2024 has been called a record breaking year for elections, with billions of people eligible to take part in all types of votes. But how can we make sure people can vote safely and securely?We visit Australia's Northern Territory to see how voting takes place in incredibly remote communities. We also find out how a group of eminent women in Uganda is combating violence and intimidation during elections. And we hear how Estonia operates one of the most high-tech elections in the world.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producers: Katie Solleveld, Richard Kenny Australia reporter: Laetitia Lemke Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Jon Bithrey(Image: Illustration of voter putting ballot in box, Getty Images)

TV BRA in Norway is a unique media organisation. Their fortnightly national news show is presented by reporters who have learning disabilities or are autistic. Through interviews with politicians and other authority figures the station aims to hold the powerful to account, while also changing the way that people with learning disabilities are seen.We join them in their flashy new studio in Bergen where the journalists share some of their best stories and tell us about their aspirations for the future.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: William Kremer Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Andrew Mills(Image: In the studio of TV Bra, William Kremer/BBC)

How can people get much needed health services as they go about their daily lives? We’re back in Kenya where we visit a barbers shop that offers mental health advice and support alongside the trim and shave. And we check out a truck stop just outside Nairobi where long distance drivers can not only grab some food but also get access to medical care they wouldn’t otherwise have the the time to seek out.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producers: Richard Kenny, Claire Bates Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Hal Haines

The health of shorelines around the world is under threat like never before. We look at efforts being made in the UK to tackle some of the challenges posed by overfishing and climate change. We travel to Yorkshire in northern England to meet the scientists and fishing communities trying to work out how to protect local lobster stocks. And in Devon in south west England we hear how artificial reefs are helping attract fish and crustaceans to a previously barren patch of sea.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Craig Langran Yorkshire reporter: Madeleine Drury Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Hal Haines(Image: Staff from Whitby Lobster Hatchery, copyright Maddie Drury/BBC)

The Awajun people have lived in the Amazon rainforest for thousands of years but their way of life and environment is under threat from deforestation and unsustainable farming. Now Awajun women farmers have begun mixing old traditions with new technology to make a material which offers an alternative to leather made from animals. The women are working with a fashion company which helps turn the sap from the local Shiringa tree into a rubber-like fabric used in clothes and shoes.We also find out how one native plant which grows in the desert regions of Niger has been rediscovered by locals. Hansa was previously seen as a food only eaten in desperation but a social enterprise has changed its image. It’s now become popular in local cookery and has been found to be both nutritious and sustainable.Plus we hear from a member of the Western Apache community in the US who tells us how learning about her native foods has helped both her and her community eat more nutritiously.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Niger reporter: Sasha Gankin Producer/reporter: Claire Bowes Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Andrew Mills(Image: Members of the Awajun tribe in Peru looking up at a Shiringa tree, Collective Fashion Justice)

Half of the world's population don't have access to essential healthcare, according to the World Health Organisation. And even in highly developed countries many still lose out. This week on People Fixing The World we hear about some ideas that aim to change that. We jump on board a hospital train that travels around South Africa providing affordable treatments to remote communities. And we step into a truck in a British supermarket car park, which is catching early cases of lung cancer when it’s much more treatable.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Claire Bates South Africa reporter: Mpho Lakaje Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Andrew Mills

Presenter Myra Anubi visits western Kenya to see an innovative project that’s using hi-tech drones to deliver HIV drugs and testing kits. It’s an attempt to tackle the number of infections amongst young adults in the region. The drones are dropping HIV kits at youth-focused events such as football matches and concerts. The idea is to take away some of the stigma surrounding HIV/Aids and make treatment more accessible.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Producer: Richard Kenny Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Annie Gardiner

In a special edition, we join forces with fellow BBC podcast The Climate Question to share some of our favourite ways of fighting the impacts of climate change. Myra Anubi joins Jordan Dunbar to discuss solutions big and small - from tidal power in Northern Ireland to floating solar panels in Albania. Plus, we hear about pioneering community initiatives to protect forests in Borneo and Colombia.Presenters: Jordan Dunbar and Myra Anubi Producers: Osman Iqbal, Craig Langran and Zoe Gelber Editors: Simon Watts and Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Tom Brignell

Concerns are growing about the effects of smartphones on both adults and children, so we're looking at ways to reduce our dependence on these ubiquitous devices.Presenter Myra Anubi attempts to ditch her smartphone for a week, while she finds out about a fast-growing campaign in which local parents get together to agree to delay buying them for their children. But Myra and her own daughter don't quite see eye-to-eye on the topic.Plus Anna Holligan visits an innovative project called The Offline Club in Amsterdam, where people hand in their phones in exchange for a dose of good old real-life interaction.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: William Kremer Netherlands reporter: Anna Holligan Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Hal Haines

Climate change is affecting us all. When the temperature goes up, many of us reach for the air conditioning. But that in itself is making things worse. AC units use a huge amount of electricity and most use hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants - also known as HFCs which contribute to climate change.The International Energy Agency says over the next three decades demand for air conditioning is set to soar. But what’s the alternative?We’ll hear from the Irish engineers who say they have the technology to revolutionise air conditioning and refrigeration by doing away with planet-warming HFC gases completely.And we’ll talk to one of Africa’s leading architects, Francis Kéré, about how he combines traditional materials with modern designs - removing the need for air conditioning completely in his native Burkina Faso.Plus we’ll hear from an American lawyer who helped craft the law in the US to keep in line with the international mandate to phase down refrigerant gases. He’ll tell us about alternatives to HFCs and how regulations have encouraged innovation.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Claire Bowes Editor: Jon Bithrey

As athletes from around the world strive for glory at the Paris Olympics, we look at how sport has a unique ability to change people’s lives for the better. In a refugee camp in Lebanon we meet those who are being inspired by that most traditional of sports, cricket. In Kenya we meet women from the toughest backgrounds who are taking on the world at football - and learning important life lessons as they go. Plus we hear the remarkable story of a cyclist from Afghanistan who is part of the Refugee Olympic Team.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: Richard Kenny Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Annie Gardiner(Image: Vijana Amani Pamoja football team, Richard Kenny/BBC)

From the way we catch food, to how we generate energy, human activity inevitably impacts on wildlife and the environment in unintended ways. So this week we’re looking at ways to reduce this collateral damage. We visit a windfarm in Finland that's using AI to predict bird flight paths and stop individual turbines before they cause damage. And we join some fishermen in Cyprus, who are using special green lights to warn turtles away from their nets.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Cyprus reporter: Claire Bates Finland reporter: Erika Benke Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Hal Haines

In the US, police officers spend about a fifth of their time responding to mental health crises. This is something they are often not trained for, and figures also show that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter.We go to Arizona where some 911 calls are now being responded to by mental health professionals who are trained to de-escalate a situation and help someone experiencing a crisis to get the support they need. This is part of a trend across the United States where a new nationwide mental health helpline called 988 has also recently been launched.We also visit Denmark, where people going to their doctor with mental health issues are being prescribed ‘culture vitamins’ in an effort to tackle anxiety, stress and depression.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/US reporter: Craig Langran Denmark reporter: Adrienne Murray Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound Mix: Andrew Mills(People in Aalborg, Denmark on street art tour, Adrienne Murray)

In a special programme, Myra Anubi is in Nairobi, Kenya at the final of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation which rewards the best new innovators on the continent. Their exciting solutions deal with access to healthcare, plastic recycling, waste disposal and pest detection. She meets the finalists and finds out which one of them has walked away with the £50,000 prize.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: Richard Kenny Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner(Image: Finalists in the 2024 Africa Prize, Royal Academy of Engineering)

Tourism brings money and opportunities to communities around the world, but it brings risks too. Sometimes an influx of tourists changes a place, damages the environment or leads to the exploitation of local people.But the social enterprise Local Alike has a different model. They have worked with dozens of villages in Thailand to get them ready before “opening up” to tourists. During this process, which can take months or even years, they help locals identify the meals, activities and sights that will interest visitors, and they bring in outside investment to improve the village. Then they help establish a fair stream of revenue for the community.We travel with Somsak Boonkam, the founder of Local Alike, as he faces his toughest challenge yet: to work with his own home town as it prepares for tourists.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: William Kremer Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Andrew Mills

Just over a quarter of people on the planet live in water stressed countries. And our increasing demands for water as well as climate change is putting even more pressure on this finite resource.We take a look at how Indian farmers are growing crops with a device that stores rain underground. Plus how a test farm in the US uses a special clay liquid to grow vegetables in the desert. Finally we visit a project in Cyprus that could help coastal cities clean and reuse their wastewater in a more eco-friendly way.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Claire Bates US reporter: Anthony Wallace Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound Mix: Andrew Mills(Image: Biplab Paul demonstrating his bhungroo device in Gujarat, India, Biplab Paul)

US shopping malls, once a mainstay of American life, are in decline. Forty malls have closed since 2020, while more than 230 department stores have closed in the same time period, according to Green Street, a real estate analytics firm.But where there is change, there is also opportunity.After Burlington High School in Vermont had to close its doors because dangerous chemicals were found, the school hopped into a site vacated by Macy’s department store five years earlier.The children now ride the escalator to class. Elsewhere, malls have been converted into offices, casinos or large healthcare facilities. We explore the surprising second life being offered to these temples of consumerism.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: William Kremer Series producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Anne Gardiner Editor: Penny MurphyEmail: [email protected]: Pupils at a school in a department store.

What we wear helps us express ourselves and communicate to others in the most immediate way. But the tools we frequently use to do that, such as clothing and haircare are not available to everyone equally.One in six of us has a disability of some sort - according to the World Health Organisation - but most clothing and beauty brands don’t take account of that. From making shops accessible to catering for differences in design and size, few companies address these particular needs.This week on People Fixing The World we’re talking to people trying to change that. Hair and Care is a London-based hairstyling workshop which helps people with visual impairments take better care of their hair.Plus, we bring together two entrepreneurs who’ve brought adaptive clothing to Africa and Asia allowing people with disabilities to fully express themselves in the way they dress. We also meet the UK-based adaptive clothing company that could affect the way we all dress – by working with technology companies to develop a scanner that will help in tailoring for all body shapes.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Emma Tracey, Claire Bowes Producer: Claire Bowes Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Hal Haines(Image: Wearapy model photoshoot)

Mexico's capital often floods during the rainy season, but paradoxically, it's also running out of water. A large and growing population, along with crumbling infrastructure and the effects of climate change - are increasingly putting a strain on the city. We meet the army of scientists, activists and urban planners trying to solve this problem - and rethink Mexico City’s relationship with water - including the scientist using plants to clean sewage water and the architect who has designed a park that absorbs excess rainwater.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Craig Langran Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Hal Haines(Image: Alejandro Alva in Cuautepac wetland area, Mexico City, BBC)

Poorer countries are likely to bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change, with rising temperatures and more unsettled weather leading to greater stresses on natural resources and often inadequate infrastructure. But whilst there’s a lot of focus on global attempts to limit temperature rises by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, there are many smaller scale projects aimed at both tackling and living with climate change.On this edition of People Fixing The World, reporter Jane Chambers travels to the small Central American nation of El Salvador. She meets communities working to preserve highly endangered mangrove forests, crucial in protecting coastlines against flooding and valuable carbon sinks. She also visits a “shade coffee” plantation – where coffee is grown beneath a canopy of plants and trees – to hear how the method can help preserve rainforest and protect against soil erosion and water loss. And she visits a project on the Pacific coast that has made huge strides in protecting the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Jane Chambers Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Annie Gardiner(Image: Aldo Sanchez and Boanergues Sanchez holding a hawksbill sea turtle, photo by Magali Portillo)

If you could invent a new kind of school what would it look like? What skills would you teach children, and how would the school be run?On this edition of People Fixing The World we visit the Mechai Pattana School in Thailand which was founded by the campaigner Mechai Viravaidya in 2008, on principals of charity and leadership. Children are responsible for every aspect of running the school, from buying food for the kitchens to disciplining fellow students and even recruiting new staff.The children also run their own businesses, and perform several hours of community service every week. Many of the students come from underprivileged backgrounds, but their school fees are “paid” by planting 800 trees a year, together with their families.The idea is for the school to produce “change-makers” – could it be a model for others to follow?Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: William Kremer Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Annie Gardiner

Across the world millions of women and girls face discrimination and worse because of their gender. On this edition of People Fixing The World we look at projects designed to change attitudes. In India we visit workshops aimed at recruiting younger men as allies in the fight against sexism and gender inequality. And we speak to the founder of Chalk Back, a street art initiative that encourages women to write sexist remarks they’ve been the target of onto pavements in chalk to highlight the problem of street harassment.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Chhavi Sachdev Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Hal Haines

Often described as underwater rainforests and the “lungs of the ocean”, kelp forests line as much as 25% of the world’s coastlines. They provide important shelter and food for fish and other marine life, and are vital for our oceans’ ecosystems. However kelp is under severe threat because of climate change, warming seas and overfishing. We look at projects in California aimed at stemming the decline of kelp including how scientists are growing it in a laboratory to be planted at sea as well as tackling a key cause of kelp degradation - sea urchins.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Craig Langran Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Frank McWeeny

Premature babies often need a lot of expensive specialised care - but that isn’t always available. So, doctors in Colombia are teaching mothers to look after their babies in a similar way that kangaroos look after their own young.It’s called "kangaroo mother care" and instead of being in an incubator, babies are wrapped tightly against their mother’s skin.The technique was developed in Bogota in the late 1970s as a response to overcrowding in hospital maternity units. There weren't enough incubators and around 70% of premature babies didn’t survive.Doctors started using this simple skin-to-skin method. They found it wasn't only saving babies but was also helping them to thrive. Now, kangaroo care has spread around the world.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Richard Vadon Email: [email protected] Image: A baby in the kangaroo position

The fashion industry is the third largest manufacturing industry in the world consuming huge amounts of the world’s resources and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. But some innovators are trying to make the industry more sustainable. We discover how old fire hoses in the UK have been diverted from landfill and turned into fashionable bags and accessories. Plus we visit Mongolia to find out about a new luxury material made from yak hair. It's an eco-friendly replacement for cashmere which comes from goats who are causing desertification. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Claire Bowes Executive Producer: Richard Kenny Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound Mix: Andrew Mills

Learning to read empowers people, reduces poverty and increases their job chances. Yet more than 700 miliion adults are illiterate, the majority of them women. We look at innovations to help adults learn how to read from flatpack classrooms in flood-prone regions of Bangladesh, to an app teaching tens of thousands in Somaliland. Plus how adults in the UK are improving their reading skills thanks to an army of volunteer teachers using a method developed in prison.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bates Series producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Andrew Mills(Image: Jahura Begum, Shabnur Akhter, Rashida Begum at Friendship class in Bangladesh, Friendship)

We all know about the power of music to change our mood or to make us move. But an increasing body of evidence is showing that music has an amazing ability to help us heal. In this programme we are going to meet people working at the cutting edge of music therapy. We find out about the innovative system that uses music to help people with dementia live at home for longer. We will see how using songs and rhythms is helping people with Parkinson’s move more freely. And in a refugee camp in Uganda we meet the teachers using music to bring people together and overcome trauma.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Richard Kenny Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Mix: Frank McWeeny(Image: Salam Music Program in Bidibidi, Uganda)

Transforming the global food system is vital in the fight against climate change. Currently, food production accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the food system also fails to properly nourish billions of people worldwide.In this edition of People Fixing The World we’re looking at high and low tech solutions to transform the ways we produce and consume food to make it greener and more equitable.In London, we visit a startup company making cheese from genetically modified microbes rather than cattle, in a bid to make dairy production better for the planet.And in Philadelphia we look at how planting fruit and nut trees in ‘food forests’ is tackling hunger by providing access to healthy, nutritious food for low-income communities across the city.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound mix: Frank McWeeny

Could psychedelic drugs help in the treatment of mental health conditions? We look at pioneering research into psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called magic mushrooms. We visit a clinic in Oregon, the only state in America where the use of psilocybin in therapeutic sessions is legal and hear from one patient who says it's the only treatment she's ever had that makes a difference to her depression. And we hear about some of the widespread concerns that widening access to such drugs could have.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Ben Wyatt Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Sam Bonham Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner

Whistleblowers - they're the good guys right? The ones who speak truth to power and have films made about the heroic stands they took? Sometimes. Often the people who speak up in the workplace are ignored or shut down. Worse still they're often bullied or harassed or end up losing their jobs. They're the ones you never hear about.This week we hear about two projects that are encouraging people to speak up about wrongdoing at work and how they're improving people’s work environment, saving time, money and even saving lives.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bowes Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner

Schools across Senegal have discovered a clever way for children to surf the web even when there isn't any signal.They're using a special WIFI hotspot which works without an actual internet connection, so students and teachers can access all the relevant bits of the web, offline.Around the world, innovators are coming up with solutions like this - all designed to get children learning. We also hear from an entrepreneur revolutionising how science is taught in Ghana and a night school in Pakistan for children not in formal education.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: Craig Langran Reporters: Borso Tall, Tooba Masood Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner(Image: Students using science kit, Dex Technology)

Australia used to be one of the most linguistically diverse places, with over 200 languages. Today, many of Australia’s indigenous languages are considered “highly endangered”. Inspired by his native language, Hebrew, Ghil’ad Zuckermann is a linguistics professor who is on a mission to revive Australia’s dead and endangered languages, painstakingly piecing them back together from historical documents. We speak to Ghil’ad and Shania Richards from the Barngarla community, whose language is being brought back from the brink. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Josephine Casserly Producers: Claire Bates & Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Shania Richards, in the uniform of the Youth Governor of South Australia

Barcelona in Spain is famous for its beautiful streets, lined with tall apartment buildings. But the architecture is a problem for many people who have lived for years in upstairs apartments but who now find the stairs unmanageable.In 2008, a survey found that in one district there were 300 people who could not leave their homes alone. A group of volunteers decided to do something about this and got hold of a special wheelchair with caterpillar tracks, so it can be used to take people up and down stairs. After an initial pilot scheme they launched a local service called “Let's Go Down to the Street”, to help elderly residents go shopping or meet up with friends. Sixteen years on, the service is offered across the city.Plus, we visit a home for senior citizens in an unlikely location: a university campus. The Mirabella complex at Arizona State University in the US offers its residents the chance to sample the college lifestyle – from lectures to shows and sports fixtures.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: William Kremer Reporters: Esperanza Escribano, Anthony Wallace Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound mix: Gareth Jones

On this edition of People Fixing The World we meet people who’ve helped overcome long-standing cultural biases to create better outcomes for everyone. In India we hear about the social media campaigns which have helped city dwellers in Bengaluru see those who pick waste from rubbish dumps not as dangerous and dirty but as invaluable recyclers. In Nigeria we meet a traditional healer and a health worker who are collaborating to help improve the treatment of psychosis and break down some of the unhelpful attitudes towards severe mental health problems.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Makuochi Okafor, Claire Bowes Series producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound Mix: Andrew Mills(Image: Chief Mukaila Yusuf, BBC)

From beavers in the UK to bison in Romania and jaguars in Argentina, ecologists around the world are reintroducing animals that once flourished in particular areas. The theory is, if done correctly, they can boost biodiversity and restore ecosystems with benefits ranging from reducing forest fires to tackling invasive species. But the strategy is controversial. Opponents say some species are no longer suited to certain areas and cause conflict with farmers, adding there is little evidence it works. Proponents admit some well-meaning projects haven’t worked in the past, but insist properly planned rewilding, which has involved all the stakeholders from the start, can be very successful. We take a close look.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bates Series producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Penny Murphy Sound mix: Gareth Jones

The Amazon is the largest forest in the world, spread across nine countries in South America and home to 47 million people. It’s crucial for the planet’s biodiversity and in the fight against climate change. But vast numbers of trees have been cut down for logging, construction, mining and farming. On this edition of People Fixing The World we meet those who are making a living from the Amazon while keeping the trees standing - through rubber tapping and fruit picking - as well as big companies looking to make more of the fruits, nuts and other natural products. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Julia Carneiro Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Andrew Mills (Image: Brazilian entrepreneur Francisco Samonek, BBC/Julia Carneiro)

This week we have a host of great ideas inspired by solutions we've told you about in 2023.We find out how scientists are using fake birds to help populations of seabirds to recover. By putting out model birds in restored habitats they trick the real ones into nesting there.Then we have the heartwarming tale of Theo – a man in his seventies - and Bickel the dog. We look at how dog sharing can deal with loneliness and bring improved health and happiness.And we uncover an innovative way of dealing with the scourge of Japanese knotweed - by turning it into paper.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producers: Richard Kenny, Zoe Gelber, Claire Bates Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Hal Hainesemail: [email protected](Image: Jessica Vagg with a tern decoy, BBC/Richard Kenny)

Landfill sites are an icon of our wasteful society and the harm we cause to Planet Earth.But around the world, people are trying to make these filthy places a little bit better.We visit the human-built island in Singapore made of burned waste that has become a thriving ecosystem.And in France, we hear how gas leaking from landfill sites is being collected as a source of energy.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bowes Singapore reporter:Tessa Wong Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Annie Gardineremail: [email protected](Image: Semakau island, Singapore National Environment Agency)

Loneliness affects millions of people around the world and can have a significant impact on our mental and physical health.In the Netherlands, they are taking the problem seriously, with a national coalition of organisations all trying to bring people together and build connections.We visit a youth club teaching teenagers how to overcome shyness and social anxiety. Plus, we drop in on a soup-making session that's bringing the generations together, and breaking down stereotypes.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bates Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Gareth Jonesemail: [email protected](Image:Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at Oma's Soup)

How do you stop people chopping down precious rainforest? In the Indonesian part of Borneo, researchers for a conservation charity discovered that local people were chopping down the rainforest around them for an incredibly understandable reason – they needed to pay for medical treatment for themselves and their children.So they started a project that would hopefully protect the forest and help the local communities at the same time. They built a health centre and gave people a big discount on medical care if they stopped chopping down the trees. Ten years on, we visit the forest to see what happened next.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Ade Mardiyati Producer: Craig Langran Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Bridget Harney Sound mix: Hal Hainesemail: [email protected]: Baby orangutan in Borneo forest

Every year the world produces 400 million tonnes of plastic – the same weight as all the humans on earth.Only a small proportion of this is recycled, and this isn’t proper recycling but “downcycling” – the new plastic is of a lower quality, meaning that almost all plastic eventually goes to waste.But now French company Carbios is using enzymes to break plastic down into its chemical building blocks – which can then be used to make high quality plastic again.So is plastic on the brink of becoming a resource like glass or aluminium, that you can keep on moulding and recycling again and again?Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: William Kremer Series producer: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphyemail: [email protected]

Millions of women around the world lack access to safe and hygienic menstrual products. But there are people trying to change that. We meet the British student who learned to sew in lockdown and started making reusable sanitary pads for refugees. She’s helped distribute tens of thousands of pads and is now training refugee women in Lebanon how to make money by sewing the pads themselves. We hear about a design project inspired by tea cups which has created an efficient way of washing reusable pads. And in India we meet the woman who is challenging the stigma around periods with a comic book that’s being read in thousands of schools around the country. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Lorna Acquah Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Richard Vadon email: [email protected] Image: Reya, a student in Beirut who is sewing period pads

In the farming community of Los Negros in rural Bolivia, the river is their life and livelihood. So when that river started to dry up, it made life very hard. They blamed the villages upstream for not looking after their precious water. This conflict could have turned ugly. But with the support of a local charity, what came out of it instead was a ground-breaking agreement. After years of negotiations, the town at the bottom of the river agreed to support the communities upstream to protect their forests and keep the river healthy. The idea is now the blueprint for water sharing agreements between communities across the continent. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Jane Chambers Producer: Bob Howard Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Senor Rogelio Valverde sits by his water source

Heroin users in Scotland are being trained to spot when someone is about to overdose and to step in and help. The training – which includes lessons on how to use the antidote naloxone - is often led by people who have themselves been addicts. Taxi drivers and police officers are also being trained, and naloxone being widely distributed, as part of a push to save as many lives as possible. Reporter Craig Langran investigates whether the approach is working. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner and Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Wez, who trains heroin users how to administer naloxone

In the midst of a crisis, sometimes the solution you need isn’t obvious. Today we meet the inventors who found fascinating fixes amid the chaos and destruction of disasters. We visit the hospital that was painstakingly constructed inside a train, to treat Ukrainian civilians in a war zone. We follow a team in Fiji who have created a mobile workshop, designed to travel to remote villages after natural disasters and repair and make items on the spot. Finally we look at a medical robot that could soon treat injured people in places it’s too dangerous for human rescuers to enter. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Claire Bates Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Picture: University of Sheffield AMRC

Meet the oceans’ unsung hero - the humble sea cucumber. An animal in the same family as starfish that looks like a lumpy sausage and lives on the ocean floor could help with some of the impact of global warming, pollution from fish farms and damage from the fishing industry that are threatening some of the oceans most important ecosystems. We meet the Australian researchers using drones to count the cucumbers to understand how their poo is helping coral reefs. And in Madagascar, we speak to the local communities which are learning to sustainably farm the creature, protecting the seas and increasing their income along the way. Repeat - originally broadcast in February 2023. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] (Image: Sea cucumbers. Credit: Getty Images)

More than 400 people in Ireland took their own lives in 2022. In Limerick, helicopters are often heard flying above the city in search of missing people in the River Shannon. But in response to this tragic situation, a group has sprung up to patrol the Shannon in the evenings to speak with people who are feeling desperate. Katie Flannery joins them on a Saturday night to see how they work and to hear their stories. We also hear about a law that is under consideration in several US states, which would allow people with mental health problems to voluntarily put themselves on a do-not-sell list for firearms. This programme contains discussion of suicide and suicide attempts. If you feel affected by this topic, you can speak to someone who can help. Go to befrienders.org to find a crisis phone line where you live. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Katie Flannery Producer: William Kremer Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Limerick Suicide Watch

Artificial intelligence can sometimes provoke fear and anxiety. Will it take away our jobs? Will it take over the world? So it’s important to recognise some of the good things AI is being used for. We look at how AI chatbots are helping people tackle anxiety, how AI is being used in Africa to lower infant mortality and even speak to the team using AI to try and communicate with bats. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: An illustration of a digital brain (Getty Images)

We eat millions of tonnes of coconuts every year - with the dense white flesh of the fruit making a tasty snack and the juice a refreshing drink. But the inedible husk and shell go to waste – and it’s this part that innovators and entrepreneurs around the world are now putting to work to solve a whole host of problems. In Sierra Leone, a personal tragedy was the catalyst for young entrepreneur Alhaji Siraj Bah to start a business which takes the coconut husk and turns it into an alternative to charcoal - which is good for the forests and could potentially save lives too. And we’ll hear about the start-up using coconut to keep fish, fruit and vegetables cool for longer, without using any plastic. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Eric Mugaju Producer: Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: A coconut (Getty Images)

