BBC OS Conversations: Three months after the fall of Assad

Over a year ago, two young men who met over the internet as Hong Kong was gripped by months of pro-democracy protests. They shared a common interest in martial arts and a burning desire to resist China’s tightening grip on their lives. Now in the wake of a sweeping national security law, imposed by Beijing, they need to decide… are they going stay and continue to protest or flee to the United Kingdom, a country offering them a way out. In a move that infuriated China, Britain has introduced a new visa that will give 70% of its former colony’s population – 5.4m people - the right to live in the UK, and eventually become citizens. So what will they decide? Grace Tsoi, Wei Wang and Rebecca Henschke follow their story. Produced and presented by Rebecca Henschke in London and Grace Tsoi in Hong Kong Sound recordings by Wei Wang Editor: Bridget Harney (Image: A Hong Kong pro-democracy protestor who has decided to flee to the United Kingdom. Credit: BBC/Wei Wang)

28 Jan 202126min

In one of America’s reddest states, Idaho, local Republicans reflect on Donald Trump’s rise to the White House. What were their hopes for the most unconventional president in living history, what was gained over the past four years – and what has now been lost? Presenter Heath Druzin is a reporter with Boise State Public Radio who covers conservative politics, guns and far right movements in the American West. How are the 74 million people who voted for Donald Trump now coming to terms with the fact that the person who championed their vision of America has now been dethroned?

26 Jan 202127min

Codenamed Oyneg Shabbat (Joy of the Sabbath), a team of 'researchers' wrote and collected documents detailing life and death inside the ghetto. The secret project was conducted inside the Warsaw Ghetto during World War Two. Led by the historian, Emanuel Ringelblum, the archive included surveys on schooling, smuggling, the life of the streets, the bitter jokes, the price of bread. Members of the project gathered posters, songs, newspapers, pamphlets and even tram tickets that together convey the essence of the Ghetto.

24 Jan 202154min

The new US President Joe Biden inherits a deeply divided country - whether by politics, race or religion. We hear from evangelical Christians in Ohio and Seattle about whether the church can support a president who’s a practising Catholic and about the rifts within their faith. Nuala McGovern also hosts conversations with a Republican couple in Nevada and with Black Lives Matter supporters in Kentucky and North Carolina about the challenges that lie ahead for the Biden presidency.

23 Jan 202124min

Lisa Montgomery’s crime was an especially abominable murder: In 2004 in the small mid-West American town of Skidmore, she strangled an expectant mother, Bobbie Jo Stinnett. She then cut open her victim’s womb and kidnapped her baby, who survived the ordeal. Her lawyers argued that she was mentally ill at the time – as a consequence of appalling abuse she had suffered in childhood, including gang rape and torture. They said she was also brain-damaged and delusional. Nevertheless, in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, she paid for her actions with her own life - the first female to be executed by the US federal government in almost seven decades. As a new President assumes office, promising reform of America’s criminal justice system, Hilary Andersson charts the story of this unsettling case, from Lisa Montgomery’s tragic beginnings to her final moments, and finds a nation deeply divided over the issue. Warning: Disturbing contentProducer: Michael Gallagher Editor: Bridget Harney(Image: Lisa Montgomery. Credit: Wyandotte County Sheriff / via EPA)

21 Jan 202126min

On Wednesday, 20 January Joe Biden will be sworn in as America’s 46th president of the United States, after scoring a record-breaking victory on his third attempt at winning the White House. After 36 years in the Senate, and Barack Obama’s VP for eight more, Joe Biden is Washington Man epitomised – though has always presented himself as the common man. BBC special correspondent James Naughtie charts Joe Biden’s blue-collar roots and political career, and asks what can he and the Democratic Party offer America, following one of the most divisive periods in American history.

19 Jan 202127min

Colm Flynn tracks down the internet's original viral video superstars and reveals how becoming an online sensation changed their life. So many people spend their time chasing the allure of fame, however, very few ever reach the level of world-wide recognition that viral phenomena obtain almost overnight. Colm tracks down the people he watched online growing up, to find out what happened to them after their initial viral fame faded.

17 Jan 202150min

Each Covid-19 death has a tremendous personal impact on loved ones. Host Nuala McGovern talks to three women who have lost their husbands to the disease. Their Facebook group 'Young Widows and Widowers of Covid-19’ is supporting others in the same situation. They call it “the club that nobody wants to join”. We also hear from three people in South Africa, Australia and the US who share the unexpected social consequences - both positive and negative - of wearing face masks when you have a facial disfigurement or difference.

16 Jan 202123min