Xi Jinping leads summit after Trump leaves

Summary

Global News Podcast – "Xi Jinping Leads Summit After Trump Leaves"

Host: Alex Ritson (BBC World Service)
Date: October 31, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Global News Podcast covers significant global events and developments, including:

• Xi Jinping’s prominence at the APEC summit post-Trump’s departure
• Ongoing atrocities and humanitarian crises in Sudan’s Darfur region
• The stripping of Prince Andrew’s titles by King Charles amid scandal
• The aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica
• A major armed gold heist in France
• A discussion on Western masculinity in crisis with author Scott Galloway
• New findings on bats living in English churches

The episode features reporting, expert interviews, and first-hand accounts, offering a comprehensive look into current affairs impacting global politics, society, and the environment.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Xi Jinping at the APEC Summit (00:38–05:58)

• Xi Jinping’s New Prominence:
  • After Donald Trump’s departure, the Chinese president becomes the central figure at the APEC conference in South Korea.
  • Reiterates that “changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world,” reflecting a shifting global order.
    (Alex Ritson paraphrasing Xi Jinping, 01:36)
• Diplomatic Meetings:
  • Xi meets new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
  • Both leaders echo the sentiment of a profound, global shift:
    • “Today we're facing another hinge moment in history. Our world is undergoing one of the most profound shifts since the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
      – Scott Galloway & Jake Kwon, (02:12–02:18)
  • Mark Carney underscores the demise of the “old world of steady expansion, rules-based liberalized trade and investment… that world is gone.”
    – Jake Kwon (02:22–02:39)
• China’s Strategy:
  • Xi uses the absence of Trump to assert Chinese influence, especially with middle and developing powers, promising open markets and infrastructure investments.
  • Notable cooling in relations between China and Canada (over trade and detentions) and with Japan (political tensions).

2. Continuing Atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur (05:58–09:58)

• Situation in El Fashr:
  • The city falls to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF); widespread violence, ethnic cleansing, and reports of genocide.
  • Tom Perriello, former U.S. Special Envoy, calls for accountability for the RSF’s crimes:
    “There are going to be immediate consequences for those who are part of the RSF leadership or connected to supporting it.”
    – Alex Ritson summarizing (06:58)
• Eyewitness Reports:
  • Survivors recounted brutal treatment, killings, and forced marches:
    “They beat us badly. And the thirst. The thirst. They took our water. And one of them says to the other, I will kill him. And the other replies, let him die of thirst.”
    – Anonymous survivor (07:38)
  • Ongoing humanitarian crisis: thousands dead, millions displaced.

3. Prince Andrew Stripped of Titles (09:58–13:58)

• King Charles’ Decision:
  • Strips Prince Andrew of royal titles following allegations of sexual abuse linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
  • Jonathan Dimbleby comments on the constitutional gravity and the king’s personal pain:
    “Arrogant, boorish, entitled, an embarrassment for a long time to the institution of the monarchy and to the King. I think that today he will be feeling a measure of relief…”
    – Jonathan Dimbleby (10:43)
  • Debate on why the process took so long, with explanation of due process and constitutional responsibility.

4. Aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica (13:58–17:55)

• Impact and Recovery:
  • At least 19 dead, many isolated. Authorities work to reach remote communities.
  • First-hand accounts highlight community fear and lack of aid:
    “I don't really see any help coming in. It's like we're on our own. That's the biggest problem. There's no help.”
    – Trevor White, resident (14:47)
  • Ongoing challenges: blocked roads, lack of water/communication, infrastructural damage.
  • Aid beginning to arrive; overwhelming and traumatic need throughout affected regions.

5. Gold Heist in Lyon, France (18:57–20:42)

• Dramatic Robbery:
  • Armed robbers use explosives to steal €12 million in gold from a refinery; suspects promptly arrested.
  • Witness accounts describe debris, injuries. Police lauded for quick action.
  • Noted as the second such attack in recent months.

