Currently

Fifteen-year-olds Jasmine and Javaris are in their final year of school in Newcastle upon Tyne. They’re among the thousands of teenagers around the country who are often being told by adults that the outside world is tough, with close to one million people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEETs) and questions asked about their resilience and readiness for work.
Jasmine and Javaris take us inside their world as they consider their plans for further education and beyond. We get a snapshot of teenagers’ lives, as we listen into their work experience, ask their managers what companies really think about the next generation joining the workforce. They question their deputy head about whether they’re being taught the right things and getting the experience they need to learn and earn in the future. And, young people who are already working tell us how well prepared they were for leaving school and what they wish they’d known before starting employment.

Produced in collaboration with the BBC Radio 5 Live Teen Summit.

Producer: Laura Jones
Technical producer: Richard Hannaford
Junior production manager: Tom Dunster
Editor: Tom Bigwood

As Childline marks its 40th anniversary after the death of its founder, Dame Esther Rantzen, Currently explores how it transformed support for vulnerable children in the UK.
Through interviews with staff, volunteers, experts and former users, it traces Childline’s origins in 1986 - a time when victims of abuse often went unheard. The programme shows how the service evolved from a telephone helpline into a predominantly digital counselling service. Josephine McDermott highlights changing concerns among young people. These range from physical and sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy to mental health struggles, bullying and online harms. She also examines the organisation’s achievements, the work of its volunteers, and recent safeguarding failures that have prompted reforms.
Details of organisations offering information and support with child sexual abuse and some of the other issues mentioned in this programme are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Producer and Presenter: Josephine McDermott
Researchers: Bethan Ashmead Latham and Evie Yabsley
Technical producer: Nicky Edwards
Production coordinator: Ellie Dover
Editor: Tom Bigwood

Artificial intelligence is beginning to transform many aspects of our lives - but what's its potential for farmers? Producers are facing more challenges than ever, from drought and heat waves to labour shortages and the spiralling price of fuel and fertiliser. Charlotte Smith explores how new technology could help their businesses become more productive and profitable. Could artificial intelligence mean a fourth agricultural revolution, and what will it mean to be a farmer in future?
Presenter = Charlotte Smith
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

What if you could map the outcome of an election before a single vote was cast?

This is the story of the drawing - and redrawing - of electoral battle lines in an unprecedented gerrymandering war that some observers say is undermining democracy in the United States.
BBC North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher explores how a once-a-decade act of political admin has turned into a rolling process of extreme political partisanship, as the Democrats and Republicans compete to redraw voting districts in their favour, trying to lock in guaranteed majorities, and upending electoral norms.

Anthony looks at the roots of this political chess game, how it has escalated in the past year, and what it means for the future of democracy in the ‘land of the free’.

Will the new maps actually secure a Republican victory in November - and how could endless redistricting shape elections in 2028, 2030, and beyond?

Presenter: Anthony Zurcher
Producer: Ellie House
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Sound mix: James Beard

James Crabtree has spent nearly 15 years tracking politics in Asia as an author, journalist and analyst. In that time, one small island - separated from mainland China by a hundred miles of water - has remained the most dangerous point of contention in the world’s most important relationship. Now, he argues, something has shifted.
Two developments over the past couple of years have made an already precarious situation even more volatile - the return of President Trump and the boom in AI. Taiwan holds a monopoly on the production of the world’s most advanced semi-conductors. This creates an imperative for the West to defend it, a position referred to by analysts as “Silicon Shield”. Recently though, Trump has referred to the island as a “negotiating chip”, and a $14bn arms package has been put on hold ahead of meeting with Xi Jinping in September.
James hears from experts in Taipei, Beijing and Washington. From Pentagon insiders to tech entrepreneurs, spanning continents and party lines, he asks whether the world is moving towards conflict over this small island territory. Moving beyond the headlines, he tackles what Taiwan is actually thinking at this crucial moment and how we can begin to make sense of Beijing’s thinking when it comes to a purported amphibious invasion.
Crucially, he looks at how the ripples are likely to impact us all. Does Taiwan’s technology offer protection or a target? Who is likely to decide its fate? And what can this decision tell us about power on the global stage?
Presenter: James Crabtree
Producer: Jacob Dabb
Sound Design: Rowan Bishop
A 2 Degrees West production for BBC Radio 4