The World: Latest Stories

The British Empire wasn't the only colonial power in what is now the United States. Several competing colonization projects led by the Spanish, Dutch, French and others laid the foundations of American history. Their distinct patterns of settlement help explain many of the political divides that continue to shape the US today, according to historian Colin Woodward. He tells The World's Host Marco Werman that over the centuries, these rival visions also influenced how American democracy evolved.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Celeste Amidon and her sister went from living their best lives as young professionals in New York City to moving back in with their parents in central Massachusetts. They felt like the world had failed them, and they were depressed - until they turned their time under one roof together into an extended cooking competition. They tried to one-up each other with dishes from Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Russia and beyond. But the biggest discovery was probably their father's; he made his Greek mother's spanakopita recipe for the first time. Amidon shared the experience at Stories From the Stage from GBH in Boston.

After years of war, Syrians hoped peace would bring both opportunity and accountability. Instead, many are struggling to make ends meet, while questions linger over how the country will reckon with its past. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

Diplomats are in Nairobi this week to resume talks about a global plastics treaty. Negotiations collapsed last year when countries reached an impasse over curbing plastic production, not just addressing plastic waste. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Climate Home News reporter Matteo Civillini about what is happening this week.

Brazil's national team may not carry the cloak of inevitable champion anymore, but one area of the soccer universe where they will continue to dominate until unseated is music about the sport. Singer and songwriter Jorge Ben practically monopolized that space with several hits about the game and its legendary players. Host Marco Werman offers us, arguably, his best, Zagueiro" or defender."

After San Francisco's immigration court closed, asylum seekers are being sent 30 miles away to Concord, CA. A group has now formed to help immigrants work their way through the court system. And one man is at the heart of the effort. KQED's Vanessa Rancano reports.

A ballet about Rudolf Nureyev is getting a new life in Germany. Nureyev is the magnetic dancer whose celebrity transcended the ballet world, particularly after his high-profile defection from the Soviet Union. The work premiered in Nureyev's native Russia, but eventually fell out of favor because of its LGBTQ sentiments. From Berlin, Stephanie Wolf reports.

Scent is a powerful thing. In people, it's connected to taste, memory, even cognitive health. For wildlife, smell can even dictate survival. But researchers are increasingly concerned about odor pollution, when the chemicals we add to the environment either overwhelm the existing smellscape with their own scent, or they change the existing scents at the molecular level. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Stony Brook professor Jordanna Sprayberry about what this could mean for plants, pollinators and ecosystems.

The World Cup tournament last night saw the stunning defeat of the German team. Paraguay won the game 4 to 3 in penalty shootouts. It was Germany's first World Cup shootout defeat. Host Marco Werman talks with guest Anders Kelto of the podcast The People's Game about last night's shocker and why there are even penalty shootouts to begin with.

The US Supreme Court birthright citizenship decision is not an isolated legal event. Increasingly, around the globe, countries are struggling to redefine who belongs within their borders, from anti-immigrant protests in South Africa to Spain's decision to regularize large numbers of undocumented migrants. Francois Crepeau, a professor emeritus of public international law at McGill University in Montreal, speaks with The World's Host Marco Werman about the political dynamics behind the different approaches.

An endangered Serbian eagle was rescued in dramatic fashion from Syrian poachers. Host Marco Werman has the exciting details of Feliks the eagle.

Across Venezuela, volunteers are turning their skills into disaster relief. Motorcycle drivers are carrying supplies to hard-hit communities. Engineers are inspecting cracked buildings. Some people are using 3D printers to produce medical splints, welders are building bunk beds and circus performers are visiting shelters to entertain children. Five days after devastating earthquakes hit the country, The World's Tibisay Zea reports on the many ways Venezuelans are helping one another.

It's do or die from here on out at the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup. It's the knock-out round of 32, when sudden elimination begins. But there was plenty of excitement in the final weekend of the group phase. The World's Gerry Hadden wraps it all up for us.

Cases involving Chinese immigrants from San Francisco reached the US Supreme Court and helped establish birthright citizenship, now under threat as America celebrates 250 years as a nation. Birthright citizenship is just one of the landmark legal victories won by 19th-century Chinese immigrants. Their court battles helped secure constitutional protections that remain at the center of today's debates over citizenship, due process and democracy. KQED's Cecilia Lei reports from San Francisco.

Zahili Zamora was born and raised in the Cuban port city of Manzanillo, but her music has taken her to Canada, Southeast Asia and now the United States, where she's recently become a citizen. Her Cuban heritage and status as an immigrant inspired her new album, "Overcoming." Zamora first spoke to Host Carolyn Beeler last winter.This story originally aired on Dec. 9, 2025.

At least 1,400 are dead in Venezuela, as rescuers continue to hunt for survivors, but their efforts are being hampered by aftershocks, with the latest occurring on Monday morning. Host Marco Werman has the latest.

