Social media can be a messy business full of opinions and celebrity influence. But can celebs speak freely online, and what happens when they do?

In some parts of the world celebs and influencers are sometimes censored from sharing opinions altogether, unless they align with the state.

We look at three countries: Egypt, India and China. The BBC’s Jaidaa Taha in Egypt talks us through what footballer Mo Salah has said online. Rupsha Mukherjee, a BBC reporter based in India, explains why actor Chetan Kumar was arrested over a tweet. And Kerry Allen, the BBC’s Chinese Media Analyst, shares what’s allowed, and what’s not, in China.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Jaidaa Taha, Emily Horler, Mora Morrison and Benita Barden Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Guinea worm could soon be the second human disease to be eradicated.

In the 1980s millions of cases were recorded annually in 21 countries in Africa and Asia. Now, thanks to huge efforts globally, only 13 reported cases remain. That’s according to The Carter Center - which is leading the international campaign to eradicate the disease.

If successful, guinea worm will not only be the second disease in history to be eradicated, after smallpox, it will be the first to be wiped out without a vaccine or medicine. Adam Weiss, the director of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program, talks us through the actions they’ve taken to cut cases.

The world is on a mission to eradicate other diseases too, including polio. What can we learn from the potential eradication of guinea worm? Dorcas Wangira, the BBC’s Africa Health Correspondent, explains.

Note: This episode contains medical descriptions of removing worms from the human body.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Imogen James, Mora Morrison and Maria Clara Montoya Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

*This episode was recorded and first published in February 2024. Jimmy Carter, who founded the Carter Center, died on 29 December 2024.*

It’s been three years since Myanmar’s military coup when the army took control of the country, a decade after agreeing to hand power to a civilian government. A civil war broke out after the after the military used lethal force to put down mass protests in the weeks after the coup.

Before all this, Myanmar’s army was accused of committing a genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh to escape persecution and violence. Thousands more died trying to flee.

Soe Win Than, editor of the BBC Burmese Service, walks us through what thinks are like now in Myanmar and how it’s impacted young people’s plans for the future.

(13:46) Also in this episode - Faith Oshoko, a reporter for BBC Pidgin tells us what it means for the Grammy Awards to finally recognise African musicians in its new category - Best African Music Performance.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler, Adam Chowdhury and Benita Barden Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Hong Kong’s government has said it wants to pass a new national security law. It comes four years after China imposed sweeping legislation in the wake of massive pro-democracy protests.

The proposed law would lay out five major areas of offenses: treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets, sabotage and external interference.

The proposal, known as Article 23 legislation, has long been a point of conflict in Hong Kong.

Martin Yip, a BBC journalist based in Hong Kong, walks us through the significance of this new law, how it relates to the umbrella protests in 2014 and 2019, and if more mass protests are expected.

Plus, Nicole Kidman’s new Amazon Prime series ‘Expats’ - a show about the life of foreigners in Hong Kong - has aired everywhere except in the territory itself. The BBC’s Fan Wang explains.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison and Benita Barden Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

This is our simple(ish) guide to how America picks its president.

In November 2024, America will go to the polls to pick the next President of the United States. At the moment it looks like we’ll see a 2020 rematch, Republican Donald Trump vs Democrat Joe Biden. But how do US elections actually work? They can be quite complicated, the candidate with the most votes doesn’t always win. In this episode, we explain things like the electoral college, Super PACs and find out just how much running a campaign ad for the most powerful job on earth can cost.

BBC reporter Sam Cabral joins us from Washington and takes us through the process. And business reporter Erin Delmore checks in from New York to talk about the money.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Alex Rhodes Producers: Emily Horler and Adam Chowdhury Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been jailed for 14 years after being convicted of illegally profiting from state gifts. It’s the second sentence handed to Pakistan's former prime minister in two days. Khan, who was ousted as PM by his opponents in 2022, was already serving a three-year jail term for corruption.

Imran Khan been a dominant figure in Pakistan for decades. He first rose to international fame on the cricket pitch, before shedding his playboy past and embarking on a decade-long marriage with billionaire heiress Jemima Goldsmith in a story captured in the pages of Hello! magazine. He founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in 1996.

So what changed, and what does this sentencing say about the state of democracy in Pakistan?

The BBC’s Pakistan correspondent Caroline Davies explains. Plus, we hear reaction from some of his supporters.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producer: Mora Morrison Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

More than 171 trillion pieces of plastic are estimated to be floating in the world's oceans. We’ve touched on the extent of the plastic problem before on the pod, but this time we’re looking into how exactly its affecting marine creatures. Researchers say hermit crabs are increasingly using plastic waste instead of shells for shelter and they are not the only wildlife being affected by our rubbish. Our Science Correspondent, Victoria Gill, gives us a deep dive into that.

