SATURDAY 08 MAY 2021

SAT 01:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w2cdg)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 01:06 Business Matters (w172xvq9r0rzqq5)
President Biden insists US is 'on the right track' despite lower job numbers

The US economy added 266,000 jobs in April, far fewer than economists had predicted. President Biden has said his economic plan is working despite the disappointing numbers. We get analysis from Diane Swonk, chief economist at accountancy firm Grant Thornton in Chicago.
Also in the programme, Kai Ryssdal from our US partners Marketplace talks to Dr Scott Anzalone in Logan, Ohio, about a shortage of doctors in his town.
And the BBC's Justin Rowlatt finds out whether electric cars are likely to become dominant more quickly than had previously been expected.
Plus, we hear how delivery drivers in Indonesia are using apps to conceal their real locations in order to secure more business, from Vice reporter Rida Qadri.

Rahul Tandon is joined throughout the programme by Peter Ryan, ABC's senior business correspondent in Sydney.

(Picture: A 'now hiring' sign. Credit: Getty Images)


SAT 02:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w2h4l)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxfhz0533v)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkbb0grvdz)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:32 Stumped (w3ct1lbc)
'Corruptors are getting more sophisticated'

On this week's Stumped podcast Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma discuss the suspension of the IPL. They ask whether the decision has to come too later and debate what will happen next for cricket in India.

Plus the team are joined by Alex Marshall, the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit General Manager. He tells us what they do to tackle corruption and how convicted cricketers are helped following a ban.

We hear from Scottish cricketer Abtaha Maqsood on Ramadan, wearing a Hijab and preparing to play for the Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred.

Photo: A cricket ball is caught in a pair of wicket keeping gloves with a fan of Australian fifty dollar notes (Credit: Getty images)


SAT 03:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w2lwq)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 03:06 The Fifth Floor (w3ct20dv)
Women and peace in Afghanistan

The BBC Media Action team in Afghanistan recently went on the road with their programme Open Jirga to hear about women’s hopes and fears for any peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Presenter Shazia Haya heard from the ambitious young women of Herat’s all-female robotics team, and from women in the Taliban heartland city of Kandahar who risked their lives to have their voices heart.

Baghdad's graffiti artists
A group of graffiti artists in the Iraqi capital Baghdad have been painting murals and portraits in poor, rundown areas of the city. The artworks feature famous people and local folk heroes, as BBC Arabic’s Haddad Salih explains.

Who is the new president of Tanzania?
President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office less than two months ago after the sudden death of her predecessor, John Magufuli. She has already shown a very different style of leadership. Zuhura Yunus of BBC Swahili introduces us to Tanzania's first female president.

Egypt's female folk singers
Folk music in Egypt has traditionally been the domain of men. But an all-female folk group called Tablet El Sitt, 'the woman's drum', is reviving old songs sung by and about women. Aya Hashim of BBC Arabic has been investigating.

A short walk in the Russian woods
Another chance to hear Oleg Boldyrev of BBC Russian enjoying last year's Spring lockdown in the company of fallen trees, fungi, and beaver dams.

Image: 'Open Jirga' presenter Shazia Haya with all female audience in Kandahar
Credit: BBC Media Action


SAT 03:50 Witness History (w3ct1wyg)
Surviving Guantanamo

After 9/11 the USA began a programme of 'extraordinary rendition', moving prisoners between countries without legal representation. Mohamedou Ould Slahi from Mauritania was one of those detained at the US military facility in Cuba, Guantanamo Bay. He tells Rebecca Kesby how he was tortured by American military personnel, and held for 15 years without charge. He's written a best-selling book about his experiences, 'Guantanamo diary', which has recently been made into a film.

(PHOTO: Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who wrote a book about his experiences in the military prison, poses on October 18, 2016 in Nouakchott, after he was reunited with his family in his native Mauritania. (Photo credit STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)


SAT 04:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w2qmv)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 04:06 The Real Story (w3ct1hsb)
Germany after Merkel

Angela Merkel is the longest serving leader in the European Union. Known as Mutti, or mother, to her supporters, Merkel is credited with keeping Germany stable in the midst of global and European crises with her steely yet non-confrontational style of leadership. But the German Chancellor is stepping down later this year when the country goes to polls. Voters will then decide whether to choose a successor who'll maintain her style, or back more dramatic change. Support for Mrs Merkel’s CDU has dropped after a series of unpopular lockdowns and a patchy coronavirus vaccine rollout. The Greens, who are promising more climate-friendly policies at home and a pivot towards Nato and the United States abroad, are polling well. And the far right still garners hundreds of thousands of votes. So what does the future hold for Germany after 16 years of Angela Merkel? Will it now enter a period of uncertainty after years of stability? Does it have the right leadership to navigate the uncertainties of a post-Covid economic recovery? And how will it balance the economic and strategic interests of the United States and EU on one side, and Russia and China on the other? Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.


