The Explanation Podcast
Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin.
Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin. Exploring the important questions about long-running stories and the latest global news. An honest, unvarnished, explanation of the world. Episodes from The Explanation, Unspun World, The Global Jigsaw and The Media Show.
Episodes to download
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Unspun World: Could Russia's war with Ukraine escalate?
Yesterday
John Simpson examines the risk of nuclear escalation in Russia鈥檚 war with Ukraine
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The Media Show: Jake Paul v Mike Tyson
Thursday
What the Jake Paul v Mike Tyson boxing bout on Netflix tells us about the future of media
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Unspun World: What can the world expect from a second Trump term?
Last Friday
John Simpson explores the implications of a second Trump term for US foreign policy
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The Media Show: US Election and its impact on media
Thu 14 Nov 2024
Why Trump鈥檚 victory poses a credibility challenge for journalism
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Unspun World: What does the US election tell us about America?
Fri 8 Nov 2024
How the US presidential campaign highlighted the deep divisions in the country
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The Media Show: Trump's winning media strategy
Thu 7 Nov 2024
The pundits and pollsters who got the election wrong
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The Global Jigsaw: Russia鈥檚 鈥渟pecial demographic operation鈥�
Sat 2 Nov 2024
Why is the Kremlin worried about population decline?
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Unspun World: What will Iran do now?
Fri 1 Nov 2024
How the Iranian regime might respond to Israel鈥檚 attack
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The Media Show: Ballots, bias and big tech
Thu 31 Oct 2024
Ros Atkins is in Washington DC and asks what role the media is playing in the election
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The Global Jigsaw: Turkey鈥檚 anti-LGBT drive
Sat 26 Oct 2024
What鈥檚 behind the evolution of the Turkish president's anti-LGBT narrative?
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Unspun World: The Middle East: The regional perspective
Fri 25 Oct 2024
Analysing attitudes of other regional powers towards Israel鈥檚 wars in Gaza and Lebanon
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The Media Show: The king of reality TV
Thu 24 Oct 2024
How Andy Cohen created the Real Housewives phenomenon
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Unspun World: Israel's Middle East strategy
Thu 17 Oct 2024
John Simpson analyses Israel鈥檚 long-term strategy in the Middle East
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The Media Show: ISIS Prisons Museum
Thu 17 Oct 2024
The journalists documenting the atrocities of the so-called Islamic State
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The Global Jigsaw: Yemen: A frozen conflict
Sat 12 Oct 2024
Ten years on, where do the warring parties in Yemen stand?
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Unspun World: The Middle East, a year on from the October 7th attacks
Fri 11 Oct 2024
Analysing the prospects for the Middle East after a year of fighting
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The Media Show: Reporting from inside Gaza
Thu 10 Oct 2024
The 大象传媒鈥檚 Rushdi Abualouf on life for journalists in a warzone
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Unspun World: What will Iran's strategy be?
Fri 4 Oct 2024
We look at the debate inside Iran in the wake of Israel鈥檚 assault on Hezbollah
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The Media Show: Secrets of The Sidemen
Thu 3 Oct 2024
The manager of Europe鈥檚 biggest YouTube creators reveals their strategy
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The Global Jigsaw: Yemen: A tale of three cities
Tue 1 Oct 2024
Sanaa, Aden and Taiz - stuck in a 鈥渘o war, no peace鈥� limbo
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The Media Show: Reporting the Predator at Harrods
Thu 26 Sep 2024
How the 大象传媒 exposed the billionaire businessman Mohamed Al Fayed
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The Media Show: Trump鈥檚 Pet-eating Conspiracy Theory
Thu 19 Sep 2024
Tracing the origin of the rumour that spawned an extraordinary political soundbite
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The Media Show: Russia鈥檚 alleged influencer propaganda plot
Thu 12 Sep 2024
US says YouTubers have been paid to post videos with 鈥渉idden Russian government messages鈥�
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The Media Show: Why Korean TV rules the world
Thu 5 Sep 2024
From Squid Game to The Masked Singer some of the most popular shows come from South Korea
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The Media Show: Telegram founder arrested
Thu 29 Aug 2024
What the Pavel Durov case means for the future of social media
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US Supreme Court
Sat 24 Aug 2024
Do nine justices in the Supreme Court fairly represent the diversity of views in the US?
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The Media Show - TV鈥檚 Hidden Dilemma
Thu 22 Aug 2024
The makers of global hits on a difficult year for TV
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What is the United Nations?
Sat 17 Aug 2024
Striving for peace & equality on a healthy planet, is the United Nations fit for purpose?
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Big Tech 鈥� too big to hide from?
Sat 10 Aug 2024
We find out how Big Tech companies may know more about you - than you do.
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The Global Jigsaw: The Taliban鈥檚 war on women
Thu 8 Aug 2024
The group鈥檚 return to power in Afghanistan has seen the erasure of women from public life
