To have a beautiful, strong, lasting, successful relationship at the core of our lives is an ideal that takes root at an early age. But do we always know what a successful relationship looks like? And can we sometimes hope and expect too much? Ferzeen is originally from India, now in the USA, and has had trouble building relationships. She thinks there might be something from her past that is standing in her way. Dr Shefali advises her on the most important step to take first.

Vietnam was, until recently, one of the world’s Covid success stories. Its policy of early border closures, lockdowns and track and tracing ensured that fewer than 40 people had died from the disease since the start of the pandemic. This all changed in May and host Karnie Sharp talks to two journalists in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi about what happened and what went wrong. She also hears from three parents and their children in Manila on the effect of remote learning for over 18 months, with most children also unable to leave their homes.

Germany’s first female chancellor, Angela Merkel, is standing down after 16 years in office. This matters because a major figure is exiting the global stage. She has worked with four US presidents and been at the centre of European and global politics. As Germans head to the polls, Ros Atkins looks at the race to succeed one of Europe’s most influential leaders.

Vietnamese migration to the UK is the second highest after Albania and each year the numbers are rising. Not even the tragedy of the Essex lorry disaster in 2019 has been enough to put people off. Then 39 Vietnamese migrants suffocated in a container lorry as they came over the English channel. BBC journalist Nga Pham talks to people in Vietnam about their desperation to leave their country. Coming from some of the most economically deprived provinces, families pay between $30-45,000 to people smugglers to send hundreds of their children out each year in the hope of a better future. She meets people who are now working in the shadow economy in the UK, in nail bars, cannabis farms and restaurants, hiding in plain sight. She also talks to those who were caught up in trafficking networks, discovered by the police and deported back to Vietnam with nothing to show for their years of slave labour. Reporter: Nga Pham Producer: Anna Horsbrugh-Porter A Just Radio production for the BBC World Service (Image: A group of women harvest rice, Vietnam. Credit: BBC)

After years in the wilderness, athletes with a learning disability are back at the London 2012 Paralympics - and Dan is among them. There are new tests designed to stop cheating. Do they work? And why, 21 years on from the basketball scandal, are there still fewer medals for intellectual impairment athletes than there were at Sydney 2000? Plus Dan catches up one last time with Ray, the genuinely disabled captain of the infamous Spanish basketball team. The scandal has taken a big toll on his life.