SAT 05:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w2vcz)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxfhz05gc7)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 05:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkbb0gs6nc)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:32 Trending (w3ct2dmk)
The Anti-Vax Files

Vaccine heroes fight back

Nicole is a paediatrician in Ohio who was shocked when she received a ton of nasty comments on one of her online videos. Her “mistake” was providing reliable, evidence-based information about vaccines.

It meant that anti-vaccine activists targeted her. But with the help of a group of volunteer medical professionals called Shots Heard Around the World, she led a fight back against abuse and disinformation.

The pandemic is far from over – but there are signs that science is winning out over hardcore anti-vaccine lies.

In the final episode of the series, we reveal the extent of vaccine disinformation in countries around the world. And we meet some of the volunteers on the frontlines of the push back.

They’re filling in some of the gaps, but shouldn’t that be the job of the social media companies? We
quiz a Facebook executive about whether their policies and systems are really working.

Presenter: Mike Wendling
Reporter: Marianna Spring
Producer: Ant Adeane


SAT 05:50 More or Less (w3ct2djx)
Finding Mexico City’s real death toll

Mexico City’s official Covid 19 death toll did not seem to reflect the full extent of the crisis that hit the country in the spring of 2020 - this is according to Laurianne Despeghel and Mario Romero. These two ordinary citizens used publicly available data to show that excess deaths during the crisis - that’s the total number of extra deaths compared to previous years - was four times higher than the confirmed Covid 19 deaths.


(Mexican Red Cross ambulances transfer Covid-19 patients to emergency rooms that still have beds. Credit: Alfredo Estrella/Getty Images)


SAT 06:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w2z43)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 06:06 Weekend (w172xyt4r1lfcd6)
Indian Prime Minister Modi expected to ask West to waive Covid vaccine patents

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to ask Western countries to waive patents for Covid-19 vaccines. It comes amid a devastating surge of Covid infections across India, which is now making its way into rural communities that are badly equipped to deal with the virus.

Also in the programme: The United States has called for a de-escalation of tensions in Jerusalem after nearly two hundred Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police, and is ballet on point when it comes to issues of power imbalance and diversity?

To discuss these stories and more, Celia Hatton is joined by Maya Goodfellow a London based writer and academic specialising in race and immigration, and Rami Khouri, a professor of journalism and a non-resident senior fellow at the Kennedy School of Harvard University in Boston.

(Photo: An Indian man receives a dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, during a vaccination campaign at KC General Hospital in Bangalore, India. Credit: EPA/JAGADEESH NV)


SAT 07:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w32w7)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 07:06 Weekend (w172xyt4r1lfh4b)
Violent clashes in Jerusalem between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters

There's been unrest in Jerusalem over the potential eviction of Palestinian families from land claimed by Israeli settlers. Hundreds of people, both protesters, and police were wounded in the clashes.

Also in the programme: results are coming in from Britain's biggest polls since the 2019 General Election; and the extraordinary stories of Jewish families who used classified adverts in the Guardian newspaper to flee the Holocaust and save their loved ones.

To discuss these stories and more, Celia Hatton is joined by Maya Goodfellow, a London based writer and academic specialising in race and immigration, and Rami Khouri, professor of journalism and a non-resident senior fellow at the Kennedy School of Harvard University in Boston.

(Photo: Israeli police aim their weapons during clashes with Palestinians in the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, May 7, 2021. Credit: REUTERS/Ammar Awad)


SAT 08:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w36mc)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 08:06 Weekend (w172xyt4r1lflwg)
Hundreds injured in unrest in Jerusalem

There's been growing unrest over the potential eviction of Palestinian families from the area, which culminated in a night of violence that left around 200 people injured, including some police.

Also in the programme: can the Tokyo Olympics still go ahead despite the ongoing pandemic?

(Photo:Palestinians react as Israeli police fire stun grenades during clashes at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque. Credit: REUTERS/Ammar Awad)


SAT 08:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkbb0gskwr)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 08:32 The Conversation (w3ct1p6g)
Nurses on the frontline: A year on

In April 2020, Kim Chakanetsa spoke to two young nurses who were putting their lives on the line by treating the sickest covid-19 patients in intensive care units. At that point, only a couple of months into a global pandemic, they were exhausted but optimistic about things getting better. Kim catches up with them and asks how they are coping a year on after another wave of infections and an incresing death toll.

Hannah Grey is a 24-year-old nurse based in London. She worked as a busy Intensive Care Unit for both waves of virus infections, but has since moved on to a children’s critical unit. She has launched her own podcast, What Makes a Nurse?, sharing the stories of the many skilled nurses she met during the pandemic, as they came to help on the ICU.

Bianca Dintino is a 27-year-old critical care nurse based at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. She was one of the first nurses to volunteer to care for coronavirus patients last year, and credits her colleagues with keeping her going. Bianca got married during the pandemic, and has been trying to find the joy in a difficult year.

Produced by Rosie Stopher

IMAGE DETAILS:
L: Bianca Dintino (credit Anne Marie)
R: Hannah Gray (credit Simi Sebastian)


SAT 09:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w3bch)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:06 BBC OS Conversations (w3ct2d5m)
Coronavirus: Pilots and trainee doctors

The pandemic has caused millions of job losses during the past year. The travel industry is one area that has been badly affected as many countries closed their borders or restricted entry. As a result, thousands of pilots are no longer flying and are out of work. Host Nuala McGovern hears from two pilots in Canada and the UK about what it’s like to lose a job that’s part of your identity and what the future has in store.

We also return to the emergency situation in India. We hear from medical students and junior doctors about how the pandemic means they have to delay internships, training and graduations to treat Covid patients. They tell us about the emotional strain when they find themselves in a situation of “playing God” and having to decide whose lives to try and save. Plus, we discuss the anxiety of living thousands of miles away from relatives in India and being concerned for their safety - especially when one of them works in a hospital and treats coronavirus cases.

(Photo: Steve Zago Credit: Steve Zago)


SAT 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkbb0gspmw)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:32 The Lazarus Heist (w3ct2f8w)
2: Hacking Hollywood

A comedy plot, Kim Jong-un and a devastating cyber-attack. The story of the Sony hack. How the Lazarus Group hackers caused mayhem in Hollywood and for Sony Pictures Entertainment.
And this is just the beginning…
#LazarusHeist

Listen online at bbcworldservice.com/lazarusheist


SAT 09:50 Over to You (w3ct1l1b)
The art of the two-minute news bulletin

As part of the BBC drive to connect with younger audiences, we hear from the team behind Global Newsbeat - and ask if you can really provide comprehensive news in just two minutes.

Plus, a mother’s love for her transgender daughter, the potential need for a password to access the BBC news pages and details of an extra £94.4m in funding for BBC World Service.

Presenter: Rajan Datar
Producer: Howard Shannon.


SAT 10:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w3g3m)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 10:06 Sportshour (w172y0pxtb1kw48)
Janelly Farias – the 'Mexican Rapinoe'

Club America defender Janelly Farias tells us how taking a stand on social issues has led to people in her home country likening her to USA star Megan Rapinoe. The comparisons were intended as an insult but Farias takes them as a compliment and the two women have exchanged messages on social media this week. Farias – who is LGBTQ+ - also tells us her family didn’t want her to be a footballer and that they rejected her when she got her first girlfriend. They’ve since reunited and she’s targeting playing for Mexico at the 2023 World Cup.

Anna Rutherford joins us to reflect on smashing the record for running the two hundred and twelve mile Southern Upland Way in Scotland. She completed the run in sixty two hours and thirty four minutes to break the previous record by seventeen hours.

Iddrisu Ismael – who could be the biggest Tranmere Rovers fan in Ghana – tells us about supporting a club in the fourth division of English football and how it would be a dream to see a game at Prenton Park. Fellow Rovers fan – Richard Davies – also joins us to discuss his friendship with Iddrisu and how he’s trying to raise money to help his footballing dream come true.

Tom "Gordy" Drury recently skateboarded four thousand kilometres along the eastern coast of Australia from Melbourne to Cairns to raise money to help build a skate park in Laos. He tells us about run ins with deadly snakes, near misses with traffic, why he’ll never do it again and what his next adventure is.

In Sporting Witness, we go back to the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona for the story of Indonesian badminton legend, Susi Susanti, who made history as her country’s first-ever gold medallist.

Former New Zealand captain and host of The Players podcast - Rebecca Smith – looks ahead to this weekend’s title decider in the Women’s Super League and the BBC’s Vicki Sparks is live at Elland Road ahead of Leeds United’s game against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Photo via Getty Images: Janelly Farias Rodriguez of Mexico in action during the friendly women football match played between Spain and Mexico at Municipal Marbella Stadium.


