenter: Charlotte Ashton Producer: Phoebe Keane (Image: Forests in Guruve district, Zimbabwe. Credit: BBC/Phoebe Keane)

23 Apr 202026min

Has the coronavirus epidemic weakened or strengthened the grip of China’s Communist Party? In the early stages of the outbreak in the city of Wuhan, authorities there downplayed its significance. A doctor who sounded the alarm was forced to contradict himself. He later contracted Covid-19 and died from it. Medical facilities were initially unprepared. Mark Mardell assesses how President Xi and his government will emerge from the crisis.

22 Apr 202027min

We’re told that our twenties are a time when we’re meant to be finding ourselves, having fun, living our best lives and making the most of our freedom before settling down. But are the twenties really like this for millennials around the world? You might have heard of the midlife crisis, said to hit anywhere between a person’s forties and early fifties. But in this programme, we’re trying to find out whether there’s such a thing as a quarter-life crisis. We’ll hear from young people about their experiences of the crisis and the pressures they say led them to it, from finding a fulfilling job, to landing the perfect partner, to fears they’ll never be able to buy a house and start to actually ‘adult’. We’ll hear experiences from Moscow, Cairo, New York, and London to see if this really is a worldwide issue. We’ll speak to experts about the evidence for whether it actually exists, including a pscyhologist who calls the quarter-life crisis a ‘global phenomenon’. Is this true, or are millennials just moaning and trying to find a new label for problems every generation has faced? We’ll dig in to the reasons people are feeling in crisis, and hear words of wisdom from those who have overcome it. This documentary is airing as part of Life Changes, a series of programmes and features across the BBC’s global networks exploring the theme of change - how we change ourselves, our lives, and how we respond to changes in the world around us. Reporting from across the world - from Ethiopia, Korea, Rwanda and Paraguay to Egypt, the US and Russia – it covers everything from sexuality to sustainability, from peace to war, and from neurodiversity to migration. Presented by Katerina Venediktova. Produced by Eleanor Layhe for BBC World Service.

21 Apr 202050min

The first episode includes concerns about the impact of a full lockdown in Ghana, the impact of the closure of public buildings on one man in Mississippi, there’s an insight from Hangzhou in China as the restrictions end and a woman in the UK explains how she felt as the symptoms of Covid 19 became clear.

21 Apr 202027min

Shaye in the US, Ana in Spain and Elliot in the UK remember the parents they have lost to Covid-19 and the impact it is having on their lives. African Americans in New York, Massachusetts and Georgia consider why black communities in the United States are suffering so much during this health emergency. While social distancing meant Liat and Amir in Israel and Emine and Jon in the UK had to rip up their original wedding plans and come up with new ways to get married.

19 Apr 202027min

As coronavirus spreads people are worrying about their money as well as their health. What can you do to protect your finances and what are governments doing to help? You’ve been sharing your stories and advice with Manuela Saragosa and Paul Lewis who are joined by: Professor Ricardo Reis, from the London School of Economics Professor Ila Patnaik, a former economic advisor to the Indian government Oluwatosin Olaseinde, founder of Money Africa in Nigeria Bola Sokunbi, the founder of Clever Girl finance in the US Jürgen Stock, the Secretary General of Interpol.

18 Apr 202049min

Across every continent, lives have been put on hold, and people are looking to the day when they can pick up and restart after lockdown. In Mexico, Lucia has spent the past seven years searching for her kidnapped son – one of thousands of disappeared children in the country. For now she has been forced to put that on hold. Captain Jens aboard a vast container ship has not been on land for three months – and does not know when he will next see his family, but he is finding solace in the logs of his ancestors. In Nigeria, student Babatunde Ismail Bale is sheltering in a mosque after his college closed its doors – but is still finding ways to study. And in the Philippine’s capital Manila, armed soldiers on the streets are bringing back fearful memories of martial law in the 1970s.

18 Apr 202027min

A much anticipated referendum in Chile on a new constitution has been postponed till the autumn amid safety concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. President Sebastian Piñera had agreed to the vote and a range of reforms following months of civil unrest. Since last autumn, the country has been experiencing a wave of protests with people on the streets angry at the level of inequality in the country. Amongst them thousands of university students, teachers and school children – who have been prepared to face tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets – in a bid to change the education system in Chile. They say a privileged few have access to all the best jobs and the rest are given a substandard schooling with leaky roofs in winter, boiling hot classrooms in summer and inadequate teaching. For Assignment, Jane Chambers spent time with the protestors calling for a fairer education for all. Presented and produced by Jane Chambers Edited by Bridget Harney (Image: A demonstrator kicks a tear gas canister at a police car during a protest about the education system in Chile. Credit: Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)

16 Apr 202027min