BBC World Service: Only Bleeding

Luna Silva invites us to a traditional Georgian Supra, where food, wine and polyphonic singing blend together.

This programme won a Special Commendation at Europe's most prestigious audio awards the Prix Europa, in 2025.

The judges called it 'joyous and beautifully crafted' and 'an unforgettable, immersive, and enriching listen'.

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A farmer, a cheesemaker, a philosopher and a scientist take us on a guided tour through a cow.

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Told in five acts, this programme weaves together the voices of our four guides - artist-philosopher Samar Nasrullah Khan, cheesemaker Peter Dixon, farmer Nikki Yoxall and Professor of Animal Science and Microbiology Sharon Huws.

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They take us on a journey from deep in the soil, through a plant, into a cow’s mouth, through her four stomach compartments – home to vast civilisations of bacteria, protozoa and fungi – and, of course, out the other end.

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Part documentary, part creative interpretation, the programme uses field recordings to immerse us in the multi-species communities we encounter along the way.

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Ten years on from the Ebola outbreak which tore through West Africa, journalist Tulip Mazumdar reconnects with survivors, healthcare workers and volunteers she met when reporting extensively from the frontline.

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The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak killed over 11,000. The epidemic exposed how unprepared the world was for fast-moving outbreaks - and how quickly they could spiral out of control.

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Ordinary people took action and managed to contain the virus. In 2026, Ebola is back in the headlines as the Bundibugyo strain spreads in the DRC. What have we learnt about science communication, pandemic preparedness and grief in the last decade, that can help us today?

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How do you tell the story of your life when you have no memory of the events that shaped you?

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At 15, Stephen McAll was a promising musician with a head full of songs. He was booked into a studio to record an album. Then, one night walking home from his girlfriend’s house in East Kilbride, he was attacked and beaten. The assault left him with serious head injuries and diagnoses of psychosis, excruciating cluster headaches, and PTSD.

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It also erased almost all of his memories. He says he could recognise faces and names of loved ones, but had lost every experience, event, or occasion in his life up to that point. He couldn't lay down new memories or hold onto information. He could read words on a page, but could not retain their meaning.

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Now in his early 40s, Stephen McAll is a successful music artist, and founder of critically-acclaimed folk band Constant Follower. This episode of Illuminated charts Stephen's decades-long journey from devastating injury and memory loss, back to hope and happiness.

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Producers: Katie Revell and Dave Howard
Sound design: Jonathan Webb
Executive producer: Dave Howard
Music: Stephen McAll
Excerpt of 'The Root of It' by Norman MacCaig, taken from album The Way I Say It, copyright Claddagh Records
Excerpt of 'Tourist and Landlord' by Norman MacCaig, from a film made for the Scottish Poetry Library called 'Norman MacCaig reads 2 Poems'
Thanks to Shaun Milne

A Bespoken Media Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

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