SAT 11:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w3kvr)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxfhz065v0)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 11:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkbb0gsy44)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:32 WorklifeIndia (w3ct2f32)
Tackling India’s oxygen crisis

A devastating wave of coronavirus infections in India has seen crematoriums overwhelmed and hospitals reeling under a massive oxygen shortage.

There have been a record number of Covid cases and deaths. This exponential surge has swamped the healthcare system. Patients are seen dying in ambulances and parking lots outside hospitals – many of them gasping for breath due to a lack of oxygen, which is vital for those infected. There have been reports of hoarding and even black marketing as relatives scramble to arrange medical oxygen for their friends and kin.

What has led to this crippling shortage and what can be done to improve the situation? In this edition, we discuss the situation on the ground and the ways India can tackle its oxygen crisis.

Presenter: Devina Gupta

Contributors: Dr Sudhanshu Bankata, executive director, Batra Hospital; Puneet Singh, trustee, Khalsa Aid; Gautam Raj Anand, Mission Oxygen India


SAT 12:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w3plw)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 12:06 The Documentary (w3ct1d21)
My viral video and me

Colm Flynn tracks down the internet's original viral video superstars and reveals how becoming an online sensation changed their life.

So many people spend their time chasing the allure of fame, however, very few ever reach the level of world-wide recognition that viral phenomena obtain almost overnight.

Colm tracks down the people he watched online growing up, to find out what happened to them after their initial viral fame faded. He visits people who amassed hundreds of millions of worldwide views and embedded themselves in the minds of a generation.

A child of the internet’s early days, Colm felt the thrill of watching and sharing videos that seemed real and raw. Now, a decade on, he’ll find the stars of those videos – the ones that gained popularity before the times of social media influencers and vlogger personalities.

He finds out what it was like to be in that whirlwind and discover the opportunities and challenges that going viral presents.
Colm meets Rebecca Black, whose song, Friday, gained international renown. He finds out how the reaction to the record impacted her life and shaped her future. He catches up with Tay Zonday, the man behind Chocolate Rain and Judson Laipply, star of Evolution of Dance – potentially YouTube’s first ever viral hit.

(Photo: Colm Flynn (L) and Rebecca Black (R). Credit: Colm Flynn)


SAT 13:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w3tc0)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 13:06 Newshour (w172xv52fq3lsnm)
India's Covid-19 Deaths Reach Record High

As the number of coronavirus deaths in India reaches a new record,coronavirus. That's around a third of the global total. Prime minister Narendra Modi, is asking European leaders to waive patents for Covid vaccines. A doctor in rural Northern Maharashtra describes the shortages of equipment and beds and patients dying on arrival.

Also in the programme; A Burmese teacher living in Japan helps aspiring young students back home to get qualifications and scholarships to study abroad; and the venue for the UEFA Champions League final is thrown into dispute due to Covid travel restrictions.

(Photo: Covid-19 Hospital in India. Credit: Getty Images)


SAT 14:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w3y34)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 14:06 Sportsworld (w172y0t6l7gbkty)
Live Sporting Action

We’re approaching the end of the football season and Sportsworld's Lee James will be joined by three winners - Arsenal invincible Lauren, Premier League winner Andy King and WSL winner Lianne Sanderson - to discuss the final weeks of the season and the Champions League final.

We react to the early kick off between Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur and have commentary of Sheffield United v Crystal Palace.

We’ll also preview one of the fights of the year so far as Saul Alvarez takes on Billy Joe Saunders in a middleweight title unification fight. There’ll also be updates from the Madrid Open tennis, Spanish Grand Prix and the latest from European Football Leagues.

Photo: Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha and Ethan Ampadu of Sheffield United battle for possession. (Credit: Getty Images)


SAT 18:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w4f2n)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxfhz0711x)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 18:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkbb0gtsc1)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:32 Trending (w3ct2dmk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:32 today]


SAT 18:50 Sporting Witness (w3ct1l83)
Indonesia's badminton heroine

In 1992, badminton legend Susi Susanti won the first ever Olympic Gold medal for Indonesia. It was the first time that badminton had been included as an Olympic sport in the games, giving them a special significance for Susi's badminton-obsessed home country. For Susi, it was also a moment when she could show her national pride as an Indonesian who hailed from the nation's ethnic Chinese minority. She talks to Jill Achineku. The programme is a Whistledown Production.

