The Global Story

Spain or Argentina? These two teams will face each other in the 2026 World Cup final. Only one team can emerge eternal. For the rest, it’s over.
But this tournament’s not just been about victory.
For this special episode, we’ve been speaking with people across the US to hear about their tournament experiences, and asking what trace the World Cup will leave behind.
We hear from: Roger Bennett, founder of the Men in Blazers media company; from the BBC’s sports editor Dan Roan; from the co-host of Morning Joe on MS NOW Jonathan Lemire; from Ruth DeWitt, director of community relations at Lawrence’s tourism bureau in Kansas; and from life long US soccer fan Marcus Cranston.

Producers: Lucy Pawle and Cat Farnsworth
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: USA fans cheer ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage match Turkey against USA, in Los Angeles, 25 June 2026. Credit: Christopher Torres/EPA/Shutterstock

On Thursday in Washington DC, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, will host an international summit on the threat posed by "the resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism.” There will be a particular focus on the loosely composed group the Trump administration calls Antifa.

What is this group? Is it a significant threat? Or is there something motivating the DC summit? BBC journalist Mike Wendling joins us to discuss whether the Trump administration is right to worry about far-left groups like Antifa.
(Photo: Anti-fascist demonstrators wave an Antifa flag, which is green and has an orange, green and white circular logo in the middle, in the UK, 2016. Credit: Gareth Fuller/Press Association)
Producers: Cat Farnsworth, Aron Keller and Hannah Moore
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins

In an exclusive investigation, a whistleblower has told the BBC how he unearthed evidence suggesting that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick failed to disclose a business relationship with the paedophile financier, Jeffrey Epstein.
Simon Andriesz was a trader at one of Lutnick’s Wall Street firms, but it wasn’t until the Epstein files were released earlier this year that he says he confirmed a longstanding suspicion that his boss was misrepresenting his relationship with Epstein.
BBC financial investigations correspondent Andy Verity joins us to unpack the new investigation.
Listen to Andy’s full report on File on 4 Investigates: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002yx47

Read more about Andy’s investigation: www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9q28dlyxrzo
Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Digital producer: Tom Bage
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sits to testify before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing to examine a review of broadband deployment funding at the Department of Commerce, February 10, 2026. Credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters.

According to a recent financial disclosure, President Trump made more than $1.4 billion last year from business dealings in cryptocurrency. Though the White House has denied Trump was profiting from the presidency, he has been championing crypto in recent days — describing himself in one news conference as a, "big crypto guy".

Trump’s embrace of crypto raises big questions about the future of the technology. But according to the new BBC documentary, 'The Tech Billionaire Takeover', Trump’s support is just a fraction of the story. Presenter Matt Shea shows how cryptocurrency’s wealthiest advocates are steadily growing their power, and in some cases, even advocating for a total overhaul of government and commerce as we know it.

Today, Shea joins us to explain what the tech billionaire takeover really is - and whether it is already begun.
Audio for this episode was updated on 14 July to correct a factual error. The original audio said that the Trump family receives 75% of net profit every time the USD1 coin is sold. In fact, they receive 75% of net profit from a different crypto coin called $WLFI.

(Photo: Reporter Matt Shea with Crypto billionaire Justin Sun in Hong Kong. Credit: BBC)
Producers: Xandra Ellin and Aron Keller

Executive producer: Bridget Harney

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

A series of record-breaking heatwaves in Europe this summer has led to a surge in demand for air conditioning units. As Europeans search for a way to stay cool, attitudes and policies towards air conditioning have led to a heated political debate in France, which has baffled some Americans
Tristan explains to Sumi Somaskanda how air conditioning became part of the culture wars, and we ask Graihagh Jackson, the host of the BBC podcast The Climate Question, how bad AC actually is for the environment.
Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: China Collins and Bridget Harney
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: People cool off in the Trocadero Fountains by the Eiffel Tower during high temperatures amid a heatwave in Paris. (REUTERS/Tom Nicholson)