6. Western Masculinity in Crisis – Interview with Scott Galloway (20:42–25:28)

• ‘Notes on Being a Man’:
  • Galloway paints a bleak picture for Western men: “No group has fallen further faster than men in the West. 4 times more likely to kill themselves, 12 times more likely to be incarcerated…”
    – Scott Galloway (21:21)
  • Links youth despair and antisocial influencers to lack of economic, romantic opportunities.
  • Critiques harmful influence of figures like Andrew Tate:
    “Their message is one of nationalism and blaming others, blaming women for your romantic problems, blaming immigrants for your economic problems.”
    – Scott Galloway (22:52)
  • Advocates for healthier role models, mentoring, and kindness:
    “A man's most secret weapon is kindness.”
    – Scott Galloway (23:33)
  • Warns of societal danger:
    “The most dangerous person in the world is a young, broke, lonely man. And in the west, we're producing millions of them.”
    – Scott Galloway (25:13)

7. Bats in English Churches: Hope for Coexistence (25:28–27:13)

• Research Findings:
  • Half of England’s churches host bats; church architecture mirrors bats’ natural roosting habitats.
  • Dr. Leah Gilmour explains harmonious relationships:
    “Even though bats can cause some problems from their droppings, mostly, the attitudes to bats were overwhelmingly positive… really good story coming out of this research paper in terms of the relationship between nature and people.”
    – Dr. Leah Gilmour (25:56)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Today we’re facing another hinge moment in history. Our world is undergoing one of the most profound shifts since the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
  – Scott Galloway, 02:12; Jake Kwon, 02:18

• “That world is gone.”
  – Jake Kwon, 02:38

• “If someone resisted the RSF fighters, they were beaten or robbed or even executed. I saw dead bodies in the streets.”
  – Survivor Yusra Ibrahim Mohamed, 08:02

• “I think that today [King Charles] will be feeling a measure of relief…”
  – Jonathan Dimbleby, 10:43

• “The most dangerous person in the world is a young, broke, lonely man. And in the west, we're producing millions of them.”
  – Scott Galloway, 25:13

• “Churches have become very important to bats historically.”
  – Dr. Leah Gilmour, 25:56

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Xi Jinping at APEC & Global Order: 00:38–05:58
• Darfur Atrocities & Eyewitness Accounts: 05:58–09:58
• Prince Andrew Banished: 09:58–13:58
• Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica: 13:58–17:55
• Gold Heist in Lyon: 18:57–20:42
• Masculinity Crisis with Scott Galloway: 20:42–25:28
• Churches & Bats: 25:28–27:13

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Tone and Style

The episode is fact-driven and sober, reflecting the gravity of international affairs, while also offering heartfelt, urgent testimonies from affected individuals and deeper social commentary. The program combines expert analysis with ground-level reporting and community voices, maintaining the BBC’s hallmark clarity and accessibility.

Transcript

[BBC Announcer]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk. At the BBC we go further so you see clearer. Through frontline reporting, global stories and local insights, we bring you closer to the world's news as it happens. And it starts with a subscription to BBC.com giving you unlimited articles and videos. Ad free podcasts the BBC News Channel streaming live 24. 7/Hi hundreds of acclaimed documentaries. Subscribe to trusted independent journalism and storytelling from the BBC. Find out [e-mail] Join.

[Alex Ritson]

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson and on Friday 31st October, these are our main stories. Xi Jinping takes center stage at the APEC conference in South Korea on after Donald Trump's departure from the gathering of leaders of Pacific nations. Tales of horror from Sudan, from those able to flee El FHA after the takeover by the paramilitary rsf. No longer a prince, Andrew is banished by his brother King Charles in an effort to distance the British monarchy from scandal. Also in this podcast, why Churches are Helping the Spirit of Halloween Bats have.

[Dr. Leah Gilmour]

Been associated with churches for a very long time, really, and the timbers in the roof are like branches. Churches have become very important to bats historically.

[Alex Ritson]

Donald Trump may no longer be at the APEC summit in South Korea, but many other world leaders are still there doing deals and taking undisputed centre stage is China's Xi Jinping. He told an audience that changes unseen in a century were accelerating across the world. As part of his diplomatic offensive, Mr. Xi met a number of other leaders on Friday, including the new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. He also sat down with the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who echoed Mr. Xi's thought that this was a time of profound global change.