PHOTO: Susi Susanti in action (AFP/Getty Images)


SAT 19:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w4jts)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 19:06 The Documentary (w3ct2fpf)
Our story

For the past seven years, Marlo has been making a podcast about life as a single mum raising her transgender daughter. In this programme Marlo reaches out to parents of transgender children and adults from around the world, who she has connected with through her podcast. From the mother of a Fa’afafine girl in Samoa, to a single mother who had to move her family from Italy to Spain to keep them safe from transphobia, to a father in India who supported his daughter who suffered from depression before she was able to transition, Marlo finds that across cultures, the experience of raising a transgender child connects her with these parents.


SAT 20:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w4nkx)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 20:06 The Arts Hour (w3ct1rsv)
Actor Michael B. Jordan

Joining Nikki Bedi for The Arts Hour this week are British film critic Catherine Bray and Nigerian artist Williams Chechet who has been described as the African Andy Warhol

American actor Michael B. Jordan talks about his relationship with writer and director Ryan Coogler

Jamaican actor Adjani Salmon on how his career took off after the success of his web series, Dreaming Whilst Black

Irish singer songwriter Imelda May on her new album, Eleven Past the Hour

American actor Aubrey Plaza talks about her very meta new movie within a movie, Black Bear

Indian environmental journalist and filmmaker Swati Thiyagarajan on her Oscar winning documentary My Octopus Teacher

And Nikki hears about the World Service’s new musical theatre production, U.Me The Musical, which has been written for radio and can be experienced globally.


(Photo: Michael B. Jordan. Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)


SAT 21:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w4sb1)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 21:06 Newshour (w172xv52fq3mrmn)
Schoolgirls targeted in Kabul bombing

Fifty-five people, mainly schoolgirls, have been killed and 150 injured in another bombing in the Afghan capital Kabul. We hear from a young witness from the minority Hazara community.

Also, is the EU justified in rejecting pleas from India to push for a waiver on Covid vaccine patents? And the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church accuses his government of genocide in Tigray.

(Photo: An Afghan man weeps in hospital next to his daughter's body after bombers attacked her school in Kabul, Afghanistan 8 May , 2021. Credit: Reuters)


SAT 22:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w4x25)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:06 Music Life (w3ct1hbs)
Music as a tool for self-expression with Biig Piig

Biig Piig, Nayana IZ, Puma Blue and Louis Culture explore the power of community, how social media has affected the way they make music, and what it's like to make music as an introvert.

Biig Piig blends soul-tinged melodies over hip-hop and pop beats with lyrics in English and Spanish. After growing up between Ireland and Spain, she moved to London and joined the Nine8 music collective alongside Nayana IZ.

Born in India and raised in North London, Nayana was named on BBC Asian Network's 2020 Future Sounds list and last year released her debut EP Smoke & Fly.

Puma Blue is a musician and songwriter originally from South London, now based in Atlanta. His first two EPs have built up millions of streams and he recently dropped his debut album In Praise of Shadows to critical acclaim.

Also representing South London is rapper and lyricist Louis Culture, who released his debut EP Smile Soundsystem last year and has worked with Frank Ocean producer Vegyn.


SAT 23:00 BBC News (w172xzjhw8w50t9)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 23:06 The Newsroom (w172xywm27dkbc8)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 23:20 Sports News (w172y0sd4hvpczx)
BBC Sport brings you all the latest stories and results from around the world.


SAT 23:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkbb0gvd2p)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 23:32 The Cultural Frontline (w3ct1pdx)
Opera singer Joshua Hopkins: Remembering my sister in song

Joshua Hopkins is an award-winning Canadian baritone who is using his voice to call out violence against women, after the loss of his sister in 2015. Joshua tells Sophia Smith Galer how collaborating with Booker Prize winning author Margaret Atwood on Songs for Murdered Sisters offers consolation, while opening up conversation about gender-based violence across the world.

Sun and Sea is a Lithuanian production that takes its international audiences on a playful trip to the beach. For The Cultural Frontline, the director Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė and writer Vaiva Grainytė share how they use humour to highlight the climate crisis.

Opera is an enduring, evolving art form, but is everyone invited? Rising stars J’Nai Bridges from the US, Angélica Negrón from Puerto Rico and Adrian Angelico from Norway tell Sophia how they’re opening up the genre to make it more inclusive, on and off stage.

Plus, has a song, a poem or a book ever changed the course of your life? South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu shares the work that set her on a different path.

Presenter: Sophia Smith Galer




(Photo: Joshua Hopkins. Credit: Songs for Murdered Sisters, directed by James Niebuhr)