Introducing: Business Daily: Who’s behind Sierra Leone’s illegal fishing problem?

Each Monday, Ed Butler takes you around the globe to the heart of the stories and meeting those living through them. West Africa is currently the global epicentre for illegal fishing, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. An estimated 40% of the world's illegal industrial fishing occurs in its waters, costing the region up to 10 billion dollars a year in lost revenue, and severely depleting stocks essential for the food security and livelihoods of over 7 million people. Ed Butler has been hearing about the practice in Sierra Leone, trying to ascertain who is behind it, and finding out how much the government is doing to help. To hear more, search Business Daily wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Ebola is a frightening and deadly disease, killing on average one half of people infected and spreading rapidly without containment measures. So how do BBC journalists report from the centre of an epidemic? BBC West Africa journalist Emery Makumeno has been reporting from Kinshasa in DR Congo on the Ebola outbreak; Musa Sangarie, Country Director for Sierra Leone for BBC Media Action, led public information campaigns in Sierra Leone in the 2014-16 Ebola epidemic; Camilla Mota, journalist with BBC News Brasil, has reported on the fall-out from the country’s Zika virus outbreak in 2015 and 2016; and Mattias Zibell Garcia, producer at BBC Mundo, reported on the recent Hantavirus outbreak in Ushuaia, Argentina. The Fifth Floor is at the heart of global storytelling on the BBC World Service, bringing you the best stories from journalists in the BBC's 43 language services. We're here to help you make sense of the stories making headlines around the world; to excite your curiosity and to get to grips with the facts. Recent episodes have investigated Russia’s youth armies and how they make soldiers of Ukrainian children; featured the BBC team who were the first journalists to the site of the Nigerian school kidnappings and reflected the effects of internet blackouts in Iran, Uganda and India. If you want to know more about Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, and the legacy of Hugo Chavez; or how Vladimir Putin’s network of deep cover spies operates; or why Donald Trump signed an executive order granting white South Africans asylum in the US, we have all those stories and more.Presented by Faranak Amidi. Produced by Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)

The most watched sporting event in the world has not been without its controversies, including high ticket prices and transport costs, as well as rows over visas and concerns about security. But, we wanted to hear from supporters. We bring together three world cup super-fans, including Craig who has walked across the United States to see his team compete. “Football is the universal language of the world,” he tells us. “That is just fact no matter where you travel, no matter where you go.” We also hear from guests in Jordan, Curacao in the Caribbean, Cape Verde and Uzbekistan. They share their excitement of watching their countries take part for the first time.

Saint, Sinner, Freedom Fighter, Leader, Follower, Symbol of the Divine Feminine - Mary Magdalene is one of the most controversial and significant figures in Christian history. But what does it mean to walk in her footsteps today? In this episode Natasha Serlin embarks on a personal journey to connect with her legacy and explore how it resonates with her today.Natasha traces a path through Southern France, beginning at the spot where Mary is believed to have first arrived: Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer, and continuing to the cave of Saint Baume where she is said to have spent the final 30 years of her life.

First, work feels more uncertain than it has in years. Layoffs, AI disruption, hiring freezes and a tough job market are leaving many people out of work or stuck. So instead of hopping jobs for better pay or new opportunities, more people are doing the opposite. They are staying put, even if they are unhappy. It is called “job hugging”. But is it a smart move in an unstable world, or could it hold you back in the long run? The BBC’s business reporter Emer Moreau takes us through the trend. Then later, we hear about Hannah's experience with rejection therapy - where you deliberately put yourself in situations where you might get rejected, to see if it can help with social anxiety. From asking strangers for favours to dancing on trains, people are documenting their experiences online. Supporters say it helps people build resilience, reduce anxiety and stop taking rejection personally. Claudia Hammond, a psychologist and BBC presenter, helps us unpack if it actually works. To hear more, search What in the World wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and your world. Hosted by journalists Thomas Germain, Nicky Woolf, and Karen Hao, each episode unpacks, week by week, how technology is shaping all our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.In this episode, Tom and Nicky head deep into the TikTok Farlands - the semi mythical place you supposedly reach if you scroll too far, too late, until your feed stops looking normal and starts serving up surreal, eerie and deeply unhinged videos. The name comes from Minecraft’s Far Lands, the glitched edge of the map where the world used to break apart, and TikTok users have borrowed it to describe the “end of the algorithm”: a strange zone of distorted edits, ominous warnings, weirdcore imagery and recurring figures like the now iconic fat bee playing the violin. TikTok’s Farlands have become a shorthand for what happens when doomscrolling tips into digital folklore.But the Farlands aren’t just a joke. Tom and Nicky ask what this trend says about internet culture now. In a platform ecosystem dominated by polish, branding and optimisation, the Farlands feel like the return of an older internet: raw, surreal, handmade and proudly bizarre. At the same time, the meme also works as a critique of doomscrolling itself — turning algorithmic exhaustion into shared mythology, and making people newly conscious of how deep into the feed they’ve wandered.So in this episode, we ask: is the TikTok Farlands a genuine return of weird, creative internet culture — or just another algorithmic genre?Also in this episode: Karen looks at how AI detection tools may be changing the way we all write. As detectors spread through schools, publishing and professional life, students, teachers and writers are increasingly shaping their prose around what software might flag - dropping stylistic quirks, sanding off rhythm, and checking their own work in advance for fear of a false accusation. Researchers say the central problem is not just whether detectors catch AI, but how they balance false positives and false negatives in high stakes settings. And with a growing parallel market of “humanizer” tools promising to make AI text sound more human - and pass detection - the result may be an arms race that leaves everyone writing in a flatter, safer and more paranoid style.To hear more, search The Interface wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

For three years a brutal civil war has been raging in Sudan. Hundreds of thousands have been killed. Millions have been forced from their homes. But the war has other hidden costs – particularly for the young. It’s estimated that 60% of the population is under 25, and millions have lost out on their education. Now after the capital Khartoum was recaptured by the army, for the first time in years, school and universities have re-opened in the city. But as Mohanad Hashim reports, the lives of Khartoum’s youth are still shaped by war. Reporter: Mohanad Hashim Producer: Alex Last Sound mix: Neil Churchill Production coordinator: Katie Morrison Series Editor: Penny Murphy (Image: Kids on a swing at a communal kindergarten in Khartoum. It was set up by local mothers who stayed during the battle for the city. Credit Alex Last/BBC)

Renowned Danish chef Trine Hahnemann tells Sahar Zand how she combines the concept of hygge with her cooking. Hygge is a word that is embedded in the Danish language. It’s about relaxing and taking time away from the daily rush to enjoy life's quieter pleasures. And yet, Trine finds the time to write cookery books (over 20 so far), and run cookery lessons from the kitchen in her family home in Copenhagen. She tells Sahar how she does it, as she prepares a comforting meal of freshly harvested vegetables, and explains how she started her culinary career by cooking for rock stars on tour, including Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Rolling Stones and Elton John.

Potatoes are having a moment. Once dismissed as dull, stodgy or even unhealthy, they are now back, appearing on restaurant menus, in food magazines and across social media feeds. But the story of the potato goes back much further. Ruth Alexander traces the journey of one of the world’s most familiar foods. From its origins millions of years ago to its place in today’s global food system. AJ Shehata, senior sous chef at Fallow restaurant in London explains why the potato forces chefs to get creative. At the Natural History Museum, botanist Sandy Knapp explains how the potato may have been born from a chance encounter between two wild plants in the Andes, an event that made it possible for potatoes to grow underground and spread across new environments. Potatoes USA president Blair Richardson explains how demand continues to grow worldwide, and how the industry is working to reshape the potato’s image. Nutrition scientist Candida Rebello shares research suggesting potatoes may be far more beneficial, and more misunderstood, than many people think. And, at the International Potato Centre in Peru, scientist Julian Soto works with farmers to conserve thousands of native potato varieties. In the Andes, potatoes are not just a crop, they are part of culture, identity and family life.

For more than 80 years, no-one knew what happened to a Soviet prisoner of war who escaped from the Nazis on the Channel Island of Jersey and spent the rest of World War Two hiding from the German occupiers with a local family, the Le Bretons. Known only by his first name, Bokejon, or simply Tom, he was one of about 2,000 Soviet prisoners and forced labourers brought to the island of Jersey to build Nazi fortifications. After liberation, Tom and the other surviving PoWs were sent back to the USSR and the Le Breton family, particularly their daughter Dulcie, always wondered what became of him. That was until BBC teams tracked down his descendants. BBC Russian's Olga Ivshina was one of the journalists who tracked him down. Political violence has been a problem in Kenya for decades now. It is often carried out by gangs of young people, known as 'goons', who are sponsored by politicians to threaten, disrupt and attack rivals. After the general election in 2007 over 1500 people were killed and with another election planned for 2027, there are fears violence could erupt again. Wycliffe Muia of BBC Africa has been looking into these politically sponsored violent gangs and what can be done to stop them.  Traditional fortune telling culture,  known as Saju, is popular in South Korea and has ancient roots. It uses data such as a person's birth year, month, day and hour to determine their future and in South Korea people still sometimes consult it before important life decisions like marriage, or seeking a new job. Now, the practice of Saju is beginning to be combined with AI technology and it's finding a wide audience both online and as a walk-in, more immersive experience. BBC Korean's Yujin Choi went to try it out. The Fifth Floor is at the heart of global storytelling on the BBC World Service, bringing you the best stories from journalists in the BBC's 43 language services. We're here to help you make sense of the stories making headlines around the world; to excite your curiosity and to get to grips with the facts. Recent episodes have investigated Russia’s youth armies and how they make soldiers of Ukrainian children; featured the BBC team who were the first journalists to the site of the Nigerian school kidnappings and reflected the effects of internet blackouts in Iran, Uganda and India. If you want to know more about Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, and the legacy of Hugo Chavez; or how Vladimir Putin’s network of deep cover spies operates; or why Donald Trump signed an executive order granting white South Africans asylum in the US, we have all those stories and more.This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world. Presented by Faranak Amidi. Produced by Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)