Earthquakes strike suddenly, leaving death and destruction in their wake. But around the world, people are trying to do what they can to make them less deadly. We hear from Haiti, where a seismometer developed for hobbyists is now being used by citizens to build the country’s first earthquake risk map. Over in Zurich, we meet the scientist using tennis balls to buffer buildings in poor countries from shockwaves. And in Indonesia, we find out how a Virtual Reality game is helping students prepare for terrifying tremors. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Claire Bates Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: A woman in Haiti holding a Raspberry Shake (Credit: Eric Calais)

Heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases are the biggest killer in the world, causing 18 million deaths globally every year. Cardiologists and heart surgeons try to manage heart disease with stents, surgery and drugs, but the organ itself does not heal. Finding a way to regenerate heart tissue has become a holy grail for medicine. Now there is new hope from a strange and pioneering technique from Austria. Doctors there believe that applying shockwaves directly to the heart after surgery dramatically improves patient outcomes. The shockwaves – which are sonic pressure waves, rather than electric shocks – lead to new growth of blood vessels and trick the body’s immune system into action. The BBC’s global health correspondent Naomi Grimley travels to Innsbruck to see the treatment in action. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer: William Kremer Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines and Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Heart surgery

From crops that grow faster to rice that could stop children going blind - the world is full of genetically modified products waiting to come onto the market. Genetic modification techniques in plants have huge problem-solving potential, but are often clouded in controversy. Most scientists say GM food is safe, yet some consumers and environmental campaigners remain unconvinced. This week we look at the potential, and the controversy, in this futuristic field. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Illustration of a strand of DNA (Getty Images)

In Bangladesh, there’s an app helping female farmers to get a fairer price for their crop. At the market, women farmers often face sexism, and struggle to sell their produce for what it’s worth. But by making the seller anonymous, they’re able to sell more and reap the profit they deserve. We’ll also hear from other projects around the world trying to bridge the gender gap in agriculture- and investigate how supporting female farmers doesn’t just help with reducing inequality – it can also help fight poverty, hunger and climate change. Also on the programme - a remote control for cows and goats which lets farmers control them with virtual fences on their phone. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producers: Craig Langran and Zoe Gelber Reporter: Salman Saeed Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: A female farmer in Bangladesh

The fast growth of solar power is a success story in the fight against climate change. However, in some countries progress is being stymied by opposition to large solar farms in the countryside. But enterprising people are trying to keep the solar momentum going, by finding less obvious places where we can harness energy from the sun - like lakes, farms, car parks, office windows and even outer space. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: William Kremer Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy email: [email protected] Image: Floating solar (Credit: Ocean Sun)

How can we stop plastic flowing into our oceans? Dutch inventors have one solution, pulling plastic from the water using a ‘net’ made from bubbles. Also on the programme - how sound could be used to help restore coral reefs in Australia. Scientists found playing the sounds of a healthy reef under water, could attract fish back to the site. They hope to combine this with coral seeding to rebuild reefs teeming with life. And our last solution keeps with the water theme - looking at a hand-cranked washing machine that makes laundry quicker and easier for some of the poorest women in society. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Claire Bates Producer/Reporter: Richard Kenny Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy email: [email protected] Image: Philip Ehrhorn (BBC)

All across the world, invasive species are on the march. These are plants and animals that take over new areas, throwing nature out of balance. If left unchecked, they can destroy local ecosystems, drive native species to extinction - and put local livelihoods at risk. But people have been finding innovative ways to combat these invaders… like eating them! In Belize, we look at how encouraging local fisherman and restaurants to catch and serve up invasive lionfish has helped control their numbers and protect the local reefs. Meanwhile in Nashville, Tennessee, we see how one urban shepherd is deploying his flock of sheep - dubbed the ‘Nashville Chew Crew’ - to eat invasive plants and weeds across the city. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Marisol Amaya Producer/Reporter: Zoe Gelber Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy email: [email protected] Image: A lionfish (Getty Images)

In cities across Japan and the Philippines, an app called Tekkon is making data collection cool. It's a Pokemon GO-style game which pays people with cryptocurrency if they track down broken infrastructure – such as missing manhole covers and tangled electrical wires. The same technology that makes the cryptocurrency possible - blockchain - is also being used in South Africa to improve the lives of rubbish collectors. We investigate how this cutting-edge technology is attempting to solve some everyday problems. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer / Reporter: Craig Langran Reporter: Michaela Papa Series producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy email: [email protected] Image: Isaiah Demdam

How do you care for someone properly in a hospital or care home if you don’t know who they are? With US hospitals and care homes seeing fast turnovers of staff, many clinicians don’t get the chance to learn their residents’ backstories. This can lead to patients feeling isolated and misunderstood. Meanwhile, staff miss out on valuable insights which could be incorporated into treatment plans or used to make someone’s hospital stay more comfortable. But a start-up called MemoryWell is working to fix this by hiring professional writers to create short biographies of residents that get pinned up on their walls. It’s helping staff personalise care for patients and it’s led to valuable points of connection at what can be a difficult and lonely time. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: William Kremer Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Dot being interviewed for her biography.

As climate change leads to global temperature rises, cities around the world are being faced with extreme levels of heat. This can bring whole cities to a halt, disrupt key infrastructure, and for the most vulnerable in society heat can be a killer. But where there’s a problem, innovation is never far behind. We meet the people who are trying to find solutions – from urban designers finding inspiration in ancient technologies to keep cities cool, to social projects offering simple solutions to vulnerable populations. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: A hot child.

A young scientist has developed a white powder which gives waste soil concrete-like properties. Gnanli Landrou grew up in Togo, helping his neighbours dry out soil to make bricks, and his big dream is to help people like them build stronger, cheaper, houses. But the European building industry is also excited about his new, low carbon building material. We talk to Gnanli about his ambitions for this extraordinary powder, and meet the Swiss architect who is about to build a luxury apartment block with it. This episode was first broadcast in May 2022. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Jo Mathys Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Gnanli Landrou

Is it possible for palm oil plantations, wildlife and the rainforest to happily coexist? Products containing palm oil, including soaps and cosmetics, are used by billions of people worldwide. While the industry is credited with reducing poverty in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, it has also contributed to mass deforestation. In Malaysian Borneo, only small pockets of pristine rainforest remain, with much of the land taken over by mile after mile of palm oil plantation. But on one plantation, an NGO called Hutan has joined forces with the palm oil growers to try and make them better for nature. We visit the plantation to see how they're using wildlife corridors to connect the remaining islands of forest. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: An orangutan (Credit: Getty Images)

How can you get kids to school safely in a way that’s good for the environment and gives them some exercise too? We find out how kids from Spain to Scotland are joining together in long convoys known as “bike buses”. Teachers and parents accompany the joyful multitude of cyclists, which pick up children from pre-determined stops along the way. And in Kenya, we look at a different kind of transport problem. Motorcycle taxis are used all over the world, but converting them to electric has proved a challenge. But a new kind of business in Kenya has found a neat solution. They’re hiring pre-charged batteries to the drivers so they can swap them without waiting around for a charge. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Claire Bates, Yusuf Jumah Producer: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Anne Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy

US shopping malls, once a mainstay of American life, are in decline. Forty malls have closed since 2020, while more than 230 department stores have closed in the same time period, according to Green Street, a retail analytics firm. But where there is change, there is also opportunity. After Burlington High School in Vermont had to close its doors because dangerous chemicals were found, the school hopped into a site vacated by Macy’s department store five years earlier. The children now ride the escalator to class. Elsewhere, malls have been converted into offices, casinos or large healthcare facilities. We explore the surprising second life being offered to these temples of consumerism. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: William Kremer Series producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Anne Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Pupils at a school in a department store.

As humanity expands further and further into the wild areas of the world, they are increasingly coming into conflict with the creatures that live there. One of those animals is the elephant. When tensions flare with these huge creatures, lives can be lost on both sides. We investigate the people trying to resolve these conflicts in a peaceful, bloodless way - like the farmers placing beehives on their fences in Kenya to ward off elephants looking to eat their crops. Because despite their size, it turns out that elephants are scared of bees. And in India, we meet a woman who is making trying to make sure people get the compensation they deserve when animals damage their land - so they don't let their anger out on the animals. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Michael Kaloki Reporter/producer: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Anne Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: An African elephant (Credit: Getty Images)

How do you help older people, and particularly those with dementia, to remain independent for longer? In Singapore, where dementia affects roughly 1 in 10 people over 60, the government are betting that the re-designing neighbourhoods with an aging population might just be the answer. Reporter Craig Langran visits the Singaporean suburb of Nee Soon – an area of public housing which has been overhauled by a team of healthcare experts, designers, and residents – and looks at some of the other innovations in elderly care taking place in the country. And we look at a village in France where everything has been designed especially for people with dementia. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email us: [email protected] Image: Leong Leng Nan and Ng Ha Dui

Many of the world’s most violent conflicts happen in the midst of some of its most valuable natural wildernesses. But protecting these areas’ biodiversity cannot happen until the fighting stops. We look at how nature itself can be used to help build that peace, with a project in Colombia training former guerrilla fighters to create their own ecotourism initiatives. They are protecting nature while integrating the former fighters back into society, following the end of Colombia’s civil war in 2016. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Former FARC member Cesar

The menopause is something half the world’s population goes through. But despite this, it’s still not much talked about - and in some places, remains taboo. Which means many women hit this stage of life not understanding what’s happening to them. We join a menopause cafe where people share experiences face-to-face, try out an app giving Indian women practical advice, and hear about workshops in Argentina where women learn how to replace expensive menopause products with cheaper items like coconut oil. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Ann Hepburn and Claire Bates Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Rachel Weiss at a menopause cafe

Paraguay, like much of the world, has a problem with corruption. But a project in the country is trying to change that, by starting with the next generation. Founded by David Riveros - who started his fight against corruption as a teenager - reAccion Paraguay works by providing schools with all the information they need to track the funds owed to them. They then show teachers, parents and pupils how to collect evidence that the money hasn't arrived, so they can put pressure on the government to act. We travel to Paraguay to find out more. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Jane Chambers Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: David Riveros

Many people associate bacteria with dirt and disease. But a lot of bacteria are good for us. And scientists around the world are using them to help us do all sorts of useful things like recycle, clean up waste and produce food. We find out how bacteria are salvaging metal from electronic waste. We taste the protein-rich food additive that is made from bacteria. Plus, we explore how bacteria are helping to reduce the impact of farming on the environment. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Rosie Blunt Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Thanks to Prof Sebastien Farnaud, Coventry University Email: [email protected] Image: Computer illustration of bacteria (Getty images)

La Casa de Carlota isn’t like most workplaces. The design studio, based in Barcelona, Spain, employs creatives who have intellectual disabilities, autism and schizophrenia. Working together with non-disabled colleagues, they produce striking graphics for campaigns and packaging, as well as original works of art. This isn’t a government-backed scheme to help out a disadvantaged group, but a winning formula that is helping the studio forge a unique brand. In this programme we look at two companies who have realised there is strength in neurodiversity and hear from Natalie Duo from the charity Mencap. The vast majority of people with learning disabilities are unemployed, so how can other businesses can follow suit? Programme originally broadcast in April 2022. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: William Kremer Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Casa de Carlota

Premature babies often need a lot of expensive specialised care - but that isn’t always available. So, doctors in Colombia are teaching mothers to look after their babies in a similar way that kangaroos look after their own young. It’s called "kangaroo mother care" and instead of being in an incubator, babies are wrapped tightly against their mother’s skin. The technique was developed in Bogota in the late 1970s as a response to overcrowding in hospital maternity units. There weren't enough incubators and around 70% of premature babies didn’t survive. Doctors started using this simple skin-to-skin method. They found it wasn't only saving babies lives but was helping them to thrive. Now kangaroo care has spread around the world. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Richard Vadon Email: [email protected] Image: A baby in the kangaroo position

Football in Germany had a big problem with violent, racist, far-right supporters. But a social innovation, organised and run by fans, has been credited with helping to change the dynamic in the stands. “Fan projects” attract young fans with the promise of youth clubs and cheap transport to games. We go to a game with a fan project in Dresden to see how it works. And from the US, we hear how one woman is on a mission to make ice hockey more accessible to black women. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Jessica Bateman Producer: Ann Hepburn Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Richard Vadon Email: [email protected] Image: Ronald Beć

A good childcare system is essential in most modern economies. Yet in many countries, childcare is only available to the wealthy, and the burden of care falls disproportionately on women - effectively barring them from the workforce. People often point to Scandinavian countries as the gold standard in childcare, but in other corners of the world people are working with women and communities to set up affordable childcare solutions - enabling mothers at the bottom of the income scale get back into the workforce and helping children get a head start. We travel to Burkina Faso to visit a project that brings mobile childcare to parents working as outdoor manual labourers – to benefit both the economy, children's safety and ensuring future generation get access to education. And we visit Nairobi’s informal settlements, where one company is breathing new life into existing childcare centres. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Childcare in Kenya (Credit: Daniel Macharia, Kidogo)

Harassment and violence on public transport is a global issue. We look at initiatives aiming to make commuting safer. In Indonesia, we take a ride on the Pink Bus which serves only female passengers. The city has one the most dangerous transportations systems in the world for women, with high levels of harassment. The scheme hopes to provide them with a safer journey. And in Germany, we look at a new kind of CCTV that uses artificial intelligence to spot aggressive situations in real-time that’s soon to be trialled on trains in Germany. The company behind the technology says it could transform safety on the railways. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Farhana Haider Indonesia reporter: Nicky Widadio Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Neva Missirian Editor: Richard Vadon Email: [email protected] Image: The Pink Bus (Getty Images)

Reporter Rosie Blunt spent years getting help for her endometriosis - a condition which has symptoms including debilitating pain and infertility. She's on a quest to find new ways of treating the disease and bringing down diagnosis time. That mission takes her to Hungary to test out a medical centre that doubles as a thermal spa and meet Adrienn Salamon, who has created an app that's helping women get the information they need for an earlier diagnosis. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Rosie Blunt Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Adrienn Salamon

Across the African continent, people with disabilities are often stigmatised. The discrimination they face can impact their ability to go to school, find a job and even to feel safe. We look at the projects trying to change people’s attitudes and help people with disabilities flourish. We speak to Lilian Dibo Eyong, who is trying to change attitudes to people with disabilities in Cameroon. In Uganda, we visit the “silent café” - which is run by deaf people and you order in sign language. And we test out a virtual reality game designed in Nigeria that’s helping people understand what it’s like being a child with an autism spectrum disorder. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Eric Mugaju and Craig Langran Producer: Ann Hepburn Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Lilian Dibo Eyong

More than 100 million people have been forcibly displaced from their home around the world – fleeing conflict, natural disasters or persecution. Millions end up in refugee camps, living in tents. Around the world, designers and architects are trying to improve the lives of these displaced people, by improving the temporary homes they’re living in. From prefabricated shelters made using Swedish flat-pack design methods, to the homes made from scratch using local knowledge and materials, we meet the people trying to replace tents with homes that have a little more dignity. This is an updated repeat from August 2022. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Farhana Haider Producer: William Kremer Syria Producer: Ali Haj Suleiman Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Photo credit: Ali Haj Suleiman Description: Kafirjalas IDP camp Idlib, Syria

Meet the oceans’ unsung hero. Human activity is having a huge impact on the world’s oceans - global warming, pollution from fish farms and damage from the fishing industry are all threatening some of the oceans most important ecosystems. But one creature might be able to help. The humble sea cucumber – an animal in the same family as starfish that looks like a lumpy sausage and lives on the ocean floor. We meet the Australian researchers using drones to count the cucumbers to understand how their poo is helping coral reefs. And in Madagascar, we speak to the local communities which are learning to sustainably farm the creature, protecting the seas and increasing their income along the way. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Sea cucumbers (Getty Images)

Thousands of women are infected with HIV every week in Africa. Many can't persuade their partners to wear a condom, so it was hoped that a new form of protection could be a real game-changer. It's a small silicon ring which encircles the cervix and releases antiretroviral drugs, lowering the women’s risk of contracting HIV. Their partners aren't supposed to feel it, and so shouldn't even need to know it’s there. People Fixing the World first reported on the HIV ring five years ago. We find out what’s happened since. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Ruth Evans and Rosie Blunt Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Agnes holds up a dapivirine ring

Food waste from hotels and the heat from computers are being used to provide new sources of energy. In the fight against climate change, it is of vital importance to find new ways of making our energy go further. We visit Goa in India, to hear how food waste digesters - that turn waste into gas for cooking – are springing up everywhere. And in server centres around the world, we explore how the heat generated by running the internet is being re-used by local neighbourhoods. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Chhavi Sachdev and Craig Langran Producer: Claire Bates Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Richard Dias from Flycatcher Technologies

Meet the people using the healing power of forests to help improve physical and mental health. In forest therapy, people are taken into the woods and taught to use what they see, hear and smell to calm their minds. This kind of therapy has its roots in the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing”, which was developed in the 1980s. Myra is joined by Gary Evans, founder of the Forest Bathing Institute, to experience some of the relaxation techniques of forest bathing. We also hear how forests are helping people recover from depression and addiction in Hong Kong and Costa Rica, and look into the scientific evidence for its effectiveness. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Carla Rosch Producer: William Kremer Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: A woman in a forest (Getty Images)

Clearing up pollution can be a messy and expensive task, but around the world people are harnessing the power of plants to do the job for them. We hear how water hyacinths are going from hated weed to providing communities with a greener water filtration solution; how plants in the Niger Delta are helping rejuvenate land drenched in oil and devastated by fire and ask whether plants could be the future to more environmentally friendly mining. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Georgina Rannard Reporter/producer: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: A water hyacinth (Getty Images)

Australia used to be one of the most linguistically diverse places, with over 200 languages. Today, many of Australia’s indigenous languages are considered “highly endangered”. Inspired by his native language, Hebrew, Ghil’ad Zuckermann is a linguistics professor who is on a mission to revive Australia’s dead and endangered languages, painstakingly piecing them back together from historical documents. We speak to Ghil’ad and Shania Richards from the Barngarla community, whose language is being brought back from the brink. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Josephine Casserly Producers: Claire Bates & Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Shania Richards from the Barngarla community

Chile is in the midst of a “megadrought” – year after year of low rainfall which has turned farmland to desert and left communities struggling to survive. But in the midst of the crisis, people in Chile have found ingenious ways of collecting, saving and cleaning water. We visit the hillside fog nets, AI powered irrigation system and a high-tech desalination plant that are helping people survive and thrive when the rains don’t come. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Jane Chambers Series producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Daniel Rojas and his fog nets

A charity in the UK is building temporary wooden homes with just three small rooms. The idea is to give people who’ve been sleeping rough or living in hostels a step on to the housing ladder. We visit some of these ‘micro-homes’ in England and hear about a community of ‘tiny homes’ in Los Angeles. Plus, we visit a project in Belgium that’s trying to persuade young people to drink alcohol in moderation. They've created ‘sobercoins’ which party-goers are given if they turn up at events sober – which they can then use to buy alcoholic drinks. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producers: Caroline Bayley and Richard Kenny Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Eamonn and his micro-home

In many communities grandmothers have a great influence on their families and communities. In Senegal we visit a project using grandmothers to give vital health information to adolescent girls and is also empowering them to influence men to stop practices like female genital mutilation. We also tell the story of the Granny Cloud, a team of volunteer grandmothers from all over the world, who used the internet to reach out to some of the world’s poorest children. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Farhana Haider Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Grandmothers and girls from the The Grandmother Project, Senegal.

Can playing board games help us fix real-world problems? All around the world, people play board games for fun. But in recent years, a new generation of designers have been creating games with a social purpose - to enable understanding about complex problems like climate change, inequality and deforestation, and collaboratively design strategies to solve them. We look at how a group of researchers from Switzerland are creating custom-made board games that help resolve environmental disputes, led by Professor Claude Garcia from ETH Zurich and Bern University of Applied Sciences. Local farmers, businesspeople and government officials play their own roles in the games – which have helped them find compromises that protect the natural world in Indonesia and the Congo Basin. And in London, we also get a first-look at Daybreak, a new cooperative board game designed by Matteo Menapace and Matt Leacock, who designed Pandemic - a game that helped people understand the spread of coronavirus. In Daybreak, they’ve used the best scientific advice to design a game where you work together to try to stop climate change in its tracks. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Lizzy McNeill and Zoe Gelber Producers: Zoe Gelber, William Kremer and Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: The Daybreak board game

The amount of sleep you get makes a huge difference to your life – don’t get enough and it can harm your health, productivity and decision making. But research also suggests that people on lower incomes sleep less, because of things like shift work, overcrowded housing and stress. So how do you improve the sleep of those most in need? We visit a project in the north of England which is recycling old mattresses to help sleep deprived families afford a decent slumber. Myra Anubi talks to a researcher studying the sleep of people living in informal settlements in India and are discovering the power of a little nap. And we find out about a project in Spain which is helping hospital patients sleep more soundly. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Josephine Casserly and Esperanza Escribano Producer: Craig Langran and Claire Bates Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: A bed (Getty Images)

In 2021 a video clip showing a seemingly magical bodysuit when viral on the internet. The clip showed a man who suffered constant convulsions quelling them after activating electrical pads on the suit. Many suggested the video was a hoax, but the Molli suit is real, and it is helping people with a range of conditions from cerebral palsy to multiple sclerosis. William Kremer finds out more. Meanwhile in Japan, one rehabilitation doctor has been on a quest to design a new kind of wheelchair. People with spinal cord injuries or conditions like Parkinson’s propel the Cogy wheelchair by pedalling, not pushing with their arms – allowing them to do physiotherapy while moving around. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: William Kremer and Cheng Herng Shinn Producer: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: The Molli suit (Credit: Ottobock)

As the World Cup kicks off in Qatar, we look at the initiatives around the world which are using football as a way to solve problems off the pitch. We meet the people using the beautiful game to support men with their mental health in the UK, bring people together after conflict in Iraq and build the confidence of girls in the Netherlands. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Jo Casserly and Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Emma Rippon Email: [email protected] Image: Roxanne ‘Rocky’ Hehakaija

How hard is it for women to break into male-dominated jobs? We look at two projects which are helping women to increase their earnings by training them in forms of work that have traditionally been done by men. In Uganda, we meet the woman training girls in careers from mechanical engineering and welding to carpentry and construction And in India, we visit the college that trains impoverished women from around the world in the nuts and bolts of solar technology. As well as the economic benefits, by challenging the status quo these projects are also aiming to empower women and change society. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Farhana Haider India Reporter: Chhavi Sachdev Series producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Smart Girls Uganda students working on a car, Kampala.

Tree-planting schemes don’t always work, so what’s the best way to do forest restoration? Projects around the world are planting huge numbers of trees as part of the fight against climate change. But not all of these schemes are successful – leaving dead saplings and wasted money in their wake. People Fixing the World works out how to do it right. In West Africa, we look at how farmers have reforested and restored huge areas without planting a single seed. In Brazil, we visit a project that has planted more than 600,000 trees in the endangered Atlantic Forest. Myra Anubi also hears about new satellite technology which can help us map reforestation across the world, to give a clearer picture of what is and isn’t working when it comes to growing trees. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Julia Carneiro Producers: Zoe Gelber and William Kremer Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: A sapling (Getty Images)

Would you pick up litter if your life depended on it? Around the world, companies and governments are trying to incentivise people to pick up litter and recycle their waste. In Nigeria, we visit the tech start-up which encourages people to pick rubbish up off the street – and then swaps the plastic bottles, cartons and metals they collect for potentially life-saving healthcare. And in Turkey, we meet the mayor on a mission to get his residents recycling, by exchanging their household waste for points that earn them money. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Craig Langran and Kareemot Salami Producer: Jo Casserly Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Recycling in Turkey

Giant seabirds and shellfish are being used to help protect our planet. On an tiny island in the remote Southern Ocean, a French researcher wanted to find out why so many birds were being killed by fishing boats. By attaching radar loggers to Albatrosses, he inadvertently invented a powerful method for tracking down illegal vessels. And in New Orleans in the US, a restaurant owner is recycling tonnes of old oyster shells. They’re being put back in the ocean to protect the shoreline and create new reefs so more oysters can grow. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Anna Adams Producer: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: An albatross (Getty Images)

How do you help young displaced people get a better start in life? Young people who become refugees often have their education disrupted – which can have a serious impact on their future prospects. But we find out about two schemes that are trying to help. In Jordan, a charity has developed a high school curriculum specifically aimed at young people who are displaced. Amala enables 16-25 year olds to complete their secondary education, and also develop skills that will help their community. And when it comes to further education another organisation in Canada has been helping young refugees. The Student Refugee Program run by the World University Service help them to study at Canadian universities and then settle in the country. We speak to a student who’s been through the scheme, and to one of the volunteers who helped them. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Lucy Burns Additional production: Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Amala graduates in Kenya, (Credit: Chol Ghai Angeth)

A growing number of people are looking for ways to be sustainable in death as well as life. We look at the latest end-of-life options aiming to be more environmentally friendly. From the company making compost of our human remains in the US to the so called ‘greenatoriums’ in India that are offering people a greener alternative to traditional cremations. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Farhana Haider Reporter in Lucknow: Mohammed Usman Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy Email: [email protected] Image: Recompose, a human composting facility in Seattle.

