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What in the World

What in the World

Written by: BBC World Service
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Daily Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Are rhinestones the death of the whimsy trend?
    Sep 22 2026

    You may have seen whimsy all over your socials this year. Maybe you’ve been trying to make your days more whimsical? To some, that means taking a moment to appreciate the small things in life: the way the light falls on your desk in the afternoons, or a slow moment spent watching the way the trees blow in the wind. But now, rhinestones have entered the chat and the trend seems to have evolved into something entirely different. There are now concerns that it’s turned into over-consumerism, with people buying gems and other items to be whimsy. When some argue that whimsy simply cannot be bought.

    We speak to content creators Karris & Elizabeth about what whimsy means to them. Mollie from the What in the World team talks us through how the trend has grown. And we break down the evolution of whimsy with pop culture writer, Alyssa, and de-influencer, Emma.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mollie Perella and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde

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    12 mins
  • Resident Evil: The movie reviews are in
    Sep 21 2026

    For months gamers and horror movie fans around the world have been waiting for the brand new Resident Evil movie to drop. After the trailer was released there was a huge backlash from fans who were worried that it would be terrible. They said that key characters were missing, it was set in the wrong decade and previous films in the franchise weren’t great. So, now that they’ve seen it, what do they think?

    We speak to the film’s director Zach Cregger, BBC reporters Tom Richardson and Baldeep Chalal and six Resident Evil fans to find out about the response to the film and how it compares to the famous game.

    Resident Evil audio courtesy of director Zach Creeger and Constantin Film.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: William Lee Adams, Emma-Louise Amanshia and Mollie Perella Editor: Verity Wilde

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    10 mins
  • Should artists speak up about Israel-Gaza?
    Sep 18 2026

    For the first time in a loooong time, Macklemore’s face is probably all over your timeline, alongside Ed Sheeran’s. This week, Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour’s been plunged into chaos after Macklemore was dropped as Ed's support for making pro-Palestinian comments on stage. The other artists who were going to take part in the tour with Ed pulled out in solidarity. What’s gonna happen with his Philadelphia concert? Is this going to ruin the tour?!

    We unpack how the week unfolded with Zara Salaria from BBC News. Do you want your favourite artists to speak about politics on stage? Jordan Kenny from Newsbeat talks us through the different takes. We also discuss what’s next for Ed Sheeran and his career with our human Wikipedia, BBC music correspondent Mark Savage.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mollie Perella, Emily Horler, Baldeep Chahal, Chelsea Coates and Liv Cleal Video Journalist: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde

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    14 mins
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