Over to You

It is our annual Ask the Controller special with the boss of BBC World Service English Jon Zilkha in the studio to answer your questions.We also hear from listeners on what they have enjoyed on the BBC World Service in 2025. And what would they would like to hear more of in 2026.

With COP30 taking place, presenter Qasa Alom looks at how climate is covered on the network. He hears from listeners and speaks to Angus Foster, the BBC News climate and science lead.He explains how climate is prioritised when there are competing stories. The flagship climate programme for the BBC World Service, The Climate Question, launched its first visualised episode in November 2025. Anna Doble, the commissioning editor, talks to Qasa about how visualisation is helping the network reach a younger audience.And finally, Qasa speaks to Richard Kenny, a producer on People Fixing the World, about how the stories they cover help give listeners a “a sense of hope and agency that they can do something”.Presenter: Qasa Alom Producer: Jill Achineku Executive producer: Robert Nicholson A Whistledown production for BBC World Service

There is a new programme in the schedule, World Business Express. It has been on air for around six weeks and is a partial replacement for the now-decommissioned World Business Report. We hear listeners' comments and we are joined by its editor, Justin Bones.Plus, and after nigh-on a thousand editions of Over To You, this is the final edition hosted by Rajan Datar.He looks back on his nearly 20 years of airing your feedback and interviewing programme makers and BBC execs on your behalf.Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for BBC World Service

It’s been one of the biggest talking points in our inbox this summer, the launch of a new BBC app to replace Sounds for international listeners. Now it has launched, we hear what listeners make of it and find out how they are finding its everyday use. And BBC Studios, who developed the app, respond to what listeners are saying.Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service

A recent Heart and Soul told the story of how a boy, Carlo Acutis, who died from cancer nearly 20 years ago has been declared a saint. We hear your feedback on this documentary and also from the show’s presenter, William Crawley. How did he approach this sensitive topic? Plus, major schedule changes are only two weeks away, we look at which WS shows are ending.Presenter: Rajan Datar Producer: Howard Shannon A Whistledown production for the BBC World Service