Crossing Continents

BBC Radio 4
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Stories from around the world and the people at the heart of them.

  1. 1 day ago

    Brazil’s gambling addiction

    The figures are startling. 2.1 million Brazilians have a clinical addiction to betting. 7.5 million are problem gamblers. Women now comprise 40% of all gamblers, having been 25% just a decade ago. Online sports and casino betting have exploded in Brazil to make it one of the largest gambling markets in the world. The self-help group Gamblers Anonymous says it's receiving thousands of calls each month and millions of Brazilians are estimated be suffering financial, emotional or relationship problems as a result of betting. Camilla Mota talks to football fans in Sao Paulo on why they’re gambling on their team’s result. She also speaks to a man who gambled away $75, 000 on a corporate credit card over just one weekend and a businesswoman who locked herself in the toilet of her family home in order to bet in secret. Camilla also meets two psychiatrists offering treatment to addicts at a special clinic. What can be done to protect problem gamblers while at the same time avoid driving legal gambling underground? Produced by Bob Howard Studio mix: Neva Missirian Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Penny Murphy

  2. 18 Aug

    Raiders of the lost art

    What do the stolen love letters of John Keats have to do with homicide on the streets of New York?  Prosecuting both crimes falls under the remit of assistant district attorney Matthew Bogdanos.   A retired Marine colonel with both law and classics degrees, he has been the head of the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquities Trafficking Unit since its creation in 2017. In his time on the job, the office has has seized more than six thousand pieces of stolen art and antiquities from various museums, art galleries and private homes in order to return them to their countries of origin. In this Crossing Continents, Sandra Kanthal travels to New York to learn more about this special unit of law enforcement and the reasons why one man thinks tracking down stolen treasures of the art world and reuniting them with their rightful owners is vitally important to our past and for our future. Presenter and Producer: Sandra Kanthal Editor: Penny Murphy Studio Mix: James Beard Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman

  3. 11 Aug

    Victoria Falls: Wilderness on the edge

    The Victoria Falls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe is one of the natural wonders of the world. It's also one of Africa's great tourist attractions. As both countries seek to grow the tourism economy, there’s been a push to develop land around the Falls. But as Isa Jacobson reports from Zambia, it's led to fears for the preservation of the World Heritage Site, and warnings that the loss of land will exacerbate a deadly conflict between local people and wildlife. Presenter: Isa Jacobson Producer: Alex Last Sound Mix: Neil Churchill Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Series Editor: Penny Murphy

  4. 4 Aug

    Getting Gaza back online

    How amid the tents and the rubble Gaza is developing once again as an unlikely tech hub. Even before the October 7th 2023 attack and the subsequent war between Israel and Hamas, NGOs, with the backing of Google, had sought to develop tech start-ups in the Gaza strip. The digital economy was one of the few areas in which young Gazans in particular could seek to earn money for their families. During the two years of war they struggled for food and water. Forced to move from place to place, most of them lost their homes, their work, sometimes their laptops and plenty lost family members. Now 80% of Gazans are unemployed and have no income. Many of them live amid the rubble in tents. Stable electricity and internet are difficult to come by. And yet co-working hubs have begun to pop up, giving well educated graduates a chance to work remotely for foreign companies as coders, software engineers and app developers. With Israel controlling what comes in and out of Gaza, they still face significant obstacles, not least finding decent internet, electricity and spare parts for their laptops. And with near-daily bombings continuing, Gaza’s wider recovery remains uncertain. Yolande Knell reports on how its tech workers give a glimpse of a brighter, possible future, open to the world beyond Gaza’s borders. Producer: John Murphy Studio mix: Gareth Jones Programme co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Penny Murphy

  5. 26 May

    Sierra Leone: the diamond that saved a thousand lives

    In 2017, five men digging in an open pit found the third largest diamond ever unearthed in west Africa. It was dubbed the Peace Diamond, in memory of the brutal civil war that had ravaged large parts of the region in the 1990's – a war driven in part by factions competing for control of the diamond trade. When the Peace Diamond sold for $6.5 million at auction in New York, the government pledged some of the profits would provide solar power, a clinic, a school and a road connection for the Sierra Leonean village where it was found. Each of the diggers and the pit’s owner also got a small share of the spoils. Nine years on, we return to Sierra Leone to see how much the government kept their promise and to what extent the discovery really did transform the lives for those involved for better, or for worse. Presented and produced by Ed Butler Studio mix by Neil Churchill Production coordinator: Katie Morrison Series editor: Penny Murphy

  6. 19 May

    Victim or Accomplice? The Story of Jeffrey Epstein’s Pilot Girlfriend

    Nadia Marcinko, originally Marcinková, was born in Slovakia and met Jeffrey Epstein as an 18-year-old model. Later, she became a successful aircraft pilot. For seven years, she was Epstein’s main girlfriend. And she’s one of four women that US prosecutors named in a 2008 plea deal as his “potential co-conspirators”. But she’s never been accused of any crime. And she’s described herself a victim who was abused physically and psychologically by Epstein. Now, a committee of the US Congress is beginning to address the sensitive question of whether it’s possible for someone to be both a victim and an accomplice, as it takes testimony from two of the “potential co-conspirators”, Epstein’s former assistants Sarah Kellen and Lesley Groff. Nadia Marcinko, who disappeared from public view several years ago, may also be called to testify. BBC reporter Tim Whewell and independent Slovak journalist Jakub Pohle have talked to people who’ve known her, and dug deep into the Epstein files, to put together the most detailed account yet of her life. Presented and produced by Tim Whewell and Jakub Pohle Additional research: Oscar Brophy Actors: Tara Gadomski, Kerry Shale, Simona Vrabcova, Rebeka Jurcackova, Jozef Radovsky Sound mixing: Neil Churchill Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Penny Murphy

  7. 12 May

    Return to Khartoum: War, loss and hope

    Since 2023, Sudan has been engulfed by a brutal civil war. More than 150,000 people have been killed and millions have been displaced. The war began as a power struggle between the Sudanese military and the powerful paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The capital Khartoum was the epicentre of the conflict. Millions fled as fighting wrecked the city. In 2025, the Sudanese military finally retook the capital from the RSF. One year on, Mohanad Hashim returns home to Khartoum to see how life is slowly returning to the battered city. Reporter: Mohanad Hashim Producer: Alex Last Sound mix: Neil Churchill Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Series Editor: Penny Murphy

  8. 5 May

    Serbia: Under the Canopy

    Eighteen months ago, the renovation of the railway station in Serbia’s second biggest city, Novi Sad, led to a tragic accident. A substantial concrete canopy, which ran across the front of the station building, suddenly collapsed, killing sixteen people. The disaster sparked mass protests. Marchers demanded justice for the dead and injured. As the protests spread, to the capital, Belgrade, and to towns and cities across the country, the demands evolved. Protesters accused the government of corruption and of covering up the truth about what happened. The government accused the protesters of being foreign agents, supported and organised by malign outside forces. Now, after more than a year, the mass protests have finally subsided. Jill McGivering is in Serbia to find out what’s happened to that explosion of anti-government anger. Presented by Jill McGivering Produced by Caroline Finnigan Studio mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Penny Murphy

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About

Stories from around the world and the people at the heart of them.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2007 - 2026
  • Episodes
    417
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    Crossing Continents

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