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This week on Over To You you can hear about a new radio drama serial that has recently been launched in Afghanistan.

Called Old City, New Dreams, it's aimed at the many people who are moving into the cities and are finding the problems of modern life - unemployment, lack of housing, crime and so on - hard to cope with. There are some five million people who have returned to Afghanistan since 2001 from exile in neighbouring countries like Pakistan, as well as many people who are leaving their rural villages in search of a better life in the city.

Better life: the new drama follows Afghans returning to life and work in the city

Shafiq Hakimi - who is the director of the World Service Trust's Afghan Education Projects and the man behind the new drama - talks to Penny Vine, who's presenting the programme this week, and it's fascinating to hear how his team go about their research, finding out through interviews and focus groups what the real problems are, and then turning them into storylines that will capture the attention of the audience.

Shafiq talked to us from Kabul, but Penny was joined in the studio here in London by Felicity Finch, who knows Shafiq well because she's been over to Kabul twice to work alongside the cast of Old City, New Dreams, and the longer-established rural drama New Home, New Life. Some of you may recognise Felicity, either by name or by voice - she's certainly well-known to radio listeners in the UK, where she plays the role of Ruth Archer, in The Archers, a drama serial that has been broadcast in this country for nearly 60 years, which makes it the longest-running soap opera in the world.

Felicity's role was to work with the actors and give them the benefit of the experience she has gathered from years of working in radio. Many have had little formal training - and they all have some other occupation as well, finding the time to record Old City, New Dreams on Fridays and Saturdays. I should imagine it would be fascinating, as a relatively inexperienced actor, to be able to work with someone like Felicity, who has so much expertise.

You can also hear an interview Penny recorded with Steven Duke, who's the editor of One Planet. Regular listeners to that programme will know that at the end of each edition, presenter Mike Williams calculates the carbon emissions caused in the course of making the programme.Ìý So here in the Over To You office we were intrigued to hear that the programme had set off on a round-the-world tour... which is why we invited Steven into our studio to explain himself.

You can hear what he had to say on this week's Over To You.

Cathy Packe is the Producer, Over To You

Over To You is your chance to have your say about the ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service and its programmes. It airs at 10:40 and 23:40 every Saturday, and atÌý02:40 on Sunday (GMT).

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