BBC OS Conversations: Three months after the fall of Assad

When photographer Haruka Sakaguchi set out to Hiroshima to document atomic bomb survivors' stories, she discovered they were far more difficult to find than she expected. Stigmatisation and survivor’s guilt discourage many from disclosing their past, and with dwindling survivors left to tell their story, memories of the atomic bomb are fading. But a new generation has developed an unusual method of keeping those memories alive. Denshosha are the designated guardians of survivors’ memories. They act as storytellers, working with survivors to record their story and pass it down to future generations, embodying the survivor in a deeply personal way, so they do not permanently disappear.

10 Aug 202127min

In the future, 10 years from now, will our fingers still reach for a laughing face with crying eyes? Will Unicode and its strict approval process for new emoji be relevant at all? Possibly not. We travel to Zimbabwe to hear how some designers are bypassing Silicon Valley by building their own emoji and sticker sets that reflect life in Africa. And we end the series in Shanghai, where we hear how in some parts of Asia, emoji have already been forgotten.

7 Aug 202123min

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were always going to be different. They took place a year later than planned and were the first to be held during a pandemic, with fans banned. So as the Games come to an end, host James Reynolds hears the experiences of three gold medallists: Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus; triathlete Flora Duffy, who won Bermuda’s first ever gold medal; and Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim. He delighted the world when he shared that coveted top spot with Italian counterpart Gianmarco Tamberi.Italy enjoyed an incredible few hours in Japan’s National Stadium and Viviana Masini reveals her son’s challenging childhood that ultimately put him on a path to become the fastest man on the planet. Lamont Marcell Jacobs was also the first Italian to claim the men’s 100 metres Olympic gold.We also hear from residents in Tokyo. Two of them explain their change of heart about holding the Games in the capital. Meanwhile, the pandemic remains an emergency and two doctors in the city discuss the latest rise in Covid rates.

7 Aug 202123min

This is the curious story of how a child refugee ended up in Malta accused of the most serious crime - of being a terrorist. Lamin was 13 when he ran away from his home in Guinea in search of a better life. He had never even heard of Malta. But after attempting the perilous sea crossing to Europe, he and two other teenagers were accused of hijacking the ship, the El Hiblu, that rescued them and brought them to shore. If found guilty he and the young men could face life in prison. Two years on the case has still not been taken to trial and the three remain in limbo. For Assignment, the BBC’s Europe correspondent Jean Mackenzie travels to Malta to hear Lamin’s story, as she searches for answers about what happened on board the ship that day and why Malta is taking such a tough stance on these young migrants. Producer Kate Vandy.

5 Aug 202126min

Africa is a continent of 1.3 billion people, but makes less than 1% of the lifesaving vaccines it needs. The continent’s 54 nations are almost entirely dependent on agencies like Unicef and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for these essential pharmaceuticals. But the pandemic of 2020 has been a harsh lesson in the dangers of relying on other countries and agencies for support. Numerous vaccine clinical trials have been conducted in Africa, yet these nations still find themselves at back of the queue for Covid-19 jabs. However, efforts are now underway to change this. At a conference in early April, African leaders pledged to manufacture 60% of the vaccines they need by 2040. But is this an achievable goal?

3 Aug 202127min

Our journey into the emoji universe takes some surprising directions. We reveal some of the human stories behind those tiny pictures on our screens. From the early days of reggae in Kingston, Jamaica to San Francisco’s Chinatown, we meet some of the people responsible for the emojis we have today.

1 Aug 202123min

Over a year after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the headlines in China, Liyang Liu explores the hidden impacts on people in her home city Beijing. Life has in some ways got back to normal in China’s capital, especially compared to many other global cities, but Liyang discovers things have changed in more subtle ways beyond the masks in this mega city of over 20 million people. We hear from business owners and entrepreneurs about the economic impacts of pandemic restrictions, and from those in the tourist industry about how the year has affected this vast industry in Beijing.

31 Juli 202150min

In recent weeks the world has seen floods in Europe and China and devastating wildfires in Canada, the United States and Siberia. It’s difficult to link single events to global warming but climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events. Host Nuala McGovern hears from those affected by flooding in Germany and Belgium as well as people in the city of Zhengzhou, in Henan, China, which recently recorded the equivalent of a year’s average rainfall in just three days.

31 Juli 202123min