Italian designer Giorgio Armani dies

Summary

Global News Podcast – Episode Summary

Date: September 5, 2025
Host: Valerie Sanderson, BBC World Service
Main Theme:
This episode brings listeners up-to-date on breaking international news, with a strong focus on the life and legacy of Giorgio Armani following his death, alongside major stories from Gaza, Ukraine, US public health, and unique human interest angles.

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1. Remembering Giorgio Armani: A Fashion Icon Passes Away

[01:08 – 07:44]

Key Points:

• Giorgio Armani, legendary Italian fashion designer, died at 91.
• Tributes poured in from international figures including Italy’s prime minister, actors, and fashion industry insiders.
• Armani was praised for revolutionizing global fashion, bringing prestige to Italian design, creating an empire including fashion, sport, music, and luxury hotels.
• Known for elegant simplicity and "deconstructing" traditional tailoring.
• Built his company single-handedly after humble beginnings, including selling his car to fund his first collection.
• Gained worldwide fame after Hollywood’s embrace, notably via American Gigolo.
• Maintained humility despite success; worked tirelessly alongside his team.

Notable Quotes:

• Fashion Journalist/Reporter:

  “Style is not about being noticed, it’s about being remembered, Mr. Armani used to say.” [03:13]

• Giorgio Armani (BBC interview):

  “I don’t present myself as some sort of great personality. I work from morning till night, just like the people around me.” [03:39]

• Fashion Journalist/Reporter:

  “Cinema was my great passion. If when I was young I could have afforded it, I might have preferred being a film director rather than a designer.” [05:10]

Alexander Fury, Fashion Journalist, on Armani’s Impact:

• Armani’s deconstruction of tailoring influenced modern suits globally.
• He “softened” menswear and “hardened” womenswear.
• Was a pioneer in VIP “red carpet” dressing and worked on more than 200 films.
• Maintained complete independence for his brand, unusual in luxury fashion.
• Built a lifestyle empire—“beyond 360” creative control.
• Admired Gabrielle Chanel; both left unmistakable stylistic legacies.

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2. Israeli Military Advances in Gaza City

[07:44 – 08:59]

Key Points:

• Israeli military now controls 40% of Gaza City; intends to fully capture it.
• International pressure mounts as civilian casualties increase; at least 53 killed Thursday by Israeli fire, including children.
• Residents remain amid evacuation orders, citing the severe danger and lack of safe havens.

Notable Quote:

• IDF Spokesman:

  “Today we hold 40% of the territory of Gaza City. The operation will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days. Hamas will meet the IDF forces in Gaza City in full force.” [08:04]

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3. Ukraine War: Security Guarantees and European Diplomacy

[08:59 – 13:02]

Key Points:

• Summit in France: 26 Western allies pledge post-ceasefire security support for Ukraine, potentially including troops.
• President Macron said deployments could begin the day after a peace deal.
• Political complexities:
  • Some countries (e.g., Italy, Poland) are reluctant to send troops.
  • The US maintains a key role in any effective settlement.
• Ongoing conflict:
  • Russia continues offensive in Donetsk, seeking strategic territory.
  • President Zelensky expresses concern over continued EU energy purchases from Russia; Europe hopes US can pressure major buyers.

Notable Quotes:

• James Waterhouse, Ukraine correspondent:

  “There is still not enough external pressure being applied on Vladimir Putin to put the brakes on to change course.” [11:07]

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4. Lisbon Funicular Tragedy

[13:02 – 15:21]

Key Points:

• Funicular crash in Lisbon: At least 16 dead, 20+ injured (including tourists, children).
• Incident occurred on Elvador de Gloria; investigation focusing on cable rupture at liftoff.
• Portugal’s PM calls it a “great human tragedy.”

Visitor Account:

• “All of a sudden there was no brakes... it was going down fast with acceleration like there’s no control... everyone started to shout and scream.” [14:00–14:20]

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5. Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG): Environmental and Well-being Initiative

[15:21 – 18:33]

Key Points:

• Group of women, aged 65–85, dive in Massachusetts ponds to collect underwater trash.
• Founded by Susan Bauer (85), retired psychologist.
• Provides intense exercise, adventure, social purpose, and environmental impact.
• 30 active members, 45 volunteers; popular due to limited adventure options for older women.
• Described as an activity that’s challenging, slightly dangerous, and deeply absorbing.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan Bauer:

