4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 31 May 2025
⏱️ 28 minutes
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Kate Adie presents stories from the US, Canada, Mexico, Myanmar and the Netherlands
An increasing number of Americans - especially young men - are converting to the Russian Orthodox Church, enticed by its embrace of unabashed masculinity and traditional family values. Lucy Ash met some recent converts in Texas.
The diplomatic fallout between the US and Canada continues over Donald Trump's repeated desire to make Canada the 51st state. The issue was forefront in Canadian minds as King Charles visited Ottawa this week, with locals looking for signs of support for the country’s sovereignty. Royal correspondent Sean Coughlan watched the King walk a diplomatic tightrope.
Mexico will become the first country in the world to elect its entire judiciary by direct vote, following a controversial reform last year. Will Grant went to Ciudad Juarez to meet a candidate who has had doubts raised over her suitability as a judge after she once defended notorious drug lord, El Chapo.
Chinese criminal gangs have established lucrative scam centres in Myanmar, staffed by workers lured from across the world with the promise of well-paid work. Once there, they face exploitation and no way home. Olivia Acland tells the story of one man from Sierra Leone, who was tricked into con trade.
More than a quarter of journeys in the Netherlands are made by bike – which made it all the more maddening for correspondent Anna Holligan, when she recently had her bike stolen in The Hague. But the experience had an upside, as she discovered the softer side to the pragmatic Dutch, who understood the nature of her loss.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling Production Coordinators: Katie Morrison & Sophie Hill Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
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0:00.0 | Hello. Today we tell the story of one man's escape from a criminal scam centre in Myanmar. |
0:11.6 | In Canada, we look on as King Charles walks a diplomatic tightrope. In Mexico, the government has pledged judicial reform, but the shadow of the cartels still lingers. |
0:24.1 | And finally, while the Dutch are renowned for their sensible pragmatism, our correspondent was |
0:29.3 | surprised by the emotional response she received when her bike was stolen. |
0:34.7 | But first, as Donald Trump's relationship with Vladimir Putin appears to be cooling, |
0:40.2 | warmer ties continue to be forged between Russia and America through religion. An increasing |
0:46.4 | number of Americans, especially young men, are converting to Orthodox Christianity, |
0:52.3 | enticed by its embrace of unabashed masculinity and traditional family |
0:57.3 | values. The Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia, known as Rocco, was first established in the |
1:03.7 | 1920s. Today, it's headquartered in New York and has churches all over the U.S. |
1:10.3 | Lucy Ash met some recent converts in Texas. |
1:13.6 | It's a drizzly afternoon, but the children around me are racing about oblivious to the rain. |
1:19.6 | Somebody's doll accidentally dropped into a pond is fished out to loud hoops and cheers. |
1:25.6 | Mothers bustle around the farmhouse kitchen, laying out |
1:28.9 | snacks and tidying scattered rubber boots. Most are parishioners of Father John Whiteford, whose church |
1:35.5 | is in the town of Spring, just north of Houston. Father John scoops up his passing granddaughter |
1:41.1 | for a hug before explaining why the women here have opted to homeschool their |
1:46.0 | children. You can use the textbooks you want, you can teach kids about your faith, and they don't get |
1:51.9 | taught about 57 genders of the month or whatever, he says. Ashley, one of the mums, demurely dressed in a |
1:59.3 | flowing skirt and kerchief around her head, |
2:02.4 | tells me she doesn't hate transgender people. She prays for them. Nodding approvingly, |
2:08.3 | Father John adds that the way to help people with what he calls a self-destructive lifestyle |
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