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  • Why are we obsessed with personality types and labels?
    2025/12/25

    Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Do you enjoy small talk with strangers or do you do everything you can to avoid catching their eye? Type A or Type B?

    Right now the internet is obsessed with these labels. Personality types, birth charts, attachment styles, Myers Briggs, colour coding your aura.

    These days the internet is full of tests that attempt to define who you are by answering questionnaires, but the reality is more complicated. We go through these trends with Claudia Hammond, a psychologist and BBC presenter. Plus we hear from BBC colleagues in other parts of the world. Yuna Ku tells us the trends around personality types in South Korea and Makuochi Okafor in Nigeria explains how Igbo culture defines people’s characteristics according to four categories.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Producers: Benita Barden, Julia Ross-Roy and Rio Rennalls Editor: Emily Horler

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    11 分
  • Why is there so much seaweed on our beaches?
    2025/12/24

    From the Caribbean to the Mediterranean, tonnes of seaweed is turning up on beaches in ever bigger quantities. Seaweed blooms — massive, rapid accumulations of seaweed — are smelly and can release toxic gases. They’re also crowding out native plants. So where is all this seaweed coming from and is it down to climate change? BBC climate and science correspondent Georgina Rannard explains what effect this extra seaweed is having on biodiversity.

    Lots of countries and scientists are trying to work out what to do with all this seaweed - and even find ways to use it in the fight against climate change. We speak to Santiago Stebelski, who’s 20 and from Mexico. He and his brother have just founded a company called Sargolico, which aims to convert sargassum seaweed into bioplastic.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, William Lee Adams and Adam Chowdhury Editor: Emily Horler

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    11 分
  • How easy will it be to go to the 2026 World Cup?
    2025/12/23

    Football fans all around the world are gearing up for the 2026 Men’s World Cup. It’s set to be a historic tournament and will be hosted by three countries for the first time: the United States, Canada and Mexico. But some fans says it will make the history books for the wrong reasons - because of the jump in ticket prices.

    Group-stage tickets are up to three times more than those for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the cheapest ticket for the final will cost hundreds of dollars. FIFA has announced that it will release a small number of more affordable tickets, but some fans say this is not enough.

    BBC Africa Sports Reporter Celestine Karoney explains the costs of attending the 2026 World Cup - and how the tournament could also be affected by US‘ immigration policy. We also hear from fans in Cape Verde, which has qualified for the tournament for the first time, and in the Ivory Coast about the barriers they have faced when trying to get tickets to World Cup matches.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison, Maria Clara Montoya and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

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    12 分
  • Just checking in…are my emails holding me back at work?! xx
    2025/12/22

    Are your work emails too polite? Do you use unnecessary punctuation and emojis? Career experts have told the BBC that using multiple exclamation marks can seem fake or could impact credibility.

    The BBC’s Culture reporter Yasmin Rufo has been looking at how the emails you write might be making you come across as less competent and less professional.

    Plus we’re joined by William Lee Adams who describes what it’s like communicating with people from all over the world at the BBC World Service and considering the email or message culture of different countries.

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

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    11 分
  • Ethiopia arrests TikTok creators over ‘indecent’ outfits
    2025/12/19

    At the end of November, Ethiopia’s biggest social media creators gathered in Addis Ababa for the Ethiopia Creative Awards. It was supposed to be a night celebrating the thriving digital culture but the outfits of the attendees stole the spotlight. A few weeks later six creators were arrested and detained for wearing “indecent attire” at the event and undermining public morality - but what exactly does that mean?

    Kalkidan Yibeltal, a BBC journalist based in Nairobi, tells us about cultural expectations for clothing in Ethiopia and why the outfits sparked so much controversy there. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Benita Barden, Chelsea Coates and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Verity Wilde

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    9 分
  • Why Iran is running out of water
    2025/12/18

    Iran is facing its worst drought in decades, with rainfall hitting a record low. Several of the reservoirs that supply water to the capital Tehran are almost empty: one of them, the Latian Dam, is currently holding less than 10% of its capacity. The government is encouraging people in Tehran to use less water and putting heavy restrictions on water supplies, especially at night.

    But Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has also suggested another solution - relocating the capital.

    BBC journalist Ghoncheh Habibiazad outlines these plans and explains what other solutions Iran is using to tackle the problem. We hear from someone living in Tehran about what it’s like living with extreme water shortages. And the BBC’s climate and science correspondent Georgina Rannard explains how climate change is contributing to this drought - and what solutions Iran could use to mitigate water shortages.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

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    9 分
  • The growing trend of influencers fronting charity campaigns
    2025/12/17

    Charity used to be about bake sales and running marathons. Now it’s all about thumbnails, hashtags, and stunts.

    Recently, MrBeast ran a massive campaign called #TeamWater - he partnered up with WaterAid and 10,000 other content creators. It raised over $40 million and is the biggest example so far in terms of number of influencers involved in a charitable campaign.

    Now other influencers, and charities are following this trend - working together on campaigns. So what happens when charity becomes content? Does this represent the future of philanthropy?

    Makuochi Okafor, a BBC reporter in Nigeria talks us through this growing trend and we hear from Gisela Amponsa, a Ghanaian digital creator, who was part of the #TeamWater campaign.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producer: Julia Ross-Roy Editors: Verity Wilde and Harriet Oliver

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    9 分
  • Taiwan and China: Everything you need to know
    2025/12/16

    Taiwan is an island about 180 kilometres off the coast of China - nearly 24 million people live there. Taiwan is self governed but China says it’s part of its territory. Only 12 countries (plus the Vatican) officially recognise Taiwan as a country. Taiwan is increasingly worried that China could be preparing to take the island by force.

    Whatever happens there could affect your whole online life, because Taiwan makes most of the world’s computer chips, which power your phone, your laptop, AI apps and electric cars.

    In this episode Shawn Yuan from the BBC’s Global China Unit explains the relationship between Taiwan and China and how the whole world could be affected if conflict broke out.

    We also hear from Taiwanese students Yi-Ting and Louis and Chinese student Rongzhi, who tell us how they feel about Taiwan-China relations.

    Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Producers: Julia Ross-Roy, Imogen James and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde

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    14 分