The Overview

As the world races to reach net zero, many governments, businesses and individuals are turning to carbon offsetting to tackle emissions. But are carbon offsets an effective tool to mitigate climate change – or just another form of greenwashing? How can the problems within this booming market be solved? And what role could new technologies play in combating global warming?Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with guests Dr Steve Smith of the University of Oxford, Gilles Dufrasne at Carbon Market Watch and Dirk Nuber at Climeworks. Thanks to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Produced by Rich Jarman.

Alarming reports of declining insect populations have triggered warnings that the world may be facing ‘Insectageddon'. What could happen if insect numbers fall further? Why do we care about some more than others? And what can we do to protect at-risk species?This is The Overview.Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with guests environmentalist and broadcaster Chris Baines, Dr Nick Isaac from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Dr Erica McAlister, senior curator at the Natural History Museum, and Professor Seirian Sumner from UCL. Thanks to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Produced by Rich Jarman. Find Chris Baines' Film, The Living Thames, here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B09QG4925K/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_rFind Erica McAlister's book, The Secret Life of Flies, here: https://www.nhmshop.co.uk/the-secret-life-of-flies-paperback.html Find Seirian Sumner's book Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps here: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/endless-forms-the-secret-world-of-wasps-seirian-sumner?variant=39532321472590

Millions of US workers are quitting or changing jobs in an ongoing trend dubbed the Great Resignation. With job vacancies rising to record highs on both sides of the Atlantic, is the UK also facing a resignations surge? Has the pandemic changed workers' priorities and job expectations forever? And how can businesses attract and retain talent?This is The Overview.Presented by Julia O Driscoll. With guests Jonathon Wadsworth, professor of economics at Royal Holloway College and senior research fellow at LSE's Centre for Economic Performance, Lynda Gratton, professor of management practice at London Business School, and behavioural change coach, Gemma Perlin.Thanks also to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Produced by Rich Jarman.

Women's football was once banned and derided, but some say it could now be the standard-bearer for all women's sports. England's Lionesses are riding a wave of enthusiasm that fans hope will see them through to a Euro 2022 victory, while champions of the sport hope this could be a watershed moment in redefining perceptions of the game. Why has it taken so long for women's football to be embraced? What barriers persist? And could this tournament change everything? This is The Overview.Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with guests Professor Jean Williams, a sports historian and author, Jen O'Neill, editor of She Kicks magazine, and Jenny Mitton, director at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment. Thanks to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Produced by Rich Jarman.

The number of school leavers going to university has hit a record high, but what are they getting in return for their tuition fees? Amid growing questions about the value of degrees, does taking on student debt pay off? And what are the non-financial benefits of a university education? This is The Overview.Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with guests Nathan Sansom, chief executive at The Access Project, John Gill, editor of Times Higher Education Magazine, and Elisabeth Barrett, vice president of learning at Multiverse. Thanks to our student panel, Amy Edwards, Molly Potter, Joshua Young, to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Produced by Rich Jarman.

The US Supreme Court has shocked the world by overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that had protected American women's right to abortion for almost 50 years. And other controversial recent rulings have fuelled questions about the legitimacy of the nation's highest court. As the row rages on, are further rights under threat? Or could calls for reform see the court's justices stripped of some of their power? This is The Overview.Presented by Julia O'Driscoll with guests Brigid Kennedy of The Week, Tanya Washington, law professor at Georgia State University College of Law and Journalist Jill Filipovic, author of OK Boomer: Let's Talk. Thanks to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Produced by Rich Jarman.

Recent election gains by Marine Le Pen's far-right party have sent shockwaves across France and triggered concern throughout the EU. Could the rise of the Eurosceptic far-right threaten the future of the bloc? And could Emmanuel Macron's nationalist nemesis be paving the way for a Frexit? This is The Overview

As the world races to decarbonise, nuclear power is being touted as an essential energy source. But safety fears remain, along with claims that nuclear reactors are too expensive and too slow to build. So just what would it take to win over the nuclear sceptics? This is The Overview.Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with guests Richard Rhodes, author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, and Douglas Parr, chief scientist and policy director at Greenpeace UK. Thanks to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Music and Sound Design by Rich Jarman. Produced by Rich Jarman.

Stardom and showmanship have long been part of politics, but are the lines blurring so that lawmakers are becoming celebrities? Has new media changed the way politicians talk to voters and the kind of people who go into politics? And, could an innocuous photograph at lunch spell election disaster?Presented by Julia O'Driscoll with Sharon Coen from the University of Salford, Joe Twyman from Delta Poll and political trainer and author Paul Richards. Thanks to The Week's Kari Wilkin. Produced by Rich Jarman.

Fast-fashion brands have revolutionised the way we buy clothes but are also a major contributor to climate change. As one of TV's most-watched shows ditches its fast-fashion sponsors, are consumers set to change their shopping habits? How did our wardrobes get so crammed with clothes and can fashion ever be green? This is The Overview. Presented by Julia O'Driscoll with guests Aja Barber, author of Consumed: The Need For Collective Change; Colonialism, Climate Change & Consumerism, Clare Press, founder of The Wardrobe Crisis, and former Love Island contestant and sustainable fashion advocate Brett Staniland. With sound clips from fair fashion campaigner Venetia La Manna. Thanks to `The Week's Kari Wilkin. Produced by Rich Jarman.

Artists have always drawn inspiration from each other's work, but music stars have faced a deluge of plagiarism claims in recent years. So is music copyright fit for purpose in the age of streaming? Could the latest legal battles open the floodgates to more lawsuits? And is AI changing how music is written? This is The Overview. Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with platinum-selling songwriter and record producer Crispin Hunt, legal expert Hayleigh Bosher, a senior lecturer in intellectual property law at Brunel University, and musician and composer (and podcast producer) Rich Jarman.

London has earned a global reputation as a financial centre for dirty Russian money, but how and why? What is the UK doing to tackle the laundering of corrupt assets in so-called Londongrad? And what more could and should be done in the future? This is The Overview. Presented by Julia O'Driscoll with Theo Tait, editor of The Week magazine, and guests Robert Barrington, an anti-corruption professor at the University of Sussex, and journalist and author Oliver Bullough.

The UK has become a nation of recyclers, with Wales in particular leading the way. But can recycling help to protect and conserve our natural environments as effectively as we've been led to believe? Is recycling set to play a key role in a sustainable future, or do we need to change tack? This is The Overview. Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with the Week's Kari Wilkin and guests Simon Ellin, Chief Executive of the Recycling Association and Paula Chin, Senior Policy Advisor, WWF.

Non-Governmental Organisations support millions of people facing poverty, natural disasters, wars and other crises. But in recent years, international NGOs have faced increasing scrutiny, with critics asking whether they sometimes do more harm then good. Who decides if a mission has been successful, and do we need a global watchdog for NGOs? This is The Overview.Presented by Julia O'Driscoll, with The Week's Joe Evans and guests Miriam Bradley, an associate professor at the Barcelona Institute for International Studies, Gabriela Luz, the interim deputy humanitarian director of Oxfam's Global Humanitarian Team, and Dr Gina Yannitell Reinhardt, professor of government at the University of Essex.

The history of banning books reaches back thousands of years, but censorship is now being used increasingly as a political and cultural weapon, with more and more books disappearing from library shelves and syllabuses. Amid a rising tide of challenges to literature tackling themes such as LGBTQ+ issues, what could the future hold for books, readers and authors? This is The Overview. Presented by Julia O'Driscoll with The Week's Leaf Arbuthnot and guests Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, and Daniel Gorman, director of human rights organisation English PEN. Produced by Rich Jarman. For more Information: English Pen: https://www.englishpen.org/American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/oif

The MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) jab vaccinates against some of the world's most infectious diseases, but the number of children getting the vaccine has fallen during the pandemic. With more than one in ten children in England starting school without having been jabbed, what does history tell us about this vaccination, why have uptake rates fallen, and what are the future implications. This is The Overview. Presented by Julia O'Driscoll with The Week's Kari Wilkin and guests Helen Bedford, Professor of Children's Health at UCL and Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, and Helen Donovan, Royal College of Nursing's Public Health Lead.

This is The Overview, a new podcast from The Week.The Overview is a guide to the past, present and future of news, bringing you the stories that you'll wish you already knew about.We'll be looking behind the scenes and analysing the subtext, helping you understand what's really going on and why it matters.The Overview will cover stories from around the globe, calling on experts and leading writers to give you a clear, balanced picture of the subject along with fresh insights into how it all fits together.These are the stories that will spark the conversations you'll want to be having.