The Explanation
The Explanation is a snackable audio guide giving you the backstory behind the headlines. In each episode, presenter Claire Graham meets a BBC News correspondent who has lived and breathed these stories. She’ll hear clear analysis along with powerful archive. The Explanation will go back in time to unpack complex chains of events and will make the stories in question easier to understand.
- Update frequency
- every 3 days
- Average duration
- 24 minutes
- Episodes
- 222
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Nuclear weapons - which countries have them?
We look at the nuclear powers and those who want to join their club. Are nuclear weapons a deterrent or a strategic show of strength? We examine what treaties are in place to control the use of nucle…
The Global Jigsaw: How drones have changed war
Drones have reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine - and created new challenges, raising concerns about the nature of future warfare. Drone technology has many iterations from Iran’s Shaheds and Turkey’…
The Media Show: How Taylor Swift conquered the media
Taylor Swift is a media phenomenon. News outlets now have dedicated “Swift Correspondents”, Disney paid a record sum to stream her Eras tour, and she has a level of control over her music that other …
How does the New York Stock Exchange work?
The New York Stock Exchange is the largest in the world, valued today at over $25 trillion - but does it spread wealth or increase inequality? And what market forces are at play? Claire Graham asks t…
The Global Jigsaw: Sudan: A year of war
As it marks a year of war with no end in sight, Sudan faces the largest humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world. There are fears that if not stopped, the conflict could further destabilise …
The Media Show: Building Trump's social media app
Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, continues to make headlines with its public listing. Billy Boozer, its former Chief Product Officer, reveals what it was like setting up the compan…
The Global Jigsaw: Deconstructing Iran’s 'Axis of Resistance': Part one
The origins of the Iran-cultivated alliance of like-minded states and groups taking aim at Israel and the US. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Quds, or Jerusalem, force and the Basij…
The Media Show: Fear, threats and intimidation
Have US diplomats been targeted by Russian sonic weaponry? Unexplained symptoms such as dizziness reported by personnel working around the globe have been dubbed "Havana Syndrome". Now a joint report…
The Global Jigsaw: Moscow attack: disinfo wars
Who is behind the Crocus City Hall attack? Within an hour of last week’s deadly attack on a concert hall outside Moscow, a campaign was gathering momentum to blame Kyiv for the atrocity while a paral…
The Global Jigsaw: Contested waters: Helmand
The water dispute driving the turbulent relationship between Afghanistan and Iran is in an area faced with worsening climate change. The waters of the Helmand river are a lifeline for border communit…
Unspun World: What's next for President Putin after winning re-election?
John Simpson, in discussion with the BBC's unparalleled range of experts across the world, examines what’s next for Vladimir Putin after winning re-election, analyses the possibility of civic unrest …
The Global Jigsaw - Contested waters: Crimea
How water is used as a weapon of war following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. An irrigation system, once created at Stalin’s order as a project of grand Soviet social engineering, is now running dry. …
Unspun World: Has Russia turned the tide in its war in Ukraine?
John Simpson, in discussion with the BBC's unparalleled range of experts across the world, analyses whether Russia has turned the tide in its war in Ukraine, looks at the situation in Haiti in the wa…
The Global Jigsaw: What hope for Haiti?
Gang violence has turned the small Caribbean nation into a “living nightmare”, with rapes, kidnappings and killings a daily occurrence. More than a decade after a devastating earthquake - and billion…
Unspun World: What's life like on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank?
John Simpson, in discussion with the BBC's unparalleled range of experts across the world, looks at the humanitarian situation in Gaza, analyses what it would take to bring peace to the conflicts the…
Unspun World: Is a ceasefire in Gaza within reach?
John Simpson, in discussion with the BBC's unparalleled range of experts across the world, analyses the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza, examines Donald Trump’s legal problems, and looks at the is…
Unspun World: What Alexei Navalny's death means for Vladimir Putin's grip on Russia
John Simpson, in discussion with the BBC's unparalleled range of experts across the world, looks at Vladimir Putin’s position after the death of Alexei Navalny, examines the situation in Ukraine two …
Unspun World: Can Israel win its war in Gaza?
John Simpson, talks to Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's international editor, who analyses whether Israel can win its war in Gaza. He examines what is really happening to the Chinese economy with BBC Asia Pac…
Unspun World: How Russia's economy has survived despite sanctions
John Simpson, in discussion with the BBC's unparalleled range of experts across the world, analyses how the Russian economy has thrived despite Western sanctions, examines the American military’s rol…
Unspun World: Is Ukraine losing Western support?
This week John Simpson, in discussion with the BBC's unparalleled range of experts across the world, analyses whether Ukraine can win its war with Russia without the wholehearted support of the West,…