The Explanation Podcast
Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin.
Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin. Exploring the important questions about long-running stories and the latest global news. An honest, unvarnished, explanation of the world. Episodes from The Explanation, Unspun World, The Global Jigsaw and The Media Show.
Episodes to download
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The Global Jigsaw: The language of war: Ukraine
Sat 28 Dec 2024
Kyiv鈥檚 answer to the Kremlin鈥檚 warspeak
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The Media Show: Jeans, cars, deodorant
Boxing Day 2024
Advertising legend Sir John Hegarty on creating some of the world鈥檚 most famous ads
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The Media Show: CNN鈥檚 Syria report controversy
Thu 19 Dec 2024
CNN faces backlash over Syrian prisoner misidentification
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The Media Show: Reporting Syria and reaction to Luigi Mangione
Thu 12 Dec 2024
Syria enters a new era for journalists after the fall of the Assad regime
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The Media Show: Reddit's rise
Thu 5 Dec 2024
Why Reddit is one of the world鈥檚 fastest growing social networks
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The Media Show: 蜜芽传媒 presenter defection
Thu 28 Nov 2024
Mishal Husain leaves the 蜜芽传媒 after 26 years to join Bloomberg
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Unspun World: Could Russia's war with Ukraine escalate?
Fri 22 Nov 2024
John Simpson examines the risk of nuclear escalation in Russia鈥檚 war with Ukraine
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The Media Show: Jake Paul v Mike Tyson
Thu 21 Nov 2024
What the Jake Paul v Mike Tyson boxing bout on Netflix tells us about the future of media
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Unspun World: What can the world expect from a second Trump term?
Fri 15 Nov 2024
John Simpson explores the implications of a second Trump term for US foreign policy
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The Media Show: US Election and its impact on media
Thu 14 Nov 2024
Why Trump鈥檚 victory poses a credibility challenge for journalism
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Unspun World: What does the US election tell us about America?
Fri 8 Nov 2024
How the US presidential campaign highlighted the deep divisions in the country
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The Media Show: Trump's winning media strategy
Thu 7 Nov 2024
The pundits and pollsters who got the election wrong
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The Global Jigsaw: Russia鈥檚 鈥渟pecial demographic operation鈥�
Sat 2 Nov 2024
Why is the Kremlin worried about population decline?
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Unspun World: What will Iran do now?
Fri 1 Nov 2024
How the Iranian regime might respond to Israel鈥檚 attack
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The Media Show: Ballots, bias and big tech
Thu 31 Oct 2024
Ros Atkins is in Washington DC and asks what role the media is playing in the election
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The Global Jigsaw: Turkey鈥檚 anti-LGBT drive
Sat 26 Oct 2024
What鈥檚 behind the evolution of the Turkish president's anti-LGBT narrative?
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Unspun World: The Middle East: The regional perspective
Fri 25 Oct 2024
Analysing attitudes of other regional powers towards Israel鈥檚 wars in Gaza and Lebanon
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The Media Show: The king of reality TV
Thu 24 Oct 2024
How Andy Cohen created the Real Housewives phenomenon
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Unspun World: Israel's Middle East strategy
Thu 17 Oct 2024
John Simpson analyses Israel鈥檚 long-term strategy in the Middle East
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The Media Show: ISIS Prisons Museum
Thu 17 Oct 2024
The journalists documenting the atrocities of the so-called Islamic State
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The Global Jigsaw: Yemen: A frozen conflict
Sat 12 Oct 2024
Ten years on, where do the warring parties in Yemen stand?
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Unspun World: The Middle East, a year on from the October 7th attacks
Fri 11 Oct 2024
Analysing the prospects for the Middle East after a year of fighting
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The Media Show: Reporting from inside Gaza
Thu 10 Oct 2024
The 蜜芽传媒鈥檚 Rushdi Abualouf on life for journalists in a warzone
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Unspun World: What will Iran's strategy be?
Fri 4 Oct 2024
We look at the debate inside Iran in the wake of Israel鈥檚 assault on Hezbollah
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The Media Show: Secrets of The Sidemen
Thu 3 Oct 2024
The manager of Europe鈥檚 biggest YouTube creators reveals their strategy
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The Global Jigsaw: Yemen: A tale of three cities
Tue 1 Oct 2024
Sanaa, Aden and Taiz - stuck in a 鈥渘o war, no peace鈥� limbo
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The Media Show: Reporting the Predator at Harrods
Thu 26 Sep 2024
How the 蜜芽传媒 exposed the billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed
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The Media Show: Trump鈥檚 Pet-eating Conspiracy Theory
Thu 19 Sep 2024
Tracing the origin of the rumour that spawned an extraordinary political soundbite