[Scott Galloway]

Today we're facing another hinge moment in history. Our world is undergoing one of the.

[Jake Kwon]

Most profound shifts since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

[Alex Ritson]

And that old world, the world in.

[Jake Kwon]

Which APEC prospered but also helped to foster that old world of steady expansion.

[Scott Galloway]

Of rules based liberalized trade and investment. A world on which so much of our nation's prosperity, very much Canada's included.

[Jake Kwon]

That world is gone.

[Alex Ritson]

I asked our correspondent in Seoul, Jake Kwon, what President Xi has been saying.

[Jake Kwon]

Mr. Xi has addressed the world leaders today and the theme was one of collaboration and open econom. This has been an opportunity for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to expand China's influence among these world leaders, who represent some 60% of the world's GDP and 40% of the global population. We have expected China to approach these countries with the aim of keeping an open market for Chinese products. And that's exactly what he told them this morning. Mr. Xi will also approach the middle powers and developing economies with an offer of investment in infrastructure so he can align them closer to China. And he can do all of this without his rival, President Donald Trump, in the room. And I think we also saw some of the language shift. We just heard Prime Minister Carney there, and the language had shifted. After President Donald Trump has left South Korea, there was no more fawning over this new world that is great that Mr. Trump is creating. But the leaders are now addressing the elephant in the room, that there is a danger here as the world is now fractured and free trade has become a thing of the past. And we just heard the host of this APEC summit, President Lee Jae Myung, telling his peers that we are, in fact, in a crisis, that there is much uncertainty, that trade and investments are slowing down. The time of theatrics seems to be over, and we are seeing the world leaders really getting down to the business.

[Nick Robinson]

Yeah.

[Alex Ritson]

As we've been saying, Xi met Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, also the Japanese Prime Minister, Sanay Takaichi. Do we know what came out of those meetings?

[Jake Kwon]

Well, both leaders had issues to iron out with Chinese leaders. So this was a very important opportunity for both leaders. And we understand they have met briefly. It was a very brief chat between these leaders, I think between Japan and China. I think Canada's situation has been perhaps more dire. And China is Canada's number two trading partner after the U.S. but their relationship with China really froze over since 2018 when Canada on arrested a Chinese telecom executive on the US Behalf. And then China detained two Canadians on spy charges in retaliation. So this awful relationship has been continuing until today. And in recent months, two countries have been also putting up economic barriers against each other, namely the Chinese tariffs on canola oil, which is Canada's major agricultural export. So when it comes to Japan, they also have to address the somewhat cold air in the room. When Prime Minister Takaichi entered the office, she never congratulated her, which he has done for all her predecessors. Now, we won't know why Xi never sent a congratulation letter, but it was speculated that it was because she was considered a nationalist and a hawk when it comes to the relationship with China. So all these countries now all have something in common that they are receiving the brunt of America's trade warfare. And Mr. Trump has further raised tariffs on Canada just last week. So, you know, these countries have reasons to find relief from this new trade war by cooperating with each other, seeking to upgrade the trade relationship, as well as ironing out any kind of security problems and cold problems that they had in recent years.

[Alex Ritson]

Jake Kwon at the APEC summit in South Korea. The horror is continuing in Darfur, says the United nations, as aid agencies in Sudan express their fears that not enough people are being allowed to leave the city of Al Fasha, which fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces at the weekend. The RSF has acknowledged that violence against civilians has been committed by some of its fighters and several of them have been arrested, including Abu Lulu, who's been accused of summary executions. Tom Perriello was the last U.S. special envoy to Sudan. He left the post when President Trump returned to the White House this year and has not been replaced. Mr. Perriello said that the RSF needed investigating it's crimes against humanity and an active campaign of ethnically cleansing and committing.

[Jonathan Dimbleby]

Genocide in that area. This is a moment where I think.