  “The more I picked up, the more I saw that this was a good thing to do, partly for the water and certainly for me.” [15:57]
  “We are an environmental service... but we’re also an inspiration for women over 65. We’re active, we’re strong.” [17:43]
  “We never know what we’re going to pick up or what we’re going to find. We lose track of ourselves and we are totally unselfconscious.” [18:15]

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6. US Health Leadership and Vaccine Policy Turmoil

[20:11 – 24:23]

Key Points:

• Controversial US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies at a Senate hearing after firing the CDC director and stopping vaccine research.
• RFK Jr. claims dramatic action is needed to improve US health and decrease chronic disease.
• Lawmakers express bipartisan skepticism; public opinion and medical associations are largely wary or opposed.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics has diverged from federal (CDC) guidance, recommending vaccines for children and pregnant women.

Notable Quotes:

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr.:

  “When my uncle was president, we spent zero on chronic disease. Today we spent $1.3 trillion. We are the sickest country in the world. That’s why we have to fire people at CDC.” [20:35]

• Nomia Iqbal, North America correspondent:

  “One Democratic senator described him as a charlatan. I think it was always going to be very bruising.” [21:44]

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7. Food Addiction and Obesity: Dr. David Kessler Interview

[25:06 – 28:10]

Key Points:

• Former US health chief Dr. David Kessler discusses “addictive foods”—sugar, fat, salt combinations—and their role in the obesity crisis.
• Kessler describes foods engineered to trigger reward circuits, akin to nicotine.
• Weight loss drugs (Ozempic, Mounjaro) offer partial solutions, not addressing core addiction.
• Countries like France and Italy less affected, possibly due to lower prevalence of ultra-processed foods and different eating habits.

Notable Quotes:

• David Kessler:

  “Addiction is not about the weak or the downtrodden. The human brain evolved to deal with scarcity, not abundance... These foods have become the new cigarette and they have resulted in a health catastrophe.” [25:32–26:27]
  “You have this cue induced wanting, you have this craving, you have this relapse. Those are the essential elements of an addiction.” [27:27]

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8. AI Language Divide in Africa

[28:10 – 32:04]

Key Points:

• Western-focused AI leaves African language speakers behind; most platforms train on high-resource (Western/Asian) languages.
• Personalized, local-language AI tools (e.g., AI Pharma) hold promise for rural Africans.
• The Africa Next Voices initiative created a vast, open data set of conversations in 18 languages to boost AI inclusiveness.

Notable Quotes:

• Lebu, farmer:

  “I think for somebody in the rural areas like me who is not exposed to technology ... you can ask in a simple language.” [30:40]

• Professor Vukosi Marivate:

  “Language is not just the words… You need some basis to start off with and that's what we hope the African Next Voices is and then people will build on top of that and then add their own innovations.” [31:29–32:01]

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9. Are Phones Causing Bowel Issues?

[32:04 – 35:05]

Key Points:

• New research links extended smartphone use on the toilet (e.g. TikTok scrolling) with a higher risk of hemorrhoids: 46% more likely vs. non-phone users.
• Extended sitting increases pelvic pressure.
• Solution: Set a two-TikTok or five-minute limit per bathroom trip.

Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Ellie Cannon:

  “Phones are designed to be addictive ... There’s always something new. They are as addictive as a one-armed bandit in a casino.” [34:03–34:13]

• Study author:

  “When you go in, you have just one job and you should focus on that job. If the magic hasn’t happened within five minutes, take a breather and come back.” [35:00]

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Memorable and Significant Moments

• The Human Side of Aging and Adventure:
  Susan Bauer’s story highlights novel ways seniors find physical, social, and mental well-being (17:43).
• Armani’s Timeless Wisdom:

  “Style is not about being noticed, it’s about being remembered.” [03:13]

• Sharp Health Debate in the US:
  “We are the sickest country in the world. That’s why we have to fire people at CDC.” [20:35]

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 01:08 – 07:44: Giorgio Armani tribute and legacy
• 07:44 – 08:59: Gaza City conflict update
• 08:59 – 13:02: Ukraine security talks/Europe diplomacy
• 13:02 – 15:21: Lisbon funicular tragedy
• 15:21 – 18:33: OLAUG (Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage)
• 20:11 – 24:23: RFK Jr. Senate hearing & US vaccine debate
• 25:06 – 28:10: Food addiction and obesity crisis
• 28:10 – 32:04: AI and African languages
• 32:04 – 35:05: Mobile phones and bowel health

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Tone & Style Notes

• Informative, urgent, but human-centric: Balances breaking news with deep personal and societal stories.
• Maintains BBC’s trademark impartial, authoritative, yet accessible presentation.

