SATURDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2022

SAT 00:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm98zzb)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 00:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxz79fclyl)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 00:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkw1bwzc7q)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 00:32 The Coming Storm (w3ct3kl1)
QAnon: The plot to break reality. The Coming Storm is a journey into the dark undergrowth of modern America. From conspiracy-soaked barrooms in 1990s Arkansas, via spies in hotel rooms in the shadow of the Kremlin, to anarchic chatrooms on the early internet, this is a search for the origins of the story that drove the Capitol Insurrection in Washington DC in January 2021, a search for the answer to one big question: did this just happen, or is somebody trying to break reality? For reporter and presenter Gabriel Gatehouse, it starts with a chance encounter. On the night of Halloween 2020, Gabriel signs up for a witch-themed drawing class. In the class he learns about a book, a dark fantasy written in the 15th Century about witches and a conspiracy with the devil. Thanks to the invention of the printing press, the book went viral, and sparked an orgy of misogynistic violence amid the social upheaval of the transition to the modern world. A week after the drawing class, Gabriel travels to America to cover the 2020 presidential election. There he meets a man draped in furs with horns on his head and a sign saying: ‘Q sent me’. The man speaks of a coming storm, a battle against an evil cabal of satanic paedophiles, led by Hillary Clinton, who are conspiring to steal democracy. He seems like an oddball on the fringes. But two months later, on January 6 2021, as Gabriel watches the crowds storm the Capitol in Washington DC attempting to overturn the result of the election, there he is again: same furs, same horns, same story. Hundreds are there with him, thousands more outside, and millions believe his conspiracy narrative. 500 years after the witch craze began, America is in the grip of a new dark fantasy, a story so implausible and yet so compelling it threatens the very foundations of American democracy. How has that happened? And where will it lead?


SAT 01:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm993qg)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 01:06 Business Matters (w172xvqvgc66h15)
Thousands flee Ukraine as Russian invasion continues

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues we look into Mr Putin's strategy with Sergei Markov, former MP with Putin's United Russia Party and now Director of the Institute of Political Studies in Moscow. And the SWIFT banking system is in the spotlight with calls to withdraw Russia's access to it; Germany however appears reluctant because of the country's reliance on Russian gas. We get analysis from Jakob Schlanz, editor in chief of the energy section of the Tagespiele newspaper in Berlin. The BBC's Adam Easton brings us the latest from Poland, where thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing to. And we're joined throughout the programme by Norman Hermant, ABC’s Social affairs reporter who's based in Melbourne; Jyoti Malhotra, National & Strategic Affairs Editor at The Print in Delhi and Erin Delmore, a political reporter in New York. (Picture description: Ukrainian refugees are seen crossing the Polish border in Medyka. Picture by Attila Husejnow via Getty Images)


SAT 02:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm997gl)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxz79fcvfv)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 02:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkw1bwzlqz)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 02:32 Stumped (w3ct1lcv)
Cricket is keeping me in Kyiv

Alison Mitchell, Charu Sharma and Jim Maxwell speak to the chief executive of the Ukraine Cricket Federation, Kobus Olivier, as Russia launches a major military assault on the country. Olivier has been working to secure Ukraine associate member status from the International Cricket Council, which he says could be just months away.

Plus the Stumped team also discuss the latest changes to the structure of India’s men’s Test cricket team, with Rohit Sharma named as Virat Kohli’s captaincy successor, and we continue our preview of the Women’s World Cup.

(Photo: Ukraine's biggest flag flies some 90 metres above the city as it has been installed on the eve of State Flag Day, which is marked on 23 August and the Independence Day on 24 August. Credit: Aleksandr Gusev/Getty Images)


SAT 03:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm99c6q)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 03:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxz79fcz5z)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 03:36 HARDtalk (w3ct1n2l)
Leonid Volkov: How strong is Putin's grip on Russia?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Leonid Volkov, a prominent figure in Russia’s anti-Putin opposition. Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine represents a gamble by the Kremlin - projecting regional supremacy will come at a high price. Just how strong is the president’s grip on Russia?


