Six stories that all take place within greater Boston.

#MeToo echoes through a play about Nigeria; a black church provides sanctuary to an unauthorised immigrant from El Salvador; two Rohingya refugees start a new life; a chef brings back lessons from a three-star restaurant in Paris; a university student prepares to be the first black ice hockey player to skate for team USA in the Olympics; and a preview of a show by The James Hunter Six coming to Boston soon.

(Image: A rainbow arcs over the skyline of Boston University in Boston, MA. Credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

"I got out of the car and I looked at the people and they all looked like me… and at that moment I realised where I came from."

On the programme: A fourth-generation Chinese American travels to his ancestral village in China; two Chinese adoptees return to their orphanage to help those left behind; Reem Kassis hopes her cookbook 'The Palestinian Table' will help her kids connect to their heritage; some residents of New Mexico have received surprising news about their ancestry; plus a man in California embarks on a dangerous quest to revive Yemeni coffee.

(Image: After a long search, 64-year-old Russell Low (left) visited his great-grandfather's ancestral home in Guangdong Province in southern China in May 2016. Credit: Ariana Lai)

Former homeland security adviser Fran Townsend says we need new methods of addressing gun violence.

Also: we learn how the gun lobby brought gun violence research to a halt in one US agency; a constitutional scholar puts America’s right to bear arms in a global context; Russian bots seize on the Parkland shooting to amplify divisions; gun rights supporters say Israel could serve as a model for the US but some Israelis disagree; and what does a year of mass shootings sound like ... in piano notes? Listen here.

(Image: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez speaks at a rally for gun control at the Broward County Federal Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 17, 2018. Credit: Rhona Wise/Getty Images)

It’s not just the wall. There are lots of invisible barriers keeping immigrants from coming into the US. On this edition we explore some of those barriers.

We meet a three-year-old on Canada’s no-fly list; we speak to a student from India who grew up in the United States yet his visa expires as soon as he turns 21; we find out how much it costs to smuggle someone across the border and the lasting impact that debt can have on a family; and lastly we get a little loopy with musician Joe Kye.

(Image: A border patrol officer stands guard along the U.S.-Mexico border February 7, 2018 in San Ysidro, California. Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

The American economy may be strong, but the wage gap remains a huge concern. Also: solar panel tariffs could be a boon for US producers; residents in small coastal community in Florida prepare for climate change, mostly alone; a seed company connects Japanese-Americans with their roots; smoking pot could get you deported; and Green Day shatters a myth. (Image: Personal care workers Marilyn Sorensen (left) and Candice Bateman in Denver, Colorado. Wages for American workers are ticking upwards, but the US remains one of the world’s most inequitable nations. (Photo: Jason Margolis)

Vitaly Bespalov wrote fake news at a Russian troll farm. He tells us the real story of what he found.

Also: Boston author, Louie Cronin, on how she lost her Boston accent; we meet a professional accent coach who can teach you to impersonate anybody; we find out why the US military tried to erase the story of Donald Nichols, an Air Force officer who played an outsize role in the Korean War; plus we remember World War II spy hero Jeannie Rousseau de Clarens.

(Image: The Internet Research Agency, or IRA, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Credit: PRI’s The World)

In India, revelations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official app has been sending user data to a third party provoke outrage.

Also: Author Mona Eltahawy starts #MosqueMeToo to give Muslim women an outlet to speak out against abuse and it goes viral; two friends from Iran start a popular website about sexual health specifically for Farsi speakers; some researchers worry that we are not teaching our robots to be ethical enough; plus a woman named Ivanka Majic has an uninvited brush with fame.

(Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has his picture taken with a mobile phone on September 2, 2014. Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

In 2015, Summer Nasser traveled from her home in New York City to marry Muntaser Yaghnam in his home country, Yemen. Then, civil war broke out. They tell us about what it was like to get married amid airstrikes and their long wait to travel back to the US.

Also on the programme: US car companies scramble to figure out how to market their cars to Saudi women; a high-tech video portal offers one Milwaukee neighborhood a global perspective; plus we create the perfect playlist for your next journey, with jams by Cosmo Pyke and Frank Ulwenya.