Road traffic injuries are the eighth biggest cause of death in the world, with about 1.3m people killed every year. But 25 years ago, a movement started that changed the way policy-makers approach the issue. Vision Zero imagines a world in which no-one is killed or seriously injured on our roads. Its advocates say this isn’t a utopian ideal, but a mindset with numerous practical implications, and which has cut deaths in a number of countries. Myra Anubi also hears about an innovative project to help truck drivers in India stay safe on the roads, and checks out the tech that now comes fitted in all new cars models in the EU - and which experts say could eliminate a fifth of road casualties. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: William Kremer and Chhavi Sachdev Producer: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Email: [email protected] Image: Stop sign (Getty Images)

When 23 pupils were arrested after a series of fights at a school in the US city of Shreveport, a small band of parents decided to help the beleaguered teaching staff regain control. Step forward the ‘Dads on Duty’. They are a group volunteer fathers who patrol the corridors and playgrounds with a friendly smile and a few dad jokes. Their presence gives the kids some positive male role models and demonstrates an alternative to gang culture. Plus, we take another look at a scheme that tackles bullying by bringing a baby into the classroom. Roots of Empathy believe that caring for a baby will reduce aggression amongst young children and help them to become better citizens. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Ben Wyatt Producer: Richard Kenny Picture: Dads on Duty

At least a third of food grown around the world fails to be eaten, with the resulting food waste causing 10 per cent of global carbon emissions. However, there are pioneers trying to tackle different issues along the chain. We visit a project linking farmers direct to customers in Puerto Rico, check out smart labels that extend the shelf life of food by revealing when food actually goes off, and revisit an app where millions of people share spare food for free. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Jo Mathys Reporter/Producer: Claire Bates Producer in Puerto Rico: Adriana De Jesus Producer: Richard Kenny Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Crystal Díaz

Farming animals for meat has a massive environmental impact, both in terms of land use and carbon emissions. But in order for people to eat less meat, they need to be excited about the alternatives. Around the world, people are coming up with ingenious meat replacements that look, taste and smell more like the real thing than ever. In Switzerland, we visit the perfume company that’s now turned its hand to perfecting the flavour in veggie burgers. And in Nigeria we meet the entrepreneur who has devised an alternative to beef and chicken that he hopes will appeal to West African tastes. Plus, we speak to the start-up in Israel that’s making kosher veggie ‘meat’ using a 3D printer. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Craig Langran Producer: Lucy Burns Picture: Vegan burger (Getty Images)

Police forces in the US are turning to futuristic technology to tackle a rise in violent crime and murder across the country. In one area of California, they are even using robots to patrol the streets. There, the police are claiming it's led to a reduction in crime and an increase in arrests. In New York they even experimented with a robot police dog, but with mixed results. This and other cutting-edge technologies are helping the police – and the public - stay one step ahead, but they are often controversial. In this programme we look at the some of the best ways that technology can make the streets safer. Presented and produced by Ben Wyatt Image: The Robocop K5 Repeat - first published 5 October 2021

We look at two new pieces of health technology which allow medics to treat people without touching them. Breast cancer fatality rates in India are higher than in other countries because women are often reluctant to go for screening. A start up called Niramai wants to change this. They use thermal imaging and machine learning to screen for breast cancer without patients having to be seen or touched by a doctor. Plus, we hear about a new company using augmented reality to connect surgeons in operating theatres around the world. Proximie allows medical professionals to help or observe surgery in progress from anywhere on their computer or tablet. It’s already been deployed in 500 hospitals. Presenter: Jo Mathys Reporters: Chhavi Sachdev and Lucy Burns Produced by Lucy Burns for the BBC World Service. Picture: Remote operation (credit: Proximie)

The ability to print objects in three dimensions has been heralded as the solutions to many problems. We check out some of the latest innovations. In Jordan we hear from the doctors who are printing prosthetic arms for people injured in conflict. In the UK we meet the man fitted with the world's first 3D printed eye. And we find out how an Egyptian inventor is using 3D printing to help blind children in the classroom. Presenter: Jo Mathys Producer/reporter: Claire Bates Additional reporting: Toka Omar and Suzanna Goussous (Picture: A 3D printer prints a sphere. Getty Images)

Our desire for new clothes creates a lot of waste and much of it ends up in landfill. But a lot of that discarded material can be turned into something useful. We hear from the people in Ghana who are taking old clothes that are sent from Europe, and turning them into pillows, doormats and mops. In Italy, we visit the company making affordable clothes out of fabric that luxury fashion brands don't want. And we meet the Chilean entrepreneur who's turning clothes that are dumped in the desert into insulation for houses. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Craig Langran for the BBC World Service. Photo: Kantamanto Market, Accra (Yayra David Agbofah/The Revival)

Politics in the age of social media can often be angry and divisive. And many people feel their voices aren’t being heard by those in power. But Polis is an online platform that’s trying to make democracy work better. It helps people to reach a consensus even on very polarising issues. We visit Taiwan where it’s been used to draft more than 20 laws and regulations. And in the UK, we see how Polis is helping to sort out difficult local issues. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Carl Miller Produced by Shiroma Silva and Richard Kenny for the BBC World Service. Picture: Getty Images

More than 100 million people have been forcibly displaced from their home around the world – fleeing conflict, natural disasters or persecution. Millions end up in refugee camps, living in tents. Around the world, designers and architects are trying to improve the lives of these displaced people, by improving the temporary homes they’re living in. From prefabricated shelters made using Swedish flat-pack design methods, to the homes made from scratch using local knowledge and materials, we meet the people trying to replace tents with homes that have a little more dignity. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Farhana Haider Producer: William Kremmer Syria Producer: Ali Haj Suleiman Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Photo credit Ali Haj Suleiman Description Kafirjalas IDP camp Idlib, Syria

Bank accounts and clever investment schemes are being used to help improve the lives of homeless people. In the UK, a number of banks have started offering accounts to homeless people - which until recently were only available to people with a fixed address. Having a bank account can be a crucial turning point, and we meet a disabled homeless person in one of Britain's biggest cities, who's now able to receive welfare payments as a result. We also hear from the city of Denver, Colorado, in the United States, where investors were invited to finance a scheme to house people classed as ‘chronically’ homeless. If the scheme succeeded in saving money for the City council by keeping those people out of Emergency Rooms and police cells, the investors would get their money back - if the initiative failed, they'd lose their cash. Find out what happened on People Fixing the World. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Daniel Gordon Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Hands holding a house (Getty Images)

If your child develops cancer and you live in a wealthy country there’s a really good chance they will survive - more than 80%. If you live elsewhere, the chances are much lower - less than 30%. Over a decade ago, Dr Mae Dolendo set up a centre in the Philippines to treat children with cancer. Since then she’s saved the lives of hundreds of children who’ve received treatment for free. Now others are replicating her trailblazing hospital. We head to the Philippines to meet Dr Dolendo and see how she’s linking up with St Jude’s paediatric cancer team in the US — one of the best of its kind in the world. Doctors from the team provide expertise remotely, enabling Dr Dolendo to save lives for a fraction of what it would normally cost. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Micaela Papa Producer: Jo Mathys Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Dr Mae Dolendo

Therapy has been helping Boko Haram survivors and street youth in Liberia turn their lives around. In northern Nigeria, a programme called Counselling on Wheels is offering mobile mental health services in remote and dangerous areas. They’ve been giving Boko Haram survivors and others affected by conflict a safe space to talk about the horrific violence and trauma they have been exposed to. In Liberia, a project called Sustainable Transformation of Youth in Liberia has been using cognitive behavioural therapy and a cash reward to turn young men away from crime. A new study has shown the scheme is working. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Lucy Burns Liberia producer: Massa Kanneh Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Counselling on Wheels (Credit: Neem Foundation)

How enzymes and earthen pots could help keep medicines safe. Access to life-saving medicines often relies on a complex system known as the cold-chain – the refrigerated lorries, store rooms and fridges, which keeps them at the right temperature from the factory to the patient. However, a traditional cold chain runs on electricity- meaning that it’s often difficult to keep medicines and vaccines cold for long enough to reach the remote places and look after them when the electricity supply is intermittent. The food we eat also relies on the cold chain to keep it cool from the farm until it reaches our plates. We meet some of the inventors and entrepreneurs working on cooling solutions, from using enzymes from a special bacteria that make water freeze at a higher temperature, to the earthen pots keeping insulin cool in India. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Craig Langran Reporters: Mayank Prakash Bhagwat, Daniel Ominde Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Andy Mills Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Image: Alkesh and his insulin (Credit: Mangesh Sonawane, BBC)

Could floating wind turbines and kites that generate electricity help fight climate change? There are lots of innovative new ways people are harnessing the power of the wind. We visit a floating wind farm off the coast of Scotland, check out wind turbines on street lamps and see how much power giant kites can generate. Along the way we investigate the massive potential of wind energy and assess the challenges involved in catching the breeze. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Claire Bates Reporter: Craig Langran Executive producer: Tom Colls Production Coordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Illustration of a wind turbine on a cloud (Getty Images)

More than five million children live in orphanages or other institutions - the vast majority in low or middle income countries. Staff are often overstretched, poorly paid and don’t last long in the job, which leaves children deprived of one of the most important things for healthy development - a consistent, loving relationship. Organisations around the world are now working hard to find these children the one thing they desperately need - a family. But in countries with high rates of poverty and fragile social work and foster care systems, it’s not always easy. We visit a project in Colombia to meet the children, parents, and trainee foster carers whose lives are taking a very different turn. And in the UK, we look at a project giving foster families the support network they need. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Megan Janetsky and Jo Mathys Producer: Craig Langran Executive producer: Tom Colls Production Coordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny Murphy Image: A mother and daughter in Colombia

How a race to write books and a gadget that counts words are helping child literacy. In South Africa 8 out of 10 children struggle to read by the age of 10. But a charity called Book Dash has come up with an innovative way of getting more kids to read. It holds events where teams of writers and illustrators create a book in just 12 hours. More than a hundred titles have been created and over 2 million books have been given away to children. And in the US a group called Birmingham Talks is giving pre-school children a pedometer-style gadget to wear. But instead of counting steps, the gadget counts the number of words they hear every day. The idea is to encourage parents to talk to their children more and therefore improve language development. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Lucy Burns Photo: Book Dash

At the human library you borrow a person you wouldn’t usually meet for a half-hour frank conversation. The volunteers have various book titles from polyamorous to former prisoner. The aim of these face-to-face chats is to break down our assumptions and prejudices. We explore whether simple discussions can make a difference. Produced and presented by Claire Bates. Picture: Ronni Abergel, Human Library Repeat - first published 7 Sep 2021

Street harassment and violence against women in public spaces is a global issue. According to one survey, 84% of women in cities around the world reported being harassed on the street before the age of 17; half of respondents said they had been groped or fondled. It’s acknowledged that intimidating, violent behaviour from men needs to stop, but what can be done to improve the safety of women and girls in cities now? We look at initiatives that allow women to tell authorities what changes to make to the fabric of their cities to make them feel safer, plus some new technologies that might help in an emergency. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Dima Babilie Producer: William Kremer Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Silhouette of a women (Getty Images)

Being a teenage mum is not easy. But innovative projects around the world are trying to help. We hear from Sierra Leone, where the 2 Young Lives project supports teenagers who've been rejected by their families for getting pregnant. They link them up with older women who step in to look after them. Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death for 15–19-year-old girls globally. But the mentors are making sure the young mums get the medical support they need. After giving birth, the early years of motherhood can be problematic for teenagers too. We also hear from Brazil, where a team of researchers and nurses is teaching young mothers the skills they need to form strong attachments to their children. By getting their mothers to do things like read to their toddlers, the researchers say they can improve the children's future development and give them better life prospects. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Amelia Martyn-Hempill and Marcia Reverdosa Producer: Daniel Gordon Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Tamires Salviano and her child

A young scientist has developed a white powder which gives waste soil concrete-like properties. Gnanli Landrou grew up in Togo, helping his neighbours dry out soil to make bricks, and his big dream is to help people like them build stronger, cheaper, houses. But the European building industry is also excited about his new, low carbon building material. We talk to Gnanli about his ambitions for this extraordinary powder, and meet the Swiss architect who is about to build a luxury apartment block with it. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Jo Mathys Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Gnanli Landrou

Robots that navigate sewer pipes are being used to find leaks and blockages in an ancient water system. They’re being put to work in Pune, India, to access dangerous and noxious spots that otherwise would be checked by people. The sewage systems are more than 100 years old and the maps have been lost or are just outdated. So the robots are being used to update the maps, which should eventually lead to less leaks and so less contamination in the water. But the machines also replace manual work that is done by some of the poorest members of Indian society. We explore what it will mean for their wellbeing and livelihoods. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Chhavi Sachdev Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: The sewer robot in Pune

Lotteries aren’t just about winning money. They’re also being used to nudge people to change their behaviour. In the UK we try out a mobile app that enters users in to a £25,000 lottery every time they pick up a piece of litter. We see how heart patients in the US can win smaller prizes for taking their pills… and if they don’t take their medicine, are told what they could have won. And we look at receipt lotteries, where customers are encouraged to get receipts as each one is an entry to a big monthly draw. The scheme started in Taiwan but has been replicated in a number of countries, helping governments find the businesses avoiding tax. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Claire Bates Producer: Francois Wibaux Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Illustration from Getty Images

La Casa de Carlota isn’t like most workplaces. The design studio, based in Barcelona, Spain, employs creatives who have intellectual disabilities, autism and schizophrenia. Working together with non-disabled colleagues, they produce striking graphics for campaigns and packaging, as well as original works of art. This isn’t a government-backed scheme to help out a disadvantaged group, but a winning formula that is helping the studio forge a unique brand. In this programme we look at two companies who have realised there is strength in neurodiversity and hear from Natalie Duo from the charity Mencap. The vast majority of people with learning disabilities are unemployed, so how can other businesses follow suit? Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: William Kremer Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Casa de Carlota

Sponge cities use natural features to slow down, soak up and reuse flood water. Yu Kongjian nearly drowned as a boy when his village flooded, but it inspired him to come up with the sponge city concept. It’s now being rolled out across China. In Singapore too, parks and lakes are being engineered to soak up excess water. They embrace the flood water rather than block it with concrete barriers. It comes as cities around the world are struggling to cope with more extreme weather caused by climate change. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Tessa Wong Producer: Claire Bates Image: Zhejiang, China (Turenscape)

Meet the entrepreneurs using scrap rubber to fuel cars and make new tyres. Each year, over a billion car tyres reach the end of their life. They’re notoriously hard to recycle and present an environmental hazard if left to disintegrate out in the open. But around the world, people are trying to clean up their cities by finding new uses for the mountains of rubber waste. In Senegal, a young entrepreneur is turning them into artificial football pitches. In Zambia, an engineer is perfecting a way to turn these tyres into diesel. And in Canada, a company is making new tyres out of old ones using some very clever chemistry. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Francois Wibaux Producers: Jo Mathys and Claire Bates Image: Yaye Souadou Fall

In California, butterflies such as the monarch are critically endangered as a result of habitat erosion, pesticides, and climate change. But many people are trying to save these beautiful insects. We meet the scientists who are painstakingly rearing individual butterflies by hand and then releasing them back into the wild. In California’s vineyards, we talk to a farmer who has designed a butterfly-friendly tractor. And at the famous butterfly groves on the coast, we see the first signs of recovery. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Ben Wyatt Photo: A monarch butterfly (Getty Images)

Fish have favourite colours and dolphins hate high pitched noises. In an effort to save rapidly dwindling global fish stocks, scientists are trying to figure out how to attract the right fish into nets, and keep protected species away. On the southern coast of England, we meet the man who’s designed a hi-frequency gadget which warns dolphins to stay out of fishing nets. In Denmark, scientists show us how LED lights are able to show fish you don’t want the exit from the net. And in Oxford we hear from the researchers using satellite technology to help the Thai government stop criminals from plundering the oceans. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Rumella Dasgupta Image: The dolphin pinger

Hospitals can make you sicker. It's a strange thought for places that also can make you healthier. But think about the constant noise, the distinctive hospital smell, the bright lights. There's lots of evidence that most patients find hospitals themselves very stressful. This stress can lead to slower healing times or even a higher chance of being readmitted to hospital. This week, we look at some interesting work happening around the world to try to improve the hospital environment. We hear from people who are using nature to heal, are redesigning lighting systems and are blocking out the noise. And by learning what stresses humans out, we can learn a lot about how our bodies recover and heal. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Charlotte Pritchard

When you get your hair cut, you probably don't think much about what happens to the bits that get chopped off. But it turns out that rather than being dumped in the rubbish, hair can be put to all kinds of uses that can help clean up the planet and feed the people who live on it. We meet a hairdresser who weaves the clippings into mats that get used to soak up oil spills. Plus the young entrepreneur in Tanzania who's worked out how to turn human hair into a powerful crop fertiliser. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Daniel Gordon Image: A man getting his hair cut

From an industrial-scale fly factory in London to farming bugs in the Madagascan rainforest, insects are being put to work all around the world. These biological wonders are turning stuff we don’t want – like food waste and even faeces – into useful protein. This is creating a greener alternative to animal feed and creating food products for humans too. We meet the people using bugs to help the planet. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Craig Langran Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny Murphy Image: Black soldier fly larvae (Getty Images)

The Prison Voicemail app connects inmates and their families, helping them stay in touch throughout a sentence. We hear a mum and daughter using the messages to rebuild their relationship, and find out how it helps children who are separated from their dad. Producer/ reporter Ruth Evans Repeat - first published 4 Aug 2020

Police in Iceland treat domestic violence differently. Leaving an abusive relationship is hard, and many victims stay with physically or mentally hurtful partners, even after police get involved. In Iceland, they focus their efforts on the first 24 hours after a domestic attack is reported. This is the “window” in which survivors are most likely to give unfiltered evidence against their abusers and accept help leaving them. Specialist police, social workers and child protection officers are swiftly sent into violent homes, and suspected offenders can be immediately removed. It’s a more hands-on approach than in most places, based on the view that domestic abuse is a public rather than a private problem. Maddy Savage investigates how much the initiative has impacted prosecution rates and the wellbeing of families affected by this type of violence. Image: Iceland’s top police officer Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir

How do you get officers to step in to prevent other officers from harming the public? “Loyalty isn't saying: ‘Well, you've done something wrong, I'm going to protect you.’ Loyalty is me saying: ‘You're about to do something wrong, and I'm going to stop you.’” New Orleans Police Department says this is the basis of a radical training programme devised to reduce incidents of police brutality. We first reported on the training system back in October 2020, five months after the killing of George Floyd. Since then, the idea has spread, and the system is now being taught right across the United States and beyond. Daniel Gordon catches up with the project to hear what progress is being made. Picture credit: Getty Images

Malaria kills more than half a million people per year. We meet the innovators who are using buildings, lights, genes and vaccines to fight the mosquito-borne disease. In Ghana, a young woman has turned her school project into a business, selling lights that electrocute mosquitos and help kids study. In Tanzania, researchers have designed a house with porous walls that diffuse human breath and keep the people inside hidden from mosquitos. In London, scientists are using genetic engineering to reduce female mosquito fertility, aiming one day to make a dent in the wild population. And in Kenya and Malawi, a new malaria vaccine is being tested, offering hope to millions of people. Presenter: Jo Mathys Reporter: Rumella Dasgupta Image: A Star Home (Credit: Star Homes Project)

Virtual Reality is being used by researchers around the world to change people’s lives – helping them confront their own fears and change how they treat other people. In the UK, a company is using VR to help people with a fear of heights. The automated therapy system puts participants in a virtual multi-story building to help them combat their fear. A team in Israel is experimenting with using VR to change how people on both sides of the conflict feel about the other. And in Spain, a virtual reality simulation is being used in prisons. They’re trying to make people convicted of domestic violence aware of what it feels like to be in the position of their victims. Presenter: Jo Mathys Producer/Reporter: Serena Tarling Image: Someone using a VR headset (Getty Images)

Could a video game where you pretend to spread Covid misinformation actually make you less susceptible to real-life fake news? Fake news, conspiracy theories and misinformation about health can stop people getting vaccinated, which in turn could cause diseases to spread and ultimately result in people dying. In Sierra Leone, an NGO is educating people about typhoid and malaria by creating audio dramas, and sharing them over WhatsApp. Meanwhile, a team based at Cambridge University in the UK wants to ‘inoculate’ people, to prevent them from believing fake stories if and when they see them in the future. Presenter: Jo Mathys Reporter/Producer: Mark Sedgwick Image: The Go Viral game

A Ugandan chemist has found a way to use old cattle bones and food waste to make clean water. Timothy Kayondo turns the rubbish into activated carbon, which he uses to produce water purifiers. They’re being used in schools and hospitals. It is estimated that one in 10 people on the planet do not have a basic level of access to clean water. In this programme we find out about Timothy’s work and discover more ways people around the world are getting access to safe drinking water. Presenter: Jo Mathys Reporters: Mercy Juma, Celestina Olulode and Tom Colls Producers: Daniel Gordon and Tom Colls Image: Timothy Kayondo

How are Covid sniffer dogs, a sturdy bicycle scheme and balloons beaming down the internet getting on? We catch up with a few of the projects featured on our programme to see if they are making progress. In the UK we catch up with the sniffer dogs being trained to detect Covid 19. After promising results from a large trial, they’re onto the next stage of training. Meanwhile Wyson in Zambia has extended his bicycle purchase scheme for rural women and even had a bit of help from a BBC World Service audience member. We find out what happened after US company Loon launched giant balloons designed to beam down the internet to rural Kenya. And we hear from Dhruv Boruah, who has turned his attention from running plastic hackathons to a rather unusual underwater project. Produced and presented by Claire Bates Reporters: Richard Kenny and Tom Colls Image: Dhruv Boruah

Scientists are checking up on the health of forests by analysing the sounds in them. They test their vital signs by measuring the croaks, tweets and hums of resident creatures. If they can hear a full range of animals they can be confident an ecosystem is doing well. However, if gaps start to appear, it’s a sign something is up. Nick Holland hears more about how it works and how it’s being used to strike a balance between the needs of Papua New Guinea’s growing indigenous communities and the need to preserve the biodiversity of the forests they live off. Produced and presented by Nick Holland Image: The Nature Conservancy Repeat - first published 04 May 2021.

Training cows to use the toilet and a bouncy castle that fights climate change are some of the surprising solutions today. Humans have been training animals like dogs and horses for centuries. But how easy is it to train a cow? Well scientists in New Zealand and Germany have been successfully training cows to use a special latrine. The cows get a reward each time they pay a visit. The idea behind it is that by collecting their urine in the latrine, it won't release so much ammonia into rivers and streams. In this programme we are going to look at some unusual solutions to big problems, and solutions to unusual problems you might not know existed. We’ll also hear about a bouncy castle which fights climate change by absorbing CO2, and a project to help people with different size feet find shoes that actually fit. Presenter: Celestina Olulode Reporter and producer: Richard Kenny Image: Dr Matthews (Credit: Dr Caroline Bagshaw)

Meet the innovators who want to change gig work for the better. When we order a pizza on a Friday night or use a ride-sharing app to get home, it’s likely that the person providing the service is a ‘gig worker’ – a flexible employee who picks their own hours and gets paid per-job. The app-based gig economy provides convenience for consumers - and has become an increasingly important part of the global economy over the last 10 years. Workers can log on and off when they chose – but they are often managed by an absent algorithmic middleman, and don’t have access to basic workers’ rights such as sick pay, holiday pay or an hourly wage. But people around the world think that a fairer approach to gig work is possible – from a co-operative run by ex-delivery riders in London to a blockchain based ride-sharing app launching in India. But can these upstarts provide the flexibility and convenience that both workers and consumers have come to expect? Produced and presented by Craig Langran

Hundreds of millions of people don’t have access to electricity. But all over the world, people are joining forces to provide a home-grown solution — by setting up their own “microgrids” using renewable energy. We meet the Kenyan man who got so frustrated waiting for his village to be connected to the national power grid that he built his own hydro power station. Using scrap materials and a bicycle wheel he made enough electricity for his own household and many others in the community. We’ll also hear from Bangladesh where individual households with solar panels on their roofs have formed a local network. They sell any spare power neighbours who don’t have the panels. Produced by Daniel Gordon and presented by Mercy Juma. Image: John Magiro

A simple system for saving food and empowering women on the show today. Hundreds of millions of tonnes of food go to waste every year, much of it before it is even sold. This waste is bad for the planet, but also for farmers and consumers. A company in India has found an solution. They collect imperfect produce that would otherwise have been left by farmers to rot and use specially designed solar dryers to remove the water. They then take the dried fruit and vegetables, process it, and sell it on. The benefits of their system go far beyond food waste. By setting up collectives of women in rural India with the machines, they’re transforming the lives and status of a group of people who traditionally struggle to gain economic independence. Chhavi Sachdev goes to see the system in action, finds out who is buying the dried produce and discovers what it actually tastes like. Image: Kavita Gadekar, who uses the solar dryer

Floating solar panels and a see-through pyramid are the solutions this week. The sun is the ultimate source of energy for life on earth. Harnessing that energy in new ways is a key part of the fight against climate change. This week, we meet two people who had solar power eureka moments and are doing just that. One designed a see-through pyramid that produces hot water for low-income countries. The other opened up new space for solar panels by floating them on the water. We explore these ideas with environment journalist Tom Heap, who joined forces with The Royal Geographical Society to check out the most promising climate change solutions for BBC Radio 4 series ‘39 Ways to Save the Planet’. Image: Faisal Ghani and his solar water heater.

