2025-09-12
26 分钟Hello, this is The Explanation from the BBC World Service, recorded on the 10th of September.
I'm John Simpson, and you're listening to Unspun World,
the programme that goes behind the headlines to find out what's really going on.
On this week's programme is the latest political crisis in France, a sign of long-term decline.
I fear it's just more of this decline of things getting worse,
people feeling less and less faith in the institutions and turning against each other.
how the simmering conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has been inflamed by ultranationalism on both sides.
Russia also employs other techniques like influence operations, like bot farms and trolls.
And we examine the ways in which Russia is quietly trying to win over the world.
In the age of social media,
nationalist feelings are being expressed in the most extreme form in intense waves of information crossing the borders.
This is turning into one of those disturbing times when the old rules simply cease to apply and a newer,
more disturbing reality seems to be taking over.
On Tuesday, Israel launched airstrikes on the centre of the Qatari capital, Doha,
in a failed attempt to wipe out the remaining Hamas senior leadership,
gathered there to discuss a Gaza ceasefire with the Qataris.
Donald Trump, who seems only to have been warned about the airstrike at the last moment,
said he was very unhappy about it.
Then, a matter of 12 hours or so later, Russia sent drones repeatedly into Polish airspace,
NATO airspace in other words, as part of a new attack on Ukraine.