(Image: Muntaser Yaghnam and Summer Nasser at home in New York. Credit: PRI’s The World)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promises to dedicate resources towards fighting hate speech. People in Sri Lanka have been asking for that for years.

Also: policy makers in Thailand consider legalizing drugs; unauthorized workers in the US fight for their wages under threat of deportation; the film "Our New President" tells the story of how Russians learned about the 2016 US election using all real news clips yet no true statements; plus Jimmy O. Yang publishes his first book, and his parents don't like it.

(Image: Mark Zuckerberg appears for a hearing on Wednesday April 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. Credit: Saul Loeb/Getty Images)

Alabama used to be known for its textile industry. Now, it’s becoming the automotive hub of the South.

Also: we find out what it’s like to fly on Air Koryo, North Korea’s national airline; we meet Dean Huang, a Taiwanese-born immigrant who was living his dream life in the US when he got a letter from Taiwan’s military that changed everything; plus director Miao Wang tells us about her documentary Maineland, which follows the lives of two teens from China studying at a boarding school in Maine.

(Image: Hyundai cars roll down an assembly line during the grand opening ceremony of the South Korean auto manufacturing plant in 2005 in Montgomery, Alabama. Credit: Robert Sullivan/Getty Images)

As traditional business models continue to break down, entrepreneurs have their sights on one more area to disrupt: traditional orthodontics.

Also: biodegradable six-pack holders finally go on the market; a former ambassador tells us what's in a diplomatic pouch; the French consider adopting 'le doggy bag' for restaurant leftovers; we ride along with 23 greyhounds across the US/Mexico border; and composer Idan Raichel performs a song for us using an assortment of improvised musical instruments.

(Image: Candid Co. sends customers a kit to take impressions of their teeth from home. An orthodontist then remotely comes up with a treatment plan. Credit: Candid Co.)

As NAFTA talks grind on, thousands of skilled workers wonder if they will keep their jobs.

A Trade NAFTA or "T-N visa” allows citizens of Canada and Mexico to work in the US in a range of job categories. It could now be in jeopardy as the Trump administration seeks to renegotiate the trade agreement by the end of the year.

Also: There is a shortage of summer workers in Cape Cod, partly due to changes to a temporary worker visa program; as the US and China talk trade and tariffs, some in Shanghai wonder what it will mean for them; the end of Temporary Protected Status for some immigrants has an unexpected impact on US labour unions; plus we find out how TV reporter Lisa Howard changed the course of the Cold War.

(Image: Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo gives a message to the media during the seventh round of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) talks in Mexico City, on March 5, 2018. Credit: Ronaldo Schemidt/Getty Images)

North Korea’s cyber-hackers have raked in millions of dollars. Also: US border agents on the search for illegal animals; the cheese smugglers of Canada; and we dip into our inbox to find out where you’re listening from. (Image: Students at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, a prestigious academy in Pyongyang. Credit: KCNA)

Bananas and foreign travel: What it means to be a computer hacker in North Korea.

In North Korea’s spy agency, operatives aren’t just trained to gather intel. They also hack banks. We hear from a couple of North defectors about what it’s actually like to be a government hacker.

Also on the programme: we meet a robot assistant breaking down gender stereotypes; we get to the bottom of a robocall scam; we check our own voicemail box for messages from our listeners; and we visit a restaurant where the chefs are robots.

(Image: North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un waves from a car on April 27, 2018. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

): Young Navajo in the southwest grapple with a traumatic chapter in US history.

''Nobody shares these stories with me, and I don’t understand why I feel the way I feel. I want to know what happened.''

We learn how the story of the 1864 Long Walk slipped from US history; we dig into the legacy of the Chinese Exclusion Act; a House for Sale sign appears in France and brings back a flood of memories for a New Jersey real estate agent; a museum holds writing workshops for Holocaust survivors; and jazz musician Guillermo Nojechowicz sets his family’s immigrant story to music.