CubeSats are small but mighty. They started as an educational toy in 1999, but now help people tackle issues from deforestation in Brazil to modern slavery in Greece. Cheap to make and launch, these tiny satellites’ biggest role is in remotely scanning the Earth. Thousands are whizzing over our heads right now tracking a huge range of stuff - including herds of elephants, coral reefs and volcanic ash clouds. We look at how CubeSats have opened up space to nations and start-up companies and helped usher in a new, commercial, space age. Produced and presented by Claire Bates. Image: A CubeSat (Nasa)

Everything you need on your doorstep: a radical plan to improve our cities. Imagine if everything you needed - your work, leisure and essential services - was just a 15-minute walk or cycle from where you live. With no need to drive, there’d be less time sitting in traffic jams, the air would be less polluted and maybe we would all be a bit less stressed. That’s the vision that many cities around the world are now trying to achieve - a new concept called the “15-minute city”. As more and more of us join the urban sprawl, the aim is to make city life healthier, happier and better for the environment. We visit Paris to see the plan in action. Produced and presented by Richard Kenny. Image: Getty Images

Climate change is set to alter our planet and human beings need to change the way we live and work. But how do we know exactly what changes to make? New technology could help us make informed choices - from sensors counting pollinating insects in fields, to power sockets that tell us how green our energy is, to apps that enable communities to discuss change in their local area. These ideas are part of the Tech for Our Planet challenge, which is being run by the UK government as part of the COP26 summit. We check out the three projects and explore how new technology has the potential to change our behaviour. Produced and presented by William Kremer from COP26. Image: The COP26 summit in Glasgow (Getty Images)

Sixteen percent of greenhouse gas emissions could be saved by using biochar, a simple fertilising technique adopted by tribes in the Amazon thousands of years ago. If produced on an industrial scale, scientists say biochar could be as powerful as renewable energy in the fight against climate change. Picture Credit: Carbofex and Puro.earth

Fake medicines are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year. But inventors around the world are coming up with ways to spot the fakes. In Nigeria, pharmacists are using a pocket-sized nanoscanner and mobile app to analyse light shone through a pill, powder or liquid. A Ghanaian entrepreneur has developed a way to verify a barcode or a series of numbers on a box of medicine, using a mobile phone. And in Finland, you can take photos of your medicine and get a detailed analysis of the packaging, pill or powder, to find out if it’s authentic or not. Presented and produced by Hannah Gelbart Image: Fake medicine

Signs that connect to a mobile phone app, which then reads the information out loud, are appearing in some cities. The technology is designed to help blind and visually impaired people find their way around more easily. People Fixing the World puts the system to the test to see how well it works and finds out what else they’re being used for. There’s also a clever solution to single-use plastics from a company who’re turning the proteins in peas into a biodegradable type of packaging. Plus, how pilots taking aerial pictures of forest fires in California are helping to tackle the flames. Producer: Nick Holland Presenters: Emma Tracey and Nick Holland Image: A NaviLens code on a street sign

Apart of Me is a computer game that has been designed to help young people process grief. It’s part of a movement that’s bringing together psychology and gaming. Whilst many parents worry about the distraction of games consoles and smart phones, some psychologists believe they can be used as a force for good. We meet the therapist who sets their clients computer games as homework and see how one specially-designed game brings real benefits for mental health. Produced and presented by Daniel Gordon. Image: A young person playing a video game (getty)

Police forces in the US are turning to futuristic technology to tackle a rise in violent crime and murder across the country. In one area of California, they are even using robots to patrol the streets. There, the police are claiming it's led to a reduction in crime and an increase in arrests. In New York they even experimented with a robot police dog, but with mixed results. This and other cutting-edge technologies are helping the police – and the public - stay one step ahead, but they are often controversial. In this programme we look at the some of the best ways that technology can make the streets safer. Presented and produced by Ben Wyatt Image: The Robocop K5

Irrigation pipes have been designed to double as mid-air walkways to help slow lorises cross open farmland in Indonesia; and a footbridge has been built for a rare breed of monkey in Brazil - the golden lion tamarin. These are just two examples of new infrastructure designed to help wild animals cope with human obstacles. Picture credit: Little Fireface Project Produced and presented by Daniel Gordon. (Repeat)

Women in a village in Northern Nigeria have come up with an emergency transport scheme that is saving lives. They decided to act when they saw mums-to-be and their unborn babies dying in childbirth because they couldn’t get to hospital in time. Their solution also inspired the state government to help thousands of other women. Produced and presented by Bara’atu Ibrahim (Repeat)

What would happen if the government of a country decided to try to find everyone who was homeless and living on the streets and offer them a place to live? That is exactly what happened in England as the coronavirus pandemic hit. The government says 90% of rough sleepers were offered rooms in hotels that sat empty because of the lockdown. Simon Maybin spent the past year and a half following the lives of some of the people who came to live in a Holiday Inn hotel in Manchester. Image: A guest at the Holiday Inn.

At the human library you borrow a person you wouldn’t usually meet for a half-hour frank conversation. The volunteers have various book titles from polyamorous to former prisoner. The aim of these face-to-face chats is to break down our assumptions and prejudices. We explore whether simple discussions can make a difference. Produced and presented by Claire Bates. Picture: Ronni Abergel, Human Library

Two sources of greenhouse gas could be lurking in your kitchen: rice and fridges. We meet a biologist breeding climate-friendly rice, and a team of detectives whose job is to stop fearsomely potent fridge gases escaping into the atmosphere. Produced and presented by Jo Mathys and Tom Heap.

Wood is strong enough to build skyscrapers, and bamboo - the fastest growing plant in the world - can also be used for building. Both suck up large amounts of greenhouse gas. We find out what would happen if we used these materials instead of concrete in construction. Produced and presented by Jo Mathys and Tom Heap. Picture: Moelven

Seaweed - we have been using it for centuries in food and toiletries. It can help to keep toothpaste and ice cream soft, as well as being a tasty snack. It is a billion-dollar industry. But in some parts of the world, supply of the crop has decreased dramatically due to climate change. Now people in Zanzibar are fighting back. They are learning new methods of farming seaweed in deeper, cooler waters. It is boosting the amount of seaweed they can grow and improving their livelihoods as a result. Produced and presented by Celestina Olulode. Additional production by Esther Namuhisa and Nicholaus Mtenga.

People in Kenya have been paid to catch swarms of locusts eating farmers’ crops. The insects are full of protein and the captured ones are ground up and put into animal feed. The BBC’s Nick Holland and Claire Bates find out what tricks these 'locust hunters' use to catch the critters and what difference the cull makes. They also hear about a way of capturing tiny micro-plastic particles that come off car tyres and delve into a clever project feeding homeless people in Mumbai. Written and produced by Nick Holland Presented by Nick Holland and Claire Bates Image Credit: Getty Images

The LGBT community in Mombasa, Kenya has suffered from violent mob attacks in recent years - often fuelled by influential preachers spreading messages of hate. But one group decided to tackle this in a remarkable way: they have directly engaged with faith leaders. In carefully controlled meetings the pastors and imams get to know LGBT people and have their misconceptions challenged. This has led to a big reduction in violence. Now many of those religious leaders use their influence to help the LGBT community fight discrimination wherever they find it. Produced and presented by Richard Kenny Picture: Getty Images

Sleek blue machines have been popping up in convenience stores across Nairobi over the past two years. These “Koko points” look like cash machines but instead of giving out money they dispense bioethanol, a fuel made from plants which can be used in cooking stoves. At the moment 80% of Kenyans use wood or charcoal as their main cooking fuel – but these materials have a devastating impact on the environment, and the smoke causes hundreds of deaths every week. Koko’s high-tech solution offers Kenyans a cleaner alternative, although it means a move away from some dearly-held customs. Reporter: Mercy Juma Producer: William Kremer

How animals make us smarter – we thought you might like to hear our brand new episode. It’s about a robotic arm inspired by an elephant’s trunk. For more, search for 30 Animals That Made Us Smarter wherever you get your podcasts. #30Animals

Recent years have seen remarkable successes against some of the most unpleasant illnesses on the planet. While much of the world’s focus has been on the fight against Covid-19, the battle against other diseases rages on. From the battle against hepatitis C in Egypt, to the war against metre-long parasitic worms, to the near elimination of sleeping sickness in the Ivory Coast, we hear the good news that you might have missed. Produced and presented by Tom Colls Image: Treating sleeping sickness in the Ivory Coast (Credit: Vincent Jamouneau)

Dutch friends Evelien and Roel are part of a group sharing their social networks and local knowledge with Laila, a Syrian refugee, and her family. They’re taking part in a pilot project in the Netherlands called Samen Hier, which matches locals and newcomers. The idea is to help people who live nearby get to know one another and encourage integration. Produced and presented by Claire Bates Picture: Getty Images

A large study published in June showed how a peculiar intervention could help prevent the spread of dengue fever. Instead of vaccinating people, the World Mosquito Program has found a way to breed mosquitoes carrying bacteria that prevent them catching the disease in the first place. The organisation releases millions of these designer mosquitos into a city with the aim of displacing the wild population and protecting the human residents. People Fixing the World saw the method in action in Colombia in 2019 – this is another chance to hear that report, and get an update. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter / Producer: William Kremer (Photo Caption: The Aedes Aegypti Mosquito / Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Former criminals are being employed to run part of the probation system in one of America’s deeply troubled, gang-ridden communities. It’s a bold new approach to crime prevention, and it seems to be working - young lives are being transformed and reconviction rates are dropping. Produced and presented by Jo Mathys

Scientists have hatched an incredible plan to save the northern white rhino from extinction. The team is using IVF techniques to produce a calf because the only two females left alive are infertile. Nick Holland reports on how close they are to succeeding and of their hopes to eventually release a whole herd back into the wild. Produced and presented by Nick Holland

A young Zimbabwean, Farai Munjoma, has set up a network of mentors to help Africa’s youth achieve their dreams. The idea is to link young people up with someone who can inspire and guide them as they apply to university and jobs. Reporter: Victoria Uwonkunda Producer: Jo Mathys

This week we hear from Colombia, where a helpline with a difference recently opened. Its aim is to stop domestic violence, but instead of targeting victims, it targets the perpetrators. The idea is to get men in particular, who are struggling with jealousy, anger and other strong emotions, to phone in and get help. Produced and presented by Craig Langran Picture: Getty Images

The Sinai desert in Egypt is a dry, barren place where not much grows. But Ties van der Hoeven has come up with a scheme to turn it into a green and fertile land. It’s a plan on a huge scale which involves dredging a lake, restoring ecosystems, and even bringing back rain to the desert. He’s been inspired by a successful project to restore the Loess Plateau in China. But could it work in the Middle East? Produced and presented by Richard Kenny. Picture: Getty Images

Are stickers still saving lives? Was a coral reef repaired? Did the volcano erupt? In this episode we check back in with three projects that have featured on our programme over the past four years and find out if everything went to plan. We hear from the scientist who developed a sticker that stops car crashes, the people behind an insurance scheme for coral reefs, and find out if a plan to deliver aid before a disaster was up to the test. Producer/presenter: Tom Colls Reporters: Richard Kenny and Jo Mathys Image: The Red Cross operation in Ecuador

It has taken him 40 years, but Omar Tello has turned a patch of exhausted farmland in Ecuador back into rainforest. One of his biggest challenges was repairing the soil. His land was so degraded he had to make enough new soil - from unwanted wood shavings and chicken manure - to cover the entire plot. That alone took about 15 years. He also travelled deep into the Amazon for days at a time, looking for seeds and plants he could rescue. Now his forest is flourishing and the wildlife has returned - it is home to snakes, toucans, monkeys and many other animals. And he is sharing what he has learned to encourage others to protect the rainforests instead of cutting them down. Presented and produced by Jo Mathys. Repeat - first published 31 March 2020.

There are thousands of oil and gas platforms in the world’s oceans and in the coming decades many will become obsolete. Some people think that instead of treating them as industrial waste, we should embrace the ecosystems they’ve created and leave them in the sea as artificial reefs. This approach has been adopted by some US states, and scientists are considering whether this could also work in the North Sea. Produced and presented by Celestina Olulode Picture: Getty Images

Scientists are checking up on the health of forests by analysing the sounds in them. They test their vital signs by measuring the croaks, tweets and hums of resident creatures. If they can hear a full range of animals they can be confident an ecosystem is doing well. However, if gaps start to appear, it’s a sign something is up. Nick Holland hears more about how it works and how it’s being used to strike a balance between the needs of Papua New Guinea’s growing indigenous communities and the need to preserve the biodiversity of the forests they live off. Produced and presented by Nick Holland Image: The Nature Conservancy

Marlo the labrador is learning how to sniff out Covid-19 in the UK. In Tanzania, Polish hound Thor is on the track of wildlife poachers. We explore how their extraordinary noses are tackling these issues and more around the globe. Produced and presented by Claire Bates

This is the story of how one man is trying to transform lives through the power of the humble bicycle. Many rural communities in rural Africa don’t have access to cars or good roads, which can make it hard to take fresh produce to market or get to school. But Wyson Lungu wants to change that with an innovative scheme to sell affordable bicycles. We follow him as he delivers a new set of bicycles to excited customers in southern Zambia. Produced and presented by Richard Kenny Image: unfoldstories.co.uk

Machines to shred, melt and mould waste plastic are popping up in workshops around the world - from the UK to Malaysia, Kenya to Mexico. The project is being led by an organisation called Precious Plastic. They put designs for the devices online for anyone to download and build themselves. More than 400 teams around the world are now taking on the challenge of plastic waste using these machines, making everything from sunglasses to plastic bricks in the process. Presented and produced by Tom Colls Image: Precious Plastic

Irrigation pipes have been designed to double as mid-air walkways to help slow lorises cross open farmland in Indonesia; and a footbridge has been built for a rare breed of monkey in Brazil - the golden lion tamarin. These are just two examples of new infrastructure designed to help wild animals cope with human obstacles. Picture credit: Little Fireface Project

As many countries contemplate the best way to care for an ageing population, a common question is how to support the elderly to continue living in their own homes for as long as possible. One idea is to monitor their use of home appliances, such as kettles and ovens. Advocates say NILM – non-intrusive load monitoring – offers family and carers an insight into a person’s daily life without invading their privacy. It could even be used to track or help diagnose long-term health conditions. Reporter William Kremer road-tests the technology with his own parents and finds out about a NILM project in Japan. Picture: Getty Images

Is it possible to construct a new building, just by reusing materials from homes and offices that have been knocked down? That’s the dream of a pioneering Swiss architect Barbara Buser, who trains specialist treasure hunters to track down everything from window frames to steel beams for her buildings. People Fixing the World finds out about her latest project, which is made of 70% reused material. We ask whether Barbara’s approach, which has a much lower carbon footprint than building with new material, can take off around the world. Presenter and producer: Charlotte Horn Image: Barbara Buser’s building K118 (Copyright: Martin Zeller)

Togo has found a high-tech way to identify people who need financial help in the pandemic and send them emergency cash, using satellite photos and mobile phones. Computers search for clues in images, such as the density of buildings, roofing materials and road surfaces. They combine this with data collected before the pandemic to work out how wealthy different areas are and which ones may need financial support. Produced and Presented by Hannah Gelbart Picture: Getty Images

A greenhouse cooled and humidified by seawater and the wind is transforming arid land. In Somaliland, vegetables have been grown in a spot previously thought too hot and dry for farming. It works by creating a cool oasis that shields the plant from the heat. The designers believe if more were built, they could make Somaliland completely self-sufficient in fresh produce. Presenter Julie Ball Written and Produced by Nick Holland and Julie Ball Picture: Karl Fletcher, Seawater Greenhouse

The world generates more than two billion tonnes of rubbish every year. So we’re visiting companies in Sweden that want to make it easier to mend things when they break instead of replacing them – whether that’s clothes, bikes or washing machines. We also hear about the country’s tax breaks designed to give people a financial incentive to repair more. Produced and presented by Maddy Savage

Head injuries in sport can have a devastating effect on the brain, which is often only noticed later in life. So lots of people are investigating ways of making it safer to play sports such as American football, boxing and soccer. We look at new technology including smart mouth guards and innovative helmets, and we find out about the latest medical developments that are helping people to combat the risk of brain disease. Produced and presented by Ben Wyatt

A small team of Indian scientists think they’ve found a new way to kill superbugs. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are killing hundreds of thousands of people every year, and that number is going up fast. But one Bangalore-based biotech company thinks they might be on the verge of a breakthrough. Produced and presented by Jo Mathys Picture: Science Photo Library

Giant towers of building blocks rising into the sky and huge vats packed with volcanic rock or molten salt are being used as massive batteries. They are the latest ideas for storing energy generated by the sun and the wind – so you can keep the lights on when it’s dark or the wind isn’t blowing. We meet the entrepreneurs and scientists who are trying to harness the fundamental forces of physics to power the world. Presenter: Tom Colls Image: The Energy Vault tower (c/o Energy Vault)

A clever invention is saving the lives of hundreds of children. Pneumonia kills about 1.4 million children under five every year. Treatment with concentrated oxygen could save many of them, but the machines that provide it need a reliable source of electricity. Some hospitals have frequent power cuts though, which can be fatal. So scientists in Australia and Uganda came up with an innovative way to deliver oxygen when the electricity cuts out. Produced and presented by Ruth Evans. Repeat. This episode was first broadcast on 12 May 2020.

A suit originally designed for astronauts has been adapted to save the lives of mothers who experience bleeding after giving birth. It stems the bleeding, buying time until people in remote areas can get to hospital for treatment. Produced and presented by Craig Langran

Forests the size of tennis courts are being planted in towns and cities around the world. They use a special method from Japan which can grow a dense forest in just a few years. At that size they won’t make much of a dent in global warming but they do have many benefits including bringing increased biodiversity into the heart of the city. Produced and presented by Richard Kenny Picture: Afforestt

Dhruv Boruah’s mission is to inspire other people to solve problems facing the planet. What’s more, he gets them to come up with their ideas in just one day. But are their solutions any good and can they survive in the real world? Nick Holland went to Dhruv Boruah’s first solutions event in 2019. Two years on, he tracks down some of the people who were there to see whether anything came of their ideas. Produced and presented by Nick Holland

Imagine a ring doughnut. This is the basis of an idea about how we could run the world in a way that gives everyone what they need - food, homes, healthcare and more - and save the planet at the same time. Economist Kate Raworth, who came up with the idea, explains how it works. And we visit projects in Amsterdam that are using the model to provide food, clothing and sustainable housing. Produced and presented by Anna Holligan.

We revisit Lewis to find out how the hydrating sweets he designed for people with dementia have gone into production. We find out how a housing project where residents have to promise to socialise has coped with Covid. And the latest from a pharmacist in the Netherlands - after a setback, her operation to make cheap medication for her patients has started up again. Produced and presented by Claire Bates

Women in a village in Northern Nigeria have come up with an emergency transport scheme that is saving lives. They decided to act when they saw mums-to-be and their unborn babies dying in childbirth because they couldn’t get to hospital in time. Their solution also inspired the state government to help thousands of other women. Produced and presented by Bara’atu Ibrahim

Imagine if the meat we ate was all grown in shiny silver vats, with no animals harmed in the process. That’s the vision of start-ups around the world, each trying to perfect lab-grown or cultured meat. It’s a huge challenge in bioengineering to make it work at a cheap enough price. But there are big benefits for the planet if they can pull it off. Presented by Amy Elizabeth Produced by Amy Elizabeth and Tom Colls Image: Lab-grown meat produced by Memphis Meat

Companies are growing light and durable packaging from mycelium that is easy to compost. Another team in Europe is creating a fungal home, which will sense when it’s dark and switch the lights on. And researchers in the UK are developing strains of fungi that won’t just replace plastic, but eat it as well. Produced and presented by Claire Bates Picture: Getty Images

A new kind of solar cell - made by drying a special liquid on a surface - is being heralded as a revolution in solar power. The minerals known as perovskites were discovered more than 150 years ago. More recently, their crystal structure has been copied using other materials and used to produce energy. If it can be made to work, these crystals could be used to literally print out solar cells to put on skyscraper walls, furniture and electrical gadgets. Produced and presented by Tom Colls Image: Olga from Saule Technology

Can you make the railways greener by powering trains with energy from the sun? We hear about the pioneering train in Australia that’s run entirely on solar power. Plus we visit the solar farm that’s plugged directly into a railway in Britain and hear about Indian Railways’ big plan for converting to renewable power. Produced and presented by Richard Kenny

Why former criminals are being chosen for jobs at hundreds of companies in a small US city. One boss even tells us that some violent and sex offenders have become her best employees. Produced and presented by Jo Mathys Photo: Getty Images

Audience members praise and pick holes in solutions we’ve covered. Nick Holland and Kat Hawkins hear the best comments and questions and try to get answers. Among the solutions under review is a story about a man who regrew a rainforest in Ecuador. One listener is worried it’ll just get cut down again when he dies. And eyebrows are raised about nurses in Kenya using motorbikes to rescue snakebite victims. Producer: Nick Holland

In this inspiring episode, we hear ideas from high school students in Asia, Africa, Europe and America. They’ve created a new form of sound insulation, refined a forensic process to use at crime scenes, won an award for predicting crop yields and made going to the beach a little safer in the age of Covid. Image: Team Hibla from the Philippines.

The mass stranding of dolphins, orcas and whales is depressingly common. We join a team on the East Coast of the United States who have dramatically improved the survival rates of beached dolphins there. And we are with them as they fight to save a dolphin mother and calf. Plus we look at how Silicon Valley AI tech, and its power to understand dolphin communication, could lead to even more being saved. Produced and Presented by Ben Wyatt Picture credit: Getty Images

What happens when you take a little box containing some of the vast knowledge amassed on the internet, to communities that live offline? From a peaceful valley in the remote Himalayas to a bustling Rohingya refugee camp, people are carrying gigabytes of data - from school curricula to the whole of Wikipedia - into places where access to the internet is impossible. Inspired by one of our listeners, we delve into the world of the “sneakernet” - a network of people who carry information to places where the signal doesn’t reach. Produced and presented by Tom Colls Photo Credit: Getty

Jellyfish blooms can cause havoc, scaring away tourists, clogging up fishing nets, and even getting stuck in power station cooling pipes. But scientists are finding ways to use the creatures to help us solve some big problems. They think jellyfish mucus could filter microplastics from our water systems, and their collagen could help us develop new medicines. And some want to see jellyfish on our plates. Produced and presented by Ruth Evans Picture credit: Getty Images

A growing number of police departments in the US are introducing a new concept in their training - teaching officers on the beat how to step in when they see a colleague doing something they don't think is right. After the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, a programme pioneered by police in New Orleans is being developed for other forces. Presented and produced by Daniel Gordon. Picture credit: Getty Images

It’s not just search engines that are powered by artificial intelligence. From the courts to the jobs market, AI is influencing decisions that have a big impact on people’s lives. But researchers now believe that not all people are treated equally by some algorithms. They’ve found potential bias - influenced by race, class and gender - can have an impact on the decisions that computers make. Some programmers, computer scientists and entrepreneurs hope to fight this bias, using the technology that created it in the first place. Produced and presented by Craig Langran Image: Getty Images

We hear how AI lifeguards are helping to spot danger on Israel’s beaches, while on Lake Victoria special forecasts for fishermen are saving hundreds of lives. Meanwhile in Bangladesh, community creches and bamboo swimming stages are reducing deaths among children – the group at highest risk of drowning. It’s estimated that 320,000 people around the world die in the water each year. Produced and presented by Claire Bates Photo: Getty Images

Old smartphones powered by solar panels are being used to catch illegal loggers in rainforests across the world. Each year, more than 150 million mobiles are discarded in the US alone - so we’re looking at clever ways to reuse them. But should we really rethink our consumer habits and keep our phones for longer? Produced and presented by Julie Ball. Photo: Rainforest Connection

Looking for the happiest places in the world. We follow in the tracks of someone who gave up his job to cycle round the world to investigate happiness. From Costa Rica to Canada to Bhutan - what are the best ways of bringing about a happier planet?

Could your family photos end up being stored on a piece of glass? Might you find yourself saving a file to DNA storage? Or downloading a video from a data centre in space? Current methods of storing information are susceptible to decay and have limited capacity but novel approaches could provide plentiful storage so that our selfies outlast our species. Reporter/ Producer William Kremer for the BBC World Service. Picture credit: Southampton University

Period poverty affects girls and women across the world who can’t afford to buy sanitary pads or tampons each month. So what are the alternatives? In a refugee camp in Jordan, we follow one woman as she tries to get a sanitary pad micro-factory off the ground. While in Malawi, they’re handing out menstrual cups to teenagers. This podcast was first published on 7 May 2019 Presenter: Vibeke Venema Producer: Tom Colls (Photo Caption: A menstrual cup / Photo Credit: Getty Images)

"Get rid of the girl who smells" - this is the reaction thousands of traumatised new mothers face every year because of a condition called fistula. But in Madagascar some women, who have successfully been treated, become patient ambassadors finding others with the same condition. They personally accompany them to clinics to get life-changing surgery and support. This podcast was first published on 2 April 2019. Reporter/ Producer: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill (Photo: Felicia - a patient ambassador in Madagascar)

Monitoring devices implanted in a person’s chest are helping doctors predict if something is about to go wrong with a patient’s heart. Sometimes they can tell a month in advance. It’s allowing cardiologists to adjust treatment and prevent problems before they occur. Produced and presented by Nick Holland.

