Podcast
Crossing Continents
Hosted by BBC Radio 4 · EN
Stories from around the world and the people at the heart of them.
29episodes
Episodes
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Nigeria: Killings, Land and Cattle
Jan 2700:30:40Tap to summarizeOn Christmas Day 2025, the US carried out missile strikes on suspected Islamist militants in Nigeria. They came after President Trump said he would intervene to protect Christians amid controversial claims of a “Christian genocide” in the country. The Nigerian government rejects such claims, saying both Muslim and Christian communities have been affected by insecurity in the country. Alex Last visits Plateau state in central Nigeria one area where ethnic and sectarian violence that has been the focus of US concern, to hear from both sides and meet those trying to bring peace.Produced and presented by Alex Last
Transcribe →Greece: Rescuers on Trial
Jan 2000:29:09Tap to summarizeIn a case with profound implications for European migration policy, 24 former volunteer aid workers have been on trial on the Greek island of Lesbos. Seven years ago, they were arrested after rescuing thousands of migrants from the sea. Now, after many delays, the case involving charges of facilitating illegal entry of foreigners, membership of a criminal organisation and money laundering has gone ahead. Among the defendants facing a possible 20 years in jail have been the Syrian refugee and former competitive swimmer Sara Mardini - and Irish human rights activist and lawyer Sean Binder. They've denied the charges - and said the prosecution was an attempt by the Greek authorities to criminalise help to asylum seekers. Tim Whewell reports on the trial, its outcome - and the consequences for Lesbos. In in 2015, when about 600,000 migrants arrived on the island after crossing the narrow strait from Turkey. In 2015, local people were proud of their efforts to rescue and support refugees. But later, attitudes changed. And NGOs stopped their rescue work - for fear more aid workers might be prosecuted. Now, far fewer migrants attempt the crossing to Greece. But those who do sometimes die in shipwrecks. And there are allegations, denied by Greece, that its police are illegally pushing asylum seekers back - putting them back on boats and abandoning them at sea. What will the verdicts in this trial mean for Greece, for other European states that have been tightening their immigration policies - and for the defendants whose lives have been on hold for the last seven years?Producer/presenter: Tim Whewell. Sound mix: James Beard. Translation/field production: Hibai Arbide Aza, Sophia Koufopoulou, Anthi Pazianou Actors: Jason Barnett & Sam Swann Production coordinator: Katie Morrison Editor: Penny Murphy
Transcribe →The Netherlands - ten new cities?
Jan 1300:29:02Tap to summarize'Start by lighting a candle every morning.’ In other words, pray. That’s the advice on one social media platform to those looking for a rented property in the Netherlands. The pressure on housing is immense: an estimated shortage of 400,000 homes. It was the number one issue in the recent Dutch general election, with the winning D66 party promising to build '10 new cities'. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Squatting was made a criminal offence over a decade ago, but with an estimated 90,000 homes standing empty, the squatters – krakers – are back. And there are thousands of people breaking the law by living year-round in holiday or recreation parks deep in the Netherlands’ countryside. The authorities are trying to change the dynamics. The city of Amsterdam is cracking down on second homes and owners who leave a property vacant. And last year, in an effort to cool an overheated market and limit the exploitation of tenants, the national government strengthened rent controls. But this has only encouraged landlords to throw in the towel and put their properties up for sale. There’s also a question mark over plans to build thousands of homes - and new cities - because of an obstacle few seem to have foreseen... Electricity. The Netherlands has enough power, but it doesn’t have the infrastructure to transport it to proposed new developments. The Dutch are known for innovation – especially in their management of water. Could floating apartment blocks be one of the answers? Linda Pressly meets both those at the sharp end of the Dutch housing crisis, and those working to mitigate its fallout.Presenter: Linda Pressly Producer: Tim Mansel Production coordinator: Katie Morrison Studio Mix by: Duncan Hannant Editor: Penny Murphy
Transcribe →South Africa and the fight against TB
Jan 600:34:14Tap to summarizeAccording to the Guinness Book of World Records, TB is humanity’s oldest contagious disease. It has become something of an afterthought in rich nations, but remains the world’s most deadly infectious disease. In 2024 it killed more than 1.2 million people.South Africa has one of the highest TB burdens in the world, but it has also developed one of the most sophisticated scientific ecosystems for the study of the disease. Clinical trials conducted in the country have been crucial to the innovation of TB treatments, vaccines, diagnostics and prevention strategies.Much of the funding for this research comes from American institutions. But since early 2025, streams of that money have been withdrawn due to a series of decisions by the Trump administration. For Crossing Continents, Sandra Kanthal visits Cape Town and discovers the story of two intertwined landscapes: the people in local communities struggling with the burden of tuberculosis, and the scientific institutions embedded in them trying to tackle the disease - and why at the moment both are struggling.Presenter/Producer: Sandra Kanthal Producer in South Africa: Isa-Lee Jacobson Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Design: James Beard Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Transcribe →When Christian nationalists come to town
Dec 3000:28:36Tap to summarizePeople in Gainesboro, Tennessee, have some new neighbours. A conservative developer has bought land just outside the tiny rural Appalachian town, with the aim of forging an 'aligned' community based on shared values like 'faith, family and freedom'. Two of the first people to come to town are controversial Christian nationalists who talk about civilisational collapse and the 'imperative for like-minded Christians to gather and fight'.Their extreme views on women, civil rights and the role of the Church have attracted the attention of critics both locally and further afield. In Gainesboro itself, a resistance movement has formed, and the battle lines have been drawn.This small town of 900 people has become a symbol of the next frontier of America’s political warfare. Is the new development a haven for hate and extremism, with the newcomers looking to take over local power? Or are they just conservative businessmen catering to a renewed demand for the rural, traditional lifestyle? What actually is Christian nationalism? And what is it like for the locals, whose little town has been thrust into the spotlight? Ellie House reports from Gainesboro, Tennessee. Presenter: Ellie House Producer: Mike Wendling Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison Studio Manager: Rod Farquhar Editor: Penny Murphy