For almost a month, protesters have gathered every evening in Albania's capital, Tirana, many carrying signs declaring "Albania is not for sale." The demonstrations were sparked by plans for a multi-million-dollar luxury tourism development backed by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. But the rallies have since become something much bigger. The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Ugandan officials have shut down the country's two leading media outlets on the orders of the military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba. He is the son of President Yoweri Museveni and widely viewed as his likely successor, and said he ordered the closures because he does not "believe in a free press." Agather Atuhaire, a Ugandan journalist, lawyer and human rights activist discusses the implications with The World's Host Marco Werman.

Journalist Sally Hayden has reported on crises across the globe - harrowing stories of war, displacement and political violence. But in her new book, This Is Also a Love Story," Hayden turns her attention to something often overlooked in crisis coverage: the relationships that help people endure. Hayden spoke to Host Marco Werman from Beirut, where she's covering the current conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.

There is little relief in sight in the fight against Ebola. This new strain of the virus is the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak ever, with over a thousand cases detected and more than 300 deaths in just one month. Host Marco Werman speaks with infectious diseases physician Dr. Nahid Bhadelia about what is facing healthcare workers in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that the Trump administration can end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haitian and Syrian migrants, putting roughly 356,000 people at risk of losing work permits and facing deportation. To discuss the impact on Haitians in the US, we're joined by Francois Pierre-Louis of Faith in Action International in New York City. We then hear from Krish Vignarajah, president of Global Refuge, to understand the wider implications of the ruling on the future of TPS.

Fancy a tax break on your pension income? Or how about a house for $1.15? Then rural Italy may just be for you! These are just two examples of real-life incentives some local authorities have come up with to combat their depopulation problems. But do these measures actually work? From our partners at Deutsche Welle, DW, Inside Europe's Angelo Van Schaik has been finding out.

The story of the American Revolution, as it is typically told, is the story of two parties in conflict: the British crown, and the rebelling colonies. But this story ignores the role North America's sovereign tribal nations played in the revolution, and the impact that revolution had on Indigenous people around the world. For our series on the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Yale University historian Ned Blackhawk, about this complicated history.

Qatar and Pakistan are currently playing the role of mediators between Iran and the United States. They're involved in what could be described as some of the most delicate and consequential negotiations between the two countries. But what propels a country to become a mediator? What's in it for them? The World's Shirin Jaafari explains.

The official death toll from Venezuela's back-to-back earthquakes has climbed to around 600, with thousands injured and more than 50,000 reported still missing. The hardest-hit area is La Guaira, where may residents have been digging through rubble themselves as rescue teams and international aid begin to arrive. The disaster is now testing the fragile government of acting President Delcy Rodriguez, and exposing the limits of a country already weakened by years of humanitarian crisis. The World's Tibisay Zea reports.

Health workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, got an exciting email recently. It thanked them for slogging through the implementation of a new digital health information system, and offered them a day off if they registered for it. But ... it was not a real offer. Host Carolyn Beeler has the details.

Europe continues to be trapped under a "heat dome," with temperatures climbing to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some places. The extreme heat has resulted in casualties. Governments across Europe are cancelling outdoor activities to protect lives. Host Carolyn Beeler has more.

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek has been walking across continents for his project, the Out of Eden Walk. He describes that project as an exercise in what he calls "slow journalism." But as he explains, journalists often see the world in a very different way than artists often do. That's why it's been important to him to walk with artists along his journey. He tells Host Marco Werman what that adds to the project, and about the Out of Eden Walk art exhibitions he has hosted.

New analysis from the London School of Economics finds an increase in lawsuits around the world targeting data centers. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with the report's researcher, Eoin Jackson.

There's lots going on these days in the world of sports. Starting, of course, with the World Cup. But there's also news with the International Olympic Committee and the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, with Wimbledon coming up next week. Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman have the latest.

Earthquakes of similar strength may strike different parts of the world on the same day, and yet the damage and recovery are likely to look dramatically different. Some societies are able to build quake-resistant communities while others remain vulnerable. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with seismologist Lucy Jones about how natural disasters shape communities and what can be done to minimize damage.

The government of Venezuela has declared a national emergency as the death toll climbs and rescuers attempt to dig people out of the rubble after two earthquakes. The quakes hit a country already weakened by years of economic collapse, strained healthcare and political disruption. The World's Tibisay Zea has been speaking with people on the ground and shares the latest with Host Carolyn Beeler.

The Census 2026-2027 is afoot in India - the biggest, most elaborate administrative data collection exercise carried out in the country. In the last census that happened in 2011, there were 1.21 billion people who were recorded and 250 million households surveyed. Turns out that most of the people collecting this data are women. Ashrita Achar reports from Bengaluru.

Last year, tens of thousands joined Hungary's Pride march in defiance of laws used to ban public LGBTQ events. While the government of Viktor Orban is out and the new Prime Minister Peter Magyar has expressed support for this year's Pride parade, many of Orban's anti-LGBTQ laws are still on the books. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Tamas Dombos, a Hungarian human rights researcher.