The Prison Voicemail app connects inmates and their families, helping them stay in touch throughout a sentence. We hear a mum and daughter using the messages to rebuild their relationship, and find out how it helps children who are separated from their dad. Producer/ reporter Ruth Evans

Protecting the rainforest could make people millions of dollars under a pioneering new scheme. Bankers and conservationists have teamed up to regrow a large area of Indonesia’s jungle where endangered orangutans and tigers live. Reporter: Jo Mathys Image: An orangutan (Getty Images)

Nurses and midwives in Ethiopia are being trained to perform emergency operations, saving thousands of lives. People Fixing the World follows one of them, Seida Guadu, as she operates to try to save the lives of a mother and her unborn child. This podcast was first published on 25 June 2019. Reporter: Ruth Evans Producers: Lily Freeston and Hadra Ahmed

Two life-saving apps have been adapted to fix problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic - hear how ideas we’ve visited before have developed and grown. One of them has been helping ambulance drivers find their way to field hospitals; the other has been finding volunteers to run errands for people who are vulnerable. Presenter: Daniel Gordon Reporters: Ruth Evans, Nick Holland and Richard Kenny Picture credit: Getty Images

From balloons in the stratosphere to swarms of satellites in space, the race to get everyone online is heating up. The internet may never be more useful than during the coronavirus outbreak. It provides us with the latest health information, educates our kids and lets us communicate with our loved ones face to face. But only half of the world’s population is online. Tech evangelists around the world are trying to change that. Using balloons and satellites, soon even the most remote areas on Earth will be able to log on. But there is more to getting everyone online than the strength of the signal. People Fixing the World investigates. Produced and presented by Tom Colls Image: Loon

Tech companies have developed drones to drop pollen on orchards or shoot it at crops through pipes from tractors. They’re responding to a crisis in insect pollination as studies suggest numbers of both wild pollinators and farmed bees are declining. This could have a serious knock-on effect on how we grow our fruit and veg. But some experts argue high-tech alternatives are a short-term solution to a much bigger and long-term problem. Presented and produced by Claire Bates

New technology is helping in the fight against wildlife poaching. Computer scientists have created a programme that uses artificial intelligence to predict where poachers are going to strike; a new generation of smart cameras is catching the criminals red-handed; and the latest police forensic techniques are being adapted to investigate these crimes. The aim is to put a stop to the illegal trade of wildlife trafficking, which is worth billions of dollars and is threatening the survival of species such as elephants, rhinos and tigers. Each year 20,000 elephants are killed for their ivory, according to WWF estimates. Reporter and producer - Richard Kenny for BBC World Service

A short online test that reveals attitudes, opinions and thought processes is being used to help decide whether to give people loans. The idea is to use psychometric tests to give people with little or no credit history a better chance of getting support and investment. New ways of providing financial services are needed because 1.7 billion people have no access to any kind of formal banking facilities, according to the World Bank. Known as the unbanked, they deal only in cash. This can make it harder to reduce poverty, save money or invest for the future. Cheap mobile phones and good network coverage in Nigeria are also transforming the lives of people who previously only dealt in cash. Presented and produced by Anisa Subedar Picture credit: Getty Images

This week we look at four brilliant inventions by children: a phone app to stop drivers missing road signs; a robot that is activated when a vulnerable person falls over; a tool to help fire departments predict the likelihood of wildfires, and a way to make your fish tank double as a vegetable patch for microgreens. The future engineers and scientists behind these innovations are aged between 12 and 16 and were all entrants in the UK’s Big Bang Competition. Head judge Helena Dodd joins William Kremer to discuss what makes a winning design, and what grown-ups everywhere can do to unleash the problem-solving power of the next generation. Reported and produced by William Kremer. Picture: Freddie with Fallbot

Can companies operate better without managers? We hear from people who’ve got rid of managers and say it has helped them do a better job, made them happier and saved money. But there are pitfalls, too. Co-ordination and hiring talent for what are usually considered top management jobs can be a challenge when there’s no traditional hierarchy. Produced and presented by Dina Newman. Picture credit: Getty Images

Old ships, powered by the wind, are sailing small amounts of cargo around the world again to help cut pollution. Some of them were built more than 100 years ago. The shipping industry moves 80% of traded goods around the planet. But the diesel engines that propel modern cargo ships through the oceans burn the dirtiest type of fuel. Nick Holland speaks to sailors and brokers who, for the sake of the environment, are breathing new life into these vintage vessels. And he hears how new types of sails could get monster-sized modern cargo ships using the wind as well. Producer / Reporter: Nick Holland

Scientists in Italy have discovered that trees generate an electrical charge every time the wind blows strongly enough to make their leaves touch one another. The researchers, from the Italian Institute of Technology, have managed to harvest enough energy this way to power 150 LED lights from a single leaf. We meet them, and others, who are trying to make use of untapped, natural sources energy. We hear from a project trying to produce electricity from the interaction of fresh and salt water where rivers meet the sea. And we talk to a geologist in Iceland, who’s helped dig nearly 5km beneath the surface of the Earth. At that depth, the temperature can be about 600C - the idea is to mine the heat and turn it into energy. Producer/Reporter: Daniel Gordon Picture: Getty Images

A clever invention is saving the lives of hundreds of children. Pneumonia kills about 1.4 million children under five every year. Treatment with concentrated oxygen could save many of them, but the machines that make it need a reliable source of electricity. Some hospitals have frequent power cuts, though, which can be fatal. So scientists in Australia and Uganda came up with an innovative way to produce oxygen by separating it from the rest of the air, using a vacuum created by running water. Then they designed special bags that can store and deliver oxygen – even when the electricity cuts out. Their systems have provided oxygen for hundreds of sick children in Uganda. People Fixing the World hears the story of these remarkable inventions. Produced and presented by Ruth Evans Picture credit: Peter Casamento

We all know that sport is great for our health - and if you’re talented it can bring you great riches. But this week we look at how sport is changing lives and giving hope to young people leading the toughest lives. In Cape Town, South Africa, a British surfer noticed how kids from poor townships hardly ever went to the beach. So he started giving them free surfing lessons. Now hundreds go along each week to get “surfing therapy”. Not only is surfing giving them a buzz, it's helping to improve their life chances. In Afghanistan we meet the people who have brought skateboarding to the streets. As well as being an exciting challenge, it’s giving girls in particular a safe place to do sport and changing their outlook on life. And in one of the more deprived parts of London we find out how horse riding - a sport normally associated with the elite - is now inspiring young people from all backgrounds. Reporter/Producer: Richard Kenny

There’s a technology on the block which has the power to change all kinds of things for the better. If that power is harnessed, it has the potential to end corruption, protect your online identity and a whole lot more. Start-up companies and charities are using it in everything from tuna supply chains to medical records and ID documents and everything in between. The technology is blockchain and on this episode of People Fixing the World, we’ll explore whether its great potential can be realised. Produced and presented by Tom Colls Image: Blockchain illustration (Getty Images)

We visit farmers growing lettuce, herbs and strawberries indoors in the middle of cities. The plants are stacked up on shelves in vertical farms that use hydroponics and aeroponics to cultivate them. The idea is to grow food closer to where it’s eaten. At the moment, cities get most of their produce delivered from far away, but transporting it uses energy, while fruit and veg can lose their freshness in transit. We visit two European companies hoping to change the supply chain. One makes indoor farming units for food retailers, restaurants and hotels, and the other grows strawberries in shipping containers on the outskirts of Paris. We find out if these pioneers of European urban farming are able to feed our growing cities. Produced and presented by Dina Newman. Picture credit: Getty Images

People around the world are coming up with ways to make the world a quieter place, from portable sound barriers to schemes to stop people honking their car horns. The trouble is that noise from traffic, railways, builders, even neighbours, can have a huge impact on our health and wellbeing, according to the World Health Organization. One of the solutions we look at reduces decibel levels around building sites and music festivals, while another collects acoustic data to help local councils enforce laws if people are being too noisy. Also, a woman in India is doing her bit to reduce noise levels on the streets of Mumbai. Presented and produced by Anisa Subedar Picture credit: Getty Images

Robot shuttles and buses on demand are being tested to persuade more people to use public transport. Tallinn in Estonia and Luxembourg have even made travel free. The aim is to tackle the impact of one billion cars on the world's roads, which have brought some cities to a virtual standstill. But in order to tempt people away from their cars new incentives are needed. Claire Bates tries out schemes that are being developed across Europe. Presented and produced by Claire Bates

It has taken him 40 years, but Omar Tello has turned a patch of exhausted farmland in Ecuador back into rainforest. One of his biggest challenges was repairing the soil. His land was so degraded he had to make enough new soil - from unwanted wood shavings and chicken manure - to cover the entire plot. That alone took about 15 years. He also travelled deep into the Amazon for days at a time, looking for seeds and plants he could rescue. Now his forest is flourishing and the wildlife has returned - it is home to snakes, toucans, monkeys and many other animals. And he is sharing what he has learned to encourage others to protect the rainforests instead of cutting them down. Presented and produced by Jo Mathys.

Human sewage contains lots of valuable nutrients, so should we be recycling it? One of these nutrients is phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertiliser. We need fertilisers to meet the demands of the planet’s growing population, but there is a limited supply of phosphorus. Once it finds its way into the sea it becomes impossible to recover. And yet we all excrete about half a kilogram of the stuff a year, making cities a potentially rich source of the element. In the Netherlands human sludge is already being processed to recover phosphorus and recycle it into a high-tech fertiliser which will not leach into the environment. Reporter: William Kremer Photo: Getty images

This week we’re in Rwanda, where some men are getting lessons teaching them how to look after their babies. As well as promoting gender equality it's helping to reduce the high levels of violence women there experience at the hands of their husbands and partners. People Fixing the World meets the people taking part and finds out how it works and what difference it’s making. Reporter Lily Freeston Executive Producer Nick Holland (Photo Credit: BBC)

It’s a flightless bird on the edge of extinction, but a team in New Zealand is trying to stop it from going the way of the dodo. The kakapo is a large parrot that was once common in New Zealand. But its inability to fly, strong smell and habit of freezing when attacked made it easy to hunt for both human settlers and the animals they introduced. By the mid-1990s there were only 51 left. The remaining birds were moved to an island and a recovery operation began – looking at every aspect of the animals’ lives to try to boost the population. Twenty-five years on and the kakapo are at the centre of an elaborate breeding programme. There are monitors that measure the jiggle of mating birds, “smart eggs” to replace the ones removed for rearing and even a sperm-carrying drone. People Fixing the World looks at what it takes to bring a bird back from the brink. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter: Alison Balance (Photo caption: A kakapo / Photo credit: Jake Osborne, New Zealand Department of Conservation)

“Fabulous idea” or “waste of money”? Clever observations from our audience about solutions we’ve covered on People Fixing the World. Many are funny and offer fresh perspectives. Regular listeners will know that as well as podcasts, we also make videos that we post on social media. Our viewers love to comment and ask questions, and this episode is made up of these thoughts. Among the solutions coming under public scrutiny today are The Dog Poo Detectives, Electric Trucks and The Glasses Made From Coffee. Presenters Nick Holland and Kat Hawkins get through as many reviews as possible. There are some good ones, some bad ones and a few stinkers.

An idea used in video games is helping LGBTQ people in the Middle East talk safely online. Coming out can be particularly hard, especially if there are no support groups to go to. As a result, the internet is sometimes the only place people feel they can be open about their sexuality, seek advice, and meet like-minded people. But in some countries, opening up on websites to people you’ve never met can expose you to blackmail, surveillance, even police entrapment and prosecution. So one woman has come up with a solution - she has built a website that uses gaming software to protect its users. We hear from her and users who say the site has transformed their lives. Produced by Jo Mathys

People living in this block of flats sign a contract to socialise together for at least two hours a week. The new housing experiment in Sweden is aimed at the two age groups most likely to feel lonely: under-25s and pensioners. A former home for the elderly has been given a revamp, creating plenty of communal areas designed to encourage mingling between the different generations. While loneliness can happen wherever you live, it is a big talking point in Sweden where more than half of all households only have one occupant and it is common to rent an apartment by yourself as soon as you leave school. Maddy Savage meets tenants taking part in the shared living experiment and looks at other solutions designed to help young Swedes who are lonely. Reporter: Maddy Savage (Photo Credit: BBC)

Men and boys are being taught how to tackle some of the uncomfortable truths about everyday sexism. Many don’t realise the extent of the problem - cat-calling, unwelcome comments and dominating behaviour are all things that women across the world put up with on a daily basis. This week’s solution looks at a project called the Good Lad Initiative in the UK, which is trying to help men understand why it happens and how they can help change things. It also helps them to improve their relationships with other men and challenge traditional values. Robbie Wojciechowski meets ambassadors for the group as they train and he finds out how positive masculinity workshops are creating communities of men who want to help in the fight for equality. Produced by Robbie Wojciechowski for BBC World Service. (Photo credit: Good Lad Initiative)

If exercise were a drug, almost every single person on Earth would be prescribed it in the later years of their lives. The health benefits for older people are massive – it can help reduce the risk of dementia, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, depression, heart disease and more. But not enough older people are getting the benefits of this “miracle cure” – as the UK and Ireland’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges describe it. They are living out their retirements suffering from chronic illnesses, while health services struggle with the costs of looking after an aging population. Where there’s a problem, though, People Fixing the World finds a solution. Around the world, imaginative projects are springing up to try to get older people exercising. We hear from veteran cheerleaders in South Korea, walking footballers in the UK and the mayor giving out free gym vouchers in Finland. Reporters: Tom Colls, Olivia Lang and Erika Benke (Photo Caption: An older person exercising / Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Women in Uganda are learning how to treat their neighbours for depression. That’s because there aren’t enough resources for professional care, especially for people from poor backgrounds. An organisation called StrongMinds sets up group therapy sessions across the country, and when clients come out of depression, some are trained to run courses for other women. People Fixing the World visits a session in Kampala to see how it works and meet women whose lives have changed dramatically. Produced by Reha Kansara for the BBC World Service (Photo credit: Kwagala DeLovie)

What if all the energy used at the gym was directed towards helping others, rather than lifting useless weights and running nowhere on a treadmill? That thought struck Ivo Gormley 10 years ago. So instead of running on a treadmill, he started running to see an elderly person twice a week. A few friends liked his idea, and the Good Gym was born. Today, you can find the organisation in more than 50 areas across the UK. It combines fitness with volunteering. One of its activities involves younger members running to visit older people - both groups can be at risk of feeling lonely and isolated, particularly in big cities. People are also invited to work on community projects - a group runs to the job together, helps out, then runs back. It has been particularly successful at attracting women who tend to exercise less than men. Reporter Dina Newman (Photo credit: Good Gym)

As thousands of people are moved in the evacuation of the area around the Taal volcano in the Philippines, Ecuador - which has more than 20 active volcanoes - is looking at how to protect people there. A scientist based in Quito has designed a system to forecast dangerous activity. The Red Cross is working closely with him, so they can now warn people of potential disaster further in advance - giving a bigger time window in which to move themselves and livestock, and get medical backup in place. It is part of a radical rethink in the way humanitarian aid is delivered, using forecasts to give people more warning and help them prepare before nature strikes. But funding a project like this means asking donors to donate cash to a disaster which may never happen. Reporter Jo Mathys (Photo credit: Red Cross)

If you had a rare disease and the only drug that could help you suddenly shot up in price how would you feel? What if your health service or insurer decided it was too expensive and they wouldn’t fund it any more? This is the problem facing some patients in the Netherlands. In order to encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest in developing drugs for rare diseases, the EU allows them to have a 10-year monopoly. The number of these drugs has risen as a result, but the way the rules are written has created a problem. Pharma companies have been able to re-register old drugs that were used for other diseases and then, with their legal monopoly, raise the price significantly. While some countries might accept the price rise, the Netherlands hasn’t, and small-scale pharmacists there are stepping in. They’re making small quantities of some of the drugs themselves and giving them to patients, at a fraction of the cost. People Fixing the World hears from the patients, pharmacists and big pharma companies who are trying to find a way forward. Reporter: Charlotte Horn (Photo Credit: Marleen Kemper)

Using lasers or asteroids to move our planet away from the sun may sound extreme, but a few scientists have come up with plans to do just that. The sun’s power is slowly increasing. Over the next billion years or so, the extra energy is going to boil off the oceans and make the earth inhospitable. Given the timescales involved, you might think this is someone else’s problem. But such is the human enthusiasm for problem-solving, potential solutions have been found - from shooting asteroids past the Earth to creating a gigantic solar sail. We meet the scientists who are trying to figure out how to save the planet from the sun. Presenter: Kat Hawkins Reporter: Tom Colls Image: The Earth in space. Credit: Getty Images

Catch up with the goats fighting forest fires in Spain and discover where else in the world they’re being used. This programme looks at what happened next to some of the people and projects we have featured in past episodes. We also revisit a scheme in Greece that’s helping people give their leftover medicines to those who can’t afford to buy them. And we check in with Majd Mashharawi who had found a way of creating brand new concrete blocks using ash and the rubble from old buildings. Image credit: Getty Images

We look at four clever ways to reduce carbon emissions from deliveries. Shops, offices, restaurants and homes all get lots of them every day, and this so-called “last mile” in the logistics chain can be responsible for up to 50% of our goods’ shipping carbon footprint… so what can we do to reduce it? While technology may provide part of the answer, there are also ways to radically reorganise the flow of stuff into cities. William Kremer looks at four innovative projects which attempt to solve the problem by grouping parcels together more intelligently. There are things we can all do about this problem too - William also has some tips for you to reduce the carbon cost of your deliveries. Reporter: William Kremer Picture: Getty Images

Rapists often avoid conviction and people they’ve attacked can face a traumatic journey through the legal system. But special reporting centres and courts in South Africa are improving things. The country has set up Thuthuzela Centres which are named after a Xhosa word meaning comfort. The centres aim to create a safe, empathetic and comfortable environment where people who have been raped can get all the medical and legal care they need in one place. Most of the centres are linked to specialised sexual offences courts, which are designed to reduce the trauma survivors often face in court. Staff there are trained to understand how sexual violence affects people. We meet rape survivors and legal experts to find out how this approach is helping. Reporter Lily Freeston Picture: Praise Kambula, South Africa Department of Justice.

Uganda has a very young population – the median age is 16 and young people find it hard to get a job. So now children are being taught how to run their own businesses before they leave school. They learn about profit and loss, how to get investment, leadership and practical skills, such as making bags and charcoal briquettes for the communities where they live. Uganda has a reputation as an entrepreneurial country but, as in most places, lots of its start-ups don’t last. The organisation behind these lessons, Educate!, hopes that its programme will give children everything they need to make their businesses a success when they leave school. Now the scheme has also spread to Kenya and Rwanda. Reporter: Reha Kansara Photo credit: BBC

Global warming is melting the world's glaciers and sea ice. In Iceland the effects can already be seen - people there recently held a funeral to mark the death of the Okjokull glacier. So scientists and engineers around the world are trying to come up with ideas to cool the planet and stop the ice from melting. One wants to spray sea water into clouds to make them whiter so they reflect more of the sun’s rays back up. Another plan is to make sea ice more reflective by spreading layers of tiny silica beads on it. Others are devising massive geoengineering projects, such as building giant sun shades in the sky and walls around sea ice to stop warm water wearing it away. But sceptics warn that projects like these are too expensive and are a distraction from the cause of the problem - and we should be focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions instead. Producer Hannah McNeish Photo: Getty Images

Almost 30% of women experience violence from a partner at some point in their lives. If they manage to escape the immediate crisis, it can be hard to get long term support to rebuild their lives, and survivors often continue to be harassed and threatened for years after leaving their abusers. A security dog firm in Spain is giving these people the confidence to restart their lives by pairing them with special protection dogs. The women train the animals, which then act as a deterrent to keep former partners away. Some critics say this tackles a symptom rather than the cause of domestic abuse, while others argue it’s a practical solution where societies are slow to change. This podcast has been updated to correct a statistic that appeared in the original version.

Fires are common in South Africa’s informal settlements - it’s estimated that there are about 5,000 every year. They’re often caused by faulty wiring or open flames used for cooking or heating. Because the shacks are crammed in so tightly the flames can spread with frightening speed and destroy hundreds of homes. So a group of entrepreneurs invented a smart fire alarm for just these sorts of places. It has a sensor that spots fast increases in heat and then sends alerts to all the neighbours so they can quickly take action. They also designed insurance to help people who are affected by these fires rebuild and replace what they’ve lost. We go to one of these settlements in Cape Town and find out what difference it has made to the lives of the people living there. Reporter: Richard Kenny

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits on the planet - more than 100 million tonnes of them are eaten every year. But on banana plantations on four continents, a deadly fungus is creeping through the soil and destroying the plants. Some say the end is nigh for the banana. But from Australia to Colombia and from the Philippines to the Netherlands, work is going on to stop that happening. We meet the farmers, scientists and gene technologists trying to find a way to save the fruit. Reporter: Daniel Gordon (Photo Credit: BBC)

Billions of tonnes of goods are moved by lorry every year – everything from food and clothes to building materials, electronic gadgets and toys. Most heavy-duty vehicles run on diesel and they account for a quarter of the EU’s CO2 emissions from road transport. But making eco-friendly lorries and trucks is challenging. Big vehicles need big batteries, which currently take too long to charge and take up too much room. So Germany is trying out a few alternatives. The eHighway system enables lorries to connect to overhead electricity cables, just like trams and trains. And while lorries are connected, smaller on-board batteries could be charged up too to power the final leg of a journey. The country is also investing in another technology: hydrogen. Fuel cells convert the gas into electricity and the only emissions from these vehicles are water vapour and warm air. Seventy-five hydrogen fuel pumps have already opened across the country. Reporter: William Kremer

Video games are often blamed for time-wasting and violence, but there’s a group of people proving this stereotype wrong. We meet the scientists behind a game designed to speed up finding a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, and we speak to a teenager who plays it because “it’s something I can do to help people in my spare time”. Citizen science projects like this have had some remarkable successes, and gamers have been credited with significant research such as figuring out the structure of a protein that shares similarities with HIV. Fans of this model believe gaming has a huge part to play in the future of problem solving. Produced by Kathleen Hawkins (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The city of Vaasa in western Finland has built a reputation as a centre of innovation, where energy companies are working together to try to find solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. Here, there’s a quiet conviction that climate change can be stopped and a belief that technology emerging from this area will help us make the shift to renewable forms of energy. We meet the people behind a giant engine that can run on a variety of non-fossil fuels, hear about a portable plant that turns waste into energy and speak to scientists developing man-made fuels to replace oil and gas. We also check out a company creating a new type of battery which it hopes will one day be able to store enough power to meet the needs of a whole city. Reporter and producer: Erika Benke (Photo credit: BBC)

Imagine a grocery shop selling all your basic goods at a discounted price… and if you buy enough you also get free health insurance. It might seem too good to be true, but stores like this have been introduced at some factories in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Social entrepreneur Saif Rashid is trying to get better health care to some of the millions of garment factory workers who are on low wages. For them, to lose a day’s pay by taking time off sick can be disastrous and affording decent health care is almost impossible. Now, with this scheme, they can get health insurance at the same time as getting discounts on their shopping. We find out how it’s changed some workers’ lives and why some people don’t take up the opportunity. Reporter: Chhavi Sachdev Producer: Tom Colls (Photo Credit: BBC)

Where there are humans, there’s waste. About two billion tonnes of garbage was produced in 2016, and the amount we generate is increasing. A lot of it ends up in unmanaged dumps or landfill sites. Much of it can’t be reused or recycled, but instead of seeing it go to “waste” some cement factories are using it to create energy. In this episode, People Fixing the World also looks at how tourists can help conservationists protect animals, such as lions, cheetahs and hyenas. All they have to do is share their holiday photos. Reporters: Nick Holland and Jamie Ryan (Photo Caption: Getty images)

If you have a cardiac arrest you need help immediately to have any chance of surviving. That’s why emergency call operators ask questions specifically designed to identify the condition, ideally within 90 seconds. Panicked and emotional callers don't always give simple answers, though, and evidence suggests cardiac arrests go unidentified in at least a quarter of emergency calls. In Denmark, a team of computer engineers is using new technology to listen in on emergency phone calls and look for clues in the conversation that the operator may have missed. We visit an emergency call centre in the Danish capital to see the system in action and find out if a computer really can detect cardiac arrests faster than humans working alone. Producer / Reporter: Sam Judah Photo Credit: Getty Images

It's estimated that a person dies from a snakebite every five minutes. Many more people face life-changing injuries, losing limbs and consequently their livelihoods. Antivenoms are expensive to make and are in short supply, particularly in remote communities where they are needed the most. And what’s more, snakebites in different parts of the world need different types of antivenoms. Many of the current treatments available in sub-Saharan Africa have been developed from snakes in Asia, but antivenom made to treat Indian snakebites won’t work as well on people bitten by snakes in Africa. Now a new research facility in Kenya is trying to develop better antivenoms from African snakes. And they've launched a motorbike snakebite ambulance service too, to get people who have been bitten to hospital fast. (Photo Credit: BBC)

For the past 20 years, police chiefs and policy makers around the world have been fascinated by an idea: that violence spreads through cities like a disease, with patterns of clustering and transmission, and opportunities to inoculate communities against it. Violence-reduction programmes, influenced by epidemiology, have been implemented in Chicago, Glasgow and - most recently - London. But before these initiatives, a link between violence and disease was made by a Colombian doctor called Rodrigo Guerrero. When Guerrero became mayor of Cali in Colombia in 1992, the city was in crisis. It was the height of a war between the Cali and Medellin drug cartels with the homicide rate reaching a shocking 120 per 100,000 people. Guerrero’s approach was not to wage a war against the cartels, or to cave into corruption. Instead, he used his knowledge as a Harvard-trained epidemiologist to gather data about the exact causes of homicide, make hypotheses, and try interventions. “I was no longer an epidemiologist, but a violentologist,” he recalls. In this programme Dr Guerrero gives reporter William Kremer a tour of his city and explains his approach. Reporter: William Kremer (Photo Caption: Dr Rodrigo Guerrero / Photo Credit: BBC)

In the 1970s hundreds of thousands of wells were dug across Bangladesh to give people access to cholera-free water. But this led to what the World Health Organization has called the largest mass poisoning of a population in history, worse than Chernobyl. That’s because the water in the wells wasn’t tested for arsenic. Decades on, it’s a major problem. The WHO says more than 35 million Bangladeshis have been chronically exposed to arsenic in their drinking water, and about 40,000 die of arsenicosis every year. The field test for it is inaccurate and prone to human error. Most Bangladeshis drink from wells in their back yards which haven’t been tested for years, if at all. But now a gadget is being developed which will allow anyone to test a well cheaply, instantly and accurately. The scientific key to it is a tiny enzyme, found inside a bacterium affectionately known as Mr Tickle, which was discovered in an Australian gold mine. Reporters: Chhavi Sachdev and Jo Mathys (Photo Credit: BBC)

Pollution, overfishing and oxygen depletion are damaging coastal waters across the world. Often fish and other marine life are the victims, but scientists are using one surprising creature to help solve the problem – the oyster. Oysters eat some chemical pollutants and fight algae blooms, which can have a damaging effect on biodiversity. A group of teachers and scientists in New York is trying to reintroduce a billion of them into the harbour to make it a healthier, cleaner environment and strengthen the shoreline. Another team based in France is strapping wires to oysters’ shells around oil rigs to monitor how often they open and close. That gives them vital information about how pollution levels are changing. Reporter/ producer Jamie Ryan (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Concrete is the most used man-made product in the world but it comes with a heavy environmental price. Between 5% and 7% of the world's annual carbon emissions come from producing the cement that glues concrete together. Most of these climate-changing gases are released when a vital ingredient, limestone, is melted down in the manufacturing process. But one company has devised a new type of cement that only solidifies when you pump carbon dioxide into it. The gas becomes locked in as it turns to concrete. This is similar to the way carbon dioxide has been stored in rocks by nature over millions of years. As Nick Holland reports, it's one of the solutions the industry could use to mitigate its impact on the environment. (Photo Credit: BBC)

For the growing number of working women in Dhaka, commuting to work can be a challenge. The traffic is terrible and cars and taxis are expensive. Public transport is not only inconvenient, it is sometimes unsafe - many women face unwanted sexual attention on buses. So after his wife was harassed by a taxi driver, one young entrepreneur set up a motorbike ride-share service with a difference. Not only are the customers all women, the drivers are too. Reporter Chhavi Sachdev meets some brave women finding new ways to navigate Bangladeshi traffic and society. (Photo Caption: Kobita on her scooter / Photo Credit: BBC)

For most of human history, pumping carbon dioxide into the air has come free of charge. Burning fossil fuels powered the industrial revolution and powers most industries to this day. But all that carbon stays up in the atmosphere and dealing with the consequences won’t be free. The cost of climate change stretches beyond the lives lost in natural disasters. There will be a huge economic cost - to pay for sea defences, put out forest fires and care for millions of climate refugees. Around the world, governments and businesses are finding different ways of putting a price on the carbon that industries pump out. They’re trying to change how the global economy operates, by making industry pay for the harm their carbon emissions cause. Reporter: Tom Colls (Photo Caption: A cloud and money / Photo Credit: Getty Images)

In the US most people who are charged with a crime can’t afford expensive lawyers and investigators to prepare their case. The public defenders who represent them usually have heavy workloads and limited resources. Family and friends would often like to help but don’t know how. So a group in California is trying to make things fairer by teaching them how the legal system works and explaining what they can do. It shows them how to dissect police reports, put together a social biography for the defendant and get crucial evidence for their lawyer. Started in San Jose, California, the model is now being used across the US and beyond. We hear from people whose lives have been transformed by this approach. Presenter: Nick Holland Producer: Claire Bates (Photo Credit: Silicon Valley De-Bug)