SAT 04:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm99gyv)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 04:06 The Real Story (w3ct1htt)
The global debt crisis

This month the G20 came under criticism for failing to deliver a promised $100bn of additional funds to poorer countries to help with the economic fallout of the pandemic. Many of these countries suffered a significant financial crunch as their exports dropped while the price of imports went up. The World Bank says the recession of 2020 led to the largest single-year surge in global debt in decades. The Bank says the debt burden of 70 low income countries has risen by more than 12 percent. Countries that are considered middle-income and have relatively stable economies have also been hit. Last month Sri Lanka appealed to China, one of its biggest creditors, to reschedule its debts. Its foreign reserve shortage has led to a sharp reduction of oil imports, resulting in regular power cuts and further undermining economic activity. So how did the pandemic worsen the debt crisis? How much of the problem can be blamed on long-term economic mismanagement and corruption? And what should be the role of creditors like China, which has been criticised for the way it negotiates debt relief.

Join Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.
Producers: Paul Schuster and Junaid Ahmed


SAT 05:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm99lpz)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxz79fd6p7)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 05:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkw1bwzyzc)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 05:32 The Conversation (w3ct1p9w)
Dementia: Women breaking the silence

How can we help people with dementia? Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women from Singapore and the UK about how they’ve adapted to living with the condition and why they now want to help others understand dementia better.

Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with young onset dementia at the age of 58. She wrote a bestselling memoir, Somebody I Used to Know about the slow realisation that she was changing, and the adaptations she needed to make to her life to cope. She's a vocal advocate for people with Alzheimer's and other dementia and promotes better understanding and care. Surprised by the lack of information available to her and her family, she's written a second book, What I Wish People Knew About Dementia.

Emily Ong is from East Malaysia but now lives in Singapore. She first noticed something was wrong when she forgot how to make French toast, but it took her years to get a proper diagnosis for young onset dementia. Now 54 years old, she advocates for greater understanding of the disease and belongs to the Voices for Hope programme, helping people who are newly diagnosed or already have dementia. She says it's rare for Asians to speak about dementia and it's important to be open and spread understanding.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

(Image: (L) Wendy Mitchell, credit Jo Hanley. (R) Emily Ong, credit Clara Tan/The Perfect Statement)


SAT 06:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm99qg3)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 06:06 Weekend (w172xytpgd0n3q6)
Fighting has broken out in Kyiv

Ukranian authorities say fighting has broken out on the streets of Kyiv, hours after President Zelensky said Russian forces were preparing to storm the capital.

Also in the programme The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that Afghanistan is inching towards economic collapse six months after the Taliban seized power.

Joining Anna Holligan to discuss these and other issues are Julie Norman, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations and Director of the BSc programme in Politics and International Relations at the University College London, and Nick Kochan, a contributing editor to Thomson Reuters regulatory Intelligence and author of books on corruption and money laundering.

(Image: Military vehicle with Russian saboteurs shot by Ukrainian forces of Territorial Defence in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit: Getty Images)


SAT 07:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm99v67)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 07:06 Weekend (w172xytpgd0n7gb)
Gun battles in Kyiv

Day breaks in Ukraine to the sound of a gun battle on the streets of the capital, Kyiv.

Also, it's been a long and sleepless night for many hiding in their homes or underground shelters.

Plus, thousands are on the move feeling to safety. We hear from two young sisters who made it to Hungary.

Joining Anna Holligan to discuss these and other issues are Julie Norman, lecturer in Politics and International Relations and Director of the BSc programme in Politics and International Relations at University College London, and Nick Kochan, a contributing editor to Thomson Reuters regulatory Intelligence and author of books on corruption and money laundering.