[Alex Ritson]

The world, which has been ignoring these.

[Jake Kwon]

Horrific atrocities in Sudan, needs to say.

[Jonathan Dimbleby]

Very clearly that these must end and.

[Alex Ritson]

That there are going to be immediate consequences for those who are part of the RSF leadership or connected to supporting it. Our Africa correspondent, Barbara Plett Usher has heard from some of the people who've managed to escape Al Fasha by walking to the town of Tawila, 80km away.

[Barbara Plett Usher]

A nurse is probing for bullets in the broken flesh of this man, his bare torso showing he was shot several times as he fled Al Fashr. Now getting treatment at this camp in Tawila, the men are often a target. The paramilitaries who've captured the city suspect they belong to the army. That's what happened to this patient.

[BBC Announcer]

By God, brother, someone coming from Al Fasha says to you, you're a soldier. You say to him, I'm not a soldier. And they say, no. They threaten you with a weapon to your head. What does that mean? We don't understand anything. They beat us badly. And the thirst. The thirst. They took our water. And one of them says to the other, I will kill him. And the other replies, let him die of thirst.

[Barbara Plett Usher]

Yusra Ibrahim Mohamed is in the same tent at this clinic run by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders. She describes making the decision to leave the city after her husband, a soldier, was killed. We left three days ago, moving to avoid the artillery areas, she says. The people guiding us didn't know what was happening. If someone resisted the RSF fighters, they were beaten or robbed or even executed. I saw dead bodies in the streets. Ahmed Osman Ibrahim got shot three times when the group he was with tried to escape. But he was one of the lucky ones. There were seven of us who left.

[Jonathan Dimbleby]

Together, four of them.

[Jake Kwon]

The Arsef killed them in front of us, beat them and killed them.

[Barbara Plett Usher]

On the road from Al Fashr, there is danger of being attacked and robbed by militias. Many people already weak or injured walk most of the way at this last checkpoint, finally getting a ride to the camp. The fall of Al Fashr is a major victory for the RSF and a turning point in Sudan's civil war. But it's the evidence of atrocities that has captured world attention. The paramilitary's posting videos showing mass killings of unarmed people. In a recent speech, the RSF's commander, Mohammad Hamdan Degelo, admitted some violations and promised investigations. A day later, the group reported to the UN it had arrested some suspects. Al Fashr is only one battlefield in a terrible war that's killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and driven half the country into crisis. Those who made it to Tawila have survived against the odds. One of the darkest chapters in this conflict. But with the RSF determined to consolidate its gains, no one here feels safe.

[Alex Ritson]

Barbara Plett, Usher the name of King Charles brother Andrew is no longer on the roll of the peerage, the official record of the highest ranking and titled in Britain. He lost his right to be called prince on Thursday after the king took the honor away from him because of allegations that he had sex with Virginia Giuffre, a teenager who was trafficked by his friend, the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, as he must now be known, denies the claims. My colleague Nick Robinson has been speaking to a friend of the king, the broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby. He said King Charles has thought hard about his decision to strip his brother of his titles, but it was well deserved.

[Jonathan Dimbleby]

Arrogant, boorish, entitled, an embarrassment for a long time to the institution of the monarchy and to the King. I think that today he will be failing, feeling a measure of relief that after going through due process, constitutionally, legally being in touch with his family, keep in touch with number 10, that he has made this decision, his own personal decision, a very big decision, as you've identified and hope that for him and for the monarchy, it will now go away, although it won't, of course, for Andrew. I think the culmination of a whole series of things that he had clearly lied. You know, in New York, when he was with Epstein strolling, he said that he'd gone there to break with him. He was lying. He did not break with him. He continued the relationship. And I think that was the culminating factor. And I think and hope that he will now be given a measure of relief from the focus being on him who does important public work. And insofar as he continues, will be on the person who has been effectively banished to the private estate at Sandringham.

[Nick Robinson]

But why, some are still arguing, why did it take so long to deal with this?