It’s estimated that more than 100 million girls under the age of 18 will be married in the next decade. One country that’s trying to end the practice of child marriage is Ethiopia. There, the Berhane Hewan programme, meaning ‘Light for Eve’ in Amharic, promises families a solar-powered light if their daughter remains unmarried and in school until she’s at least 18. This approach is known as a conditional asset transfer. The solar lanterns enable girls to study after dark and they can also be used to charge mobile phones, which is particularly useful in remote areas with no electricity. Girls are taught to make money from the lanterns by charging neighbours to power up their mobile phones too. People Fixing the World visits Dibate, a small village in western Ethiopia. More than 600 girls in this part of the country have received a solar lamp. Reported by Lily Freeston Produced by Ruth Evans and Hadra Ahmed (Photo Credit: BBC)

Each year, mental health practitioners from around the world visit Trieste in Italy to see what they can learn from the city’s approach to mental illness. In 1978, Trieste led a ‘revolution’ in Italian mental health care by closing its asylums and ending the restraint of patients. Today the city is designated as a ‘collaboration centre’ by the World Health Organization in recognition of its pioneering work. Reporter Ammar Ebrahim visits Trieste to see how the system works - from the informal community centres where people can drop in and stay as long as they need, to the businesses that offer career opportunities for those who have been through the system. We hear about the city’s policy of ‘no locked doors’, and ask how Trieste deals with patients other societies may deem ‘dangerous’. Presenter: Tom Colls Producer: Sam Judah (Photo Caption: “Freedom is therapeutic” written on a wall in Trieste / Photo Credit: BBC)

On average, one in eight children in the UK has a mental health disorder – that’s about three children in every classroom. Yet there are just 4.5 psychiatrists for every 100,000 young people - that’s fewer than most other European countries. With the UK’s mental health provision for children so stretched, help often ends up coming from families and schools. One school in London has actively taken up this challenge. Highgate Primary School has developed a unique system in which dozens of children can get one-to-one sessions with trainee therapists, while some struggling parents are also offered support. The school has redesigned its playground so children can find areas that fit their mood, and it has given over more time to activities such as gardening, cooking and drama. Today’s programme features some of the children that have benefited from these ideas – but can other schools replicate them? Reporter: William Kremer (Photo Credit: BBC)

Neighbours in the US are using cameras that read car number plates to record vehicles driving down their streets. When there’s a crime they check through the footage and pass any leads on to the police. But critics say the Flock Safety system, run by a private company, is open to abuse and warn of privacy concerns. Is it too risky to encourage residents to do police work, or a realistic response to under-resourced law enforcement? Presenter: Tom Colls Producer: Claire Bates (Photo Credit: BBC)

More than five billion people around the world don’t have access to safe, affordable surgical care. It has been a big problem in Ethiopia where most specialist doctors are concentrated in the cities, contributing to high rates of maternal mortality. In 2009 the Ethiopian government began training Integrated Emergency Surgical Officers. Health workers, such as nurses and midwives, are taught to perform emergency operations in remote, rural clinics where there are no surgeons. It was the first programme of its kind and is seen as a model for other developing countries. More than 800 surgical officers have now completed the three-year Masters programme and are performing hundreds of caesareans and other emergency procedures each year. People Fixing The World follows one of them, Seida Guadu, as she operates to try to save the lives of a mother and her unborn child. Reporter: Ruth Evans Producers: Lily Freeston and Hadra Ahmed (Picture credit: BBC)

In the 1990s Portugal had a major heroin problem, and when it came to people injecting drugs it had one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the EU. It took a radical approach and decriminalised all personal drug use. The law introduced in 2001 means people carrying drugs for personal consumption aren’t prosecuted - instead they are referred to health and social services to receive treatment, and the focus is on harm reduction. And the strategy worked. The number of people using drugs fell dramatically, new HIV and Hepatitis C infections dropped and drug-related crime became much less of a problem. So why haven’t more countries followed their lead and adopted this model? Produced by Hannah McNeish for BBC World Service (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

To prevent the worst effects of climate change, we need to massively cut how much carbon we pump into the atmosphere. But those carbon cuts might not happen in time, so another approach may be needed. Around the world, scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs are working on ways to give us more time to change our way of life. They’re developing technologies and techniques that effectively do climate change in reverse. Instead of pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, they suck it in and store it. These projects range from using rock dust for “enhanced weathering” to trap carbon in farmers’ fields, to the power station attempting to capture it on its way up the chimney. We go on a tour of these projects to see if they offer hope for the future. Producer and reporter: Tom Colls Photo Caption: Carbon dioxide illustration / Photo Credit: Getty Images

People diagnosed with bipolar disorder are commonly treated with a variety of drugs. They aren’t always effective and can come with a range of side effects. For several decades, an Italian psychiatrist has been pioneering a different approach. By asking his patients to stay awake for 36 hours three times over the course of a week – and combining the counterintuitive idea with bright light therapy and lithium – he has found that some of them demonstrate a remarkable improvement in mood, which can last indefinitely. The therapy has caught the attention of researchers across the world, and new trials are being carried out, but the idea is not without its critics. Sam Judah spends a week with a cohort of patients as they undergo sleep deprivation treatment at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, and tries to find out if it is effective. Producer: Sam Judah (Photo caption: Francesco Benedetti / Photo credit: BBC)

We hear what you, our listeners, are doing to tackle the problem of plastic waste. The idea came about when you started getting in touch after a previous episode asking why we don’t reuse and refill the plastic containers we’ve already got. (The Reuse and Refill Revolution: Tuesday 23 April.) Since then you’ve sent lots of alternative ideas and suggestions. Nick Holland and Kat Hawkins hear from shoppers cutting down on packaging by buying in bulk, people organising litter-picking trips to clean up plastic from the desert and an idea to create giant floating plastic pontoons as platforms for new housing. There are some surprising tips too, like from the woman who reuses empty pet food sachets to store her pre-cooked meals in the freezer and the man who melts down his own plastic waste and turns it into fence posts. Presenters Kat Hawkins / Nick Holland Producer Nick Holland (Photo credit: Getty Images)

It’s not a good time to be a meat eater. Pressure is growing to tackle climate change – and the livestock sector produces 15% of global greenhouse emissions, with cattle farming accounting for two thirds of that. Not only do cows produce damaging methane gas, but creating pasture for the animals has led to widespread deforestation. Nowhere is this more evident than in Colombia: 34 million hectares of land there is devoted to cattle ranching. The land that’s been cleared to graze cattle is often left without trees, meaning the soil quickly becomes arid and useless. Now an ambitious project aims to demonstrate that cattle ranching can be ecologically sound. An expert team is helping more than 4,000 farmers dramatically remodel their land. Instead of open fields, they are planting trees and shrubs, and allowing small plants to grow among the grass. This more intensive planting helps to store carbon and provides a healthier diet for cows, meaning they produce less methane and more milk and meat. But are other cattle farmers likely to follow suit and adopt this “silvopastoral” approach? Presenter: Kat Hawkins Reporter: William Kremer (Photo credit: BBC)

Matsuri Takahashi was 24 when she died. She took her own life after doing more than 100 hours overtime a month at a large advertising company in Japan. She was a victim of karoshi - dying as a result of overwork. It’s a phenomenon that’s well known in Japan where stories of employees working ridiculously long hours – sometimes until four or five in the morning - are common. The government has introduced a new law to limit overtime, although critics say it doesn’t go far enough and the whole working culture needs to change. Working long hours doesn’t necessarily mean more work gets done, so elsewhere, a company in New Zealand has reduced hours without cutting pay. Staff are given a day off each week if they can get five days’ work done in four. Should we all be doing this? Presenter: Nick Holland Reporters: Jamie Ryan and Mariko Oi (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Period poverty affects girls and women across the world who can’t afford to buy sanitary pads or tampons each month. So what are the alternatives? We look at two very different solutions. In a refugee camp in Jordan, we follow one woman as she tries to get a sanitary pad micro-factory off the ground. While in Malawi, they’re handing out menstrual cups to teenagers - which last for 10 years and don’t produce any waste. Presenter: Vibeke Venema Producer: Tom Colls (Photo Caption: A menstrual cup / Photo Credit: Getty Images)

If you examine the atoms in a piece of wood, you can tell to the nearest 10km where it has come from. Environmental factors, such as the climate, affect trees as they grow and that signature remains in the wood after it is processed. An international group of scientists is hoping to use this information to tackle illegal logging, which contributes to a loss of biodiversity and costs governments billions of dollars in lost revenues each year. It’s thought that up to 30% of timber on the global market comes from illegally-sourced wood, and ends up as all sorts of items in shops around the world. Now, stable isotope analysis is being used to identify the unique profile of these products. And when scientists find items don’t come from the place specified on the label, the information can be used to hold shops accountable. We visit the wood archive at Kew Gardens and speak to experts using this technology to help stem the flow of illegally-smuggled timber and protect the planet’s endangered forests. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter and Producer: Nicola Kelly (Photo Caption: Logging in the Amazon / Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Should we reuse and refill plastic packaging to limit the amount being thrown away? Nick Holland looks at different ways people are trying to make this happen. One idea is to take used containers back to the supermarkets where, in the future, giant vending machines could refill them. But the scale of the challenge is huge and getting consumers to change their shopping habits will be hard. Presenter: Tom Colls Producer and Reporter: Nick Holland (Photo Credit: BBC)

The average dog produces about 124kg of poo every year, but not all of that gets picked up and disposed of properly. So people living in many residential blocks in the US have had their dogs’ DNA registered on a database, in an attempt to tackle problem poo. If they don’t pick up after their dog, a sample of what’s left behind is sent off to a lab so the perpetrator can be identified. The company behind the tests says it works well in private, gated communities but what about public parks and pavements? Could other solutions, such as offering rewards for picking up poo, or posting dog mess backs to the owners, work in the long term? And we hear how Ontario in Canada is collecting dog poo to turn it into energy. Presenter: Kat Hawkins Reporters: Ros Tamblyn and Claire Bates (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Every year, it’s estimated that nearly 400 million people around the world are infected with dengue fever, a potentially fatal illness that’s passed on by mosquitoes. No vaccine is effective at preventing people catching the disease, but what if the mosquitoes themselves were treated to stop them spreading it? In one city that is severely affected – Medellin in Colombia — an ambitious project is underway to swap wild mosquitoes for a variety that is identical in every way, but with one crucial difference. These mosquitoes have been bred from specimens injected with bacteria that make it impossible to transmit not just dengue, but also the Zika and chikungunya viruses, and Yellow Fever. Buoyed by successful projects in Australia, the World Mosquito Program is releasing millions of newly-minted mosquitoes across Medellin, in the hope that they will replace the wild population. And to reassure the public, schoolchildren are being taught to love mosquitoes, and even to breed them — a message that contradicts what they’ve been brought up to believe. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter / Producer: William Kremer (Photo Caption: The Aedes Aegyptii Mosquito / Photo Credit: Getty Images)

"Get rid of the girl who smells" - this is the reaction thousands of traumatised new mothers face every year. A prolonged or obstructed childbirth can lead to a condition called obstetric fistula, where women are left incontinent, continually leaking urine and faeces. Without treatment they often become socially isolated. But in Madagascar, some women who have successfully been treated for fistula become patient ambassadors. They travel on foot to remote villages to find and help others with the same condition. They personally accompany them to clinics to get life-changing surgery and support. Afterwards, those women return to their villages and begin campaigning for other women to seek care. Many medical organisations around the world are waking up to the power of the patient's voice - patient ambassadors can resonate with vulnerable groups in a way that other kinds of outreach can't. Reporter/ Producer: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill (Photo Caption: Felicia - a patient ambassador in Madagascar / Photo Credit: BBC)

Tens of thousands of people die every year because bacterial infections are becoming resistant to antibiotics. That number is expected to explode, as more antibiotics stop working, making antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, one of the gravest health threats facing humanity. But could viruses come to the rescue? Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. They were discovered 100 years ago and have been used to treat infections for decades in Georgia. But despite their abundance in nature and proven ability to kill infections, their potential has not yet been realised outside the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Steffanie Strathdee, who stumbled across phages as she tried to save her husband’s life, is now leading a campaign to put phages on the map. But can their use be scaled up from individual and costly treatments to a fully-operational weapon in the war against AMR? Reporter: Tom Colls (Photo Caption: A phage under an electron microscope / Photo Credit: University of Leicester)

Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, is taking an innovative approach to solving disturbing crimes. It holds more than 40 million images of child sexual abuse. In many cases the perpetrators remain at large, and their victims unidentified. By posting parts of those photos online - with the abusers and their victims removed - they are hoping members of the public can help them find out where the crimes took place, and so trace the perpetrators. Around the world, ordinary people are combing over the photos, using online tools and local knowledge to uncover fresh clues - and the results can be remarkable. Sam Judah meets the digital detectives trying to geolocate the places where the photos were taken, and asks Europol how their work can lead to the prosecution of criminals. Presenter: Kat Hawkins Reporter: Sam Judah (Photo Caption: Europol is asking for help identifying this location / Photo Credit: Via Europol)

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, but a community centre is bringing Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots together in the buffer zone between the two sides. Cyprus has been a divided island since 1974, with Turkish Cypriots living in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south. The two communities have been able to cross the island at police checkpoints since 2003, but memories of past conflict have held many back. However, one unique community centre is bringing people together right in the buffer zone that divides the two sides. Staffed by both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, the Home for Co-operation encourages people to meet and form friendships through shared interests, from djembe drumming to salsa classes. It hosts projects and groups trying to stop old prejudices taking root in the younger generation. It also provides a base for businesses and social enterprises, all seeking to melt decades of distrust. But how big a difference can one centre make on an island of one million people, in the face of political problems and personal trauma? Presenter: Nick Holland Produced: Claire Bates (Photo Caption: Lefki Lambrou and Hayriye Rüzgar / Photo Credit: BBC)

Children who lose a parent may struggle to come to terms with this for the rest of their lives. In the UK about one in 20 children will lose a parent before the age of 16. In other countries, the figure is even higher. However, Gaby Eirew thinks she has a solution that can help. She works in counselling, often dealing with childhood trauma. Using that experience she has created a free app that has been downloaded in more than 30 countries around the world. It helps parents to create an archive of “selfie-style” videos on their phone, for their children to watch in the future. The app prompts parents to address the questions she has consistently found bereaved children want answered. Not all are what you might expect. Presenter: Kathleen Hawkins Reporter: Dougal Shaw Producer: Alison Gee (Photo Caption: Gaby Eirew / Photo Credit: BBC) Contains extracts from the song “Never Forget” by Sky, recorded by Indi B Productions

It’s estimated that 400 billion square metres of fabric are made every year – enough to cover Germany – for the fashion industry. The sector produces a similar amount of greenhouse gases to the international airline and shipping industries combined. The two most-used materials are cotton and polyester. Growing cotton requires a vast amount of land and water, and often chemicals too. Polyester is a by-product of the oil industry which has a massive environmental impact. But after clothing has been used, just 1% of it is recycled in a way that means it can be turned into other clothes. Much of what’s left ends up in landfill or is burned. What if that were to change and new clothes could easily be made out of old ones? Companies across the world are trying to “close the loop” in the fashion industry, developing chemical processes to turn used fabric back into materials that can be used again. Sweden’s Re:newcell is transforming old cotton into useable material, while the UK’s Worn Again has come up with a process to enable the re-use of blended textiles. But are these processes viable? Will turning old pants into new shirts save the planet – or is the solution something much deeper? Presenter: Nick Holland Producer: Jamie Ryan (Photo Caption: Clothes at a textile sorting depot / Photo Credit: BBC)

About 800,000 people take their own lives every year, that’s one person every 40 seconds, according to the World Health Organization. For decades, doctors and researchers have tried to establish the key risk factors that identify someone as being at risk of suicide - depression, drug addiction and low social support have all been proposed - but research shows that no one variable gives doctors a useful steer. This makes it very difficult for mental health professionals to predict who might try to kill themselves. Now the psychologist Joseph Franklin is trying a new approach: to utilise machine learning to spot patterns in how hundreds of variables come together to put an individual at higher risk of suicide. He has developed a computer algorithm that is able to spot the subtle interplay of factors and make much more accurate suicide predictions. At the same time, researchers in the US are developing programmes that scan social media posts for signs that a town may be about to experience a higher rate of suicide than normal. But how should these tools be used by doctors and public health bodies? And is there a risk that even as machines begin to understand suicide, doctors will remain in the dark about how to help their patients, and when? Presenter: Nick Holland Reporter: William Kremer (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

In 2006, Turkish entrepreneur Bedriye Hülya set up her first women-only gym, b-fit. It’s cheap to join and is now a successful chain. Many women in Turkey don’t feel comfortable exercising alongside men and their male relatives may not allow them to use mixed gyms, so b-fit is a place where they can go. Women in Turkey are more likely to be overweight than men, according to government statistics, and the World Health Organization says nearly two thirds don’t get enough exercise. All the gyms are staffed and run by women so the company says it’s creating jobs in a country where just 34% of women work. But some feminists feel that separating men and women is not the way forward, and women should be made to feel welcome everywhere. We went to Istanbul to see how the business works. Presenter: Kat Hawkins Reporter: Neyran Elden Producer: Vibeke Venema (Image Credit: BBC)

Over the past 10 years, Nepal has almost doubled its population of Bengal tigers – it’s estimated the country now has 235 of the magnificent beasts. After years of decline, a combination of smart strategies has turned the tide. The army runs anti-poacher teams, using CCTV, data monitoring and elephant patrols. Income from tourism is channelled to communities bordering the park to build fences to protect them from wildlife and create business opportunities to make poaching less attractive. And the delicate forest ecosystem is managed and expanded, with jungle highways connecting the national parks. We go on a forest safari to see how it all works. Presenter: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill Reporter: Tom Colls (Image Caption: A tiger / Image Credit: Getty Images)

There are 14 specialist shops at the Retuna shopping mall in Eskilstuna, Sweden, but they all have one thing in common. Every item for sale in the shopping centre is second-hand. The clever thing about this mall is its location. It is right next to the city’s refuse and recycling centre. When people come to drop off mattresses and cardboard, they also pass by the mall’s basement to leave unwanted items that can be resold – or indeed items that can be ‘upcycled’, given a new lease of life as a different kind of object. Every shop is run as a money-making business, rather than a charity. The mall also hosts a college that offers a one-year certified course in upcycling, hoping to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs who believe in sustainability. Presiding over the whole enterprise is Anna Bergstrom. Her mission is to make second-hand shopping a mainstream experience – even one that’s a little bit glamorous.

There are an estimated 350,000 autistic children in Turkey, but only 20,000 to 30,000 of those children are thought to be in education. And because of stigma around the condition, many parents are reluctant to get a diagnosis. Zafer Elcik’s younger brother is autistic and was unable to read or write. But Zafer noticed that while his brother’s attention span was usually very short, he would happily spend an hour playing on his smartphone. So Zafer created Otsimo, an app with a range of games, to help his brother read and write. Now Otsimo has 100,000 users in Turkey, the US and Canada. Otsimo says it’s “democratising education” for people with special needs. But can an app really make much difference? Presenter: Nick Holland Reporter: Vibeke Venema Image Caption: Alper and Zafer Elcik Image Credit: BBC

In this talent show, it doesn’t matter if you can sing or dance, the winner just has to be honest and good at their job. It’s called Integrity Idol and the aim is to “name and fame” honest government workers - people who reject corruption and refuse to take bribes. The idea is that this creates positive role models to change society for the better. The competition is being run in seven countries around the world. Hundreds of candidates are found from each country, a panel of judges choses the five best, and the public votes on the winner. World Hacks visits the final of the competition in Nepal and asks what difference this approach can make. Reporter: Tom Colls Image Caption: The winner of Integrity Idol Image Credit: BBC

People in many parts of the world are having fewer babies than they were 60 years ago, and that’s worrying some countries. So in order to maintain the proportion of people of working age, governments have come up with campaigns to try to get people to have more children. Polish couples have been encouraged to “breed like bunnies” and speed dating events have been laid on for singles in Georgia. Nicola Kelly visits Norway, which has tackled the issue in a different way, ensuring gender equality, healthcare and education make it attractive to have more than one child. But as the global population grows, does the world really need more babies? We ask whether this just puts greater strain on the planet’s resources. Presenter: Nick Holland Reporter/producer: Nicola Kelly Image Credit: Getty Images

Do you ever wonder what happens to the people and projects we feature? This week we revisit innovators around the world to see how their schemes have developed. We catch up with the team catching junk in space, and the PODD disease detectives in Thailand tell us how they’ve successfully stopped the spread of infections. We also check in with the man who planned to give QR codes to homeless people so that passers-by can scan them with their mobile phones and donate money. Presenters: Nick Holland, Elizabeth Davies Producer: Daniel Gordon Image Caption: Satellite Image Credit: NASA

In 2009, Todd Bol built a small box in the shape of a school, filled it with books and placed it on his front lawn in Wisconsin, in the US. The book exchange soon became a focal point for the community. Now there are more than 75,000 Little Free Libraries in 88 countries across the world, including Sudan, Russia and the UK. They are open to everyone, they never close and have no paperwork or overdue fines. With the motto “Take a book, leave a book”, the aim is to bring people together and get more books into people’s homes. Reporter: Susila Silva Presenter: Tom Colls Photo Caption: Little Free Library in Brighton Photo Credit: BBC

Many African countries face huge challenges in education. Millions of children completing primary school still struggle to read and teachers that should be in classrooms are routinely absent. Two US entrepreneurs think they have a solution: a network of profit-driven low-cost private schools, called Bridge Academies, that can be created and staffed at lightning speed. Lessons are scripted by ‘master educators’, and teachers read them aloud, word for word, from e-readers. Along with awards, the model has attracted a tidal wave of criticism from teaching unions, NGOs and governments too. World Hacks visits a Bridge Academy in Kenya to ask whether the controversial idea can work. Presenter: Kat Hawkins Reporter: Sam Judah Photo Credit: BBC

World Hacks visits a long, narrow street in the heart of the Dutch city of Eindhoven. A quarter of a mile long and lined with pubs and bars, Stratumseind is a drinking destination for the country’s young people and football fans. Unfortunately, the good times are frequently marred with violence. On any given Saturday night, police make about 20 arrests or detentions, many involving alcohol-related aggression. Now the city authorities are using sophisticated technology to monitor the activities of the street, including cameras that can count people and microphones that can tell the difference between someone squealing with laughter and screaming in fright. Stratumseind’s drinkers are also unwitting participants in a series of experiments to monitor whether subtle changes in their environment have an impact on their behaviour – whether that’s changing the colour of the street lights to calm people down or introducing a scent to help de-escalate tensions. Producer: William Kremer Photo Credit: City of Eindhoven, Living Lab Stratumseind

The idea behind “Buddy Benches”, also known as “friendship benches”, is simple. If a child feels lonely at playtime at school, they can go to the bench as a signal that they need someone to play with. Another child will see them, go and talk to them and include them in their games. However, a social enterprise in Ireland wants to do something more with them. Buddy Bench Ireland builds a day of workshops around the introduction of the benches, led by a team of child psychiatrists. Pupils are taught about empathy, how to look after their emotions and spot when others need support. The benches are seen as an early intervention to remove the stigma around mental health in Irish society. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter: Dougal Shaw Photo Caption: Buddy Bench Photo Credit: BBC

What’s being done to clean up the shipping industry and make it less polluting? Nick Holland looks at innovative ideas to make ships burn less fuel. The industry plays a critical role in the global economy. But it’s under pressure to decarbonise. Could giant rotating cylinders and millions of tiny bubbles be the answer? Presenter: Kat Hawkins Producer: Nick Holland Photo Credit: Getty Images

Around the world, thousands of people are using a special kind of bank. Instead of using it to save and spend money, they’re using it to save and spend time. Based on the idea that everyone’s time is worth the same, time bankers exchange lawn mowing for childcare, and dog walking for graphic design. World Hacks reporter Tom Colls enters the time economy and looks at the projects trying to upgrade time banking for the digital age. Presenter: Nick Holland Reporter: Tom Colls Photo Caption: Clock and piggy bank. Photo Credit: Getty Images

More than a quarter of Japan’s population is over 65 and the country has the highest rate of centenarians in the world. It’s a ticking demographic time bomb as the cost of caring for the elderly rises. But can the solution to this growing problem be found in Kashiwa City near Tokyo? A project there has been looking at how to redesign towns and cities to adapt to their residents as they reach old age. World Hacks asks whether the answers they have found could help ageing populations across the world. Producer: Harriet Noble (for BBC World Service)

Just over a year ago, Kenya introduced the world’s most draconian rules on single-use plastic bags. People can be fined up to $40,000 or even thrown in jail for producing, selling or using them. World Hacks travels to Nairobi to find out what impact the ban has had, and asks why Kenya has taken such a seemingly progressive stance on plastic. We also speak to experts in the UK to find out why many governments prefer to ‘nudge’ their citizens into cutting back on plastic bags, instead of banning them. Presenter: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill Reporter: Sam Judah Photo Credit: Getty Images

Child abduction by strangers is extremely rare, but the danger looms large in the minds of many parents. One reason is that for the past 50 years or so, governments have created public information campaigns around the message of “Stranger Danger”. In the UK, the US, Canada and many other countries too, these videos were played in the media and in schools. The videos portrayed in stark terms the risk of talking to adults you did not know who appeared to be friendly. But a new generation of childcare experts believe this is not the most effective message to protect children. Most abductions are by people children already know. And there is a worry that a general fear of strangers is not good for a child’s social development - or for society in general. World Hacks meets the charity Action Against Abduction as they teach a new message: Clever Never Goes. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter and Producer: Dougal Shaw Photo Caption: Stranger Danger Photo Credit: BBC

Our brains are the control centre of the human body. They allow us to think, to learn and to dream - but if you know how the brain works, it can also be fooled. Two start-up companies are making a business from these brain hacks, using wearable technology to trick the brain to improve people’s lives. The first is a wristband that uses a fake heartbeat to trick users’ brains into feeling calmer in stressful situations. The Doppel device also allows users to increase the rate of the fake heartbeat to make them feel more focused. The second wearable device allows people to fit lasers to their shoes. They are designed to help Parkinson’s patients who suffer from freezing episodes. These episodes affect up to 70% of Parkinson’s patients and come on suddenly, halting a sufferer mid-stride as they walk. The laser shoes provide visual cues to trick the brain into moving again. Presenter: Sofia Bettiza Reporter: Ammar Ebrahim Photo Credit: Getty Images

