What in the World

American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon in 1969. The landing was televised and watched by around 600 million people around the world. That and subsequent missions have brought back 382kg of moon rock. More than 400,000 people work on the American space programme to get people to the Moon; scientists, engineers, researchers and support staff along with the astronauts.But still, some people don’t believe the Moon landings actually happened and think the whole thing was staged or faked, possibly with the help of Hollywood. Among them are Kim Kardashian, Joe Rogan and YouTuber Shane Dawson. And they’re not alone. In some surveys, as many as 25% of those asked agreed with a statement that the Moon landings had all been a hoax. Results differ by age group, but some surveys have also found there’s even more doubt about the Moon landings in young people, compared to older age groups. In this episode, Nathalie Jimenez, our BBC reporter in New York and Jacqui Wakefield, a BBC global disinformation reporter debunk some of the conspiracy theories about the Moon landing and discuss why younger people are more likely to think it was staged.Audio of Moon landing used courtesy of British Pathé. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Producers: Julia Ross-Roy and Chelsea Coates Editor: Verity Wilde

The streets of Iran have been filled with protesters for the last few weeks. What initially started as dissatisfaction over the economy has turned into a nationwide uprising which keeps escalating.The Iranian security forces have responded by firing tear gas into the crowds of people. According to human rights groups, hundreds of demonstrators have reportedly been killed. Amongst those confirmed dead is fashion student Rubina Aminian, whose family have been able to identify her body. But information out of the country remains sparse, as the government has shut off the internet.Now the US President Donald Trump has weighed in on the protests, threatening military intervention. We’re joined by Ghoncheh Habibiazad, a senior reporter at BBC Persian - she explains why people are protesting and what life is like for young people in the country.Shayan Sardarizadeh from BBC Verify also explains how reporters are able to access footage despite limited connection.Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: Benita Barden, Emily Horler and Emilia Jansson Editor: Harriet Oliver

Single girlies, put your hands up!!! Because haven’t you heard? It’s chic to be single. Think solo trips, personal growth for yourself and no one else, and as Miley Cyrus says, you can buy yourself flowers.If you are single, you aren’t alone - by 2030, 45% of women in the US aged between 25 and 44 will be single according to US data. Whilst getting into a relationship has historically been seen as the end goal, it seems that increasingly even if women are in one, they don’t post about their boyfriends. Attitudes to being single are changing - especially for women in heterosexual relationships - many are embracing the single life on social media a bit moreWe hear from Chanté Joseph, the author of that viral Vogue article with the big question ‘is having a boyfriend embarrassing now?’.Three single women tell us their takes on singledom and three BBC pals in China, Turkey and South Korea, tell us what the single stigma is like in their countries. Plus, we should all have a bit more main character energy shouldn’t we? So some of the What in the World team tell you what they’re doing this year to take on a leading role.Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: Chelsea Coates and Emily Horler Editor: Verity Wilde

English is the most widely spoken language globally, both online and IRL. In fact, 1.5 billion people speak it. However, only around 25% of those are native speakers. So how did English become so dominant? Why do people learn it at school? And how have hybrid versions of English, like Spanglish (Spanish-English) or Hinglish (Hindi-English), developed? Georgie Thorman from BBC Learning English joins us to chat through everything we need to know. English is also the most dominant language online and is the lingua franca (dominant language) of pop culture. AI is trained on vast amounts of information taken from the internet. So does this mean that as AI use increases, English will gain even more ground? We invited linguist and AI expert Linda Heimisdóttir onto the pod to explain. Plus, we hear from three young people about why they chose to learn English. Are you learning English right now? We’d love to hear from you. All our details can be found below. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison, Natalia Makohon and Maria Clara Montoya Video Journalist: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde

Brick phones are making a comeback… but it’s not just down to Y2K nostalgia. There’s growing concern around how dependent we are on our smartphones - screen time apps are getting more popular, devices to lock you out of your apps are on the market and some people are even getting rid of their smartphones completely. So, why are so many of us doing a digital detox? And do we even need to?BBC journalist Chelsea Coates explains where this growing trend is coming from, plus she takes us through the data on smartphones and young people. We hear from Elias Wachtel, who reported on this for The Atlantic after giving up his smartphone, and Veda (@Sakuraopal) in Hong Kong, who went viral online after swapping her smartphone for a flip phone to cut her screen time. And Professor Andy Przybylski, who specializes in Human Behaviour and Technology at the University of Oxford, debunks some of the misconceptions we have about phones and our health.Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Iqra Farooq Producers: Chelsea Coates, Maria Clara Montoya and Emily Horler Editor: Verity Wilde