The Global Story

In a bellwether case, a jury in Los Angeles found on Wednesday that Meta and YouTube are responsible for a young woman’s childhood addiction to social media, and intentionally built addictive platforms that harmed her health. The companies say they intend to appeal against the verdict, which could set a legal precedent and have far-reaching consequences.
Marianna Spring, the BBC’s social media investigations correspondent, has spent the past year speaking to whistleblowers and insiders from social media companies, revealing how algorithms designed to connect people have been helping to tear them apart. We ask if this week’s verdict is just the start of something much bigger.
Apply for Castfest tickets: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/castfest-2026
Producers: Valerio Esposito and Cat Farnsworth
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves court in Los Angeles, February 18, 2026. Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters.

Have you ever received a call from a stranger regarding student loans you don’t owe? An Amazon order you never placed? An unpaid parking ticket for a car you don’t own? If so, it’s possible that you’ve been the target of a scam orchestrated by a criminal syndicate thousands of miles away.
The so-called “scam centres” of Southeast Asia bring in billions of dollars a year, expertly swindling unsuspecting foreigners out of their savings. Today, BBC Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head offers an inside look at these formidable hubs of corruption and human trafficking, and explains how governments around the world are working to intervene.
Producers: Xandra Ellin and Viv Jones
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: New high rises in the city of Shwe Kokko, Myanmar, visible from Thailand's border. Credit: Jonathan Head/BBC.

It has been almost a month since Israel and the US launched their war against Iran, and already there have been strikes in more than a dozen countries, with reports of over 2,000 people killed across the region. As the war drags on and more countries get involved, there are concerns this conflict could escalate into something truly global.
We speak to emeritus professor of International History at the University of Oxford, Margaret MacMillan, and explore how world wars start, how they end and what can be done to avoid them.
Producers: Chris Benderev and Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: US Military aircraft perform 4th of July flyover past New York City and New Jersey, 4 July 2020. Credit: Mike Segar/Reuters)

Nicolas Maduro, the deposed president of Venezuela, is due to appear in court in New York this week alongside his wife, Cilia Flores. The pair face charges of cocaine trafficking and possession of machine guns, which they deny.
Meanwhile in their home country, the Trump-approved interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, has been making deals with the US government over Venezuela’s oil and critical minerals.
The BBC’s South America correspondent, Ione Wells, has been in Caracas to find out how much life has altered under Rodriguez’s leadership, and to what extend Donald Trump may see this regime change as a blueprint for US intervention elsewhere.
Producers: Sam Chantarasak, Valerio Esposito and Hannah Moore
Executive producers: Bridget Harney and James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Credit: Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

As the US and Israel war with Iran enters its fourth week, there are growing number of people in the United States calling for it end. But the military operations are increasing, not winding down.
This is a critical moment where the war could turn into a long drawn-out conflict. Or it could be a moment where Donald Trump dashes for a quick exit.
The BBC’s world affairs correspondent Joe Inwood and the BBC’s Persian service’s Ghoncheh Habibiazad discuss with Tristan where this could all go next?
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Xandra Ellin
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he steps from Air Force One, March 20, 2026. Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters