Beyond Today is the daily podcast from Radio 4 that asks one big question about one big story in the news - and beyond. Tina Daheley, Matthew Price, and a team of curious producers search for answers that change the way we see the world. They speak to the BBC’s unrivalled global network of reporters, plus occasional special guests, to tell stories about identity, technology, and power - where it lies and how that is changing.
Beyond Today is the daily podcast from Radio 4 that asks one big question about one big story in the news - and beyond. Tina Daheley, Matthew Price, and a team of curious producers search for answers that change the way we see the world. They speak to the BBC’s unrivalled global network of reporters, plus occasional special guests, to tell stories about identity, technology, and power - where it lies and how that is changing.
With cases of coronavirus spreading across the world, one word we’re hearing more and more is “pandemic”. If the disease is declared a pandemic it would mean that cases of coronavirus are no longer able to be traced back to the country of origin and fall outside of the control of health authorities. The World Health Organisation doesn’t consider coronavirus to be a pandemic yet, and has stated there is hope that it is controllable despite major outbreaks in Italy and Iran. But that hasn’t stopped people panicking.
In this episode BBC reporter Mark Lowen recounts going to an Italian town that has been blockaded to stop the virus. Virologist Jonathan Ball describes how the virus is caught and how it does and doesn’t affect the body, and the BBC’s health correspondent James Gallagher explains what the word pandemic really means and whether we’re all likely to get the disease.
Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Rory Galloway and Duncan Barber Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont