• How easy will it be to go to the 2026 World Cup?
    Dec 23 2025

    Football fans all around the world are gearing up for the 2026 Men’s World Cup. It’s set to be a historic tournament and will be hosted by three countries for the first time: the United States, Canada and Mexico. But some fans says it will make the history books for the wrong reasons - because of the jump in ticket prices.

    Group-stage tickets are up to three times more than those for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the cheapest ticket for the final will cost hundreds of dollars. FIFA has announced that it will release a small number of more affordable tickets, but some fans say this is not enough.

    BBC Africa Sports Reporter Celestine Karoney explains the costs of attending the 2026 World Cup - and how the tournament could also be affected by US‘ immigration policy. We also hear from fans in Cape Verde, which has qualified for the tournament for the first time, and in the Ivory Coast about the barriers they have faced when trying to get tickets to World Cup matches.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison, Maria Clara Montoya and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

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    12 mins
  • Just checking in…are my emails holding me back at work?! xx
    Dec 22 2025

    Are your work emails too polite? Do you use unnecessary punctuation and emojis? Career experts have told the BBC that using multiple exclamation marks can seem fake or could impact credibility.

    The BBC’s Culture reporter Yasmin Rufo has been looking at how the emails you write might be making you come across as less competent and less professional.

    Plus we’re joined by William Lee Adams who describes what it’s like communicating with people from all over the world at the BBC World Service and considering the email or message culture of different countries.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Benita Barden and Adam Chowdhury Editor: Verity Wilde

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    11 mins
  • Ethiopia arrests TikTok creators over ‘indecent’ outfits
    Dec 19 2025

    At the end of November, Ethiopia’s biggest social media creators gathered in Addis Ababa for the Ethiopia Creative Awards. It was supposed to be a night celebrating the thriving digital culture but the outfits of the attendees stole the spotlight. A few weeks later six creators were arrested and detained for wearing “indecent attire” at the event and undermining public morality - but what exactly does that mean?

    Kalkidan Yibeltal, a BBC journalist based in Nairobi, tells us about cultural expectations for clothing in Ethiopia and why the outfits sparked so much controversy there. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Benita Barden, Chelsea Coates and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Verity Wilde

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    9 mins
  • Why Iran is running out of water
    Dec 18 2025

    Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, with rainfall hitting a record low. Several of the reservoirs that supply water to the capital Tehran are almost empty: one of them, the Latian Dam, is currently holding less than 10% of its capacity. The government is encouraging people in Tehran to use less water and putting heavy restrictions on water supplies, especially at night.

    But Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has also suggested another solution - relocating the capital.

    BBC journalist Ghoncheh Habibiazad outlines these plans and explains what other solutions Iran is using to tackle the problem. We hear from someone living in Tehran about what it’s like living with extreme water shortages. And the BBC’s climate and science correspondent Georgina Rannard explains how climate change is contributing to this drought - and what solutions Iran could use to mitigate water shortages.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

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    9 mins
  • The growing trend of influencers fronting charity campaigns
    Dec 17 2025

    Charity used to be about bake sales and running marathons. Now it’s all about thumbnails, hashtags, and stunts.

    Recently, MrBeast ran a massive campaign called #TeamWater - he partnered up with WaterAid and 10,000 other content creators. It raised over $40 million and is the biggest example so far in terms of number of influencers involved in a charitable campaign.

    Now other influencers, and charities are following this trend - working together on campaigns. So what happens when charity becomes content? Does this represent the future of philanthropy?

    Makuochi Okafor, a BBC reporter in Nigeria talks us through this growing trend and we hear from Gisela Amponsa, a Ghanaian digital creator, who was part of the #TeamWater campaign.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producer: Julia Ross-Roy Editors: Verity Wilde and Harriet Oliver

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    9 mins
  • Taiwan and China: Everything you need to know
    Dec 16 2025

    Taiwan is an island about 180 kilometres off the coast of China - nearly 24 million people live there. Taiwan is self governed but China says it’s part of its territory. Only 12 countries (plus the Vatican) officially recognise Taiwan as a country. Taiwan is increasingly worried that China could be preparing to take the island by force.

    Whatever happens there could affect your whole online life, because Taiwan makes most of the world’s computer chips, which power your phone, your laptop, AI apps and electric cars.

    In this episode Shawn Yuan from the BBC’s Global China Unit explains the relationship between Taiwan and China and how the whole world could be affected if conflict broke out.

    We also hear from Taiwanese students Yi-Ting and Louis and Chinese student Rongzhi, who tell us how they feel about Taiwan-China relations.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, Imogen James and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde

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    14 mins
  • Bondi Beach shooting: What we know so far
    Dec 15 2025

    On Sunday evening in Australia, two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia. Fifteen people were killed and dozens more are in hospital.

    In this episode we’re going to look at what we know about what happened and talk about why the Jewish community in Australia were already concerned about their safety before the shooting.

    Australia has some of the strictest gun laws in the world - we’ll also talk about how they work and why some people are now calling for them to be tightened. BBC’s William Lee Adams joins us to help

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Benita Barden and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

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    10 mins
  • Why does protecting traditions matter?
    Dec 12 2025

    Vases crafted thousands of years ago, temples built by past civilisations, natural parks with stunning waterfalls. These are all tangible things, there is a physical trace of them and many times they are protected and valued.

    But what about festivals, recipes or dances and skills that are unique to a certain part of the world? These cannot be stored, really. However they are passed on, become part of many people’s identities and are known as intangible cultural heritage.

    UNESCO, the United Nations agency that focuses on culture and education has released its yearly list recognising these practices. But what does it actually mean to be included and why is it celebrated? We hear from Matthieu Guevel, Chief of Communications at UNESCO.

    Plus we talk to three people whose cultural practices have been added to the list this year: Paola Maggiulli a British-Italian cook, Lika Kat, a content creator from Kyrgyzstan and Zahra Hankir, a Lebanese author and journalist.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Chelsea Coates Producers: Maria Clara Montoya and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde

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    12 mins