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For full context on any headline or story, timestamps above can be used to locate segments of particular interest.

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

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[Valerie Sanderson]

This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson and in the early hours of Friday 5th September, these are our main stories. Tributes are being paid to the Italian designer and giant of the fashion industry, Giorgio Armani, who's died at the age of 91. The Israeli military says it now holds 40% of Gaza City as it presses ahead with plans to fully capture the city. After talks hosted by France, President Macron says that 26 countries have signed up to contribute to Ukraine's security after any ceasefire with Russia. Also in this podcast, the more I.

[Susan Bauer]

Picked up, the more I saw that this was a good thing to do, partly for the water and certainly for me.

[Valerie Sanderson]

How for one group of elderly women, happiness is diving into a murky lake looking for trash, a symbol of the best of Italy. He was able to bring lustre to Italian fashion and inspire the entire world. That's how the Italian prime minister paid tribute to Giorgio Armani, who's died at the age of 91. Giorgio Melodi joined a host of actors and fashion insiders who praised the Italian maestro for his contribution to style. Armani was supremely successful in founding an empire which eventually included clothing, sport, music and luxury hotels. Sara Mineta looks back at his life.

[Interviewee/Guest]

Armani is my best friend.

[Narrator/Host]

No, he's my best friend.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

On a stage between actors Sophia Loren and Steve Martin, Giormani smiles somewhat shyly and pretends to walk away. The Italian designer was a favorite of Hollywood stars who wore him on screen and on the red carpet.

[Narrator/Host]

Mr. Armani designed it and it's really tight and it's really beautiful.

[David Kessler]

I'm not, you know, real like show.

[Narrator/Host]

Offy kind of guy, but I do.

[Alexander Fury]

Want people to pay attention to him.

[Narrator/Host]

And I think spiritually, he makes things that allow me to feel that way.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

Style is not about being noticed, it's about being remembered, Mr. Armani used to say. And the elegant simplicity of his creations truly was what made him stand out and successfully weathered the passing trends of fashion for more than half a century. But in an interview for a BBC documentary, Giorgio Armani talked about himself with humility.

[Narrator/Host]

I don't present myself as some sort of great personality. I work from morning till night, just like the people around me.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

Born in a small town in northern Italy just before the second World War, he grew up in poverty. As a young man, he first tried to become a doctor, Then he went into the army. His first brush with fashion was a job as a window dresser in a department store in Milan. From there, he moved to fashion brand Cerrutti and only launched his own company in 1974. After selling his car to pay for his first collection. One show after the other, he began building a name for himself, revolutionizing fashion by tearing the jacket apart and getting rid of his stiff padding.

[Narrator/Host]

I realized that a certain kind of woman was looking for a self dressing that was more man like. They liked deconstructed jackets, plain, soft and flowing. Something they could move in freely like a second skin.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

But cinema was really what gave him international recognition. The iconic scene in the movie American Gigolo where Richard Gere tears into his closet and lines up on the bed. Four Armani outfits was the beginning of a long collaboration between Hollywood and Italian designer who never made a secret of his love for the big screen.

[Narrator/Host]

Cinema was my great passion. If when I was young I could have afforded it, I might have preferred being a film director rather than a designer.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

By the end of his life, his brand one of the few still fully independent. And although now there will be questions over his company's future, George Rodmani's legacy is already pretty much set in stone.

[Narrator/Host]

For many people, having something of money is an aspiration. For young man or woman, owning an Armani suit is a sign of success.

[Valerie Sanderson]

That report from Sara Mineta. Fashion journalist Alexander Furey interviewed Giorgio Armani for an interview published last week.

[Alexander Fury]

