Smiling through the fear
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 26 January 2019
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
'My smile should tell you everything' one victim of an army rampage explains in Zimbabwe. In a society where you never know who’s listening, and who can be trusted, people smile to protect themselves, says Andrew Harding.
Kate Adie introduces this and other stories from around the world:
Lyse Doucet is in Timbuktu where the threat of terrorism and a changing climate are making life harder for the people who live there and are deterring others from visiting the ancient, storied city.
Krupa Padhy explores shifting family structures in Denmark where around 5% of babies are now born thanks to IVF. She meets solomurs - single women who’ve had IVF treatment, and diblings – children produced from the same sperm donor.
Alexa Dvorson is in Iceland where an influx of tourists is making some locals angry - but not in the way you might expect.
And Tom Colls spends an evening watching 'Integrity Idol' - a talent show for local government officials in Nepal.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:04.7 | Hello, today romantic, far away exotic, your idea of Timbuktu? |
| 0:11.8 | But what's life really like in the city with a changing climate and the threat of terrorism? The traditional family in Denmark is also undergoing change with the advent of Solomurs, single women who have had IVF treatment |
| 0:26.9 | and dibblings, children produced from the same sperm donor. |
| 0:31.6 | We hear how Iceland is facing a shortage of Icelanders. There aren't enough of them to deal |
| 0:36.6 | with the growing influx of tourists there. And you've heard of pop idle, but what about |
| 0:42.2 | integrity idle? We're in Nepal for a talent |
| 0:45.9 | show that's trying to tackle corruption amongst public sector workers. As President of Zimbabwe, Emerson Nangagwa promised to bring change to the country, a fresh start |
| 0:58.4 | after Robert Mugabe's 37 years in power. His rule saw the violent suppression of critics inflation measured in |
| 1:05.6 | millions even billions and long queues for food money and other essentials. Earlier |
| 1:12.0 | this month Nangagwa's government more than doubled the price of fuel, |
| 1:16.2 | and Zimbabweans once again found themselves queuing. Some slept in their cars to avoid losing |
| 1:21.6 | their places in queues for petrol. |
| 1:24.0 | Protests followed and they were met not by policy reform, but by the army. |
| 1:29.2 | Familiar sites for Andrew Harding, so too was the look of Zimbabwean endurance which he's come to know well. |
| 1:36.7 | How quickly things slip back to normal here. On the sunlit lawn outside Harare's |
| 1:42.4 | magistrates court, a grinning groom sweeps his new wife and her |
| 1:46.6 | dazzling wedding dress into his arms to pose for a photographer. Another couple are waiting |
| 1:51.5 | their turn on the nearby path. |
| 1:53.0 | An elderly electrician in neat overalls and a well-notted tie walks briskly by dragging a length of cable. |
| 2:00.0 | Lawyers, clutching leather briefcases, stream up the steps and into the courthouse. |
| 2:06.6 | There is something reassuringly old-fashioned about Harare, a city of rules and courtesy. I'm used to driving in South Africa, where |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

