Meanwhile...

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Covid-19 has dominated the media for months. Meanwhile, other stories are developing.

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Meanwhile In Beijing

20200525

20200527 (R4)

The immediate implications of Covid-19 have dominated the media - and perhaps your attention - for months. But meanwhile, other stories are developing at speed, some intersecting with the virus crisis in unexpected ways.

In the first of a new series of documentaries, the historian Rana Mitter invites you to turn your attention away from the virus, and to look instead at how China is combining its tech and consumer product prowess to make the case for its one-party model of government - and the impact on that of Covid-19.

With contributions from: Daniel Bell, Peter Frankopan, Sophia Gaston, Isabel Hilton, Keyu Jin, Yu Jie, Zhang Weiwei

Producer: Phil Tinline

Rana Mitter explores how China is making the case for its model of government.

Meanwhile In Brussels

20200601

20200603 (R4)

Away from the Corona crisis headlines, talks to establish a new relationship between Britain and the EU seem to be going from bad to worse, and June is shaping up to be a critical month. The BBC's Europe Editor Katya Adler examines why the two sides now appear to misunderstand and mistrust each other so deeply, and what the consequences could be if no agreement on trade can be reached.

Presenter: Katya Adler

Producer: Jonathan Brunert

BBC Europe Editor Katya Adler examines why Britain and the EU can't agree a trade deal.

Meanwhile In Damascus

20200615

20200617 (R4)

After nine long years of civil war in Syria, President Assad has regained large swathes of the country through a ruthless military campaign supported by Russia and Iran. The war has come at enormous cost both in lives lost and infrastructure destroyed. With Russia and Iran looking to cash in on rebuilding the country, the BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen examines who will hold real power in a post-war Syria. Already serious cracks are appearing at the very top. An unusually public dispute between President Assad and his first cousin, Rami Makhlouf, is causing alarm in Damascus. Makhlouf is Syria's richest man, said by the US and the EU to have bankrolled the war for the regime. Russia is said to be getting impatient with President Assad over his reluctance to engage with a plan for post-war reconstruction. As the military campaign enters its final stages in the north of the country, can President Assad afford to fall out with the key people who support him?

Producer: Jim Frank

After nine years of civil war, Jeremy Bowen explores the balance of power in Syria.

Meanwhile In Nairobi

20200608

20200610 (R4)

Away from the Corona crisis headlines, rural communities across East Africa are battling with an ancient enemy - the desert locust. In Kenya, the swarms are the worst for over 70 years, with small pastoralist farmers hit hardest.

Specialist monitoring agencies have linked the return of the locusts to cyclones in Yemen and the increased rainfall caused by climate change. Some even believe the locust population has been directly affected by the Australian bushfires at the end of 2019.

BBC Africa's Sharon Machira reports on the attempts to control the locusts in a country already struggling with the challenges of Covid 19.

Presenter: Sharon Machira

Producer: Tom Roseingrave

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

Sharon Machira reports on the growing locust problem across East Africa.

Meanwhile In Space

20200629

20200701 (R4)

While the world's focus has been on the Covid-19 pandemic, other stories have been developing.

In May, SpaceX became the first commercial company to fly humans to the International Space Station. The launch was the first from American soil since 2011. The BBC's Global Science Correspondent, Rebecca Morelle, asks whether this launch marks the beginning of a golden era of human spaceflight and examines how new relationships between space agencies and commercial companies will change the field of space exploration.

Will this development capture humanity's imagination and give the field a renewed focus, or will it make space feel further away from the private citizen? Will space agencies and private companies collaborate or compete? Will it increase international cooperation or allow nations to advance by themselves? Rebecca explores the motivations of the individuals who are propelling advances beyond the Earth's atmosphere and examines what the risks might be, in the absence of a new international space treaty.

Presenter: Rebecca Morelle

Producer: Camellia Sinclair

Credit: British Path退, 'Space Treaty 1967', Path退 newsreels, 02/02/1967

Rebecca Morelle asks whether we're about to witness a new golden era of human spaceflight.

Meanwhile In The Med

20200521

20200706 (R4)
20200708 (R4)

People crossing the Central Mediterranean in flimsy boats are always putting their lives in danger. But a bleak situation was made worse by Covid-19 as ports in Malta and Italy closed to migrants and coastguards became reluctant to mount rescue operations.

