The Global Story

Politicians and commentators keep telling us we’re living through unprecedented times. But how unusual is the world we’re living in, really?
John Simpson has spent 60 years reporting for the BBC, witnessing some of the most consequential moments in modern history. He was on the plane that brought Ayatollah Khomeini back to Iran during the 1979 revolution. He watched the Berlin Wall come down. And he reported from Beijing during the protests in Tiananmen Square.
Those experiences have left Simpson with a perspective that’s not entirely pessimistic. Having lived through the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of apartheid, Simpson has seen seemingly entrenched systems change in ways few thought possible.
Now, as wars rage and the global order shifts again, he joins The Global Story’s Asma Khalid to reflect on what those moments can tell us about the present — and whether today’s conflicts are repeating familiar patterns.
Producer: Xandra Ellin and Mhairi MacKenzie
Executive producer: James Shield and Martine Powers
Digital producer: Charlie Firth
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: John Simpson enters Kabul, 2001. Credit: BBC.

A plague scare in Siberia has become a Rorschach test for public health fears in a post-Covid world.
Russian officials are investigating the death of a worker at a plague research laboratory. They say she died of pneumonia. But speculation online has suggested she may have died from pneumonic plague.
Russian authorities deny this and say there is no risk of an outbreak. So why has the story sparked so much alarm? And how has the legacy of the Covid pandemic played into people's fears of another global health crisis?
The BBC’s health reporter, Jim Reed, joins The Global Story’s Tristan Redman to explain what we know about the case in Russia – and whether the world is prepared for a potential outbreak.
Producers: Hannah Moore and Cat Farnsworth
Executive producer: Martine Powers
Digital producer: Charlie Firth
Technical producer: Mike Regaard
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Plague bacteria (Yersinia pestis), computer illustration. The bacterium causes bubonic plague. Credit: Getty Images.

What began as a revolt over public school funding has spilled into a much bigger fight over the future of France.
Now, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets, and clashes with police have left teenagers and officers injured. More than 6,000 people have been arrested, most of them minors.
But what sparked these demonstrations? How could they shape next year’s election in France? And why have they become a conservative political talking point in the US?
The Global Story’s own Tristan Redman — a Paris resident himself — speaks with co-host Asma Khalid about the history of Parisian street protests, what he’s heard from students on the ground, and what this movement could mean for France’s future.
Producers: Mhairi MacKenzie and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: Martine Powers
Digital producer: Mel Stewart-Smith
Technical producer: Mike Regaard
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: A student holds up a French national flag while demonstrating outside the Carmes campus of the Institut Catholique de Paris (ICP), in Paris, France. (Firas Altoukhi/EPA/Shutterstock)

Israel is marking three years since the 7 October attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed by Hamas-led attackers and a further 251 hostages were taken back to Gaza.
The commemorations come in the final weeks of a pivotal election campaign. Benjamin Netanyahu’s record on national security is coming under immense scrutiny, amid reports that the government failed to act on warnings in the months leading up to the 2023 attacks – allegations that the prime minister has strongly denied.
Tristan Redman speaks to BBC correspondent Jon Donnison, who is in East Jerusalem.
Producer: Sam Chantarasak
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a memorial ceremony for the three year anniversary of the October 7 attack. Credit: Debbie Hill/Reuters)

At a recent Meta product launch, Mark Zuckerberg promised that the company’s smart glasses would give wearers “new superpowers”, but what are they?
Amid criticisms of its privacy and child protection policies, Meta is betting big on smart glasses as a way to restyle the company’s image, but they too have caused controversy – dubbed by critics ‘pervert glasses’ because they have been used to film women without their knowledge.
So why are Meta and other big tech firms investing billions in this tech? Who is it for? Lily Jamali, the BBC’s North America technology correspondent, joins us to explain.
Producer: Hannah Moore
Executive producers: James Shield and Martine Powers
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wears the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses during the Meta Connect event at the company's headquarters in California. Credit: Reuters/Carlos Barria/File Photo.