He tore up the rulebook and he literally tore up tailoring. He deconstructed men's tailoring and basically every suit that we have in the world today is a reaction to an Armani suit. But he did also change womenswear. I think a kind of apt summary is to say that he softened menswear and he hardened womenswear. He opened a VIP dressing salon in 1988, which was incredibly early for anyone to be kind of interacting with dressing celebrities on the red carpet. And he also worked with. On over 200 films with different directors. Martin Scorsese even directed a documentary about Armani in the early 1990s. There was very much a response, a kind of creative exchange between him and those celebrities and a mutual admiration. At one point, Armani was the biggest fashion company in Italy. It kind of outstripped all of its competitors. I would say that was probably in its heydays of the 1980s and early 1990s, but obviously it's still a sizable business, and it was entirely independent, which was something that for him was. Was incredibly important. There's a huge Armani flagship in the middle of Milan, which, incidentally, is in a building from the 1930s, but one that's built in the shape of an A, which is very kind of in keeping with everything Armani, you know. And in that building, you can buy Armani clothes, but you can buy Armani chocolates, you can buy Armani floral arrangements, you can stay in an Armani hotel, you can live in Armani residences. And it really was, I think, beyond 360 in terms of his kind of creative control over all of these different spheres. He once told me that the designer he most admired was Gabrielle Chanel. And I think, interestingly, you can talk about a Chanel style, you can talk about an Armani style, and everyone knows what you mean when you mention those names. Those names resonate with everyone. They have a universality, and that's kind of part of the legacy that he's left behind.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Fashion journalist Alexander Fury. The Israeli military says it now holds 40% of Gaza City, the largest city in the Palestinian territory. A spokesman, Effie Defron, said the military offensive there would intensify in the coming days.

[Narrator/Host]

Today we hold 40% of the territory of Gaza City. The operation will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days. Hamas will meet the IDF forces in Gaza City in full force. This week, we began to mobilize tens of thousands of reservists in preparation for the deepening of the attack on Hamas in Gaza City.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Our global affairs reporter, Mimi Swabi has more details.

[Interviewee/Guest]

Israel has increased its bombardments of Gaza City despite mounting international pressure to stop its campaign. The Hamas controlled health ministry says Israeli fire across the enclave killed at least 53 people on Thursday, most of them in Gaza City. One strike reportedly hit a tent sheltering a displaced family, killing five people including three children. Footage showed a pair of blood stained.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Pink slippers among the debris.

[Interviewee/Guest]

One resident told the BBC that despite receiving multiple evacuation orders, they can't leave as moving is too dangerous and there.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Is nowhere safe to go. Mimi Swabi the French President Emmanuel Macron says 26 Western allies have formally committed to deploying troops to Ukraine. Speaking on Thursday after a summit of 35 countries dubbed the Coalition of the Willing, Mr. Macron said the soldiers could be sent to Ukraine the day after a ceasefire deal is agreed.

[Narrator/Host]

You have 20 or so countries ready to put troops on the ground in Ukraine, to have support in the air, to have support in Ukrainian seas, and that will boost the implementation of the support and the reassurance for the Ukrainian default.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Mr. Macron also accused Russia of trying to delay the peace process in order to seize more Ukrainian territory. Our Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse told me more about the outcome of the Paris talks.

[Narrator/Host]

I was hoping for some kind of concrete outcome because it is these security guarantees being discussed which are central to any kind of lasting ceasefire or peace deal for Ukraine. What does Europe want? It wants a ceasefire before anything else, including Ukraine. The German chancellor Friedrich Merz called for it once more. But Donald Trump, after arguably being lobbied by Moscow, has said, I'll bypass a ceasefire. Let's go straight to a peace deal. I think that's reflective of the difficulties in slowing Russia's war machine. So what have we learned today? Well, the 26 out of 30 or so countries have said we will put troops on the ground or some kind of military contribution. But what's notable is who isn't, you know, Italy, Poland, yes, supporters of Ukraine, but seemingly unwilling to provide to the troops after a ceasefire is signed or after the war is paused, we're told. According to the French President Emmanuel Macron, there is already a military and political solution that has been presented to Donald Trump. But here is the rub. It needs the US President to go for it because otherwise this is just political. This is just an argument. It still needs the might of America to mean anything.

[Valerie Sanderson]

They talked to President Trump via video link today, didn't they? What's emerged about that conversation?

[Narrator/Host]

Well, Volodymyr Zelensky said he voiced his unhappiness with some European countries continuing to buy Russian oil and gas, notably Hungary and Slovakia, allies of the Kremlin. But of course, you know, last year the EU collectively bought more Russian fuel than it did provide Ukraine with, with aid. It, it does have long term goals to completely wean itself as a block. But clearly Donald Trump is perhaps looking to continue his policy of trying to gradually starve the Russian war machine. He's already slapped India with heightened tariffs for buying Russian oil. But the, the consensus in Europe is this, that there is still not enough external pressure being applied on Vladimir Putin to put the brakes on to change course. Just yesterday in China, he said, you know, we are still going to pursue our military goals. And that is what Europe is desperate to change. Could Donald Trump take stiffer action with Russia's biggest oil customers? Europe certainly hopes so.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And meanwhile on the front lines, Russia is pushing and pushing, isn't it, to gain more Ukrainian ground?

