The ‘Gap Year’ has become something of a rite of passage for many youngsters keen to set see the world and give something back. But good intentions can often have unintended consequences - and the ‘white saviour’ complex can often be harmful.Former nurse turned journalist Ryan Latto talked us through his experiences in Uganda and Tanzania, and why …

Too often, when discussing homelessness the first image that springs to mind is a man in a sleeping bag in a doorway on the street. But it affects many more people than that; people from all ages and backgrounds. It's a growing, largely invisible problem. So do we really understand homelessness, and can the media do more when reporting the issue?Si…

The brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has shone an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salam. This in turn, has brought the unrelenting civil war in Yemen back to the fore. Many international partners have declared themselves uneasy being part of the coalition and military action, which is taking such a bruta…

France recalled its Ambassador to Rome at the start of 2019 - the culmination of months of worsening relations between two of the founder members of the EU. Italy accused France of colonising Africa, while the French President has apparently described the populist politics in Italy as being like leprosy. So what on earth is going on, and what has t…

Money talks, and spending in elections is protected in the US, thanks to the courts. But who's spending what? And why does it matter? Peter Geoghegan is the investigations editor for OpenDemocracy. He's been trying to follow the money, which flooded in during the Brexit referendum to determine what it's changed ... and if democracy itself is at sta…

2018 has been a year unlike any other. Events which would have brought down previous governments, or presidents, have seemingly made little impact. With Brexit and Trump looming large, is there any room for other news in our tightly packed papers and bulletins? In this holiday special we sat down with 3 journalists, each with their own perspectives…

It's been described as an age, an era and according to Donald Trump, it's a rules based system. But what exactly is "MeToo", what has it achieved, and what about men? Journalist Eve Livingston writes about society for the Guardian, and she talks us through the jargon and concepts behind this new "defining era".…

The US President is keen to tout his business acumen, his Scottish connections, and his reputation as a master dealmaker. So why is Donald Trump ploughing significant amounts of money into two Scottish properties that have yet to post a profit and are burning through cash? Investigative journalist Martyn McLaughlin has been studying the Trump finan…

Indigenous communities in Australia have been fighting to prevent Scottish nuclear waste being dumped next to sacred Aboriginal land. It’s been a prolonged fight, and one that’s not over yet. Scottish journalist James McEnaney has more on the fallout from this unusual fight.By Halla Mohieddeen

A British mother of one has been separated from her daughter and jailed in Iran for over 900 days. But she is far from the only dual-national imprisoned in the country, on charges many observers say are ludicrous. So is there more to these prison sentences, and how do internal Iranian power struggles play into it? We spoke with British Iranian jour…

The Belt and Road Initiative is one of Xi Jinping’s flagship policies. It doesn’t sound very exciting - or intelligible - but it aims to connect China to the West over land and by sea. The scale and eye watering sums of money involved are making people sit up and take notice, and have raised accusations of debt-trap diplomacy with many countries in…

Australian paramedics have reportedly stopped asking patients who the Prime Minister is to gauge consciousness, as it's too hard to keep up. In the past decade there have been six different Prime Ministers, many of whom ousted by their own colleagues. So why is Australia unable to hold onto a Prime Minister, what's behind the constant revolving doo…

Since the fall of communism in 1989, Romania has been working hard to tackle corruption and has been widely praised for its efforts. But almost 3 decades on, it remains one of the most corrupt countries in Europe, and its people are sick of it. So what is being done to tackle this, why hasn't more progress been made, and what is the former Mayor of…

The Greek financial crisis sent shockwaves through Europe and plunged the nation - and the Eurozone - into crisis. Fast forward three years, and the country has exited its mammoth Third bailout in 2015. But at what cost? And has it worked? France 24's Business Editor Stephen Carroll explainsBy Halla Mohieddeen

Human Rights groups have been sounding the alarm about the situation faced by China's Uighurs. They call it a humanitarian catastrophe, and warn that hundreds of thousands of people are being rounded up into re-education camps, from which very few escape. So what's going on and why haven't we heard anything about it? Josh Chin from the Wall Street …

It's a word familiar to Scots ... now we want to introduce "outwith" to you. In this weekly podcast, we'll take you on a journey around the world, taking a deeper look at the news and the issues that matter. All from our kitchen table in Glasgow. We've got eyes on the world... let us bring the world to you! Join Halla and her guests every week, as …