(Image: “The Long Walk was a huge initiative undertaken by Kit Carson and his team of various military branches,” Vanessa Roanhorse explains, “to round up as many Navajos as they could, and force them on this walk.” Credit: Warren Montoya)

“What I remember about my dad is that he had this penetrating smile.”

We recall the life of Tony Acevedo; from child of unauthorised immigrants from Mexico, to US soldier in WWII, to concentration camp survivor, to inspirational father.

Also: the daughter of an American spy reveals secrets about her childhood; a father remembers telling his children that he was going to be deported; Vincenzo Bruno, an activist in Costa Rica, comes out as transgender to his son; and Tami Neilson closes out the programme with her song “The First Man.’’

(Image: Tony Acevedo at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's 20th Anniversary Tribute event in Los Angeles, February 2013. Credit: Courtesy of The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

I was just really happy,” says The New York Times en Español editor Paulina Chavira, “I was crying because it was a victory for me.” She convinced Mexico's national football team to add accent marks to their jerseys.

Also: migrant workers are already building football stadiums in Qatar for the World Cup in 2022; a Pakistani woman created a board game to take on arranged marriage; a Jeopardy! winner has mixed feelings about her victory; and we listen to World Cup themed music from Colombia.

(Image: Fans of Mexico celebrate during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group F match between Mexico and Sweden at Ekaterinburg Arena on June 27, 2018 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Credit: Carlos Cuin/Getty Images)

Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, gives his take on the upcoming Trump-Putin summit.

Also: we meet indigenous language interpreters helping migrants detained on the US-Mexico border make their cases for asylum; we look at global projects to combat loneliness, from dance parties in the Netherlands, to a newspaper for people cut off from society in Japan, to new research being conducted in Utah. We close out with a love song composed by a whale. Yes, for real.

(Image: Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and US President Donald Trump in Vietnam on November 11, 2017. Credit: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/Handout/Getty Images)

President Trump has promised to help America’s soya bean farmers, who have found themselves caught in the middle of the US-China trade war. But will his help be enough?

Also: an ice-cream maker in Philadelphia exports his product to China, for people with expensive tastes; a newcomer to Mexico City learns that quesadillas don’t always come with cheese; two entrepreneurs take Korean-Mexican fusion cuisine to Seoul; plus we remember restaurant critic Jonathan Gold and the effect he had on food culture in Los Angeles.

(Image: Corn and soya beans grow on a farm near Tipton, Iowa. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Dorelia Rivera and her daughter were onboard the Aeromexico jet when it crashed at the end of the runway and burst into flames. Dozens of people were injured but miraculously all 103 passengers survived.

Also: A survivor from Hiroshima devotes his life to telling the stories of the American victims of the atom bomb dropped on the city; teams from Australia and New Zealand are coming to the US to help fight wildfires; a researcher uses a leaf-blower to learn how some lizards survived hurricanes Irma and Maria, while others didn’t.

(Image: Smoke billowing from the wreckage of a plane that crashed with 97 passengers and four crew on board at the airport of Durango, in northern Mexico. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Karolina Chorvath grew up caught between different countries and languages. She’s a third culture kid, which can mean lots of things; some are the children of mixed marriages, some are refugees or the children of immigrants. One thing they have in common, is that they tend to feel like they don’t fully belong anywhere.

This week, Microsoft announced that it detected and stopped attacks on US institutions by Russian hackers linked to the Kremlin. The attacks involved setting up fake websites that mimicked the sites of conservative think tanks that have been critical of President Trump. Zeynep Tufekci studies the intersection of technology and society and she says that foreign hacking and meddling exposes real weaknesses in America's digital security and politics.

Also: New York Times technology reporter, Sheera Frenkel, explains what tech companies are doing to get rid of fake news, deception and hate speech; a master of movie special effects recounts working on a little film called Star Wars; a new internet health study has us asking if the internet make our lives better or worse; and one of the bigger Instagram trends of the summer can be summed up in two words: sunflower selfies.