It's estimated that 1 million plants and animals are at risk of going extinct. Conservation can stop this trend, but how you protect a species looks different around the world. Reporter Levi Bridges recently hiked up a hill called Aigul-Tash in southern Kyrgyzstan, to get a rare peek at an endangered flower. He tells us how the trip changed how he thinks about conservation.

German mathematician and economist Joachim Klement has predicted the past three World Cup winners using a mathematical model. Host Marco Werman spoke to the man behind the model. Joining the show from London, Klement said he factors in economics, luck and love of the game.

Activists and human rights groups abroad say the Iranian government is going after their loved ones inside Iran, arresting and intimidating them. They say it also goes after their assets, properties and bank accounts. The World's Shirin Jaafari reports.

Nassau, in the Bahamas, was the center of the Golden Age of Piracy. Hundreds of pirates lived on, and sailed from, its shores. Now, for the first time, marine archaeologists have discovered shipwrecks in the harbor tied to that era. The World's Host Marco Werman speaks with Sean Kingsley, who led the expedition, to learn more about the find.

Caryn Davies, a former Olympic rower, wanted to try her luck in one more round of the Olympic Games. When she showed up to practice, and for months later, it seemed like her teammates shunned her. When the Olympics were postponed because of COVID-19, she couldn't take it anymore and confronted several of the other women on the squad. As she told GBH's Stories From the Stage, what she heard shocked her.

Children account for roughly 30% of those killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in recent years. That's according to a new UN report that charges Israel with deliberately targeting and killing Palestinian youth. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Dr. Bing Li, an ER doctor who works at Nasser Medical complex in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, who reated dazed and confused children injured in an Israeli airstrike today.

Derya Yildirim & Grup imek play a funk-infused, psychedelic reinterpretation of traditional Turkish music. Now, they're touring with an album that asks listeners to imagine what kind of world they want in the future. The World's Hosts Carolyn Beeler and Marco Werman explain.This story originally aired on Jan. 30, 2026.

Things have been grim recently for the Norwegian royals. Crown Princess Mette-Marit's son was sentenced to four years in prison for rape and violence. Then came the news that she had to go through a life-saving lung transplant. And she's publicly fought for her reputation after revelations of her friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. So, what do Norwegians now make of the once very popular royal family? Lars Bevanger reports from Oslo.

Mexico may be hosting the World Cup, but soccer wasn't the country's first ball game. Long before FIFA, Indigenous groups across Mesoamerica played versions of a game with a heavy rubber ball, struck with the hip. Today, it's known as ulama, or juego de cadera. In Mexico City, players are hoping the World Cup helps bring this ancestral sport new attention - and The World's Tibisay Zea even tried it herself.

Tens of thousands of international soccer fans are in the US this month for The World Cup. And they're getting exposed to a mostly American phenomenon: sports stadiums located miles outside of the city center. Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco and New York are listed as host cities on paper. But matches are happening far outside of city limits. And the train and bus tickets to get to them are coming at a steep cost. In Boston, for example, the city's transit agency - the MBTA - is charging close to $100 a piece for a roundtrip train ride to Foxboro, where the New England patriots play. The World's Transportation Correspondent Jeremy Siegel joined fans for a raucous ride to the stadium.

Washington's announcement this week that it will end funding for HIV/AIDS prevention programs in South Africa will have an immediate impact in lives lost, according to Helen Rees, director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand. Rees tells The World's Host Marco Werman that the consequences extend beyond immediate suffering: A larger immunocompromised population could heighten the risk of future pandemics.

If you're making the long walk to a soccer stadium, or you're just on your feet for hours a day, you might want to consider a pair of "cool shoes." Not as in trendy - but actually cool, and comfortable. They were created by a young Kenyan inventor who wanted to soothe his mother's aching feet. They're made entirely from trash and bits and pieces of old electronics. Jonathan Miller reported the story for Audio Flux, an independent platform for short-form audio storytelling.

Ten years ago today, Britain voted to leave the European Union, triggering a political earthquake that reshaped the UK's relationship with Europe and transformed British politics. In 2016, 52% of voters backed leaving the bloc, but today opinion polls show a majority would support rejoining the EU. For some, the impact of Brexit goes far beyond politics or economics, as The World's Europe Correspondent Orla Barry reports.

Western Europe is in the midst of a severe heat wave. The temperature in Paris was hovering close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit tonight. An estimated 45 people have already died in France as a result, many from drowning while trying to cool off. The World's Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Isabelle Coll, an environmental scientist who says a lot needs to change to mitigate heat waves in France.

There have been a lot of surprises and excitement over the past few days of the 2026 World Cup. The World's Gerry Hadden breaks it all down with Host Carolyn Beeler.

Bahar Movahed has sung Persian classical music in Tehran, while also pursuing a degree in dentistry. She now lives in California and is successful in both. Host Marco Werman spoke to Movahed about both careers. We also hear songs from her new album, "Together Yet Alone."