

From Our Own Correspondent
BBC Radio 4
Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers telling stories beyond the news headlines. Presented by Kate Adie.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 12, 2014 • 28min
Watching the World Cup in the Woods
We join the German football fans watching the world cup in the middle of a forest. Also: Fighting corruption in China; the culture of silence in a Mexican town ravaged by violence; why the French would rather speak Latin; and Italy's oldest police force celebrates its 200th anniversary. Presented by Kate Adie.

Jul 10, 2014 • 28min
Tennis in Baghdad
Jeremy Bowen laments the loss of everyday freedoms in Baghdad; Hilary Andersson investigates the mistreatment of prison inmates with mental health problems in the UDA; Alex Preston ventures into the biggest jade market in the world in Mandalay; Diana Darke meets Syriac christians rebuilding communities in their ancestral homeland in southeast Turkey; and Alex Marshall goes 'dumb walking' with his smartphone in Tokyo.

Jul 5, 2014 • 28min
Two Worlds Collide
Reporting the world: correspondents with insight, colour and analysis from Baghdad, Kirkuk, Rome, Lahore and Paris

Jul 3, 2014 • 28min
No More Boat People
Global despatches: in this edition, why hunger is again taking hold in South Sudan - even after a plentiful harvest; Australia gets tough with asylum seekers -- and the problems pile up for those seeking a new life down under; how America's attachment to its First Amendment gives hate groups the freedom to disseminate their beliefs; we visit a cemetery in the Czech Republic: a place of awful history, but also one where you learn about a community determined to create a successful future for itself; and fine dining for only a few pounds? we meet a man in Chile dedicated to reviving his country's culinary heritage.

Jun 28, 2014 • 28min
Hero or Villain?
June the 28th 1914 was the day Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Ferdinand. It led to the start of the First World War. Allan Little considers why today's Sarajevo is divided over whether Princip was a hero or a terrorist. President al-Sisi's new regime in Cairo: Louisa Loveluck's been finding out whether Egyptians regret voting in a new era of authoritarianism. Brazil has one of the world's worst crack cocaine problems: Katy Watson's been to see a government project which is trying to address it. Aidan O'Donnell visits a sacred city in the Horn of Africa. It is also noted for its production of beer. And while India's new rulers are keen to promote the use of Hindi, Craig Jeffrey's been finding out that the English language is still omnipresent, creeping into even unexpected corners of everyday society.

Jun 26, 2014 • 28min
The Consequences of History
The foreign interventionists whose actions have contributed to today's violent events in Iraq. How Burmese rebels crash-landed a plane and then made off with its cargo of cash. Increasingly pressing challenges face the government of Kenya -- not least a drastic reduction in the number of people wanting to spend their holidays there. We are told that a refugee camp in Beirut might just be the best place to go and watch a match in the World Cup and find out why a village on the south coast of Spain is celebrating the life of the very English author Laurie Lee.

Jun 21, 2014 • 28min
I Never Got to Florence
Correspondents' stories. Few British go to the Italian seaside town of Alassio these days but the library created for them there is still going - just. Coffee prices are rocketing in Brazil and the producers in this country which traditionally produces 'an awful lot of coffee' are concerned. There's a despatch from Baghdad, the Iraqi capital which is now a target of ISIS and other Sunni rebels. The problems pile up for the French president -- but he takes time off to praise an artist who only ever paints in black. And from the USA, we find out what happened to Little Germany, once a thriving part of New York City. Today, little more than a distant memory.

Jun 19, 2014 • 28min
Dilemma for the US
'Getting rid of Saddam was the easy bit.' The problems stack up for the United States as fighting continues in Iraq. Elves have had a place in Icelandic folklore for more than a thousand years. We find out why they're treated with such respect. Also, how countries around the world are drawing lines on the map of Antarctica, carving up the ice with their territorial claims. The climbing season on Mount Everest comes to a close; we hear it's been one of the worst on record and what happened when a British woman living in Bulgaria offered work to a gypsy boy.

Jun 14, 2014 • 27min
A Glimpse of the Future
Two conflicting visions of the future present themselves on a visit to the Middle East; the Americans send in the drones to attack the Pakistani Taliban again -- what chance now of a negotiated peace? The long strike in South Africa's platinum mines may be ending, but the bitterness which has divided mining families will be long lasting; the president of Burundi is a keen footballer, we hear, but is it a surprise that he scores so many goals? And fond memories of a school in New York celebrating its centenary -- but what is it exactly that makes this school such a well-loved place? Producer - Tony Grant

Jun 12, 2014 • 28min
Guitar or Sitar?
Correspondents with stories to tell: how is traditional Indian culture faring with the country engulfed in a tide of globalisation? World football's governing body FIFA is in crisis as the World Cup kicks off in Brazil. Germany and Britain are at odds over how Europe should be governed. What's in a name? It's of great importance when you're bidding to be the next president of Afghanistan. And how new technology can help those visiting the First World War battlefields of France and Belgium.


