The Global Story

When the leaders of the US, China and Russia look at Africa today, they see huge opportunity – an abundance of natural resources and a skilled, young population. But what does it mean for the continent when African presidents allow these superpowers the influence and investment they want? All this week, we’re teaming up with our BBC sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We’re talking about which countries have a sphere of influence, and which countries are in someone else’s. In today’s episode, we speak to Charles Gitonga from the BBC’s Focus on Africa podcast about three countries in Central Africa which have found themselves at the at the centre of a geopolitical tug of war. Producers: Hannah Moore, Aron Keller and Lucy Pawle Executive producer: James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A soldier with the M23 armed group stands guard in Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Credit: Marie Jeanne Munyerenkana/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock.

All this week, we are teaming up with our BBC sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We’re exploring which countries have a sphere of influence, and which countries are in someone else’s. Today, we speak to Vitaly Shevchenko, co-host of Ukrainecast, about how Russia cultivates and controls its sphere of influence. President Vladimir Putin has called the Soviet Union's collapse "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century. Since he came to power in 1999, Putin has tried to exercise influence over what he calls Russia’s ‘near abroad’: the former Soviet republics in its backyard. Producers: Viv Jones and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Vyacheslav Prokofyev/ Sputnik/ Reuters

How will China respond to a new era of US assertiveness? Could the spectacular events of Trump’s second term change President Xi Jinping’s calculations about whether to flex China’s muscles in Taiwan?All this week, we are teaming up with our sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We’re exploring who has a sphere of influence and who finds themselves in one.Today we’re joined by Mariko Oi, host of Asia Specific from the BBC World Service, and the BBC’s China correspondent, Laura Bicker.Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Valerio EspositoExecutive producer: James ShieldMix: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China CollinsPhoto: China’s President Xi Jinping. Maxim Shemetov/Pool/Reuters

How are Donald Trump’s ambitions in Venezuela and Greenland changing America’s place in the world? President Trump’s key adviser Stephen Miller has said that we are living in a world “that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power” - so where has that philosophy come from?All this week, we are teaming up with our sister podcasts to explore how power and influence around the world is shifting. We exploring who is in a sphere of influence and who is being controlled by one.Today, we speak to Anthony Zurcher, co-host of Americast and the BBC’s North America correspondent, about what US history tells us about this moment.Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Xandra EllinExecutive producer: Bridget HarneySound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Photo: President Donald Trump in front of the US flag. Credit: Shawn Thew/EPA/Shutterstock)

Throughout 2025, a massive youth protest movement took shape across the world. From Bangladesh, to Nepal, to Morocco, to Kenya, to the Maldives, young people were taking to the streets to demand, among other things, job security, improved standards of living, and the toppling of corrupt regimes. And in a number of cases their ambitious demands were met.Today we speak to the BBC's social media investigations correspondent, Marianna Spring, about how social media helped spark a movement that transcended borders, and where the so-called, 'Gen Z Revolution' goes from here.Producers: Xandra Ellin and Cat FarnsworthSound engineer: Travis EvansSenior news editor: China Collins(Photo: A protester carries a banner featuring a Malagasy version of the logo of the popular Japanese manga One Piece, during a nationwide youth-led demonstration over frequent power outages and water shortages, in Antananarivo, Madagascar, October 13, 2025. Credit: Siphiwe Sibeko/ Reuters)