The Global Story

At the Vatican on Monday, Pope Leo XIV issued his first encyclical, a letter issued to the world’s bishops. In it, he criticised artificial intelligence and what he called the “culture of power” fuelling its rise, urging world leaders to regulate the technology more forcefully.
The Pope’s scepticism towards AI does not exist in a vacuum. It comes after several weeks in which numerous commencement speakers championing artificial intelligence on US college campuses were booed by Gen Z graduates.
Is a backlash to AI brewing? We speak to BBC religion editor Aleem Maqbool about the Pope’s AI-critical encyclical, and to Rachel Janfaza, founder of the Gen Z research firm The Up and Up, about why Gen Z’s relationship with AI is far more complicated than many think.
Producer: Xandra Ellin, Cat Farnsworth, and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Pope Leo XIV during a meeting with Italian bishops in Vatican City, 28 May 2026. Credit: Vatican Media/EPA)

Politics, power and money have always been part of international sporting competitions, and football (or soccer) is no exception.
However, this year’s World Cup faces new challenges. The United States is co-hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico, and its relationship with its neighbours has at times been rocky. Two countries at war with each other – the US and Iran – have never played in the same competition before. Some fans are anxious about travelling to games at a time of high tension. And the cost of attending the event has led some to ask whether this World Cup is really worth it.
Mehreen Khan, economics editor of The Times of London and a lifelong fan of the sport, joins us to discuss what this World Cup could mean for a divided world.
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: FIFA World Cup on display in Toronto. Credit: Kevin Sousa/ Imagn Images

This week President Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have said negotiations with Iran are going well and suggested a deal could be days away. Iran has disputed this.

Donald Trump says he wants “a great deal for all or no deal at all” but leaked details of a possible plan have some wondering if one side might be coming out on top.

We speak to the BBC’s International Editor, Jeremy Bowen, and ask if this might be the week Donald Trump loses the art of the deal – and the perhaps the whole war – with Iran.

CREDITS
Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Lucy Pawle
Digital Producer: Matt Pintus
Executive producer: James Shield
Studio Director: James Piper
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran. (Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock)

In 2025, the Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD overtook Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles. As conflict in the Middle East pushes up fuel prices and boosts demand for EVs, Chinese carmakers are seizing the opportunity.
Driven by years of state-backed investment and industrial policy, China has quietly become the global powerhouse of EV production, leading the industry in technology, innovation and affordability, while the US struggles to keep up.
In today’s episode, we speak to Suranjana Tewari, Asia Business Correspondent for BBC News. She explains what BYD cars are really like, and how China won the EV race.
Producers: Valerio Esposito and Aron Keller
Executive Producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior News Editor: China Collins
Photo: A newly presented electric roadster Formula X of BYD's brand Fang Cheng Bao appears at the company’s booth at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China), in Beijing, China April 24, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov.

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.
The latest outbreak involves a rare species of Ebola for which there is no vaccine, and the epicentre is in an area affected by conflict. The WHO says the outbreak may be spreading faster than originally thought.
James Gallagher, the BBC’s health and science correspondent, explains why this outbreak is in some ways more worrying than previous ones, and discusses what it might reveal about global preparedness for international health emergencies.
Producer: Viv Jones, Xandra Ellin, Sam Chantarasak
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: Red Cross workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Credit: Reuters/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)