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah, I mean, that just has not changed. If you look at the remaining Ukrainian controlled part of the Donetsk region, I mean, this is the focal point, right? You've got three or four major cities that sit in hilly terrain. It's a huge, it's militarily significant. It is this area which is central to these negotiations, where Russia is saying, you give us the rest of the Donetsk region and we'll stop the war. What Ukraine and Europe is saying is these are cities we've staunchly defended. I mean, I've been there countless times. They have not become close to falling. And what Zelenskyy is saying is if you allow Russia to take this hilly terrain, to take the remaining Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, it will just regroup, regather and have another go, just like it did in 2014 after it seized Crimea.

[Valerie Sanderson]

James Waterhouse, the operator of the funicular tram in Lisbon, which crashed on Wednesday evening, killing at least 16 people, has promised to reopen the service in future. The public transport company Carries has suspended the city's other funiculars while inspections carried out. More than 20 people, including foreign nationals and a child, are among those injured. The initial findings of investigations into what caused the crash are expected to be published later today. Friday, Our Europe correspondent Jessica Parker sent us this report from Lisbon.

[Interviewee/Guest]

The ding of the bell from one of the funicular cars on Elvador de Gloria on Wednesday evening, moments before the journey went terribly wrong. This sound is from the lower car, not the upper one, that careered out of control, derailed and crashed on a bend. The footage was filmed by Rascher on holiday with her husband and son as the carriage set off.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

So we were driving up and all of a sudden there was no brakes. In our cable car, it was going.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Down fast with acceleration like there's no control.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

And it hit then down.

[Narrator/Host]

The head was very hard and people.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

Were crashing each other.

[Susan Bauer]

We didn't know what's happening.

[Fashion Journalist/Reporter]

And everyone started to shout and scream. It was very scary because it was within some seconds.

[Interviewee/Guest]

Elvador de Gloria is the best known of Lisbon's famous funicular railways. Within minutes, it carries people between the restoradore's central square in downtown Lisbon to the buzzing streets above of Barro Alto. The two cars connected by a cable run on a counterweight system. As one car goes down, its weight lifts the other up. But just after 6pm on Wednesday evening, horror struck. Civil Protection officer Antonio Rodriguez believes a big focus of the investigation will be the connecting cable.

[David Kessler]

There are indications that it may have.

[Narrator/Host]

Ruptured at the moment of liftoff, when the strain and tension on the cable are greatest. Experts are looking at the engineering mechanism to understand what failed.

[Interviewee/Guest]

Lisbon's public transport operator Carice told reporters they couldn't yet reveal what had caused the accident, but said they had increased maintenance spending in recent years. Portugal's prime minister described the crash as one of the great human tragedies in the country's recent history.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Jessica Parker, now what's the key to happiness and a long, healthy life? Well, how about diving into a cold, muddy lake looking for trash? One group of women all over the age of 65 swear by it. They're called Olaug, our old ladies against underwater garbage. And together they're clearing up the waterways and pond of Cape Cod in Massachusetts in the U.S. but also, it seems, improving their own well being, both physical and mental. The founder, 85 year old Susan Bauer, a retired psychologist, told James Menendez how it all began.

[Susan Bauer]

I started around 2018 because I had tried so hard to get towns to act so the turtles wouldn't lose their habitat, stop dogs from running in and out of the pond, stop people from making new beaches. And I failed and failed and failed. And so the one thing I sort of could do without asking anybody's approval was to pick up garbage. And the more I picked up, the more I saw that this was a good thing to do.

[Narrator/Host]

Is it hard work?

[Susan Bauer]

Oh, yes, it's very hard work. You can tell by the tryouts we have every year that you have to swim a half a mile in under 30 minutes and then be able to complete that mile. So you have to be a tireless swimmer. But then when you get going on the beer cans and the golf balls and you're diving 8 to 10, sometimes 12ft, time after time after time. And then you come up, you hand the can to the kayaker. Often you'll give her three fingers, four fingers, meaning I've got four more down there. Wait for me. How many beer cans can you get in a single dive? Yeah, you get tired and we're in the water really whatever the temperature from May through September for an hour to an hour and a half.

[Narrator/Host]

I mean, you talked about the tryouts, but you don't seem to have any trouble finding volunteers.

[Susan Bauer]

We have 30 people on our team right now. We have 45 volunteers. I wish I could use every one of them. Every one of them wants to join, wants to be part of this adventure because there aren't that many adventures and especially for women over 65.

[Narrator/Host]

Is that the bottom age limit then 65 to 85?

[Susan Bauer]

I'm the 85.

[Alexander Fury]

Is there something more to picking up.

[Narrator/Host]

The litter that improves your well being, do you think?

[Susan Bauer]

We are an environmental service. We get the spent fireworks with leaking perchlorates out of the water, we get car batteries, we get bad things out of the water. But we're also an inspiration for women over 65. We're active, we're strong. As a retired psychologist, I think the most active of the active ingredients is the fact that we're in the flow, in the zone. And by that I mean that we present ourselves with a job that is so challenging, so difficult. Slightly dangerous. Very definitely slightly dangerous. We never know what we're going to pick up or what we're going to find. We lose track of ourselves and we are totally unselfconscious.

[Valerie Sanderson]

The 85 year old founder of Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage, Susan Bauer. Still to come, as new research suggests, watching too much tick tock on the toilet is bad for the bowels. This doctor is understanding there is addictive.

[Narrator/Host]

As a one armed bandit in a casino.

[Susan Bauer]

So we're sort of fighting that.

[Valerie Sanderson]

So I don't feel sort of too.

[Narrator/Host]

Blameful of all of us as humans. This is the story of the 1. As a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Grainger to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done at the BBC. We go further so you See Clearer. With a subscription to BBC.com, you get unlimited articles and videos, hundreds of ad free podcasts and the BBC News Channel streaming live 24. 7 from. Less than a dollar a week for your first year. Read, watch and listen to trusted independent journalism and storytelling. It all starts with a subscription to BBC.com find out more at BBC.com unlimited.

[Valerie Sanderson]

After a week of turmoil at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the cdc, the man who sparked it all, America's controversial health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has been defending himself in a bruising Senate hearing. The nephew of JFK insisted to Republicans and Democrats that he'd been right to shake up the department and fire its recently appointed director.

[Narrator/Host]

Susan, when my uncle was president, we spent zero on chronic disease. Today we spent $1.3 trillion. We are the sickest country in the world. That's why we have to fire people at cdc. They did not do their job. This was their job to keep us healthy. Thank you. And I need to fire some of those people to make sure this doesn't happen again.

[Valerie Sanderson]

And in a fiery exchange with the Colorado Democrat, Michael Bennett, Mr. Kennedy denied he was taking away parental choice with possible changes to vaccine policy for diseases including measles, mumps and polio.

[Narrator/Host]

I'm asking the questions for Mr. Kennedy on behalf of parents and schools and teachers all over the United States of America who deserve so much better than your leadership. That's what this conversation is about. Senator, Chairman, Senator, Senator, they deserve the truth and that's what we're going to give them. For the first time in the history of that agency.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Our North America correspondent, Noma Iqbal followed the hearing and she told us it was a very tough encounter for Senator Kennedy.

[Interviewee/Guest]

One Democratic senator described him as a charlatan. I think it was always going to be very bruising. I remember his confirmation hearing back in February. RFK insisted he wasn't anti vaccine. Democrats did not believe him. There were some Republicans that were skeptical. And then since becoming America's top health officials, he's taken all these drastic steps. You mentioned there firing the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was someone he actually appointed. And he's also terminated research on some life saving vaccines. But as we heard there, he hugely defended himself. And this hearing, it's worth mentioning. You know, it's not like he will lose his job or anything, but it was an opportunity for lawmakers to really sort of hold his feet to the fire and question him on what he's been doing the last few months.

[Valerie Sanderson]

So he won't lose his job. Will this hearing change anything? I mean, might he change course?

[Interviewee/Guest]

It'll be difficult to see how that could happen. So it's worth mentioning that there are plenty of people who believe in the methods of rfk. So the Make America Healthy Again movement, it is pretty vocal. There are many Republicans that agree with him on being skeptical about vaccines. You're already seeing the impact of some of his changes. We're seeing in Florida where they've moved to end constitutionally upheld vaccine requirements. But I think if you look at the polls, the Make America Healthy Again movement is pretty fringe. There are plenty of polls won out today by our CBS partner station that say Americans tend to believe that Robert F. Kennedy Jr's policies are making vaccines less available rather than more available and they want them to be more available. But at the same time, the large majority of Americans feel that government policy ought to make vaccines more available if people want them. And that is, I think, RFK's position generally. But in terms of whether or not he will be fired, Donald Trump massively supports him.

[Valerie Sanderson]

How worried is the medical establishment about him and about his current policy?

