What are police cameras doing with your face print?

Facial recognition technology is increasingly widespread. You might use it to unlock your phone or computer. It’s used in airports around the world and some shops are using the software to catch or deter shoplifters. Now it’s being used by the police in two parts of the UK. The Metropolitan Police is using live facial recognition cameras on London streets and it’s also being used by police in South Wales. The technology means that faces captured by the cameras can be checked in real time against a watch lists of suspects. But creating a face print or facial signature for everyone who passes a camera is controversial. Privacy campaigners say the technology is often inaccurate and infringes on an individual's right to privacy. The police argue that privacy concerns over the cameras are outweighed by the need to protect the public. We speak to the BBC’s Home affairs correspondent, Danny Shaw about why the police want to adopt the technology. We also find out how the technology works with Maryam Ahmed, who works in the BBC’s data journalism team and has a PhD in machine learning for image analysis. Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Katie Gunning and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

Coronavirus: are we all going to catch it?

With cases of coronavirus spreading across the world, one word we’re hearing more and more is “pandemic”. If the disease is declared a pandemic it would mean that cases of coronavirus are no longer able to be traced back to the country of origin and fall outside of the control of health authorities. The World Health Organisation doesn’t consider coronavirus to be a pandemic yet, and has stated there is hope that it is controllable despite major outbreaks in Italy and Iran. But that hasn’t stopped people panicking. In this episode BBC reporter Mark Lowen recounts going to an Italian town that has been blockaded to stop the virus. Virologist Jonathan Ball describes how the virus is caught and how it does and doesn’t affect the body, and the BBC’s health correspondent James Gallagher explains what the word pandemic really means and whether we’re all likely to get the disease. Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Rory Galloway and Duncan Barber Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly B...

Why would Facebook want to crack down on big tech?

Mark Zuckerberg says he wants new rules for social media. Every year politicians and security experts meet in Munich to discuss how to keep the world safe. This year they invited Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. He told the conference governments need to create new rules for social media platforms to stop the spread of harmful content and disinformation. So why is big tech’s biggest player asking for more regulation? The BBC’s tech reporter Zoe Kleinman came into the Beyond Today studio to talk what social media regulation might involve, and to Ali Breland, an expert on disinformation. Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Alicia Burrell, Katie Gunning and Harriet Noble Mixed by Weidong Lin Editor: Philly Beaumont

Has Billie Eilish saved the music industry?

Billie Eilish is on top of the world right now. The 18-year-old recently swept the board at the Grammys, winning five awards including best new artist and song of the year. She also replaced Taylor Swift as the youngest person ever to win album of the year. She’s just performed at the Brit Awards and has written the theme for the upcoming James Bond film No Time To Die. She seems to be a rare example of organic streaming success in the music industry, having had her big break after uploading a song on SoundCloud. But if you dig a little deeper there’s more than meets the eye. In this episode David Turner, who writes the weekly streaming newsletter Penny Fractions and works for SoundCloud, says Billie Eilish’s story is one of an industry trying to make a criticised model appear well-functioning. We also speak to the music journalist Paula Mejia about how streaming has changed our relationship with music. Presenter: Matthew Price Producer: Duncan Barber Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: ...

How should we react to Caroline Flack’s death?

Since Caroline Flack’s death by suicide last weekend, many people have been trying to make sense of it. Yesterday her family released a previously unpublished Instagram post written by Caroline Flack detailing her ‘shame’ and ‘embarrassment’ at the truth being taken out of her hands and used, she wrote, as ‘entertainment’. Some have pointed the finger at the tabloids for her fragile mental state. Others are blaming a ‘toxic’ social media culture. In this episode, we explore this idea with entertainment journalist Scott Bryan. We also speak to writers Sophie Wilkinson and Lauren O’Neill about the world of celebrity journalism. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme you can find help on the BBC Action line here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4WLs5NlwrySXJR2n8Snszdg/emotional-distress-information-and-support Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Lucy Hancock and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Emma Crowe Clips: Channel 4, Flicker Productions...

Why is No 10 hiring ‘weirdos’?

At the beginning of the year Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, put out an unusual job advertisement. In a blog post he asked for “super-talented weirdos” and “wild-cards”. One of the people he hired was Andrew Sabisky, a twentysomething “superforecaster”. It was later revealed that Sabisky had previously expressed extreme views on race and eugenics. He subsequently resigned. In this episode we speak to Newsnight’s political editor Nicholas Watt who has been following the Sabisky saga. We also talk to journalist and author Matthew Syed about why hiring “weirdos” can actually be a good idea. Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Harriet Noble, Jenny Sneesby and Lucy Hancock Mixed by Emma Crowe

Why is Trump standing up for religious teenagers?

Donald Trump is trying to shore up his evangelical support before November's presidential election. Ramping up his Christian outreach, he's been helping teenagers who say they’re being bullied for their religious beliefs at school. These students have organised “prayer lockers” and are running a nationwide “Pray Anyway” campaign. BBC reporter Tara Mckelvey visited one of them in Kentucky to find out how the teenager's struggle went all the way to the White House. Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Duncan Barber and Seren Jones Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

How do you track extremists online?

Julia Ebner monitors extremists during her day job as a counter-terrorism expert, where she advises governments and tech companies on how to respond to their activities. Two years ago she decided to go undercover to find out exactly what drives people into these groups. She ended up meeting white supremacists in a Mayfair pub; she befriended female misogynists in America, and she travelled to a Nazi rock festival on the border of Germany and Poland. Julia’s written about her disturbing encounters in a new book ‘Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists’ - and came into the Beyond Today studio to tell us all about it. Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Duncan Barber and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

Why can’t we sleep?

Insomnia affects about a third of adults in the UK according to the NHS. It also says adults should be getting between 7 and 9 hours sleep a night, but very few of us actually get that. We speak to Samantha Harvey who has written a book called ‘The Shapeless Unease’ about her year of not sleeping. We also speak to Stephanie Romiszewski, a sleep psychologist and director of The Sleepy Head Clinic in Exeter. She came into the Beyond Today Studio to give us her top 5 tips for a good night’s sleep. Presenter: Matthew Price Producer: Katie Gunning Mixed by Emma Crowe Editor: Philly Beaumont

Why are people being deported to Jamaica?

It’s been two years since the Windrush scandal, where at least 164 black British citizens were wrongly deported to countries of their birth or detained in the UK. The scandal has had a lasting impact on the Afro-Caribbean community, with many owed compensation from the government. The Home Office recently approved a flight from London to Jamaica which was deporting convicted offenders who have been here for most of their lives. Once again, many black Brits say they feel targeted and are being forced to question what it really means to be British. We spoke to two BBC reporters: Shamaan Freeman-Powell, who’s been following the story from the beginning, and Greg McKenzie, who followed the flight to Jamaica and has spoken to Brits who say they’ve been forced to leave their home. Maria Thomas, a lawyer at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, explains why a last-minute legal challenge stopped some of the detainees from being deported. Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Seren Jones and Duncan Barbe...