(The Microsoft Moscow headquarters at night. Credit: Mikhail TereshchenkoGetty Images)

As a result of President Trump's immigration crackdown, many migrants are seeking a warmer welcome in Canada. Since 2017, 33 thousand people have crossed -- outside of formal border crossings -- to make asylum claims in Canada. Now, the cost of feeding and housing those asylum seekers is pitting the city of Toronto against Canada's federal government.

Also: Kenneth Jackson from the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in Ottawa looks into the plight of first Nation children in the Canadian foster care system; we find out how climate change is spurring a debate over the the legal status of the Northwest passage; a big name in Canadian beer enters the cannabis drink business; and Canada’s minimum price for beer drops to 1 dollar, but what will this mean for microbrewers?

(The Nav Centre in Cornwall, Ontario awaits the next wave of refugees. Thousands of refugees have been streaming across the Canada/US border over the past year. Credit: Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images)

Crazy Rich Asians is one of the top box office hits of the summer. The film’s plot may just sound like your typical romantic comedy, except it's set in Singapore and it's the first Hollywood film to feature a majority East Asian cast in 25 years. Cast member, Pierre Png, tells us what the film means to him.

Also: Germany’s long history of dubbing movies; a linguist who specializes in creating fake movie languages; an American army strategist studies Star Wars to better understand modern military conflict; plus a profile of the Afghan Charlie Chaplin.

(Actor Henry Golding arrives at Warner Bros. Pictures' 'Crazy Rich Asians' Premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

In the early 2000’s the US helped fund Afghanistan's first private university. It was part of an effort to help rebuild Afghanistan's education system. Over time, the American University of Afghanistan has become a symbol of hope for many young Afghan men and women who dream about higher education. But that very hope has also made those students, and their campus in Kabul, targets for extremists.

Also: First Lieutenant, Erica MacSwan, prepares for her deployment to Afghanistan; Lt. MacSwan recalls her family’s personal experience with the 9/11 attacks; and we step inside a fashion boutique in the heart of Kabul.

(Two years after the attack on the American University in Kabul, school officials have stepped up security. That means the campus has the look and feel of a military compound. Credit: Farzanah Wahidy/PRI)

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, scores of colleges and universities in Puerto Rico had to close because of all the damage. Schools on the US mainland, from New York to Florida, wanted to do something to help. So they opened their doors and offered free or discounted tuition to those students from Puerto Rico whose home institutions were closed. One of the first students to take them up on that offer was Rosamari Palerm. She enrolled at St. Thomas University in Miami in late September 2017. But even after a comfortable year in Miami, Rosamari felt homesick and was ready to go back to Puerto Rico.

Also: A study from George Washington University reveals new death toll numbers from Hurricane Maria; A year after Hurricane Harvey, some families in Houston, Texas are still recovering; After Hurricane Maria swept through their hometown, a group of women started cooking meals together for people who didn’t have access to food.

(A man bicycles in an area without grid power or running water about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

On the night of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in 1968, a photographer caught an image of the presidential candidate just after he was shot. In it, a young hotel worker named Juan Romero cradles Kennedy's head, looking up, stunned. At the time, Romero was just 17-years old. That night, that photo, and everything that followed changed his life forever.

Also: In Los Angeles, gentrification is affecting immigrant communities as once gritty downtown neighbourhoods become trendy places to live Activist and lawyer Lizbeth Mateo becomes the first unauthorised immigrant named to a statewide post in California; In Mexico City we visit a neighbourhood called ‘Little LA’; Finally, we take a tour through a score of Los Angeles’ of global ice cream shops.

(Senator Robert F. Kennedy stands among supporters in the main ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, just after claiming victory in California's presidential primary. The Senator was shot moments later as he left the ballroom. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

One of the stated goals recent United Nations report on climate change is to prevent the planet from warming more than one and a half degrees Celsius. We ask what would happen if the world warmed by, say, two degrees.

Also: Calculating the cost of climate change is doable but difficult -- too difficult says the US Department of Defense; we fact check President Donald Trump on one of his recent statements about climate change; plus we take a journey to the remote Alaskan village of Shishmaref, where climate change and rising sea levels are a present threat.