(Image: A view of the left bank of Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit: Getty Images)


SAT 08:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm99yyc)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 08:06 Weekend (w172xytpgd0nc6g)
Gunfire continues to rock Kyiv

Day breaks in Ukraine to the sound of a gun battle on the streets of the capital, Kyiv.

Also, last night, President Zelensky warned that Russian forces were preparing to storm the city.

Plus, more analysis from a Russian opposition politician and a former head of NATO.

Joining Anna Holligan to discuss these and other issues are Julie Norman, lecturer in Politics and International Relations and Director of the BSc programme in Politics and International Relations at University College London, and Nick Kochan, a contributing editor to Thomson Reuters regulatory Intelligence and author of books on corruption and money laundering.

(Image: A general city view during a curfew imposed from in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit: Getty Images)


SAT 09:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9b2ph)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxz79fdpnr)
The world's Newsroom brings you global events as they happen


SAT 09:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkw1bx0fyw)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 09:32 Music Planet (w3ct3hgl)
China - Sichuan and Yunnan

Chinese singer-songwriter Yijia Tu is our guide to the music of the Yi people of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in southwest China. The Yi people are among the largest ethnic groups in China and number around 9 million. In this Road Trip we hear how artists have set out to both preserve and update some of the traditional styles and instruments associated with the Yi people, with music that combines the sound of these ancient bamboo flutes and stringed instruments with modern production and electronic beats.

To listen online, visit bbcworldservice.com/musicplanet


SAT 09:50 Over to You (w3ct1l2t)
A series about bringing peace in conflict zones

Listeners' thoughts on the four part series Women Building Peace and the story of those trying to bring calm to conflict zones around the world. We speak to the show’s presenter. Plus, more on our ongoing debate about background music in programmes! Listeners ask if revealing the title of what is being used is the answer.

Presenter: Rajan Datar
Producer: Howard Shannon


SAT 10:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9b6fm)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 10:06 Sportshour (w172y0qgjngsmg8)
What now for sport in Ukraine?

We speak to the Ukrainian Tennis player Illya Marchenko who tells us that, for him, this is sadly all too familiar. His war started eight years ago when he was forced to flee from his home in Donetsk. He and his wife packed a bag and have never returned. Despite what Russia is doing as a country, Illya explains why he wouldn’t necessarily support a ban on Russian sportspeople competing internationally – he says he has Russian friends in the Tennis world and they don’t necessarily agree with what their country is doing.

After Uefa announced that the 2022 Champions League Final would be taken away from St Petersburg, and Formula One stated it would be “impossible” to stage the Russian Grand Prix, we examine the future of sporting events – both those due to feature teams representing Ukraine, and also those events that would normally be welcoming Russian participants or relying on the country as a host. Would sporting sanctions work? Richard Mills, an Associate Professor in Modern European History from the University of East Anglia, explains the parallels already apparent behind the events of this week and what happened during the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Away from the events in Ukraine, we’re joined by the Beijing Olympic Ice Hockey gold medallist, Brianne Jenner. She explains what Canada’s victory on the ice means for women’s Ice Hockey in North America, as well as what it’s done for wider issues around representation and LGBTQ visibility and how, hopefully, it’s changing the world that her baby daughter June will grow up in.

This week, US Soccer settled it’s long-running legal dispute over equal pay with the US Women’s National Team. An American soccer legend, Brandi Chastain, tells us just how significant this moment is and what should happen next.

Staying in the States, the new MLS season kicks off on this weekend – with the League welcoming a brand new franchise. Christian Fuchs is among those that Adam Samuel has spoken to for a package all about Charlotte FC.

And … why not join us in the metaverse? What are we talking about? It’s Manchester City’s plan to create a ‘virtual stadium’ in which fans from all over the world can watch City’s live matches. Nuria Tarre from the City Football Group does her best to explain.


Image: Roman Yaremchuk of SL Benfica celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the Round Of Sixteen Leg One - UEFA Champions League match between SL Benfica and AFC Ajax at Estadio da Luz on February 23, 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)


SAT 11:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9bb5r)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 11:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxz79fdy50)
Ukraine crisis: Kyiv under attack

Analysis and reaction to Russia's military assault on Ukraine.

Photo: Firefighters work by a damaged apartment building in Kyiv which was hit by a recent shelling during Russia's military intervention Credit: Getty Images


SAT 12:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9bfxw)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 12:06 The Documentary (w3ct2gcz)
Breaking through

Breaking, also known as break-dancing, borne in New York City in the 1970s, is set to make its debut at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

Four-time breaking world champion, BoxWon (Benyaamin Barnes McGee), traces how breaking went from Bronx block parties to NYC’s downtown art scene, to the world.

Speaking to legends of the scene, such as Rock Steady Crew's Ken Swift and B-Boy Glyde from Dynamic Rockers, BoxWon reveals how punk impresario, Malcolm McLaren, helped breaking become a worldwide craze in the 1980s - before it vanished. But breaking didn’t die. It just went back underground, only to re-emerge a decade later more extreme than ever.

When the International Olympic Committee proposed breaking as a new sport for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, the general public were taken by surprise. As it attracts global corporate sponsorship and demands for more stringent rules and regulations, we hear about the scene’s own internal battle to maintain its integrity.

Presenter: BoxWon/Benyaamin Barnes McGee
Producer: Simona Rata
Research: Emmanuel Adelekun

(Photo: Break Dancer at The Venue, London 27 November 1982 Credit: David Corio/Redferns/Getty Images)


SAT 13:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9bkp0)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 13:06 Newshour (w172xv5m51jtjzm)
Ukraine crisis: Kyiv under attack

Analysis and reaction to Russia's military assault on Ukraine

Photo: Firefighters work by a damaged apartment building in Kyiv which was hit by a recent shelling during Russia's military intervention Credit: Getty Images


SAT 14:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9bpf4)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 14:06 Newshour (w172xv5m51jtnqr)
Ukraine crisis: Kyiv under attack

Analysis and reaction to Russia's military assault on Ukraine

Photo: Firefighters work by a damaged apartment building in Kyiv which was hit by a recent shelling during Russia's military intervention Credit: Getty Images


SAT 15:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9bt58)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 15:06 Sportsworld (w172y0tr9kwkfx2)
Live Sporting Action

Lee James presents live Premier League commentary of Manchester United against Watford at Old Trafford. We’ll also bring you updates on Saturday’s other games, as well as discussing the day’s action in the Six Nations, the Dubai Tennis Championship final, as well as looking ahead to the start of the Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

Image: Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United gets to the ball ahead of Kiko Femenia of Watford during the Premier League match between Watford and Manchester United at Vicarage Road on November 20, 2021 in Watford, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)


SAT 18:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9c5dn)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:06 The Newsroom (w172xyxz79ffscx)
Ukraine crisis: Kyiv under attack

Analysis and reaction to Russia's military assault on Ukraine

Photo: Firefighters work by a damaged apartment building in Kyiv which was hit by a recent shelling during Russia's military intervention Credit: Getty Images


SAT 18:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkw1bx1jp1)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 18:32 World of Wisdom (w3ct2zwl)
Self-confidence

Is self-love the key to developing confidence? If so, how does it work? Nadia, from Colombia, doesn’t trust in her own ability to succeed, especially in her career and feels trapped by her lack of self-esteem. She speaks to Sufi Teacher Imam Jamal Rahman, who shows her ways to help develop self-love. He suggests that by getting used to focussing on the present moment, rather than the past or the future she can become more confident. He also says that by acknowledging painful feelings rather than trying to fix them, she may find that they lose their power.

Presented by the BBC's Sana Safi.

Produced by Charlie Taylor and Ruth Edwards.


SAT 18:50 Sporting Witness (w3ct1l9l)
The Queen of Paralympic Snowboarding

Bibian Mentel-Spee became a national hero in the Netherlands after campaigning for snowboarding to become part of the Winter Paralympics and then winning Gold the first time the event was held, at Sochi in 2014. Mentel-Spee had switched to Paralympic sport after cancer forced her to have a leg amputated. She would win two more gold snowboarding medals at the next games in Pyeongchang in 2018, just weeks after another gruelling round of cancer treatment. Mentel-Spee died in 2021. Matthew Kenyon speaks to her husband, Edwin Spee, and to Canadian Paralympic snowboarder, Michelle Salt.

PHOTO: Bibian Mentel-Spee in action in 2014 (Getty Images)


SAT 19:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9c94s)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 19:06 The Evidence (w3ct2zqm)
Coronavirus: The Evidence

Drug-resistant superbugs

Today, Claudia Hammond and her panel of experts focus on what’s been called “the silent pandemic”, the threat to modern medicine of anti-microbial resistance or AMR.

Infections are increasingly resistant to life-saving drugs like antibiotics and many believe the very future of modern medicine is hanging in the balance.

In a series produced in collaboration with Wellcome Collection, this edition of The Evidence is recorded in front of a live audience in the Reading Room at Wellcome Collection in London.

Just last month, a new global study covering 204 countries and territories published in The Lancet reveals the scale of AMR to human health. The number of lives lost is double previous estimates.

The latest data reveals 1.3 million deaths caused directly by resistant infections in just one year, 2019, and five million more deaths were linked with AMR.

The figures are shocking, especially because one in every five deaths were in children, under five years old, with the highest number of deaths in Western Sub-Saharan Africa.

But this is a pandemic that threatens everybody, wherever they live.

Everly Macario a public health researcher from Chicago in the United States shares her family’s story: the death of their 18 month old son, Simon, to a drug-resistant strain of the bacterial infection MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). The loss of Simon spurred Everly to campaign against the mis-use of antibiotics, particularly in agriculture and farming, which contributes to the rise in AMR.

Leaders in the global fight against AMR join Claudia to discuss the threat to human health and address the paradox that while AMR claims millions of lives, so many die each day because they can’t get access to basic, life-saving drugs like antibiotics.

And Wellcome Collection’s Research Development Lead, Ross Macfarlane, delves into the archives and shares the warning from the inventor of the first antibiotic, penicillin, Alexander Fleming as he accepted his Nobel Prize in 1945, that mis-use would lead to resistance developing.

The new super drug was destined to spawn the new super bug.

Claudia’s guests include the UK Special Envoy on AMR, Professor Dame Sally Davies; the World Health Organisation’s Assistant Director General for Anti-Microbial Resistance, Dr Hanan Balkhy; Senior Research Manager for Drug Resistant Infections at Wellcome, Dr Janet Midega and the Director of ReAct Africa, Dr Mirfin Mpundu.

Produced by: Fiona Hill, Anand Jagatia and Maria Simons
Studio Engineers: Duncan Hannant and Emma Harth

Picture: Professor Alexander Fleming, Discoverer of Penicillin', 1943, Credit: Daily Herald Archive/Getty Images


SAT 20:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9cdwx)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 20:06 The Arts Hour (w3ct1rvb)
Writer and poet Lemn Sissay

On this week’s Arts hour, British and Ethiopian poet and writer Lemn Sissay joins Nikki Bedi to talk about his children’s book “Don't Ask The Dragon”

Nikki goes ‘under the bonnet’ of film-making with actor turned director Rebecca Hall to discover the joys and the problems of shooting a film in black and white.

We’ll dissect the sound of cinema through composer Nathan Johnson’s work on Guillermo del Torro’s Nightmare Alley.

We hear from the American TV writer and producer Jason Katims, whose new series, As We See It, is about three roommates who are all somewhere on the autistic spectrum and are played by neurodiverse actors.

Also on the show, Nikki talks to New Zealand comedian Rose Matefeo.

And there is music, improvised on the spot, by South African cellist and composer Abel Selacoe.

(Photo: Lemn Sissay. Credit: Hamish Brown)


SAT 21:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9cjn1)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 21:06 Newshour (w172xv5m51jvhyn)
Ukraine Crisis: Kyiv imposes curfew while fighting intensifies

The Ukrainian capital is braced for another night of attacks after Russian forces failed to break through overnight on Friday, but Kyiv’s mayor imposes a curfew until Monday. We also visit other parts of the country to know what the situation is like outside the capital.

Also in the programme: Ukraine’s bordering countries see big lines of refugees, we hear how Moldova is coping. And what is the military situation for both Russia and Ukraine?

(Photo: A Ukrainian serviceman takes up position to defend near of Kiev, Ukraine. Credit :EPA) .


SAT 22:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9cnd5)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:06 The Newsroom (w172xyx4sktryy4)
Ukraine crisis: Kyiv under attack

Analysis and reaction to Russia's military assault on Ukraine

Photo: Firefighters work by a damaged apartment building in Kyiv which was hit by a recent shelling during Russia's military intervention Credit: Getty Images


SAT 22:20 Sports News (w172y0sxvv8x0ks)
BBC Sport brings you all the latest stories and results from around the world.


SAT 22:30 BBC News Summary (w172xzkw1bx20nk)
The latest two minute news summary from BBC World Service.


SAT 22:32 The Cultural Frontline (w3ct1pv0)
Digital reshaping art: Refik Anadol, the KAWS gallery in Fortnite

Turkish, LA-based media artist Refik Anadol who uses data and AI to make new types of artwork, rethink art spaces, and visualise computer ‘dreams’. In his studio, he describes his work – which creates NFTs, 'data paintings' and 'sculptures', and digital immersive galleries, and is now moving to the metaverse.

Plus, the gallery in the metaverse: the KAWS street art exhibition where art lovers are joined by virtual cartoon visitors – and which is now the first art show in Fortnite.

And we hear from the women and non-binary creatives who want to make NFTs more diverse to improve representation in art.

Producer: Emma Wallace

(Photo: KAWS, SEEING, 2022, augmented reality sculpture at Serpentine North Gallery. Credit: KAWS and Acute Art)


SAT 23:00 BBC News (w172xzk1lm9cs49)
The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service.


SAT 23:06 Music Life (w3ct1hd8)
Carnaval do Brasil, with Thiago França, Beto, Maíra Freitas and Flaira Ferro

Thiago França, Beto, Maíra Freitas and Flaira Ferro discuss what it’s like to be a musician during Brazil's carnival season, how the festivities vary across the country, why it’s so closely linked to cultural identity, its magical rhythms, and why the festival also has a serious side.

Thiago França, a composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist living in São Paulo, plays saxophone for the Afro-samba-punk trio Metá Metá and has contributed to albums by artists such as Criolo, Elza Soares and former Music Life guest Céu. He also runs A Espetacular Charanga do França, one of the biggest blocos (or street parades) in the Sao Paulo carnival.

Roberto Barreto – also known as Beto – is a guitarist and composer who runs the independent DIY musical collective BaianaSystem, based in the Brazilian state of Bahia. BaianaSystem combine classic Brazilian Carnaval sounds with dub-heavy beats from Africa and the Caribbean.

Maíra Freitas is a singer and pianist from Rio de Janeiro who initially trained to be a classical musician, but then developed a taste for Música Popular Brasileira (Brazilian popular music), also known as ‘MPB’. She is also the daughter of samba master Martinho da Vila.

Flaira Ferro is a singer-songwriter and dancer of the Frevo style, a high-energy artform which originated in the Recife and Olinda carnivals. Her music is inspired by MPB, Gilberto Gil, and Antonio Nóbrega.