[Interviewee/Guest]

I think they are really worried, especially if you look at the American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, they've broken with the CDC advice. They released vaccine recommendations last month and that is a break from the federal guidance that they're usually shaped by when it comes to health. And basically they have said that they do recommend vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women and they do not agree with the CDC's advice. And just to mention, the AAP is a professional organization, has more than 65,000 board certified paediatricians. And so you do have groups like that really concerned about what's happening.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Nomia Iqbal Another major concern in the debate over health in the US is of course, the obesity epidemic, which affects numerous other Western countries. Perhaps not surprisingly, it's more tempting, more rewarding for the brain to eat tasty combinations of sugar, fat and salt than to devour broccoli. Now, the America doctor who led the White House's scientific COVID 19 response team has written a book about food. He himself has used weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. But he thinks they're not a complete solution to what he calls an abundance of addictive food. David Kessler spoke to Evan Davis and began by explaining his battles with his own weight.

[David Kessler]

I've gained and lost my body weight repeatedly over my lifetime. I have suits in every size. Every time I lost it, I thought I was done and it would come back.

[Narrator/Host]

And this brings us then to the food that we're eating. You think we are literally addicted to certain kinds of foods and they're not foods that are giving us much nutrition, they're foods that are giving us basically a lot of dopamine hits.

[David Kessler]

Addiction is not about the weak or the downtrodden. The human brain evolved to deal with scarcity, not abundance. For much of human history, there was no guarantee as to when our next meal would arrive. So our biological systems are designed to seek out the sweetest, most energy dense foods. We're wired to focus on the most salient stimuli in our environment. And that for many people it's that energy dense food. And only when you go without, try to, you know, stop doing it. Do you see that craving, that relapse. If you just keep on eating, you're not going to notice those addictive circuits, those reward circuits, those ultra formulated foods, they have been engineered to manipulate the brain's reward systems. I mean, these foods have become the new cigarette and they have resulted in a health catastrophe.

[Narrator/Host]

One interesting thing is there are countries that have not gone as far down the road you're describing as the United States or the United Kingdom. I'm thinking say of France, where they sit and they eat a lot. You know, they have a three course meal at school for lunch, they, they love cheese, but they're nothing like as obese as the Americans. And it's just what is going on there.

[David Kessler]

If you look France and Italy, there's much less ultra processed foods. I mean also I think that if you look in some of the Asian countries and certainly the ultra formulated foods, you just don't see these unnatural combinations of fat and sugar, fat and salt.

[Narrator/Host]

I have to say it rings so true to me. I find when I go to the US now, I'm not eating at home, if I go to the us I'm always eating in hotels or restaurants. I feel I never go anywhere without such big portions. And I'm never anywhere where I'm so hungry. I'm always hungry in the US it's as though the food is designed to make you.

[David Kessler]

The next time you see yourself like that, ask yourself what just triggered that. It's what's called cue induced wanting. Now a cue can be the time of day. It could be you just passed that bakery. It could be a memory of a food you ate even decades ago. Now all of a sudden something triggers that thought. If you eat the food, that thought goes away. But if you try to resist, maybe I shouldn't have that. Maybe it won't be good for me. But then what happens? And you have that craving and then what do you see with weight? You lose it, but you gain it back. You have that relapse. So you have this cues induced wanting. You have this craving, you have this relapse. Those are the essential elements of an addiction.

[Valerie Sanderson]

David Kessler With AI powered websites becoming a part of daily life for millions around the world, Some in Africa are concerned that citizens there are being excluded from Western focused software. Efforts are being made in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria to create more AI products in African languages. Researchers have recorded more than 9,000 hours of local speech to open up this transformative new technology to more people across the continent. As Pomsa Fulani reports Hola Pil in.

[Reporter/Field Correspondent]

The blistering sun in Rustenburg, the heart of South Africa's Platinum region, we arrive on a 21 hectare farm and find a small team hard at work tending to rows and rows of vegetables. That's she's a 45 year old mother turned produce farmer, interchanging between two local languages, Setswana and Isekhosa. She gives instructions to each of her workers on what needs to be done. It's a small glimpse of language diversity at play. How many people, not just in South Africa but across Africa, often weave between indigenous languages to communicate? Africa is home to a third of the world's languages. Despite this, in AI development, those languages are missing. Critics say the issue is a lack of investment and readily available data. Many of the well known AI systems are trained on English, Chinese or European data sets, what researchers call high resource languages. But for millions of people across Africa who only speak indigenous languages, this means being left behind. Yet local experts say the opportunity for AI to help solve everyday challenges in Africa is immense if designed with local languages in mind. Our farmer Lebu agrees. She uses a homegrown app, AI Pharma for help when problems arise on her farm and can act quickly, saving time and money, prompting it in her home language, Setswana. The app understands and responds with suggestions.