At a point of strong political division in the US, where everything from “migrant caravans” to global trade is being politicised, Safiya Wazir is running for office in New Hampshire, a state that’s 94 percent white. 27 year-old Safiya says she is not interested in pursuing a career in politics, but in the short term she feels that she can make a difference on issues like education, senior care and paid family-leave.

Also: HIAS is one of the oldest refugee assistance groups in the US, we hear about the group's reaction to being named in social media posts by the alleged perpetrator of the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh; Australian political observer Bruce Hawker talks about political division in the US leading up to the midterm elections; In solidly Republican Tennessee we learn whether President Trump’s tariffs are swaying voters at the polls; Finally we look at foreign and domestic disinformation campaigns leading up the midterm elections in the US.

(Safiya Wazir speaks with a resident of Concord, New Hampshire, during her campaign in a race for the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Credit: Steven Davy/The World)

Most of the town of Paradise, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, has been obliterated by raging wildfires. Dozens of people are known to have lost their lives and hundreds are still missing. Ellen VandenBerg recounts how she managed to escape the blaze with her 5-month-old son and her dog in tow.

Also: Professor Glen MacDonald from the University of California, Los Angeles explains the connection between climate change and wildfires; We learn about the effect that hurricane Maria had on Puerto Rico's tropical Rainforest; Fall foliage is big business in New England, with tourist visiting from around the globe, but climate change might change that; Fadi BouKaram is visiting all 47 cities and towns in the US named Lebanon, his mission: plant as many cedar trees as possible.

(Sacramento Metropolitan firefighters battle the Camp Fire in Magalia, California. Credit: Karl Mondon/Getty Images)

The fate of the Amazon is in jeopardy. Logging, cattle ranching, and soya bean farming are threatening its very existence. But the threat doesn’t end there; carbon dioxide coming from cities thousands of miles away is altering tropical forests and the climate on a much larger scale. In this special edition we travel to Brazil to find out why the fate Amazon is more consequential than ever and meet some of the people fighting to preserve it.

(Claudio da Silva and the Guajajara Guardians of the Forest ride up the Caru River to investigate a report of illegal cutting on Guajajara land. Credit: Sam Eaton/The World)

El Salvador is one of just a handful of countries where abortion is banned in all circumstances. The ban is so comprehensive, that every miscarriage is considered suspicious and at least a dozen Salvadoran women who say they suffered a miscarriage are serving lengthy jail terms. Professor Michelle Oberman, a leading scholar on legal issues around pregnancy, tells the story of two such women who had recently been freed from prison.

Also: The story of two Somali girls in Boston who formed a friendship through writing poetry together; the tale of an unlikely bond between a guard and a prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp; We hear from a Syrian superfan of the 90s hit TV programme ‘Friends’; and Marco Werman visits a local school in Boston to hear from some very young news consumers.

(Teodora Vasquez hugs her parents shortly after being released from the women's Readaptation Centre, in Ilopango, El Salvador where she was serving a sentence since 2008. Credit: Marvin Recinos/Getty Images)

Ada Hegerberg is a professional football player from Norway. In December Hergerberg won the first Ballon d'Or for women, one of football's most prestigious awards. Hergerberg sees this moment as an opportunity to encourage young girls all over the world.

Also we’ll hear from Japanese student Kazuna Yamamoto about her petition that forced a tabloid magazine to apologize for a sexist article; In Afghanistan we visit filmmaker and activist Sahar Fetrat; we meet a ballet dancer bringing a much needed change to ballet slippers; plus we take a trip down memory lane to ‘Soul Alley’, a hangout spot for African-American GI's during the Vietnam war.

(Olympique Lyonnais' Norwegian forward Ada Hegerberg brandishes her trophy after receiving the 2018 Women's Ballon d'Or award for best player of the year. Credit: Franck Fife/Getty Images)

Your social media timelines are filled with influencers; people with huge numbers of fans and followers who are sometimes paid to promote products. Influencers haven’t always been transparent about paid content but new guidelines could change that.

Also, plogging, the fitness trend that’s making streets cleaner all over the world; Durian, the fruit that’s all the rage in South-East Asia but to Westerners smells like old socks; Plus, Lucas Hixson the man who saves dogs from danger zones; and from the beaches of Southern California the story of a Senegalese Olympic hopeful and her trainer.

(Logos of the Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, Instagram and LinkedIn applications are displayed on the screen of an Apple iPhone. Credit: Chesnot/Getty Images)

For Dora Crespin, the United States is a lonely place. She’s happy living in El Salvador where she has her friends, familiar food, and most importantly her family. But Dora is moving to the US anyway, leaving her son behind in the hope that someday they will have a better life together.

Also, Ana Chavarin was only 13 years old when her mother made her drop out of school to work at a factory, now she’s in college, together with her son; an American priest raises funds for Cuba’s first new Catholic church in 60 years; plus, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese monk who's credited with bringing Buddhism to the west; and with his power washer in hand, Corey Fleisher is on a mission to eliminate hate-filled graffiti.

(A couple hold hands as they ride a merry-go-round at the Theresienwiese fair ground of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany. Credit: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/Getty Images)

It’s been 40 years since the Islamic revolution in Iran. In 1979, many Iranians felt a strong sense of hope as change was sweeping through their country. Ayatollah Khomeini’s return to Iran from exile was one of the most significant moments of the revolution. Now, 40 years later, we’re hearing more of what was going on behind the scenes.

Also, we hear from two Iranians born after the revolution, who are so frustrated with conditions inside Iran, that they want to leave; we’ll look at how US sanctions on Iran are impacting American businesses; plus, the story of an Iranian-American navy veteran who grew up in revolutionary Iran; and Iranian women’s rights advocate, Masih Alinejad, explains how political hair can be in Iran.

(Revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini leaving the Air France Boeing 747 jumbo that flew him back from exile in France to Tehran. Credit: Gabriel Duval/Getty Images)

Vladi was just 15 years old when he joined a migrant caravan, travelling all the way from El Salvador, to Tijuana on the US-Mexico border. He arrived there last autumn with his grandmother. But by November, Vladi, was on his own. His grandmother needed to return to El Salvador, and Vladi remained at a youth shelter for other unaccompanied migrants like him. Many were hoping to seek asylum in the United States. So was Vladi. But ahead of them is the hostility of the Trump administration. The story of one family in America’s migrant crisis.

(Vladi, center, is from El Salvador. He says the gangs try to recruit you when you turn 14 or 15. He's 15. He says instead of joining a gang, he joined the migrant "caravan" headed toward the United States. Credit: Erin Siegal McIntyre/Frontline)

Martina Navratilova made some controversial statements about transgender athletes. She said that it’s cheating when transgender women compete in women’s sports. But many activists disagree with her and are pushing back.

Also, find out why NBA basketball Enes Kanter fears going back home to Turkey; we have the harrowing story of Eritrean runner Teklit Michael’s near death experience; next the directors of the Oscar winning film ‘Free Solo’ describe how they captured Alex Honnald’s solo climb up El Capitan summit; and the French Fencing Federation has officially recognized lightsaber dueling as a competitive sport.

(Martina Navratilova participates in the 28th Annual Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic at Delray Beach Tennis Center. Credit: Johnny Louis/Getty Images)

We join a group of American tourists on an organised trip across the border to find out what life there is really like.

Also, a trilingual interpreter tells us about the challenges of interpreting for asylum seekers who only speak indigenous languages; A group of American exchange students in Italy meet African migrants who risked their lives to make it to Europe; Why Chinese Sci-Fi is gaining in popularity around the world; And Kenyan musician JS Ondara on how Bob Dylan changed his life and inspired his journey to America.

(Andres Vega pours beer for American visitors on a gastronomic tour of Nogales with the Arizona nonprofit, Border Community Alliance. Credit: Katherine Davis-Young/The World)

Patricia Okoumou does not shy away from action. Last year, on 4 July, Ms Okoumou climbed up the Statue of Liberty to protest against the detention of children arriving at the US-Mexico border. Now she is facing the legal consequences, yet she remains undeterred from her risky style of activism.

