The Explanation Podcast
Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin.
Where the world is explained. Making sense of the big stories - looking behind the spin. Exploring the important questions about long-running stories and the latest global news. An honest, unvarnished, explanation of the world.
Featuring new episodes of The President's Path, Unspun World with John Simpson, and The Media Show.
Episodes to download
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The Media Show: Full-time for Lineker at the BBC
Thu 22 May 2025
How a social media post led to football presenter’s departure
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Unspun World: What's next for Gaza?
Fri 16 May 2025
John Simpson examines the Israeli government’s plans for Gaza
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The Media Show: Misinformation and the India-Pakistan Standoff
Thu 15 May 2025
How false claims have flooded social media during border tensions
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Unspun World: Vladimir Putin’s game plan
Fri 9 May 2025
John Simpson analyses Russia’s current strategy in Ukraine
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The Media Show: Tina Brown on her fight for quality journalism
Thu 8 May 2025
Legendary magazine editor on press freedom, editorial integrity and the MAGA era
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The Global Jigsaw: The Kurdish issue: Part three
Fri 2 May 2025
What does the future hold for Kurdish people?
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Unspun World: What part did Trump play in Canada’s election?
Fri 2 May 2025
John Simpson analyses US President Donald Trump’s influence on Canada's election results
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The Media Show: Piers Morgan’s YouTube bet
Thu 1 May 2025
Why the former tabloid journalist believes online is his future
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The Global Jigsaw: The Kurdish issue: Part two
Fri 25 Apr 2025
What does the future hold for Kurdish people?
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The Media Show: Washington leak culture
Thu 24 Apr 2025
Pentagon hunt for the officials talking to journalists
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The Global Jigsaw: The Kurdish issue: Part one
Fri 18 Apr 2025
What does the future hold for Kurdish people?
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The Media Show: Britain's steel crisis and SNL’s leap across the Atlantic
Thu 17 Apr 2025
Reporting the battle to save the UK’s last major steelworks
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Trump's tariffs explained
Fri 11 Apr 2025
Ben Brown and Sumi Somaskanda examine the key questions about US tariffs
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The Media Show: Trade wars, tariffs, and Trump’s media strategy
Thu 10 Apr 2025
Challenge for journalists to explain economic uncertainty
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The Media Show: What teenage boys are watching online
Thu 3 Apr 2025
How the Netflix drama Adolescence has started a conversation about online influence
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Unspun World: How might Gaza be governed in the future?
Fri 28 Mar 2025
John Simpson examines how Gaza could be governed in the future
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The Media Show: Are pirated books powering AI?
Thu 27 Mar 2025
Copyright row as authors say Meta trained its AI without their consent
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Unspun World: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin negotiate over a ceasefire in Ukraine
Fri 21 Mar 2025
John Simpson analyses the negotiations over a ceasefire in Ukraine
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The Media Show: Investigating Michael Jackson
Thu 20 Mar 2025
Dan Reed on Leaving Neverland 2 and the legal battle over Jackson’s legacy
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Can Germany's ailing economy get back on track?
Sat 15 Mar 2025
Ed Butler interviews Dr Joachim Nagel, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank
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Unspun World: How will Donald Trump’s tariffs affect global markets?
Fri 14 Mar 2025
John Simpson looks at whether an economic downturn is on the horizon
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The Media Show: Revealing Facebook
Thu 13 Mar 2025
A former Facebook executive describes life inside the company and its leadership culture
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Unspun World: Can Ukraine continue to rely on US support?
Fri 7 Mar 2025
John Simpson examines whether a European army could provide a bulwark against Russia
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The Media Show: Jeff Bezos' Washington Post shift
Thu 6 Mar 2025
How the Amazon founder has triggered resignations at the paper he owns
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Unspun World: Is Russia’s war in Ukraine nearing an endgame?
Fri 28 Feb 2025
John Simpson analyses whether Russia’s war in Ukraine is nearing an endgame
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The Media Show: Mehdi Hasan on journalism, opinion, and independence
Thu 27 Feb 2025
The former MSNBC star on why he’s now flying solo
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The Media Show: Diplomacy and the media and 100 years of The New Yorker
Thu 20 Feb 2025
The battle to report Ukraine, Russia, and government narratives
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Unspun World: Is Western support for Ukraine holding firm?
Fri 14 Feb 2025
John Simpson examines whether Western support for Ukraine is holding firm
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The Media Show: Understanding the attention economy
Thu 13 Feb 2025
How big tech is reshaping how we pay attention
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Unspun World: Donald Trump’s whirlwind start to his second term
Fri 7 Feb 2025
John Simpson examines Donald Trump’s first few weeks in office