Over the Easter weekend several boats set out from the Libyan coast. Some made it to Sicily. Two others drifted for days. The engines were broken and the people, including children and babies, ran out of food and water. Twelve people died. Dozens of others were picked up and taken back to Libya where they now languish in hellish detention centres.

This is the story of that weekend, told through recordings of distress calls from the boats and the testimony of a network of activists as they monitored the desperate situation.

Producer and presenter: Lucy Proctor

Covid-19 didn't halt Europe's migration crisis - it made it worse.

Meanwhile In Tokyo

20200622

20200624 (R4)

The pause button has been pressed on the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Writer David Goldblatt asks if not just Tokyo but the Games themselves are fit for the 21st Century? One that promises pandemics, global warming, global recession whilst long standing issues with doping and corruption still unresolved.

In truth Tokyo 2020 Olympics was already in trouble. The president of the Japanese Olympic Committee is under investigation for corruption during the 2020 bid process. The budget - originally $7 billion - tripled to over $22 billion. The Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 hangs like a shadow over Tokyo 2020. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe still sees them as an example of how Abenomics' is dragging the country out of its post-bubble economic lethargy. The IOC, after the controversies and mismanagement of the Rio games, see them as an opportunity to return to a successful and tightly run Olympics. However, the Tokyo games have also pointed to the enduring problems and the current model of staging the Olympics.

Thomas Bach, IOC president, is now claiming that the games will be a `beacon of light` in these dark times. A fragmented but globalised world needs celebrations of cosmopolitan humanity more than ever. Sport offers the perfect content for such a ritual, but as the fate of Tokyo 2020 suggests, putting on the show is coming at and higher and higher price in a world where fewer cities are prepared to foot the bill. Tokyo 2020 won't be the last Olympic Games, but as with everything else during this pandemic, we are unlikely to think about them in the same way ever again.

With the voices of Jules Boykoff, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Keiko Itani, Cerianne Robertson, Sir Hugh Robertson, Stratos Safieolas, Garry Whannell, Andrew Zimbalist

Producer: Mark Burman

In the wake of Covid-19 writer David Goldblatt explores the future of the Olympics.