[Jonathan Dimbleby]

The monarchy, the institution has to go through due process. It has to. It has to. If the man was saying and still says I'm innocent of any offense, and he, as the head of state and she, the queen beforehand as head of state, jumped from the allegation to the conclusion that by inference they supported the view that he was guilty. And that would, from their perspective, and I think from the perspective of a constitutional lawyer, would be an inappropriate ground for denying him the status that he has. And as you've identified correctly, of course, this is a huge step that has been taken.

[Nick Robinson]

Spell out why so huge? Jonathan because there are some people listening this morning who think it's an obvious step, a step only taken in response to opinion polls and pressure from MPs who are getting closer and closer to what has happened.

[Jonathan Dimbleby]

It is a huge step constitutionally. I understand those sentiments as a natural sentiment to have. Well, of course he should get rid of that title. Of course he should no longer have been a duke, of course he should no longer be prince. Of course he should be out of the scene. But our constitution, our way of government, our way of governance, and he's at the apex of it all, does not work like that. And you can't just impetuously say if you're the king. And I have no doubt at all that he has been consistently embarrassed and frustrated by and angry about the way in which his brother has behaved. At the same time, he is a brother, he has to be mindful of that person. He's a very he doesn't act, as I say, impetuously. He considers he decides this is what has to be done. It's major in constitutional terms because you tell me the last time that a prince was that his entitlement to be a prince was removed from him.

[Alex Ritson]

Jonathan Dimbleby, the Jamaican government says Hurricane Melissa killed at least 19 people when it struck this week. Aid assistance is now starting to arrive as the authorities increase efforts to clear roads and reach people in isolated and cut off areas. Our correspondent Neda Torfik reports from Santa Cruz in the Western part of Jamaica.

[Neda Torfik]

Scrambling for supplies at the local market in sweltering heat. Residents in Blackwater are still partially marooned days after Hurricane Melissa tore through. Fears are growing about food, water and gas running out in nearby White House. Trevor White says the community feels abandoned and many need medical attention.

[Jonathan Dimbleby]

A female got hit in her hitting her head by a big piece of lumber and is bleeding and she can't get to the hospital. And then another person who passed away in Whitehouse got her throat slash by up Sync from From the roof there's so many things happened, happening, happened in the storm right now and there's no, there's no help. And all those people who passed away, they are still there, can't get to the mug or wherever they, they meant to bring their bodies and stuff. And I don't really see any help coming in. It's like we're on our own. That's the biggest problem. There's no help.

[Neda Torfik]

Officials say the Jamaican Defense Forces have dedicated a helicopter to locate and collect bodies of anyone who has died. His update the information Minister Dana Morris Dixon confirmed additional fatalities as the search effort continues.

[Alex Ritson]

So I know there are so many people in Jamaica all over the world that I know your heart is breaking because you've not heard from your families. And so please know that the government is doing everything we can to get to them. And that's why our soldiers and they were working with regular civilians just came out and said we want to help. And they're going by foot trying to clear the roadways. And so we are going to get to them. We're going to get to every community. It may take a little time, but we're going to do it as quickly as we can and get aid and food to all those who need it.

[Neda Torfik]

Further east, the situation isn't as dire in Santa Cruz, but residents are starting the long process of cleaning up and rebuilding. Stores and homes remain without power, and the town is covered in a thick mud left behind from the receding flood water. The Jamaican Red Cross drove through here and surrounding areas to deliver hygiene kits and tarps given the extensive roof damage from the ferocious winds. Esther Pinnock described the we were hindered.

[Barbara Plett Usher]

By trees in the roadways, mangled wires. So and what is critical also is that we're unable to communicate because there is no Internet access, no electricity, no water.

[Alex Ritson]

So those are some of the factors.

[Neda Torfik]

At play right now for people trying to understand what Jamaica is going through, give us a sense of the scale of the need.

[Barbara Plett Usher]

It's overwhelming, it's distressing it's going to be hard to quantify. We include the psychosocial aspect of things. So we brought persons in to give them tips to encourage them, because we realize that there's a sense of despondency anxiety that is prevailing in these communities that have experienced severe loss.

[Neda Torfik]

Relief flights and aid have begun to flow into Jamaica's airports across the western part of the country. The help can't come soon enough.

[Alex Ritson]

That report from Neda Torfik, still to come, claims that Western society is facing a crisis of masculinity, with men listening to the wrong people.

[Scott Galloway]

Their message is one of nationalism and blaming others, blaming women for your romantic problems, blaming immigrants for your economic problem.

[BBC Announcer]

At the BBC we go further so you see clearer. Through frontline reporting, global stories and local insights, we bring you closer to the world's news as it happens. And it starts with a subscription to BBC.com, giving you unlimited articles and videos ad free podcasts, the BBC News channel streaming live 24. 7 plus hundreds of acclaimed documentaries. Subscribe to trusted independent journalism and storytelling from the BBC. Find out more at BBC.com join.

[Alex Ritson]

Police in France have arrested six people suspected of carrying out another high profile broad daylight robbery. This time the target wasn't the Louvre in Paris, but a gold refining laboratory in Lyon. The thieves used explosives to break into the building. Alice Adderley reports.

[Alice Adderley]

Video said to have been captured by a worker at a neighboring company and shown on French TV shows. Several men armed with military grade weapons and a ladder appearing to blow a hole in the perimeter wall of the gold refinery. On Thursday afternoon, an eyewitness heard a loud boom, then called the police, saying a burglary was in progress. Several staff were slightly injured in the explosion, with three receiving hospital treatment. This man is a delivery driver, often collects merchandise from the factory. He said he'd spoken to some employees.

[Alex Ritson]

When the windows were blown in.

[Nick Robinson]

Lots of debris fell on people in.

[Alice Adderley]

The factory in the video. After a matter of just a few minutes, the robbers emerge with gold bars later estimated to be worth 12 million euros. They calmly load them into a van, but a short time later, the suspects and a woman believed to be an accomplice were arrested in the nearby town of Venicieux. According to the French Interior minister Laurent Nunez, who posted on X they'd been caught red handed. He praised the police for their firmness, speed and control. This is reportedly the second time in recent months this site has been attacked. The latest heist occurred as French police on Thursday arrested five more people over this month's brazen Louvre museum robbery in Paris when the French crown jewels were stolen.

[Alex Ritson]

Alice Adderley Western society faces a crisis of masculinity that is dangerous not just for young men, but for society as a whole. That is the view of Scott Galloway, better known by his online moniker Prof. G. A best selling American author, marketing professor at New York University, entrepreneur and host of various podcasts including Pivot. Next week sees the release of his new book Notes on Being a Man, which claims to be an operator's manual. Being a man Today my colleague Nick Robinson spoke to Prof. G to describe the crisis his book seeks to address.

[Scott Galloway]

Data reflects that a big segment of our population is really struggling and no group has fallen further faster than men in the West. 4 times more likely to kill themselves, 12 times more likely to be incarcerated, 3 times more likely to be addicted or homeless. And in the UK we have what's called meats and that's neither employed in education or training. And that number has doubled in the last 10 years. One out of seven men in the UK now working age are not really doing anything. So it's bad for the economy, it's bad for households, and quite frankly it's just really tough on our young men.

[Nick Robinson]

And one reason for this is actually the thing which you are so successful at social media, you not only present very successful podcasts, you're very big on Instagram too. But you said in an extraordinary quote that for a 14 year old to have an Instagram account, you said it was more dangerous than a bottle of Jack Daniels and some weed.

[Scott Galloway]

Somewhere between 6 and 8% of teenagers are considered clinically addicted to drugs or alcohol. It's 24% to social media. I think your daughter has a much greater likelihood of cutting herself and engaging in self harm if she experiments with social media than with alcohol. So I stand by that statement. We age gate pornography, the military, weapons, alcohol, but yet we've decided not to age gate social media, which has shown to take a terrible toll on the mental health of young girls and also self harm among young men.

[Nick Robinson]

Some of the people who are most powerful on social media are hugely successful with young men. I think of Andrew Tate, I think in this country, Tommy Robinson, what influence do you fear they're having?

[Scott Galloway]

They're having a negative influence and to their credit they recognize the problem earlier than anybody. The problem is that their answer is to take us back to the 50s where non whites and women had less equality. And their message is one of nationalism and blaming others, blaming women for your romantic problems, blaming immigrants for Your economic problems, very negative message that has filled, unfortunately, a void that we avoided. So unfortunately, some very negative voices have filled the void. My biggest supporters are, quite frankly, mothers who recognize the problem in their household. And I think we're finally moving to a more productive dialogue around a change in our economic policy, our society, and just making young men more comfortable coming forward with the issues they're facing.

[Nick Robinson]

Your new book, Notes on Being a Man, is full of the sort of advice that you post online as well. I'm looking at one of your Instagram posts in which you say that man's most secret weapon is kindness. Do you think you're getting an audience other than from people who already agree with you?

[Scott Galloway]

I think so. I coach some young men and ultimately, Nick, they turn to. They would really like to be in a relationship. They'd really like to have a girlfriend. And there are studies showing that there are three primary reasons that women are attracted to men. One, their ability to signal resources. That's not just having a Range Rover now, but having a plan. Being seen as someone who's going to be able to be a good provider, someone who is intelligent. The fastest way to communicate intelligence is humor. And third is kindness. Women instinctively know there'll be periods in their life, likely during gestation, when they are vulnerable and they want a partner who is at a very base level, a kind person. Women are attracted to men who demonstrate kindness.

[Nick Robinson]

What's so crucial is role models. Now, you're highly successful, you've made a lot of money as an entrepreneur. Is one of the reasons you write a book, not just because you like selling books? And why not? You actually see this as something of a mission?

[Scott Galloway]

I relate to these young men. My mom immigrated from Britain. I was raised by a single mother who lived and died as secretary. I didn't have a lot of male mentorship. When girls lose their father through death, divorce, or abandonment, they have pretty much the same outcomes. College attendance, rates of self harm. When a boy loses a male role model, at that moment he becomes more likely to be incarcerated than graduate from college. So we absolutely need to have men involved in a young boy's life. If we want to raise better men, we have to be better men.

[Nick Robinson]

And finally, how serious is it if we don't take seriously the warnings that are contained in the data you started this conversation with?

[Scott Galloway]

The one thing the most violent and unstable societies have in common is a disproportionate number of young men who have a lack of economic or romantic opportunities. The most dangerous person in the world is a young, broke, lonely man. And in the west, we're producing millions of them.

[Alex Ritson]

Nick Robinson speaking to Scott Galloway. Today is October 31st, Halloween. So if I mention bats and churches, you might think I'm talking about Dracula or some other horror story, but I'm not. I'm referring to a new study that's revealed about half of all churches in England are home to bats. Dr. Leah Gilmour is research manager at the Bat Conservation Trust, the organisation which carried out the research.

[Dr. Leah Gilmour]

So bats tend to roost naturally in tree holes, crevices and sometimes caves where they're available. So these churches provide especially older churches provide architectural features that are similar to those roosting features in the wider landscape. So bats have been associated with churches for a very long time, really, and the timbers in the roof are like branches, and all bats are reliant on sort of woodland and those kind of features, at least in part, for some of their life cycles. So churches have become very important to bats. Historically. We really wanted to look at how bats were using churches and the factors affecting them, but also the relationship of the church representatives with their bats and the people and the community using churches. And so what we actually found was that even though bats can cause some problems from their droppings, mostly, the attitudes to bats were overwhelmingly positive. And in those areas where there were a little bit more of a problem, sometimes really simple solutions could be put in place to allow bats to live in harmony with the people that use the church. So really, really good story coming out of this research paper in terms of the relationship between nature and people.

[Alex Ritson]

Dr. Leah Gilmour and that's all 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, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. you can also find us on XBCWorldService. Use the hashtag Global Newspod. This edition was mixed by Darcy Obrey and the producers were Carla Conti and Mickey Bristow. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritson. Until next time. Goodbye.

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