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The Compass

BBC World Service
Latest available episode The sacred song of war Ready to listen
0:00 27 min 59 s

315 Episodes

The sacred song of war

Misha Glenny's final programme on Russia - what it is and where it came from - looks at the country's attitude to war. What has been the long lasting effect of the...

Catherine the Great and the question of Europe

It was Peter the Great who created a new capital on the Baltic, and Catherine the Great who extended Russian influence south and west. Sweden, Poland, and the Ottomans all felt the...

The Invention of Russia: The empire strikes back

Russia's massive empire was not like that of Britain or France. It expanded across the land, making it more like the United States of America. And from very small beginnings, it became...

The invention of Russia: A tale of two Ivans

Countries look so cohesive on the map - sturdy borders, familiar shapes. Don't be misled. They didn't always look like this. This is the story of Russia, biggest contiguous country on the...

Sounds of the city: Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is a bustling place and for a blind person it can be a little daunting, as BBC journalist, Peter White, discovers. The narrow streets in the older parts of town...

Sounds of the city: Los Angeles

In a new series of Sounds of the City Peter White, who has been blind since birth, uses the sounds to guide him as he explores new parts of the globe.In Los...

Bhopal: Part one

When one of journalist Rajkumar Keswani's friends dies at the Union Carbide plant after exposure to toxic gas, he decides to investigate. Local government officials dismiss him, but safety reports smuggled to...

How to be a former president: Part three

Giles Edwards looks inside the private clubs of former world leaders to see how they are still trying to influence global politics.(Photo: Helen Clark speaks at a 2022 meeting of the Global...

How to be a former president: Part two

Giles Edwards investigates the many opportunities offered by globalisation, and speaks to some of the former presidents and prime ministers who have run, or worked for, international organisations from civil society to...

How to be a former president: Part one

What happens to presidents and prime ministers when they stop running their countries, and leave politics behind? Giles Edwards has spent 10 years finding out what they do next. He shares some...