The Global Story

Citizen Vigilante is a low-budget action thriller starring actor Armie Hammer as a vigilante who hunts down migrant criminals in Europe. The movie faced a muted reception - until Elon Musk posted it to his hundreds of millions of followers on X.com.
We speak to journalist Mike Wendling to understand why this film has become a lightning rod for political and cultural debate, and what its sudden rise reveals about the far-reaching influence of the world’s richest man.
Producers: Aron Keller and Hannah Moore
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Photo: Elon Musk at the Viva Technology conference, June 16, 2023. Credit: Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo.
Mix: Travis Evans
Video journalist: Matt Pintus
Senior news editor: China Collins

World leaders are gathering in Ankara, Turkey for a Nato summit, despite tensions between Donald Trump and Nato allies over financial contributions and the Iran war. The US president hasn’t hidden his consternation with European leaders, and has suggested he is only attending ‘out of respect to President Erdogan’.
Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come under criticism for a crackdown on dissent in the country, which has led to over 200 arrests of activists, journalists and public figures in the lead up to the summit. So how has he taken on such a pivotal role within Nato?
We speak to BBC correspondent and presenter, Mark Lowen, who was based in Istanbul for five years, before he was detained and banned from the country while on a reporting trip last year.
Producers: Valerio Esposito and Sam Chantarasak
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Digital producer: Tom Bage
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: President Trump shakes hands with Turkish President Erdogan at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 7, 2026. Credit: Emrah Gurel/Pool via Reuters

Donald Trump has revealed that he personally called Gianni Infantino, the head of Fifa, to ask him to review the red card given to United States' star player Folarin Balogun. The striker had been given a one-match ban after a hard tackle against Tarik Muharemovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the punishment was suspended in time for the US to play their final 16 match against Belgium yesterday.
The decision has been widely condemned across the football world, with European footballing organisation UEFA, calling it, "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable", and former Fifa president Sepp Blatter writing on X, “Redcards are not overturned by political phone calls… Football must never become a playground for political power.”Infantino has insisted the decision was made independently by Fifa’s “independent judicial bodies”.
On today’s show, Tristan is joined by BBC football issues correspondent Dale Johnson and New Yorker staff writer Sam Knight, to explain the scandal, and how Infantino’s governance of Fifa has brought football and politics closer together.
Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin
Mix: Travis Evans
Video journalist: Matt Pintus
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Folarin Balogun of the U.S. looks dejected as he applauds fans after the match following their elimination from the World Cup, July 6, 2026. Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Blake Dahlin

President Trump will be attending a NATO summit in Turkey this week, where he’s likely to hear one consistent message from European leaders: the tide is shifting against Russia in its war with Ukraine. And not just on the battlefield.
Russian cities are being pounded by Ukrainian drones in ever increasing numbers. Fuel shortages have become widespread as key infrastructure has been targeted, with long lines seen at gas stations and trucks abandoned by the side of the road. Vladimir Putin recently made a rare admission; that his country is actually facing problems caused by the conflict, amid growing disquiet about Russia’s enormous economic problems.
In today’s episode we speak to Simon Shuster, staff writer at The Atlantic, and veteran reporter of Russia and Ukraine. And with the war starting to hit home, we ask if Putin is now on the backfoot?
Producers: Lucy Pawle and Hannah Moore
Executive producer: Bridget Harney
Mix: Travis Evans
Video producer: Matt Pintus
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: Russia's President Putin meets with service members in Moscow, June 12, 2026. Photo Credit: Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via Reuters

As the United States celebrates 250 years since its founding, this week The Global Story has been exploring the surprising and often hidden ways the US has shaped the modern world.
Today, we hear from you. Asma and Tristan put your thoughts and questions about America’s impact on the world to the BBC’s international editor, Jeremy Bowen, who has reported from more than 90 countries over the past 40 years, and to Celia Hatton, who hosts the BBC’s Global News Podcast and previously spent 15 years reporting from inside China.
Producers: Cat Farnsworth, Aron Keller and Hannah Moore
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: An illustration of a megaphone. Credit: BBC