Episodes

Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
Meanwhile In Beijing	20200525	20200527 (R4)	The immediate implications of Covid-19 have dominated the media - and perhaps your attention - for months. But meanwhile, other stories are developing at speed, some intersecting with the virus crisis in unexpected ways. In the first of a new series of documentaries, the historian Rana Mitter invites you to turn your attention away from the virus, and to look instead at how China is combining its tech and consumer product prowess to make the case for its one-party model of government - and the impact on that of Covid-19. With contributions from: Daniel Bell, Peter Frankopan, Sophia Gaston, Isabel Hilton, Keyu Jin, Yu Jie, Zhang Weiwei Producer: Phil Tinline Rana Mitter explores how China is making the case for its model of government.
Meanwhile In Brussels	20200601	20200603 (R4)	Away from the Corona crisis headlines, talks to establish a new relationship between Britain and the EU seem to be going from bad to worse, and June is shaping up to be a critical month. The BBC's Europe Editor Katya Adler examines why the two sides now appear to misunderstand and mistrust each other so deeply, and what the consequences could be if no agreement on trade can be reached. Presenter: Katya Adler Producer: Jonathan Brunert BBC Europe Editor Katya Adler examines why Britain and the EU can't agree a trade deal.
Meanwhile In Damascus	20200615	20200617 (R4)	After nine long years of civil war in Syria, President Assad has regained large swathes of the country through a ruthless military campaign supported by Russia and Iran. The war has come at enormous cost both in lives lost and infrastructure destroyed. With Russia and Iran looking to cash in on rebuilding the country, the BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen examines who will hold real power in a post-war Syria. Already serious cracks are appearing at the very top. An unusually public dispute between President Assad and his first cousin, Rami Makhlouf, is causing alarm in Damascus. Makhlouf is Syria's richest man, said by the US and the EU to have bankrolled the war for the regime. Russia is said to be getting impatient with President Assad over his reluctance to engage with a plan for post-war reconstruction. As the military campaign enters its final stages in the north of the country, can President Assad afford to fall out with the key people who support him? Producer: Jim Frank After nine years of civil war, Jeremy Bowen explores the balance of power in Syria.
Meanwhile In Nairobi	20200608	20200610 (R4)	Away from the Corona crisis headlines, rural communities across East Africa are battling with an ancient enemy - the desert locust. In Kenya, the swarms are the worst for over 70 years, with small pastoralist farmers hit hardest. Specialist monitoring agencies have linked the return of the locusts to cyclones in Yemen and the increased rainfall caused by climate change. Some even believe the locust population has been directly affected by the Australian bushfires at the end of 2019. BBC Africa's Sharon Machira reports on the attempts to control the locusts in a country already struggling with the challenges of Covid 19. Presenter: Sharon Machira Producer: Tom Roseingrave A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 Sharon Machira reports on the growing locust problem across East Africa.
Meanwhile In Space	20200629	20200701 (R4)	While the world's focus has been on the Covid-19 pandemic, other stories have been developing. In May, SpaceX became the first commercial company to fly humans to the International Space Station. The launch was the first from American soil since 2011. The BBC's Global Science Correspondent, Rebecca Morelle, asks whether this launch marks the beginning of a golden era of human spaceflight and examines how new relationships between space agencies and commercial companies will change the field of space exploration. Will this development capture humanity's imagination and give the field a renewed focus, or will it make space feel further away from the private citizen? Will space agencies and private companies collaborate or compete? Will it increase international cooperation or allow nations to advance by themselves? Rebecca explores the motivations of the individuals who are propelling advances beyond the Earth's atmosphere and examines what the risks might be, in the absence of a new international space treaty. Presenter: Rebecca Morelle Producer: Camellia Sinclair Credit: British Path退, 'Space Treaty 1967', Path退 newsreels, 02/02/1967 Rebecca Morelle asks whether we're about to witness a new golden era of human spaceflight.
Meanwhile In The Med	20200521	20200706 (R4) 20200708 (R4)	People crossing the Central Mediterranean in flimsy boats are always putting their lives in danger. But a bleak situation was made worse by Covid-19 as ports in Malta and Italy closed to migrants and coastguards became reluctant to mount rescue operations. Over the Easter weekend several boats set out from the Libyan coast. Some made it to Sicily. Two others drifted for days. The engines were broken and the people, including children and babies, ran out of food and water. Twelve people died. Dozens of others were picked up and taken back to Libya where they now languish in hellish detention centres. This is the story of that weekend, told through recordings of distress calls from the boats and the testimony of a network of activists as they monitored the desperate situation. Producer and presenter: Lucy Proctor Covid-19 didn't halt Europe's migration crisis - it made it worse.
Meanwhile In Tokyo	20200622	20200624 (R4)	The pause button has been pressed on the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Writer David Goldblatt asks if not just Tokyo but the Games themselves are fit for the 21st Century? One that promises pandemics, global warming, global recession whilst long standing issues with doping and corruption still unresolved. In truth Tokyo 2020 Olympics was already in trouble. The president of the Japanese Olympic Committee is under investigation for corruption during the 2020 bid process. The budget - originally $7 billion - tripled to over $22 billion. The Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 hangs like a shadow over Tokyo 2020. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe still sees them as an example of how Abenomics' is dragging the country out of its post-bubble economic lethargy. The IOC, after the controversies and mismanagement of the Rio games, see them as an opportunity to return to a successful and tightly run Olympics. However, the Tokyo games have also pointed to the enduring problems and the current model of staging the Olympics. Thomas Bach, IOC president, is now claiming that the games will be a `beacon of light` in these dark times. A fragmented but globalised world needs celebrations of cosmopolitan humanity more than ever. Sport offers the perfect content for such a ritual, but as the fate of Tokyo 2020 suggests, putting on the show is coming at and higher and higher price in a world where fewer cities are prepared to foot the bill. Tokyo 2020 won't be the last Olympic Games, but as with everything else during this pandemic, we are unlikely to think about them in the same way ever again. With the voices of Jules Boykoff, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Keiko Itani, Cerianne Robertson, Sir Hugh Robertson, Stratos Safieolas, Garry Whannell, Andrew Zimbalist Producer: Mark Burman In the wake of Covid-19 writer David Goldblatt explores the future of the Olympics.