[Narrator/Host]

You can see my cabbages, they're like opening.

[Valerie Sanderson]

So you know I can go into.

[Narrator/Host]

AI and ask that my captures are.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Opening, what that is.

[Narrator/Host]

I think for somebody in the rural areas like me who is not exposed.

[Valerie Sanderson]

To technology or anything, you can ask.

[Narrator/Host]

In a simple language.

[Reporter/Field Correspondent]

So what did you just ask the app now?

[Valerie Sanderson]

I just asked that.

[Reporter/Field Correspondent]

But such language savvy tools are extremely rare and AI needs massive data to work well. A new project called Africa Next Voices may help with this its researchers have created the largest known data set of African languages across South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. They asked everyday people to talk about everyday things, from farming, schooling to healthcare in 18 different local languages.

[Narrator/Host]

Language is not just the words, that's.

[Reporter/Field Correspondent]

South African Professor Vukosi Marivate, a computer scientist and African languages enthusiast. He's one of the leads on the African Next Voice project, which took two years to complete.

[Narrator/Host]

If I was to go to Nigeria.

[Alexander Fury]

To Kenya, there are shared histories, things.

[Narrator/Host]

Like colonialism, empire that have impacted in.

[Alexander Fury]

The way that we think about languages.

[Narrator/Host]

And the way that develop.

[Alexander Fury]

You need some basis to start off with and that's what we hope the African Next Voices is and then people will build on top of that and.

[Narrator/Host]

Then add their own innovations.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Vikhosi Maravet, professor of Computer Science at the University of Pretoria, ending that report. By Phamsa Fulani if you picture all the ways mobile phones have changed lives, you may not think bowels are anywhere near the top of the list. But doctors are warning that mobiles are having a bigger impact on our insides than we might think. BBC's Will Chalk has the story in.

[Will Chalk]

A first for my once relatively glamorous journalistic career, I've had to come to the toilet to record this piece because it's all about how we pass our time when we're sitting on the loo. And one habit in particular, Nell's Gotta.

[Narrator/Host]

Remember all that's your £36 model. Hello, excuse me.

[Will Chalk]

Namely scrolling through apps like TikTok on our phones. Scientists at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical center in Boston in the US analyzed the toilet habits and bowel health of 125 volunteers. They found toilet scrollers were 46% more likely to have hemorrhoids than people who left their phones outside. Why? Well, put simply, it's because they're incentivized to sit there longer. They found 37% of phone users spent more than five minutes on the loo, compared to 7% of those without one. The longer you're on the toilet, the more pressure it puts on your anal tissues. Chris Challand is a colorectal surgeon in Sheffield in England.

[Narrator/Host]

Part of that is just the design of the toilet, that while you're sitting there for a long period, there's nothing actually supporting your pelvic floor. So all of the weight and the gravity of while you're emptying is passing straight out through you, hence increasing the risk of piles developing.

[Will Chalk]

Now, I'm not actually old enough to remember this, but I am reliably told that before phones, people would often take a book or even a newspaper with them to the toilet. So what's changed? Ellie Cannon is a doctor in London.

[Valerie Sanderson]

The phones are designed to be addictive.

[Narrator/Host]

So they are designed to do this sort of scroll refresh thing and you always get something new, you know, so.

[Valerie Sanderson]

You have another quick look, you know.

[Narrator/Host]

So they're sort of there, there is addictive as a one armed bandit in a casino.

[Susan Bauer]

So we're sort of fighting that.

[Valerie Sanderson]

So I don't feel sort of too blameful of all of us as humans.

[Will Chalk]

The participants in this study were all aged 45 or over, and the researchers say amongst the younger generations, nearly everyone they asked said they take their phone to the loo so they think this problem is only likely to get worse in the future. Luckily, there's a solution. The study's authors say setting yourself a two tick tock limit per toilet trip should do the trick. In the words of one of the doctors, when you go in, you have just one job and you should focus on that job. If the magic hasn't happened within five minutes, take a breather and come back.

[Narrator/Host]

Now.

[Valerie Sanderson]

You know, World Chalk reporting. And that's it from us for now. But there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. you can also find us on XBCWorldService. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Chris Kouzares. The producers were Alison Davis and Rebecca Wood. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time. Bye bye.