Also, immigrant activists draw attention to the stories of immigrants facing deportation by turning themselves in to be detained themselves. We also hear from Claudio Rojas, an unauthorised immigrant whose deportation date is just days away. Plus school children here in Boston have joined a global movement - they are skipping classes on Fridays to demand that adults take action on climate change. And the harrowing story of how former US Marine Ken Kraus saved more than 20 lives 40 years ago, as Iran was on the brink of revolution.

(Photo: Patricia Okoumou, climbed the Statue of Liberty in protest of the Trump administration's immigration policy. This week, she appeared in court after her arrest in Austin, Texas where she climbed on a building which houses immigrant children separated from their parents. Credit: Gabriele Holtermann/Getty Images)

The legacy of racial segregation and institutionalized racism still persists in the US. Wesleyan College in Georgia was once a whites-only school, now most of its new students are non-white and they have been raising big questions about some school traditions.

Also, in the wake of the documentary, ‘Leaving Neverland’,, a popular museum in Germany is not cancelling its Michael Jackson exhibit, the museum director tells us why; we look back at the career of Ichiro Suzuki the greatest Japanese baseball player of all time; we compare some of the biggest politicians in the US to Roman emperors; and we try out a new millennial version of the popular Latin American board game,‘Loteria’.

(A crowd of over 250 fill a CSULB ballroom to voice concerns over what many groups feel is racism on campus in Long Beach, CA on March 23, 2016. Credit: Scott Varley/Getty Images)

In 1976, 13 year-old Benny Davidson was on a flight bound for Paris when two Palestinians and two Germans hijacked his plane and forced it to fly to Entebbe in Uganda. There, he and other Israeli passengers were held hostage for a week before an Israeli commando raid brought the stand-off to end. Benny still stays in touch with many of his fellow hostages. Recently the captain of that flight, Michel Bacos, died at the age of 95. For Benny and many of the other hostages, Michel represented the meaning of true courage and outstanding leadership.

Also, a traveller says she was sexually assaulted by a tour guide in East Africa. We hear what happened when she tried to warn others; travelling solo can be liberating, but it's not as easy for women. We hear from female solo travelers about their experiences; also women motorcyclists are staging a global relay to unite female bikers ; and what does it sound like to travel? Musicians Cosmo Pyke and Frank Ulwenya are all about capturing that vibe.

(An Israeli hostage is greeted on her return to Israel after Operation Entebbe on July 3, 1976. Credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

These days the majority of migrants crossing the US border with Mexico are from Central America. But that wasn’t always the case. For decades, the majority of people crossing the border were Mexicans, seeking jobs and opportunity in the US. Many would stay, without official permission, have families and build new lives. Author Ana Raquel Minian tells us how tighter border regulations had the unintended consequence of encouraging Mexicans to stay.

Also, the city of New Orleans is apologizing for the lynching of eleven Italians in the city in 1891. We hear from Michael Santo, a lawyer who pushed for the city to set the record straight;plus, how records of ritual scarring could help some Americans of African descent learn a little more about their family histories; also the story of Barney, a former slave who was granted freedom by joining the British army in the American revolution; and researchers learn that Casimir Pulaski, the man known as the 'Father of the American Cavalry,' was intersex. It’s a story of gender and identity for the history books.

(The U.S.-Mexico border barrier in Tijuana, Mexico. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A ban went into effect this week on athletes with high testosterone competing in women’s track events. South African runner Caster Semenya last week lost her challenge to a new rule by the International Association of Athletics Federations that keeps her out of women’s competitions because of her hormone levels. Many athletes have expressed opposition to the latest ruling, but we hear from a transgender runner who is happy with the ban. We also speak with the author of a graphic memoir trying to make sense of skin colour and identity; we hear about efforts in California to make police more sensitive to indigenous people; we visit a street in New Jersey City named in honour of an Indian human rights campaigner; and we hear the music of a self-described intergalactic feminist.