In Japan, to become a 'hikikomori' means to withdraw from the world and social life. Many of those who suffer from the condition shut themselves in their bedrooms for years on end, refusing to work, study or interact with anyone around them. More than half a million people are thought to be hikikomori, most of them young men. One organisation, New Start, has come up with an unusual solution: rental sisters. The sisters-for-hire visit regularly, helping to coax the hikikomori out of their bedrooms and back into society. That could mean just talking through the door, going out for lunch or even moving into a hikikomori boarding house and starting some part time work. Reporter Amelia Martyn-Hemphill finds out about the increasingly popular rental sister phenomenon for BBC World Hacks in Tokyo. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill Photo Caption: A Former Hikikomori Photo Credit: BBC

In Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, access to water is a minefield. The marketplace is dominated by water cartels, or mafias - water is often syphoned off from the mains supply and pumped in through dirty hosepipes. But Kennedy Odede is trying to change that. Dubbed the ‘president of the poor’, he set up a scheme to pump water up from a borehole deep underground, and deliver it through a new network of pipes with a difference. To avoid contamination, and keep them safe from the cartels, Kennedy’s pipes are suspended 15m in the air on a series of poles that carry them around the slum. In this episode of World Hacks we travel to Kibera to meet Kennedy, see the aerial waterways in action, and ask if his scheme can expand to help people living in slums across the globe. Presenter: Dougal Shaw Reporter: Sam Judah Producer: Sam Judah for the BBC World Service Photo Caption: Kennedy Odede Photo Credit: BBC

Volunteers around the world regularly get together to fix other people’s broken stuff free of charge. Reporter Nick Holland visits an event called a Repair Café in the Netherlands and links up with a team running a similar workshop in India. He asks what difference this 'make do and mend’ movement can make to our disposable culture Photo Caption: Repairing a radio with a soldering iron Photo Credit: BBC

Anyone who cares for someone with dementia knows the struggle to keep them stimulated and engaged as the condition progresses. This week World Hacks looks at three clever ideas that attempt to help. First up, a designer in the Netherlands has created a device that projects simple interactive games on to any table. Using lights, colours and sounds, the Tovertafel, or ‘Magic Table’, allows users to push rustling leaves, pop bubbles and catch virtual fish. We visit a dementia club in north London where it’s the star attraction at their weekly meeting and visit the creator, Dr Hester Le Riche, at her head office in Utrecht to find out how it works. Another game features next, a simple board game called Call To Mind, which stimulates conversation through its gameplay. And finally we look at some brightly-coloured rehydration drops, which draw the attention of people living with dementia and so aim to keep them healthy as the condition worsens. Presenter: Nick Holland Reporters: Claire Bates, Susila Silva, Tom Colls Photo Caption: The Tovertafel in action Photo Credit: BBC

This week we go back to school, with two simple ideas that involve changing the day-to-day lives of pupils to improve their physical and mental wellbeing. The Daily Mile is an idea developed in a Scottish school by an enterprising teacher, which is now being adopted worldwide. It gets pupils to run a mile at a surprise moment during the school day, to break up their learning and burn some calories. Meanwhile, in Bradford, in the north of England, a previously failing school has found salvation through music. To improve its performance in core subjects including maths and English, it promoted music in the timetable and embraced a music-teaching philosophy pioneered in communist-era Hungary. Presenter: Dougal Shaw Reporters: Shabnam Grewal and Dougal Shaw Photo Caption: A pupil playing drums and singing Photo Credit: BBC

How do you create green spaces in the middle of a city, where there’s no space to create large-scale parks or gardens? Paris has come up with a clever solution – they allow anyone to apply for a permit to start a garden anywhere at all. A rich assortment of small projects has sprung up, ranging from plant pots around lamp posts, to rejuvenated church squares, to walls covered with ivy. It’s a piecemeal approach to making the city greener, but it’s one that seems to be working. This week on World Hacks we visit this and two other projects that are trying to improve our experience of urban public spaces. As well as Paris’ citizen gardeners, we’ll hear from joggers in India who are ridding their streets of litter and commuters in London who are making a small but crucial change to the way they get to work. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporters: Sam Judah and Amelia Martyn-Hemphill Photo Credit: Getty Images

Have you ever wanted to donate to a homeless person, but found yourself without any cash, or concerned about how they may spend the money? A potential solution is being proposed in Oxford, England, through a scheme issuing homeless people with barcodes which can be worn around the neck or printed on a sign. Members of the public can scan these barcodes on their smartphones and read the homeless person’s story, before deciding whether or not to donate. Any money pledged goes into a special bank account managed by a support worker, helping the homeless person save towards long-term goals. Some think the project solves a number of problems but others fear the act of scanning someone using a smartphone could be dehumanising. We visit Oxford to meet homeless people using the barcodes, and speak to the people behind the big idea. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Sam Judah Photo Caption: One of the homeless people helping trial the new system in Oxford Photo Credit: BBC

In the northern Italian town of Bologna, a new public transport system is rewarding citizens for taking sustainable modes of transport. Each time locals walk or use the bus, train, car pooling or car sharing, they receive ‘mobility points’, which can be cashed in at cafes, cinemas, bars, bookshops and a number of other locations across the city. We explore the social and environmental benefits of taking Bologna’s residents out of their cars and onto the streets, moving about the city in a greener way. Presenter: Dougal Shaw Reporter: Nicola Kelly Picture caption: Bologna’s citizens are rewarded for using green transport like bikes Picture credit: GreenMe Italy

A vast and expensive system with the sole purpose of keeping things cool exists across the developed world. This “cold chain” includes fridges in kitchens, refrigerated lorries and cold store warehouses for supermarket produce and medicines. It costs billions to run and has a big environmental cost. But in poorer countries, this cold chain is just in its infancy. People are dying as health clinics lack the fridges to keep vaccines safe. New cold chain technology is needed and two inventors think they’ve figured it out. World Hacks looks at their innovative ways of keeping things chilled. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Tom Colls

Across the Italian countryside, villages are becoming deserted as people migrate to towns and cities. A sustainable tourism model known as the ‘Albergo Diffuso’ is attempting to reverse this trend. Tourist services, restaurants and hotels are spread around the village to encourage visitors to eat and stay with different families, boosting the local economy. We travel to the town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio in the Abruzzo region to meet the local business owners, restaurateurs and hoteliers profiting from the steady increase in tourism that this model has brought them. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Nicola Kelly Picture Caption: Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a hilltop village that was once abandoned, now a thriving tourist town Picture Credit: Sextantio Albergo Diffuso

A nine-year-old child announcer has been recruited on the London Underground. The idea is that her voice will surprise passengers, so they listen to her safety message. It’s an example of nudge theory in action, the art of subtly persuading large numbers of people to change their behaviour, by adjusting their environment. People Fixing the World also visits a university campus, which is nudging its students with a subtle price change, encouraging them to use fewer disposable coffee cups. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Dougal Shaw Photo Caption: Nine-year-old announcer Photo Credit: BBC

It’s thought that more than half the people claiming to be doctors in India have no medical qualifications. They are known as “quacks”, operating illegally, but often ignored by the authorities because of a shortage of qualified doctors. They regularly misdiagnose diseases and prescribe the wrong drugs, and some even perform surgeries in makeshift clinics. One prominent, qualified, doctor has started a controversial scheme, offering a quick crash course in medicine to thousands of his untrained counterparts. In return they have to stop calling themselves doctors, and rebrand themselves as “healthcare workers”. At the very least, he says, they will do less harm to their patients, and the West Bengal government has agreed, rolling the project out across the state. But many in the medical establishment are appalled by the idea, arguing that a crash course isn’t enough, and the scheme legitimises criminals who have operated illegally for years. World Hacks visits two villages outside of Kolkata - one with a newly reformed “healthcare worker”, and another with a self-confessed fake doctor - to ask if the controversial scheme can really work. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Sam Judah Photo Caption: Abhijit Choudhury Photo Credit: BBC

Wildfires can have a devastating impact, destroying land, homes and lives. Scientists say that as the planet gets warmer, they are only going to start more often. World Hacks looks at three projects in Spain and North America that are trying to prevent forest fire destruction, by making the landscape itself more fire-resistant. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporters: Ammar Ebrahim and Richard Kenny Photo Credit: Getty Images

As scientists and companies work on cleaning up cars, there’s also a team developing new technology along a road in rural Georgia in the United States, with the aim of making a truly sustainable highway. The Ray, an 18-mile stretch of road near the Alabama border, is a “living laboratory” where eco-friendly projects are being tested. It’s got pollination gardens, a tyre-monitoring system to help reduce fuel consumption and solar panels embedded in a section of the road. A large solar installation also generates power and revenue, helping to reduce carbon emissions and encourage investment. We meet the team behind the project and explore whether cleaner roads can be rolled out elsewhere in the United States and further afield. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Nicola Kelly Photo Caption: An electric vehicle’s battery gets charged at a station along The Ray Photo Credit: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation

Rubbish littering the streets is a problem all around the world but collecting it can also be a vital source of income. Two projects, thousands of miles apart, are trying to clean up the streets and make life better for rubbish collectors at the same time. In Nigeria, a start-up called Wecyclers is helping people profit from their waste, with the help of bicycles, tricycles and an incentives system. In Brazil, a phone app called Cataki is helping connect litter pickers and people with rubbish in an attempt to professionalise these informal recyclers. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporters: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill, William Kremer Photo Caption: Wecyclers in action in Lagos Photo Credit: BBC

The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely-populated tracts of land in the world. In addition to the ongoing violence there, it has an unemployment rate of more than 40 percent, and problems with access not only to clean water and electricity, but also basic construction supplies. The United Nations has described the situation there as “a constant humanitarian emergency”. Despite these challenges, a young Gazan engineer has developed a new and innovative way of making bricks, which she hopes could make Gaza less dependent on outside help. She uses rubble and ash to create a cheap, light brick that can be made locally. World Hacks goes to visit the factory and to learn more about how this award-winning new brick, called ‘Green Cake’, could make a difference. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Elizabeth Davies Photo Caption: Green Cake Photo Credit: BBC

Can adapting your lifestyle add 10 years to your lifespan? Dan Buettner, a journalist for National Geographic, has identified nine characteristics that he says can add more than a decade to life expectancy. His Blue Zones Project uses lessons learned from five areas of the world with the highest population over the age of 100. We visit Naples in Florida, which has been named the top state for wellbeing in the United States, to find out how altering daily habits has improved the health and happiness of its population. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter: Nicola Kelly

More than three million people in Nigeria are living with HIV, but only about 10% of the population has ever taken an HIV test. Talking about sex is a taboo subject and sexual health clinics are not popular places to be seen. Other sexually transmitted diseases, such as Hepatitis B and Syphilis, are on the rise among young people. But a Nigerian entrepreneur called Florida Uzoaru thinks she has a millennial-friendly solution to sexual health. Her start-up is giving people the option to anonymously test themselves at home. Secret packages, sent by courier, contain a pick ‘n' mix of self-test blood kits, contraception or the morning after pill. Customers buy everything online and receive counselling and assistance via WhatsApp. But can bypassing the healthcare system solve the problem? Producer and Reporter: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill Photo Caption: SlideSafe founder Florida Uzoaru with her secret STI testing kits Photo Credit: BBC

In India, an estimated 79% of women have experienced sexual harassment in public, but it’s hoped that a $1 million competition will reduce that figure. We visit Mumbai for the grand final of the Women's Safety XPRIZE, where five teams compete to win $1 million for designing a wearable gadget that will secretly alert others in the event of an attack. We follow the competitors through a series of challenges as they try to prove their device is the best - from buses winding their way through the heart of the city, to a grand convention centre where they have to convince members of the public that their invention can keep women and girls safe from harm. Presenters: Sam Judah, Chhavi Sachdev Producer: Sam Judah

Two thirds of the world’s population are expected to live in cities by 2050 according to the UN. But where will all these extra people actually live? Budgets to build new social housing are limited, so one architect has been working on a radical solution. To cut costs, Alejandro Aravena suggests providing people with only half a house that they complete at a later date with their own money. Several estates have already been built this way around the world. Tom Garmeson travelled to one in Chile to see how people are living in these new communities. Presenter: Nick Holland Producer: Tom Garmeson Photo Caption: Half a house Photo Credit: BBC

Food waste is a global problem. According to the UN, one third of the food that we produce is being thrown away. Two London-based technology start-ups aim to change that. Smartphone app Olio encourages people to share food they no longer want with their neighbours. Meanwhile, Winnow has developed a smart bin which allows chefs to record how much food they’re throwing away, so they can make their kitchens more efficient. Presenter: Dougal Shaw Reporter: Ammar Ebrahim Photo Caption: Food waste mountain Photo Credit: BBC

How do you improve the lives of the very poorest people? Sometimes it’s just a question of doing the simple things. In Greece, where an economic downturn has left thousands of people homeless on the streets, three friends have found a way to provide them with a basic need – clean clothes. They bought a van and fitted it with washing machines, so they can do the washing wherever it’s needed. In Malawi, the problem-solvers have turned their minds to another basic need – vision. They are building a network of new opticians and wire-frame glasses-makers which aim to improve the eyesight of even the poorest in society. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporters: Nick Holland & Lucy Ashton Photo Caption: The mobile laundry in Athens Photo Credit: BBC

How do you pull subsistence farmers in Africa out of the cycle of poverty? All you have to do is help them produce more food than they need to survive. But to do that you need money and a new company in Nigeria has designed a smart way to provide it. Farmcrowdy connects farmers with online urban micro-investors. The investors finance the production of chickens, vegetables or grain and receive a guaranteed financial return – and the farmer makes enough to start to grow their business. Producer: Shabnam Grewal Presenter: Dougal Shaw Photo Caption: The Farmcrowdy app Photo Credit: BBC

A growing movement in the UK is devolving the power of catching speeding motorists from the police to the people. Police have been working with community volunteers, letting them use speed guns in a bid to protect their communities from fast traffic. But as more of these amateurs learn to wield the speed gun, it’s a solution that’s thrown up its own problems. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Dougal Shaw Photo Caption: A volunteer wields a laser speed gun Photo Credit: BBC

When we think of peace talks we think of politicians from opposing camps meeting behind closed doors in wood-panelled rooms, hammering out the details of an agreement that both sides can accept. But that process hasn’t led to long term peace when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So is it a mistake to think that only governments can negotiate peace? The Minds of Peace initiative brings together ordinary Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate their own peace agreement. Producer & Reporter: Elizabeth Davies Photo Credit: BBC

Could bilingual schools help bring peace to a seemingly intractable conflict? In Israel, the school you’ll go to is largely decided before you’re even born – by whether you come from a Jewish or Arab family. Communities learn separately and live separately and that, many argue, cements the hostility and misunderstanding of generations. So is the solution to bring them side-by-side? Hand in Hand is a network of integrated schools across Israel where Jewish and Arab students are taught together in Hebrew and Arabic. As part of the BBC’s Crossing Divides season, World Hacks visits one of the schools to see how well this model works and whether it really has a lasting impact. Producer: Harriet Noble Picture Credit: BBC

People can’t resist a prize, especially when there’s money to go with a medal, and for hundreds of years that basic human urge has been used to push humanity forward. When you focus minds and money towards a simple target, incredible things can happen - from the clock that won the Longitude prize money in the 1700s to the spacecraft that won the XPRIZE in 2004. Are there any problems that a big enough prize cannot solve? Producer & Reporter: William Kremer Photo Caption: Pilot Mike Melvill standing on Space Ship One, which went on to win the Ansari XPRIZE Photo Credit: Getty Images This programme uses a sound effect created by Freesound user bone666138 Correction: Since our interview with Marcus Shingles was recorded, he has stepped down as CEO of XPrize

Loneliness and isolation can trigger a host of other problems, particularly for our health. But a town in Somerset, in the United Kingdom, appears to have taken a big step towards alleviating the problem. A team in Frome has implemented a handful of simple ideas – getting people to talk about the problems they face and finding ways for them to re-engage with family, friends or social clubs – and they believe it is having a dramatic effect. The cost of emergency admissions in Frome has fallen steeply, while it rises across most of the UK. We visit the town to meet the ‘connectors’ driving the project, and the people they have helped. Reporter: Sam Judah Presenter: Nick Holland Photo caption: Susan Redding Photo credit: BBC

**This episode is a repeat from 23 January 2018** Naomi is not your average teacher. For one thing, she is only six months old. But in many schools across Canada babies like Naomi are a regular feature at the front of class. It is because of an education programme called Roots of Empathy, which is designed to encourage kids to be kinder. The idea is that because a baby cannot explain and externalise how it is feeling, children learn to recognise and identify the baby’s emotions, and become more emotionally astute themselves. It has been proven to reduce bullying. People Fixing the World visits a school in Toronto to see how it works. Reporter: Harriet Noble Presenter: Tom Colls Photo Caption: Baby Naomi Photo Credit: BBC

Space is littered with junk – some pieces as small as a fleck of paint, and some as large as a London bus. So much of it is orbiting the Earth, in fact, that it poses a danger to future missions. But how can space be cleaned up? One way could be to catch the junk in a net, or to use a harpoon to grab it. A team in Surrey, in the UK, are launching a special spacecraft to find all of this out. Reporter: Nick Holland Presenter: Dougal Shaw Image: Stock illustration of space debris Credit: Getty Images

Being homeless is extremely bad for your health. Homeless people end up in hospital far more often, and when they get there their condition is often serious. We visit a London hospital to see how one innovative healthcare charity is rethinking caring for the homeless – and how a hospital visit can be an opportunity to do far more than just patch a patient up and send them on their way. Presenter: Tallulah Berry Reporter: Tom Colls Producer: Ammar Ebrahim Image: Gary Spall (BBC)

One of every five bird species could be extinct within the next century. Whether it’s down to the shiny glass office blocks materialising all over cities or the trawlers sailing ever-further out to sea to feed our growing population, our birds are seriously under threat. This episode looks at two particular successes when it comes to helping the world’s feathered friends: how Toronto has become a world leader in making cities bird-friendly, and how a group of enterprising conservationists has almost eliminated the deaths of albatrosses as a result of deep-sea fishing. Presenter: Tom Collls Producers: Harriet Noble and Sam Judah Image: Pair of albatrosses Credit: Shutterstock CORRECTION: In this programme we say that two buildings in Toronto where bird collisions were high lost court cases and had to be adapted. In fact they did not lose the court cases. The charges were dismissed but as a result of the trial bird-safe markers were applied to sections of the buildings.

More than $20bn is spent on chewing gum around the world each year. A lot of that gum will end up stuck to the streets. That's why gum is the second most common kind of street litter after cigarette materials. In the UK councils spend around £50m each year cleaning up the mess. But British designer Anna Bullus had an idea - what if the sticky stuff could actually be recycled and turned into useful objects? Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: Dougal Shaw Photo caption: Shoe sole made of chewing gum Photo credit: BBC

Social media and messaging apps play a role in the extremist “radicalisation” of individuals. Tech companies have tried to get better at identifying extremist content and taking it down, but some specialists advocate an alternative approach – to use these platforms to engage with extremists one-to-one, to confront them and talk them round. Last year, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London organised hundreds of conversations on Facebook messenger between activists and those expressing extreme Islamist and far-right sympathies. World Hacks has been given exclusive access to their report. This experiment raises many moral and practical questions. Do those posting extreme views online still have a right to privacy? At what point do we judge someone as suitable for this kind of intervention? And what exactly is the best way to start a conversation with an extremist? Presenter: Elizabeth Davies Producer: William Kremer Photo credit: Colin Bidwell (BBC) CORRECTION: In this programme, we say that counter-conversations were part of Facebook’s Online Civil Courage Initiative (OCCI). It was in fact a separate project, also funded by Facebook.

An app in Greece is helping people donate their leftover drugs to people who can't afford to buy them. So far the system has helped to recover and redistribute 13,000 boxes of medicine. Donors use the software to scan a unique code on the side of their boxes of unwanted drugs. The app automatically uploads details of the medication to a central database. They're then taken in by the country's network of social pharmacies where they're then given out to unemployed and homeless people. Reporter: Nick Holland Presenter: Harriet Noble

You’re standing on a stage, blinded by a spotlight trained on your face, knees weak, hands sweaty. Someone from the audience calls out a random word and you have to immediately react and come up with an amusing sketch or skit. This is improv, the unscripted theatre form that seems like it would cause rather than cure anxiety. But across North America people with the mental health condition are signing up for special “Improv for Anxiety” courses where the techniques and practices of the stage art are used to boost confidence. Producer: Harriet Noble Presenter: Tom Colls Photo Credit: BBC

Providing food for seven billion people is fraught with difficulty. Fertilising vast tracts of land and flying fresh vegetables across the globe comes at a huge environmental cost. But more and more people are turning to hydroponics - growing plants in water, without any soil. The idea itself is hundreds of years old, but new twists on the old technique are now shaping the future of food. We investigate some of the most innovative hydroponics projects, from the refugees growing barley for their goats in the Algerian desert to the underground farm built in an abandoned London bomb shelter. But how efficient can the process become? Can hydroponics begin to offer a serious alternative to conventional farming? Producer: Sam Judah Presenter: Harriet Noble Photo credit: Shutterstock

By its very nature, volunteering means you don’t get paid. But what if there was a way to compensate volunteers that also helped the local economy? The northern English city of Hull is trying an experiment with a new, local cryptocurrency called HullCoin - the first of its kind in the world. It’s a sort of community loyalty scheme, that can only be earned by doing ‘good deeds’ and can only be redeemed in local businesses. But can it really improve the economic resilience of struggling industrial cities? World Hacks has been to Hull to find out. Presenter: Dougal Shaw Reporter: Elizabeth Davies Photo Credit: BBC

Naomi is not your average teacher. For one thing, she is only six months old. But in many schools across Canada babies like Naomi are a regular feature at the front of class. It is because of an education programme called Roots of Empathy, which is designed to encourage kids to be kinder. The idea is that because a baby cannot explain and externalise how it is feeling, children learn to recognise and identify the baby’s emotions, and become more emotionally astute themselves. It has been proven to reduce bullying. World Hacks visits a school in Toronto to see how it works. Reporter: Harriet Noble Producer: Elizabeth Davies (Photo: Naomi)

An English woman has championed a way to bring back community spirit to city streets and keep children fit. She creates pop-up playgrounds by regularly closing the roads to cars. Alice Ferguson began her project in Bristol and the idea is spreading around the UK. It is part of a much larger, global movement that thinks it can give children a better deal.

Up to 90% of the world’s coral could be dead by 2050, according to some estimates, unless we take radical action. Tackling climate change remains the central battle, but around the world scientists are working on projects that may give coral a greater chance of survival, or at least buy it some time. The World Hacks team investigates ‘super coral’ in Hawaii, an innovative insurance policy in Cancun, Mexico and a highly controversial plan to geo-engineer clouds above the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Can any of these schemes transform the fortune of this endangered ecosystem? Presenter: Sofia Bettiza Reporter: Sam Judah

World Hacks follows up on some of our stories from last year – going back to innovators around to world to see how their projects have developed. We hear updates on the app that lets volunteers donate their vision to blind people, the man making roads out of plastic and the compost toilets in Haiti that are turning human waste into soil. Presenters: Harriet Noble and Dougal Shaw Reporters: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill, Nick Holland and Sam Judah Image: People Fixing the World illustration / Credit: BBC

This week we hear about three small solutions trying to make a dent on some big problems. We hear about an outdoor gym made from melted-down knives. We talk to the scout leaders in Madagascar trying to break taboos around periods. And in London we visit the community fridge, where locals can donate and take whatever they want. Reporters: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill, Clare Spencer and Harriet Noble Presenter: Tom Colls Image: The Steel Warrior gym / Credit: BBC

In Southern Africa, over seven thousand women are infected with HIV each week. Many can't persuade their partners to wear a condom, so a new form of protection being tested in Malawi could be a real game-changer. It's a small silicon ring which encircles the cervix and releases antiretroviral drugs, lowering the women’s risk of contracting HIV. Their partners can’t feel it, and don’t even need to know it’s there. World Hacks meets the women pioneering this approach and taking control of their own protection. Presenter: India Rakusen Reporter: Ruth Evans Image: A community health nurse in Malawi holds up the dapivirine ring / Credit: BBC

If you are a wheelchair user, travelling by aeroplane can be very difficult. Buses, trains and some cars are designed for people to roll into without getting out of their chair, but planes are not, which means an often painful process of moving between the chair and the airline seat – if this is even possible. This can potentially lead to injuries and can stop disabled people travelling by air. Now, a small group of amateur campaigners is trying to change this – designing and testing their own systems that would let their loved-ones travel the world in safety and comfort. Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: William Kremer Image: Wheelchair crash testing / Credit: Michele Erwin

Most Malawians live in rural areas and if they get sick, it can be incredibly difficult to get testing kits or medicines in time. Malawi's government has now opened up part of its sky to companies and charities who want to use drones to solve this problem, creating what’s being called the world’s first humanitarian drone testing corridor. World Hacks travels to rural Malawi to assess the opportunities and dangers from this new technology, and to see how much Malawians could benefit. Image: Villagers in rural Malawi look on as a drone carrying medical supplies is unloaded / Credit: BBC

Your chances of surviving a cardiac arrest while out on the high street are slim. It's estimated survival rates decrease by ten percent for every minute you don't get medical help. The nearest ambulance may be on its way but could take several minutes to arrive. But what if an off-duty paramedic was just around the corner and could help out? BBC World Hacks looks at a new alert system that informs people with first aid training when they're in the vicinity of a medical emergency. Nick Holland investigates whether it works work and what difference it could make to survival rates? Image: The app that shows people with first aid training the location of a cardiac arrest / Credit: BBC

A retired police detective and a former neo-Nazi leader may seem like an unlikely partnership. But Dr Bernd Wagner and Ingo Hasselbach have taken their past differences and used them as the basis for making a real change. When Hasselbach quit neo-Nazism over two decades ago he and Wagner, who had once arrested him, realised they had a shared dream: to help far right extremists change their ways. Presenter: Tallulah Berry Reporter: Harriet Noble Image: Ingo Hasselbach / Credit: BBC

In 1998, 42% of Iceland’s 15 and 16 year-olds reported that they had got drunk in the past 30 days. By 2016, though, this figure had fallen to just 5% and drug use and smoking had also sharply declined. The action plan that led to this dramatic success is sometimes called “the Icelandic Model” – and strikingly, it does not focus on tighter policing or awareness campaigns to warn children off bad habits. Instead, top researchers collaborate closely with communities on initiatives like parental pledges and night-time patrols after dark, while the government invests in recreational facilities. But is being a teenager in Iceland still fun? Presenter: Harriet Noble Reporter: William Kremer Image: Icelandic teenagers / Credit: BBC

