The Global Story

**Warning: this episode includes discussions of sexual abuse, suicide and upsetting scenes**
In just the last few years, AI chatbots have become routine aspects of many people’s everyday lives. They are being used as search engines, agony aunts, and sources of companionship.
In rare cases though, AI chatbots have sent users down a dark path. In a new BBC investigation, population correspondent Stephanie Hegarty speaks to people who have experienced delusions after talking to chatbots – including one man who grabbed a hammer and prepared for war after his chatbot told him it was sentient.
Producers: Valerio Esposito, Viv Jones and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Studio manager: Jonathan Greer
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Adam Hourican. Credit: BBC.

It’s been a year since billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk left his informal position in President Trump’s White House in May 2025. But behind the scenes, Musk has been busy.
Musk has spent the last few weeks in a California courtroom, where he is suing his former business partner, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In January, Musk applied for permission with the US government to launch a million satellites into orbit, some of which he says will serve as solar AI data centres. And he is preparing to take his company SpaceX public, with an estimated valuation of over $1 trillion.
Though his political presence has waned, is it possible that Elon Musk is more powerful than ever? We speak to the BBC’s North America technology correspondent Lily Jamali about what the world’s richest man has been up to since leaving the White House.
Producers: Xandra Ellin and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Elon Musk appears in the courthouse during the OpenAI trial. Credit: Reuters/Manuel Orbegozo

Iranians living in Tehran tell us what they think of the war and reveal how the conflict has affected their day to day lives.
 
In recent days, attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz has raised fears that an already fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran could collapse.
 
Donald Trump's "Project Freedom", which began on Monday, aims to use the US military to escort cargo ships out of Strait of Hormuz. Iran, however, insists that it controls the key waterway and has warned that it is “just getting started” in the Strait of Hormuz. This escalation of hostilities risks tipping the region back into full-scale war. 
 
As the conflict enters its third month with no clear end in sight, there has been mounting anxiety about what comes next. But what is the view inside Iran? 
 
In today’s episode we speak to the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet who recently returned from a ten day trip to Tehran where she spoke to government officials and ordinary Iranians about their fears and expectations as this war continues. 
 
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Aron Keller 
 
Executive Producer: Richard Fenton Smith 
 
Mix: Travis Evans
 
Senior News Editor: China Collins
 
Photo: Daily life in Tehran amid continued tensions over Strait of Hormuz. Credit: 
Abedin Taherkenareh/ EPA/Shutterstock.

When Donald Trump began his second term in the White House, many European leaders chose to pursue flattery instead of a fight. Most sought to avoid public confrontation even as Trump instituted tariffs, spoke of annexing Greenland, and went to war with Iran.
But lately more European leaders across the political spectrum - from longtime allies to ideological opponents - are willing to openly contradict and criticise the American president. The White House appears to be retaliating, especially against Germany, from which the Pentagon has announced it will withdraw 5,000 troops.
Has Europe suddenly become more defiant? And what happens next? Asma speaks to the BBC’s Europe editor, Katya Adler.
Producers: Valerio Esposito, Chris Benderev and Hannah Moore
Executive Producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior News Editor: China Collins
Photo: US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hold a bilateral meeting at the White House, 03 March 2026. Credit: Samuel Corum/Pool/EPA/Shutterstock

In recent months, the Russian government has been restricting access to messaging apps such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, and at points, even shutting down internet access completely.
Russian officials insist that curbs on communication are in the interests of public safety. They claim that mobile internet blackouts disorient Ukrainian attack drones, although such attacks have continued even in areas where the internet has been switched off.
How have these blackouts been affecting peoples’ ability to access news, communicate, even find their way around? And how are people reacting to the restrictions on their freedoms?
BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg joins Asma to discuss.
Producers: Chris Benderev and Hannah Moore
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Passengers use mobile phones aboard a themed metro train honouring the Russian National Guard in Moscow, Russia, March 31, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Ramil Sitdikov