(Image: South Africa's Caster Semenya celebrates after winning the women's 800m during the IAAF Diamond League competition on May 3, 2019 in Doha. Credit: KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images)

The amount of weaponry Saudi Arabia buys from the US has risen dramatically over the past decade or so. We take the latest arms sales data and present it as an audio experience. Also, the human cost behind seemingly ordinary groceries; some states in the US are tightening abortion laws, leading some women to buy abortion pills online; a US fast-food chain introduces a new meat-free burger; and why burping cows are causing climate change.

(Image: Supporters of Houthis gather at Babul Yemen street to protest the US government's sale of $1.29 billion in smart bombs to Saudi Arabia, in Sanaa, Yemen on November 20, 2015. (Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The United States census gets underway next year and the Trump administration wants to ask everyone if they're a US citizen. Critics say the question will discourage some immigrants from participating and lead to an inaccurate census. The Supreme Court will rule on the matter later this month. Also, a same-sex married couple has two sons ; one gets US citizenship while his brother does not; immigrants in New York find it harder to win asylum; a Russian grandmother becomes a US citizen; and a Brazilian-born musician took the oath of allegiance a year ago and now calls Texas home.

(Image: Demonstrators rally at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2019, to protest a proposal to add a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. (Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

The US is reported to have plans for a potential cyber attack that would cripple Iran’s cities. Whether such a plan would be implemented is open to question but it would take cyberwarfare to a whole new level. Also, a doctor in Puerto Rico prepares pregnant women for hurricane season; a plan to change the sound New York City; a NASA scientist is caught up in a clampdown on political dissent in Turkey, with severe consequences for his life back in the US; and Latinos in Texas mix a rite of passage with civic duty.

(Image: A man is seen portraying a hacker with binary code symbols on a laptop in this photo illustration on October 15, 2018 in Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

It wasn’t easy for Elton John to get producers to keep all the scenes in his new fantasy-biopic, “Rocketman.” He was determined that the Paramount film not gloss over his sexuality or past drug use. Despite his efforts, Russia’s version appears to be missing about five minutes-worth of footage. .

Also, we meet the American singer who teaches Italian kids how to sing like Beyoncé; plus the story of how Lucia Lucas became the first transgender person to sing a lead part in a standard operatic work in the US; why Lincoln, Nebraska is a great place to hear traditional Yazidi music; and Filipina-American musician Ruby Ibarra tells her family story with rap.

(Elton John (R) and David Furnish attend the "Rocketman" UK Premiere at Odeon Leicester Square in London, United Kingdom. Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

When Wajed al-Khalifa and her family arrived in the US as refugees in 2015, everything about the United States seemed foreign. They were now far away from their home in Syria and it was time to acclimate to a new life. It wasn’t long though before they started hitting milestones: Khalifa and her husband got driving licences, their four children excelled in school, quickly overcoming barriers such as English-language instruction and a new education system. Over the past 4 years reporter Monica Campbell has been checking in with the family and their story is still unfolding.

Also, US congresswoman Ilhan Omar tells us about her experience as a refugee from Somalia, and how this informs what she thinks about the US migration crisis.

(Gasem Al Hamad and his children in their new home in Turlock, California. He and his wife fled Syria with their kids after several family members were tortured or killed as the civil war rages on. Al Hamad is now a halal butcher at a nearby slaughterhouse. Credit: Monica Campbell/The World)

In recent months, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump Administration officials have been trying to convince Congress that Iran has ties with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Some say that the Administration is trying to establish this connection because of a law that the US Congress passed three days after the 9/11 attacks. That law gave then President George W. Bush the authority to go to war with al-Qaeda and any related organisation without Congressional approval.

Also, we meet Iranian-Americans who are feeling particularly anxious as tension between the US and Iran escalates; and we find out what possessions people in Tehran are looking to sell, to find out how sanctions are affecting ordinary Iranians.

(President Donald Trump signs an executive order imposing fresh sanctions on Iran in the Oval Office of the White House. Next to Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Credit: Oliver Contreras/Getty Images)