Transcribe →Argentina's elusive big cats
Dec 2300:28:21Tap to summarizeAfter decades of extinction, wild jaguars are once again roaming in Northern Argentina. It has been at least thirty five years since a wild jaguar cub was spotted in this dry and dusty part of Argentina. But in August 2025, a baby appeared on the chocolatey-brown banks of the River Bermejo. Its existence was a great success for the team from Rewilding Argentina, a non-profit foundation that started reintroducing these magnificent beasts here in 2019. But it has not been easy: hunting is still a problem and the organisation has had to get the locals on board with sharing their home with big cats. For Crossing Continents, Charlotte Pritchard travels to 'The Impenetrable Forest' to find out how the birth of this baby became possible. Reporter: Charlotte Pritchard Producer: Macarena Gagliardi Mixed by Duncan Hannant Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison Series Editor: Penny Murphy
Transcribe →Stolen brides of Kazakhstan: the fightback
Dec 1600:28:28Tap to summarizeIn plain sight, in a modern city, a colleague offers to drive you home after work. How would you respond? One woman in Kazakhstan accepted the lift only to find herself kidnapped or ‘stolen’ as a bride. She got away, rescued by the police, but for many Kazakh women kidnap leads to marriage. Human Rights lawyer Khalida Azhigulova reckons that thousands of women are forced into marriage each year in Kazakhstan, including many who are abducted. Some women even find that a wedding has already been arranged by the time a kidnapper gets her home. Now, after 20 years of campaigning by Khalida and other activists, legislators have passed a law making forced marriage a crime.Monica Whitlock and Roza Kudabayeva travel to Kazakhstan to meet women who’ve been kidnapped, and hearing about the intense pressures that make them feel obliged to marry their abductors. Women like Gulbala who endured 20 years of marriage with her kidnapper and is now making a new life for herself. And Klara who is crystal clear that it’s time for a change. All her children will marry in the proper way, she says, because no one should be forced into marriage.Bride stealing is a problem not only in Kazakhstan, but in many other parts of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It’s often defended as ‘tradition’ rooted in the Kazakh’s nomadic past. Nonsense, says Khalida. ‘Kazakh girls in the nomadic community were raised as warriors. They were taught to ride a horse, how to gallop, how to use arms and how to fight. She would not let anyone kidnap her'.Produced by Monica Whitlock and Rose Kudabayeva. Studio Mix by James Beard. Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison Editor: Penny Murphy
Transcribe →The struggle of Israel's peace movement
Dec 900:29:37Tap to summarizeTwo years ago a group of Jewish and Palestinian peace activists stood almost alone in Israel in calling for a ceasefire, as Israel launched a massive offensive on Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks of 7th October 2023. Emily Wither returns to hear how the lives of these activists have changed. She explores whether their message of peace and coexistence is breaking through at a time when societal divisions are deeper than ever.The group Standing Together, known for their matching purple t-shirts, is a group of Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel (referred to by the state as Israeli Arabs, the country’s largest minority making up over 20% of the population). It is unusual in either Israel or Palestine to find a mixed group working together for a shared cause and advocating for coexistence. Standing Together has received criticism from both sides of the conflict; with many Israelis calling them traitors and some Palestinian groups calling for a boycott of the movement. Despite all this the group say the only way to achieve a lasting peace is for the communities to work together. Reporter: Emily Wither Producer: Alex Last Sound Mix: Tony Churnside Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Series Editor: Penny Murphy
Transcribe →The real ‘Yellowstone’: a battle for the cowboy way of life
Nov 400:26:36Tap to summarizeRanches, rodeos…and public land. This is the story of a surprising battle raging in the American West, and the unlikely coalition it’s forged. Nearly half of all land in the West of the United States is owned by the federal government. Some people are trying to change that; they argue that part of it should be used for housing, amid a nationwide shortage. But this debate about land and development has touched a nerve in the Western psyche - tapping into bigger fears that the old way of life is under threat. It’s about identity, trust, and the growing popularity of cowboy culture - driven in part by the TV series ‘Yellowstone’. In an increasingly polarised United States, this debate about public land is uniting cowboys, environmental activists, conservatives, and progressives. Ellie House reports from Montana - a state where the prospect of a public land selloff is deeply unpopular, and where people feel like their cultures and traditions are at stake. Presenter: Ellie House Producer: Josephine Casserly Production coordinators: Katie Morrison and Gemma Ashman Mix: Rod Farquhar Series editor: Penny Murphy
Transcribe →Tajikistan’s Last, Lonely Hyenas
Aug 1200:29:10Tap to summarizeFor decades, conservationists in Tajikistan assumed that the striped hyena – a shy, less vocal cousin of the spotted hyena – was extinct there. But in 2017 a motion-sensitive camera trap in the country’s south-western corner, near the borders with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, detected the presence of a female with cubs. The discovery stunned local observers, and ever since, one man and his colleagues have struggled to find out more about the few remaining Tajik striped hyenas with a view to saving them from oblivion. The challenges are immense, including the international animal parts trade, competition between animals and humans for habitat, and often-negative public perceptions of the hyena itself. Eight years on, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent travels to the grassy lowlands of Tajikistan to join the small team in their fight to save these elusive, persecuted mammals, and in doing so learns how vital hyenas are to both the ecosystem and human health.Reporter: Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent Producer: Mike Gallagher Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Sound mixer: Neil Churchill Series editor: Penny Murphy
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