Thousands of places in the world don't officially exist on a map. If you're not on a map, it can have implications for how people find you - in times of disaster for example. But a project called Missing Maps is solving that, by using the power of volunteers to make 'invisible people, visible'. At a mapathon in London, volunteers are sitting around their laptops plotting the world. And then in Malawi, mapping experts are putting in essential details to the map. World Hacks travels there to see the finished maps and what impact they could have on communities living there. Reporter: Charlotte Pritchard Presenter: Dougal Shaw Producer: Nick Holland Image: People looking at a map / Credit: BBC

to stop people getting caught short. What do you do if you're out and about and can't find a public toilet? Do you sneak into a cafe and hope no one notices, buy something you don't want just for the privilege of using the facilities, or hold it in until you can get home? The number of public toilets around the world is decreasing, making this an increasingly common dilemma. But not in many parts of Germany thanks to a scheme called "Die Nette Toilette", or the nice toilet. Local authorities pay businesses a monthly fee to let anyone wonder in and go to the loo for free. Not only does this dramatically increase the number of available toilets, it leads to big savings for the public purse. Written and produced by Harriet Noble Presented by Dougal Shaw Image: Interior of a German public toilet / Credit: BBC

Around 75% of the world's population, approximately 4 billion people, don't have an address. Take a country like Mongolia, with a largely nomadic population, where street names and postcodes can be few and far between. But that could all be changing thanks to just three words. Mongolia's Postal Service was the first in the world to sign up to What3Words, an idea from a British former music executive fed up of bands and equipment constantly getting lost. He's divided the entire world into 3m squares and given each one a different three word phrase, and it could mean that everyone in the world will soon have an address. Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter / Producer: Harriet Noble Image: How What Three Words divides up the world / Credit: Google Maps

Although Iceland is thought to be the best country in the world for gender equality, it lags behind in one metric: the gender pay gap. So a decade ago the country's unions and business community came together to try something new. They devised a management standard to help organisations implement equal pay. Now the government has gone a step further and introduced a law that from January will force companies to adopt the standard or face fines. So is this small island nation set to be the first in the world to equalise pay? Presenter: India Rakusen Reporter: William Kremer Image: Illustration of two Icelandic people / Credit: BBC

It looks like the set of Game of Thrones. Once a year Wolin in Poland hosts a huge Viking festival - with a twist. Enthusiasts come from around the world not just to re-enact battles, but to win them, fighting competitively. One organiser of these battles has found that this Viking scene can offer positive benefits to men who have been defined by violence in their past, and are now looking for a way to escape. Presenter: Sofia Bettiza Reporter: Dougal Shaw Image: A modern Viking gets ready for a battle / Credit: BBC

It’s not usually a good idea to take selfies of your private parts, but what if those photos could save your life? A new, tiny medical device is being used across Africa to detect cervical cancer from a mobile phone photograph. In Gambia, doctors are often in short supply, but nurses, midwives and smartphones are widely available, allowing patients to be diagnosed and treated remotely. In sub Saharan Africa, cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in women, but it takes years to develop and can be treated for under $30 if caught early. Can cervical selfies get women talking about a silent, unseen killer? Presenter: India Rakusen Reporter: Amelia Martyn-Hemphill. Image: Nurse using the EVA system in Gambia / Credit: BBC

Humanity’s hunger for meat is not good for the planet. Every cow, pig and fish that farmers rear has an environmental cost – particularly in the land and water resources it takes to grow the food the animals eat. But one entrepreneur is developing a solution – create animal feed from methane gas. Using methane-eating bacteria, they have developed animal feed that uses a fraction of the land and water of plant-based animal feed. Reporter: Charlotte Pritchard Presenter: Sahar Zand Series Producer: Tom Colls Image: Sushi being picked up with chopsticks / Credit: 4kodiak / Getty Images

Local currencies – money you can only spend at small local businesses – aim to keep money in their neighbourhood and out of the hands of big corporations and their shareholders. Now they are going digital, with local currencies that live only on smartphone money apps. Could it make them a financial force to be reckoned with? Presenter: India Rakusen Reporter: Dougal Shaw Image: A local digital currency working on a smartphone / Credit: BBC

Each year around 100,000 women die due to heavy bleeding after giving birth. But help is at hand from an unexpected source: condoms. World Hacks goes to a maternity hospital in Kenya to speak to the medical staff using this super-cheap kit that is saving lives. Also on the programme, the US start-up that is asking volunteers to donate their voices, then transforming them into personalised, digital voices for people with degenerative diseases. Reporters: Harriet Noble and Amelia Martyn-Hemphill Presenter: India Rakusen Image: Midwife Anne Mulinge / Credit: BBC

Antibiotic resistant superbugs are a huge problem both in humans and in animals. Many animals reared for food are routinely fed antibiotics to prevent infections. Farmers across the world do it to protect their livestock and to safeguard their incomes. But some bugs are becoming resistant to these drugs because of their overuse – fuelling the rise of animal “superbugs” like MRSA that could potentially spread to humans. This means that animals and people can die from common infections because the antibiotics no longer work. In the Netherlands, the story of one sick little girl caused pig farmers to wake up to a huge pig MRSA infection that was spreading to humans. Recognising the problem, a couple of pig farmers started a movement that has resulted in the country cutting their antibiotics use in animals by 65% - and, crucially, without affecting their profits. World Hacks investigates how a group of pig farmers solved a massive problem in The Netherlands and whether other countries should urgently follow suit. Presenter: Tallulah Berry Reporter/ Producer: Shoku Amirani Image: Pig on a farm in The Netherlands / Credit: BBC

The availability of blood for transfusions saves lives after difficult births and operations. But in much of the developing world, hospitals have a blood shortage. One entrepreneur in Nigeria is working on a solution. She has developed an app that connects blood banks to hospitals, and has built a network of moped drivers to ferry blood around Lagos, the largest city in the country. World Hacks investigates whether her solution can save lives. Also on the programme, the designers of a new “city tree” – large structures filled with moss that attempt to absorb pollution from the air. Presenter: Mukul Devichand Reporters: Stephanie Hegarty and Dougal Shaw Image: Moped driver in Lagos / Credit: BBC

How do you help female doctors get back to work when they've given up medicine to look after their families? It's a particular problem in Pakistan where the majority of medical graduates are women who stop working after they get married. Now a scheme has been set up employing them to hold video clinics with patients over the internet, enabling them to work flexibly from home. What's more they're aiming to improve access to health care in Pakistan by targeting their 'computer screen clinics' at people living in deprived parts of the country, where the shortage of female doctors is most acute. Produced by Nick Holland Presented by Tallulah Berry Image credit: BBC

Is a new urban cable car in Mexico more than just a means of public transport? As well as ferrying thousands of people a day, it's been strategically located to link up the poorest neighbourhoods to more affluent parts of the city. It's hoped it will bring growth to a forgotten district, reduce crime and become a means of bridging the social divide. World Hacks travels to Mexico City to see if it can achieve those goals and understand why cities are opting for this usual form of transport. Presenter: Sahar Zand Producers: Elizabeth Cassin and Nick Holland Image: Cable cars above Mexico City / Credit: BBC

Around the world, governments and researchers are experimenting with the introduction of universal basic income. From Finland and Spain to India, the idea of giving every citizen – whether working or not – a set amount of money per month is gaining momentum. It’s claimed to be a fairer and more efficient way of running a welfare system, but we’re only just starting to understand what actually happens when you introduce a basic income for everyone. We look at the evidence and try to establish whether it is an idea whose time has come. Presenter: Mukul Devichand Reporter: Sam Judah Producer: Jo Mathys Image: An Indian man counts currency / Credit: Sajjad Hussain / AFP / Getty Images

Darius has been shot three separate occasions, but the third time was the last. He was met at his bedside by a stranger, who changed his life forever. Victims of violence are, far more likely to be shot, stabbed or violently assaulted a second or third time - as the perpetrators of violence try to silence the victim. In San Francisco, where Darius lived, specially trained case managers visit victims of violence at their bedsides in hospital and work with them to break that cycle of violence, offering practical advice and specialist services to the patients. They claim that speaking with victims of violence immediately after an attack, when they are experiencing a 'teachable moment' they have a far greater chance of changing the patient's life forever. Reporter Sam Judah meets Darius at the site of his third and final shooting, tracing his journey to the hospital, and his meeting with the youth worker who helped him turn his life around. Presenter: Sahar Zand Reporter: Sam Judah Image: Darius / Credit: BBC

How do you get children who're victims of emotional abuse or physical harm to open up about what's happened to them? In Mexico a psychologist, Julia Borbolla, encourages them to have a one-to-one chat with a cartoon alien that appears on a video screen in a room near her office. What the children don't realise is Julia hears every word of their conversation with the animated creature because she's secretly controlling it from the room next door. She says children are more likely to reveal sensitive information to the cartoon alien than if they were face-to-face with a real person. World Hacks travels to Mexico City to assess whether the tool works and to meet people who're now operating it in public hospitals, women's shelters and within the country's judicial system. (Photo: Psychologist Julia Borbolla Credit: BBC)

Methane emissions from the burps and farts of livestock accounts for around 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But the trick to reducing this could lie with some of Kenya’s smallholder farmers. By using very simple techniques to transform the way they manage their soil and animals, dairy farmers are helping their cows emit less methane per litre of milk they produce. And it’s all being paid for by big polluters, in what could become a major form of carbon offsetting. Is this a new frontier in the fight against climate change? World Hacks has been to rural Kenya to find out. Presenter: Vincent Ni Reporter: Harriet Noble

World Hacks goes to Thailand to meet an army of volunteers on the front line in the fight against dangerous diseases, like Ebola and bird flu.Nearly 100 years ago Spanish Flu infected a third of the world’s population and killed about 50 million people. With increased international travel, growing populations and environmental damage, experts warn that viruses now have the potential to spread faster, and we could be on course for another pandemic, with devastating consequences. Pandemics often originate in places where animals and people live in close contact, making it easy for animal diseases to spill over into humans, and where health systems may not be able to pick up on threats and respond quickly. In rural Thailand, 75% of people keep animals in their back gardens, making it hard to keep track of new outbreaks. In 2004, a strain of bird flu swept through the country, as well as Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia, infecting more than 125 people and killing about half of them. Vets at Chiang Mai University have started a project called PODD – the full name in Thai means “Look closely and you will see”. They’ve trained up 3,000 volunteers to take photos of dead animals and report any signs of sickness in their communities, helping spot dangerous outbreaks and contain them before they spread.Presenter : Vincent Ni Reporter: Ruth Evans Producer: Charlotte PritchardImage: Vets from the PODD team test chickens during a suspected outbreak / Credit: BBC

A new school in San Francisco thinks it can massively accelerate the speed at which children can learn, using clever technology and smart algorithms to offer each child a bespoke education. AltSchool believes it can achieve results that were only previously possible by giving individual children their own personal tutor. The firm currently runs eight small ‘lab schools’ dotted around the country, all run from their California headquarters. But they have huge plans for expansion, and hope to sell their software to every school in the country. Sam Judah meets the pupils at one of the schools, and the CEO at AltSchool’s nerve centre, to find out what’s behind the company’s big idea.Presenter: Mai Noman Producer: Sam JudahImage: A pupil at AltSchool / Credit: BBC

Lurking in the sewers beneath the streets there are giant blobs of congealed cooking fat known as “fatbergs”. Now one company has come up with a clever way of making money out of them. Their efforts may one day change perceptions of fatbergs – turning the lumps of putrid waste into a valuable commodity.Presenter: Tom Colls Reporter: Nick Holland(Image: A fatberg, Credit: Thames Water)

Thailand in the 1960s was on the verge of a population disaster. Thai women were having seven children on average, and the government was struggling to raise living conditions. Mechai Viravaidya, a young economist who moonlighted as a soap actor, newspaper columnist and teacher, made it his mission to get family planning into every village in Thailand - he wanted to make condoms as easily accessible as vegetables. Mechai realised he could use humour to break down Thai reservations about contraception, launching condom blowing competitions and condom beauty pageants. His efforts were so successful, condoms became known as “Mechais” in Thai, and he was nicknamed “The Condom King” or “Mr Condom”. When the HIV/Aids crisis threatened to engulf Thailand in early 1990s, Mechai, now a government minister, launched a mass media campaign promoting condom use and made condoms available everywhere, from massage parlours to bus stops. It is estimated these preventative measures saved 7.7 million lives. We find out what lessons we can learn from his 45 years of campaigning. Presented by Mai Noman.Presenter: Mai Noman Reporter: Ruth Evans Producer: Charlotte Pritchard

There are more than 200,000 women in US prisons and jails and it is estimated that 6% to 10% are pregnant. One project in Minnesota is trying to use these pregnancies to change the lives of the women, and their children, for the better. We go to jail with the Minnesota Prison Doula Project to see how it works.Presenter: Mukul Devichand Reporter: Sahar Zand Producer: William Kremer

Globally, only around 20% of clothes are re-used or recycled. The majority go to landfill or are incinerated. In the USA alone, the amount of clothes being thrown away has doubled in the last two decades. In World Hacks this week we meet the Scandinavian entrepreneurs trying to change this. Could a solution to this waste be to give people the option of renting clothes, so they don’t hoard things they rarely wear? Or how about clothes you can throw away guilt free, because they are fully compostable? Presenter: Mukul Devichand Reporter: Dougal ShawImage: Man wearing boxer shorts / Credit: Houdini

Road accidents are the single largest cause of death amongst young people around the world. But a project in Kenya is making impressive progress in tackling the issue. It has deployed a small and very simple weapon, which has been proven to cut bus accidents by at least a quarter – a sticker. Also on the programme, how they’re making recreation space in Chile, but without knocking down any buildings. Presenter: Tom Colls Producer: Harriet Noble [Image: Mutatu buses in Kenya. Copyright: Getty Images]

Picking up money - that’s what Haitian’s nicknamed a movement seeking to solve Haiti’s plastic waste problem and reduce poverty at the same time. It was started by a man who saw a glimmer of hope in the devastation wrought by the 2010 earthquake: plastic bottles were clogging the beaches and filling the oceans with rubbish. But what if you could clear up the trash, give Haitians employment, and reduce the reliance on “virgin” plastic, all at the same time? It’s a bold idea that aims to solve two of the World’s big problems – poverty and plastic in the ocean. And it all hinges on attaching social value to recycled plastic. So why aren’t more companies doing it?Presenter: Sahar Zand Reporter: Gemma Newby(Image: Plastic rubbish on beach in Haiti, Credit: BBC)

Fariel Salahuddin is not the type of person you’d expect to see wandering around rural Pakistan, especially with a herd of goats. She’s a successful energy consultant who has worked around the world. But when she returned to where she grew up, Pakistan, Fariel decided she wanted to work on smaller projects to try to make an immediate impact and provide solar energy to poor, rural communities. This was all very well, until she realised these places didn’t have water, let alone power. What they did have was goats. Fariel developed an innovative scheme to trade what the villagers have in plentiful supply for something they desperately needed: goats for water. But what was Fariel going to do with all her newly acquired goats? Presenter: Mukul Devichand Reporters: Secunder Kermani and Dougal Shaw Producer: Charlotte PritchardImage: Goats in rural Pakistan / Credit: BBC

What do you do in a medical emergency when the equivalent of 999 or 911 simply doesn’t exist? After spending time in countries that lack public ambulance services, US paramedic Jason Friesen realised the problem wasn’t a lack of sophisticated ambulances, or the hi-tech medical equipment inside them, but the communication system necessary to get an injured person from A to B in time to save their life. In the Dominican Republic there are no public ambulances but now, in two rural areas, first responders respond to a medical emergency as fast as any ambulance service in the developed world. And all it takes is one smartphone, a handful of willing volunteers, and an Uber-like text system that crowdsources help when disaster strikes.And Dougal Shaw meets the man who is pioneering a way to use recycled plastic to make stronger, longer lasting roads.Presenter: Sahar Zand Reporters: Gemma Newby, Dougal Shaw.Image: First responders in the back of an ambulance / Credit: BBC

This is a story about what happens to your body after you die. In many countries, the current options are burial and cremation, but, both methods come with significant environmental impacts. We’re running out of space for burial in many places, and cremation carries the risk of toxins and greenhouse gases being released. For World Hacks, Sahar Zand travels to the US, where they’re using a new process to deal with the dead. It’s been called “green cremation,” “water cremation” or “resomation” and uses alkaline hydrolysis to mimic and accelerate the breakdown of tissue that would occur in burial. Those who invented the process say it’s an environmentally friendly way to address this fundamental moment in the human life-cycle, but does the evidence stack up?Reporter: Sahar Zand Presenter Mukul DevichandImage: A resomation machine / Caption: BBC

How do you fulfil your sexual needs if you have a disability? How do you masturbate if you have limited use of your hands? These are problems that most able-bodied people have probably never considered. But if you’re in this position it’s something you probably think about a lot. And it’s a problem which Vincent, the founder of a small NGO called Hand Angels, is trying to help with. His group matches volunteers with disabled people to provide a sexual service. Mukul Devichand and Alvaro Alvarez go to Taiwan to hear the remarkably frank stories of the volunteers and the receivers at the service. They open up a world of deep disappointment of those people who haven’t experienced sex or intimacy and an organisation that thinks it has the solution. But can any service ever fill this gap or is it just a shallow fix. Presenter: Mukul DevichandImage: Vincent – the founder of ‘Hand Angels’ / Credit: BBC

The Data Donators Meet Becky. She suffers from arthritis and is in constant pain. Like lots of people – patients and doctors alike – she has a hunch that bad weather could be exacerbating the problem.It’s a question that has been asked for at least 2000 years, but we have never had the tools or resources to answer it. That is, perhaps, until now. Dr Will Dixon has set up a mass participation study that takes advantage of smartphone technology. More than 13,000 people have downloaded an app that has provided his team with a massive set of data, and by combing through it he hopes to answer the question once and for all. It’s not the only project of its kind, either. Around the world more and more people are launching similar projects – asking thousands of volunteers to donate their data for the greater good.Presenter: Mukul Devichand Reporter: Nick HollandImage: Overlay of highlighted bones of woman at physiotherapist / Credit: Shutterstock

On the island of Jersey, postal workers don’t just deliver the mail. They also check up on elderly people during their routes. In a five minute chat, they check they’ve taken their medication and if there’s anything else they need. It’s popular with older people and their relatives, and the project has caught the attention of post offices - and health professionals - around the world. Could a chat on the doorstep help solve the social care crisis? We travel to Jersey to meet the man behind the idea, and join a postman on his round. Presenter: Tom Colls Producer: Elizabeth CassinImage: Jersey postman Ricky Le Quesne / Credit: BBC

Parents struggling with childcare costs in London are banding together to care for each other’s kids. They run a super-cheap nursery where mums and dads take on half of the childcare. It’s a throwback to the childcare movement of the 1970s but can it work in the modern age?Presented by Sahar Zand. Produced by William Kremer.Image: Drawing of a family / Credit: BBC

There are no sewers in Haiti. 26% of Haitians have access to a toilet, so a lot of the sewage ends up in the water supply. Currently, Haiti is battling the biggest cholera epidemic in recent history and thousands are dying. We travel there to meet a team of women who are trying to solve this massive problem. They have set up an NGO called Soil which delivers dry, compost toilets to peoples’ homes. Alternatives to water guzzling flushing toilets - which need infrastructure such as sewers - are drastically needed in many parts of the world. And there’s a bonus to this scheme too.Also on the programme, a radical suggestion for airports: build circular runways. Are the current straight ones really the best way to take off and land?Presenter: Sahar Zand Reporters: Gemma Newby & Dougal Shaw Producer: Charlotte PritchardImage: The women of Haiti who work for the NGO Soil / Credit: BBC

Could we build cities using solar panels instead of walls? That’s the dream that Huang Ming, a wealthy entrepreneur in China’s Shandong province, has had since the 1980s. He’s become known as the ‘Sun King’ after building a vast solar park, including a showcase hotel, to prove a new kind of solar architecture is possible. So why hasn’t it caught on? We check into a room in the solar hotel and examine the vision and sometimes unfulfilled dreams of solar architecture in China. Plus, why do bins in Copenhagen have shelves built into them? Clue: it helps the city’s poorest people.Presenter: Mukul Devichand Reporters: Emma Wilson and Harriet Noble(Image: Huang Ming and his solar hotel, Credit: BBC)

An innovative housing project in Amsterdam is attempting a new way of integrating refugees into the local population. In prefab flats, refugees from the Syrian war live next door to young people in need of cheap rent. They eat together, learn language together, and develop the networks that researchers say are critical to successful integration.Presenter: Charlotte Pritchard Reporter: Jo MathysImage: Young people living in the Startblok / Credit: BBC

Air pollution is a huge problem for China, but did you know it’s actually getting better? The Air Quality Index in several cities is improving, because of a variety of experimental projects that are being rolled out. In this special edition of World Hacks as part of the #SoICanBreathe season, we are in Beijing to gather together some of the thinkers and entrepreneurs leading China’s efforts to clean its air. We work through their ideas with an audience of students and entrepreneurs, as well as hearing reports about clever pollution solutions from around the country.Presented by Mukul Devichand and Vincent Ni. Additional reporting by Emma Wilson and Ruhua Xianyu.Image: A woman wearing a face mask in central Beijing / Image credit: BBC

Voter turnout is a problem around the world, particularly in local elections. But a small group of academics and activists in the US are experimenting with a new way of getting people to turn up and put their cross in a box – a lottery. Every voter is entered and one lucky winner gets a big cash prize. World Hacks investigates whether it works.Presenter: Kathleen Hawkins Reporter: Gemma Newby Producer: Tom CollsImage caption: Lottery balls about to be drawn, Image credit: Thomas Samson / Stringer / Getty Images

Food waste is a massive global problem: the EU alone throws away 88 million tonnes a year. Much of this ends up in landfill and produces dangerous greenhouse gasses which contribute to climate change. In Europe 53% of food waste comes from households, and one woman has made it her mission to stop Danes throwing away food. We travel to Copenhagen to meet Selina Juul, a key part of Denmark’s food waste revolution.

This is a story about how the most amazing ideas do not always work how you would like in practise. In theory it is so simple. You put disease-ridden water into a two litre plastic bottle, screw on the lid and leave it in the sun. After six hours on a cloudless day, almost all the bacteria and bugs that cause diseases like cholera and diarrhoea are killed or inactivated by the UV light and gentle warming. Professor Kevin McGuigan has proven this in the lab, but for the last 20 years he has been trying to get it working in rural African communities. It has not been anywhere near as easy as you might think.(Photo: Godfrey putting his water bottle out to disinfect in the sunshine)

A new app is helping blind people solve everyday problems by combining smartphones video technology and an army of armchair volunteers. World Hacks investigates how it works and explores whether micro-volunteering projects like this have the potential to solve all kinds of problems in the future.Presented by Mukul Devichand.Image caption: Vicky, who is blind, using an app to help her sew / Image credit: BBC

The internet is awash with made-up news stories. It’s not a new problem, but the highly charged US election campaign forced people to pay attention. This week on World Hacks we’re speaking to some of those fighting back against what they see as a threat to democracy: the fake news epidemic. We hear from guests including Le Monde’s Samuel Laurent, Democratic State Senator Bill Dodd of California, and Claire Wardle from journalism non-profit First Draft. Presented by Sahar Zand. Produced by Harriet Noble.Image caption: Close up of a computer screen showing a web address, Image credit: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images

In Barcelona, they’re experimenting with a new way of designing the city. Superblocks are vast low-traffic zones, but they’re also deeply controversial. The aim is cut pollution and reclaim public space from the car, but does it work? World Hacks investigates. Presented by Sahar Zand.Image: A superblock from above / Image credit: Google Maps

In one of the most expensive cities in the world, students are moving in with older people who have spare rooms as part of a “homeshare” scheme. The young people in Paris get cheap accommodation and the older people get companionship and support in return. World Hacks reports on the generation-spanning friendships that are blossoming as a result.Presented by Sahar Zand.Photo: Monique and Mikyoung, who are part of the homeshare scheme / Credit: BBC

Most refugees do not have the right to work. In Jordan they’re running an experiment to find out what happens when they’re given that right. They’re handing out work permits to thousands of Syrian refugees in the hope of improving their lives and the health of the economy. Academics say it’s better for everyone, but in the local area – where unemployment is nearly 20% - they’re not convinced. World Hacks reports. Presented by Sahar Zand.Image caption: Syrian refugees make their way in the Zaatari refugee camp / Image credit: Khalil Mazraawi, Getty Images.

Some £600bn is sent home every year by overseas migrant workers, almost four times more than all the countries of the world combined spend on foreign aid.But far from home, many workers fear their families are not spending their money in the right way.World Hacks looks at a two possible solutions for giving them more control over how their hard-earned cash is being used.Presented by Sahar Zand.Image caption: 1000 peso bills in the Philippines / Image credit: Joel Nito, Getty Images.

One in three children in Peru was growing up too short for their age, stunted by a lack of the right foods in their diet.Then in 2005, the government put in place an innovative new system. They gave cash hand-outs to poor mothers but only on the condition that they had regular health check-ups and their children went to school. By 2014 the number of children growing up too small had halved. World Hacks tells the story.Presented by Sahar Zand.Image caption: Mother and child part of the malnutrition programme / Image credit: BBC

Giving children lessons in how to think and learn for themselves can lead to dramatic improvements in results, according to education researchers. World Hacks meets children learning these “meta-cognition” techniques through philosophy lessons and juggling and looks at the difficulties in implementing the system.Presented by Sahar Zand. Image caption: Child with hand up in class / Image credit: AP

Nearly 1,000 people were shot and killed by the US police in 2015, sparking protests and huge controversy. But a new solution promises to reduce the death toll, by focusing in on the key moment of stress in which guns are discharged. Studies have looked at police officers' reactions in these situations - including their stress levels and their implicit biases.Now, a new training system has been developed which uses heart rate monitors and breathing exercises to minimise the stress reaction. World Hacks investigates whether the system works, and whether it will help save lives. Presented by Sahar Zand.(Photo: Police stand guard near Trump Tower on Election Day. Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

What can you do if you don’t have access to running water? No pipes, no wells, no rainfall? The solution may be to catch water from fog. We meet Abel Cruz, the Peruvian man behind a huge fog net project which is providing water to a community in the slums of Lima. Could fog catching be a solution to wider water crises facing the world?Produced by Tom Colls. Image caption: Fog nets in Peru / Image credit: BBC

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are being handed cash cards instead of blankets and food. Aid agencies say money transfers are a better way to deliver essential supplies to some of the 1.5 million Syrians who live in the country – they buy what they need themselves. But does it work? We meet Moussa Junaid, who fled Raqqa with his family when IS moved in, and now buys food aid for himself from the local supermarket.Produced by Tom Colls. Image caption: Syrian refugee with cash card.