University Challenges

Today, we look at the local authority elections in England.Adam, Chris and Alex explore the geography of the elections and who might do well where, the race for London’s councils and the challenges facing each of the parties as the campaigns enter their final week. You can now li ...  Show more

Recorded live at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios, Adam, Chris and Henry get grilled by the audience at Castfest. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.You can join our New ...  Show more

Pro-Palestine encampments and protests at universities continue to spread across the US. Students at Columbia University have been threatened with expulsion and arrest. The Take spoke with Mariam Said, an alumna of Columbia, for her advice to student activists. 

Amol and Nick review the year in news, featuring the biggest moments and their favourite interviews from the Today programme in 2023. They’re joined by some familiar voices including Chris Mason, Martha Kearney and friend of the pod, statistician Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter. Wit ...  Show more

The College Board piloted an AP course on African American Studies. Then, after conservative pushback, it debuted a revised curriculum. But the group insists it’s not caving to political pressure. This episode was produced by Siona Peterous and Hady Mawajdeh, fact-checked by Laur ...  Show more

Response to student protests across the US have escalated to violence this week, with students clashing, and arrests now exceeding 1,000. We hear from students and BBC colleagues from across the States.And the Americast team speaks to Niall Ferguson, historian and senior fellow a ...  Show more