Plus, the world's largest cruise ship set sail from Miami on its maiden voyage, but there are concerns about the vessel's emissions. That’s despite the ship running on liquefied natural gas, which burns more cleanly than traditional marine fuels. So why are environmentalists worried? Jaidaa Taha, from the What in the World team, explains that for us.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Alex Rhodes Producers: Jaidaa Taha, Baldeep Chahal and Emily Horler Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Demonstrations have been taking place across Kenya to protest femicide and violence against women. The demonstrations follow the murder of socialite Starlet Wahu and the dismemberment of student Rita Waeni earlier this month.

BBC Africa journalist Danai Nesta Kupemba tells us about the cases and explains what changes are needed to protect women in Kenya. Esther Ogola, a BBC women’s affairs journalist based in Nairobi, describes how violence against women is rooted in social beliefs.

The two brutal murders have sparked a wave of activism. People are using the hashtags #StopKillingWomen and #EndFemicideKe and attending rallies across the country. Women who joined these marches tell us why it’s important to protest.

Among the many challenges women face is ‘the manosphere’, a dark corner of social media where it’s common to blame the victims of gender-based violence. Activist Onyango Otieno explains how he is trying to tackle toxic masculinity in Kenya.

This episode contains discussion about sexual assault and harassment. Details of organisations offering information and support with these issues are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison, Imogen James and William Lee Adams Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Nigeria’s youth curling team, the Broomzillas, are Africa’s first curling team to reach a Winter Youth Olympics. Their journey to the 2024 Gangwon Games in South Korea hasn’t been easy. They’ve struggled with funding and of course, as Nigeria doesn’t have freezing weather, access to ice to train is incredibly difficult.

We speak to two of the team - Tomi and Fatiu. So how do they get ready for the competition?

Also, BBC Africa sports reporter, Isaiah Akinremi, takes us through the wider picture across the African continent and the challenge athletes face to break into winter sports.

Plus, Ghana is getting back some of its most treasured artefacts… but only on loan. They were looted from the Asante royal court by the British one hundred and fifty years ago. They ended up in a London museum which has now agreed to lend them back for three years. The BBC’s Ghana correspondent, Thomas Naadi, tells us that many want the move to be permanent.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler, Alex Rhodes and Baldeep Chahal Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

366 million adults worldwide have ADHD as of 2020 - that’s over 6% of the whole population. And more young adults are being diagnosed with the condition. BBC health reporter Dominic Hughes explains the causes and treatment of ADHD.

Does your culture and background affect your diagnosis? Some women have found that their symptoms are not the standard ones that doctors have traditionally linked to ADHD. We hear from people living with ADHD including Abigail Agyei in the UK and mental health advocate Emily Unity in Australia and ask them how ADHD influencers have changed the nature of the conversation online.

Some health professionals have raised concerns about the accuracy of some of this content and whether it could contribute to more self-diagnosis. A study from 2022 looked at the 100 most popular ADHD videos on TikTok and found that over half of them were judged by clinicians to be misleading.

The BBC’s Suhnwook Lee, in South Korea, explains why ADHD prescriptions go up around the time of the annual college exam there. And pharmacist Jonathan Silcock from the UK’s University of Bradford sets out why there’s a global shortage of ADHD medication.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, Maria Clara Montoya, Benita Barden and Luis Felipe Molina Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Last week Iran carried out an airstrike on Pakistan’s territory in Balochistan. Pakistan responded with an attack of its own. Both sides say they were targeting rebel groups rather than each other but it’s an escalation in an area of the world that is already very tense. Iran had also attacked targets in Syria and Iraq. Like Pakistan, both of these countries are technically its allies.

It all can appear very confusing - so in this episode we’re going to give you a basic guide to what’s happened and what it might mean for the region. BBC Correspondent Farhat Javed, gives us some background. Also, Paul Adams our Diplomatic Correspondent and BBC Persian’s Mohammad Vaziri weigh in about what could come next.

Plus, reporter Mariko Oi talks to us about Japan’s Princess Aiko. She’s trading the palace for the office, with plans to work at the Red Cross charity.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler, Josh Jenkins, Baldeep Chahal and Alex Rhodes Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

We mentioned an article on the strikes across the Middle East. Here's the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68017051

Wrestling is huge in India. Not just the type with WWE stars like Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins - but amateur wrestling, which is an Olympic sport. But last year women’s wrestling in India was rocked by a sexual harassment scandal. Top athletes, like Rio Olympics bronze medal winner Sakshi Malik, accused wrestling official Brij Bhusan Singh of abusing female wrestlers. He denied the claims but eventually stood down from the job. Progress on the issue has been slow and last month Sakshi Malik quit the sport in frustration. We spoke to BBC Marathi reporter Janhavee Moole to find out, a year on from when the protests started, has anything really changed?

Plus we chat to Science Correspondent Jonathon Amos about Japan’s mission to the moon. The spacecraft, nicknamed Moon Sniper, was designed for very accurate landings… but it’s landed the wrong way round and it’s causing all sorts of problems.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Alex Rhodes, Kevyah Cardoso and Baldeep Chahal Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks