The Global Story

A BBC investigation has heard from hundreds of people who say they developed sex and gambling addictions after taking a category of prescription drugs called dopamine agonists.
Millions of people in the US and around the world have been prescribed these medications, which are used to treat various illnesses, from Parkinson’s to depression. But they have well-established side effects: around 1 in 6 people who take them develop impulse control disorders.
Noel Titheradge, investigations correspondent, shares the story of one American woman who developed hypersexuality after she took a dopamine agonist drug. Like many of the patients Noel has spoken to, she says she was not warned that her medication could dramatically change her personality.
Noel’s investigation is also a BBC podcast series. Search for ‘Shadow World: Impulsive’.
If you have any concerns about medication you’re taking, speak to your doctor. For further information on the issues raised in the programme, contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Photo: A mixture of pills. Credit: Lauren Hurley/PA Wire

After 16 years as prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán – often credited with shaping the populist playbook – could be voted out in next week’s parliamentary elections. It could be one of the most consequential contests of 2026.
Among claims of Russian interference, staged assassination attempts and threats to release a sex tape, the campaign has taken a series of dramatic and unexpected turns.
Ahead of an expected visit by US Vice President JD Vance, we ask the BBC’s Europe editor, Katya Adler, how such a small country became a pivotal geopolitical battleground - and whether a defeat for Orbán could signal a shift for the populist right worldwide.
Producers: Samantha Chantarasak and Valerio Esposito
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Renee Park
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: US President Trump meets with Hungary's Prime Minister Orbán at the White House. Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit Washington DC this month at a time when the transatlantic relationship is at its lowest point in decades.
The King is facing a difficult time at home in the UK too, with significant public opposition to the visit and anger over his brother Andrew’s association with Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Can the King and Queen sprinkle some royal magic on President Trump and improve the royal image at the same time? Asma and Tristan are joined by the BBC’s senior royal correspondent, Daniela Relph.
Producers: Cat Farnsworth and Xandra Ellin
Executive producer: James Shield
Mix: Renee Park
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: President Donald Trump and King Charles III at a state banquet at Windsor Castle, in September 2025.

Roughly 10,000 additional US troops have now arrived in the Middle East, giving President Trump options ranging from an invasion of Kharg Island to an elaborate special forces operations to seize Iran’s ‘nuclear dust’.
For years, the Pentagon has run war games to try and plan for what might happen if the US went to war with Iran. Our guest, Ilan Goldenberg, was in the room during the Obama years, taking part.

Ilan Goldenberg is Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at J Street. Previously, he was an adviser on Iran for President Barack Obama, and for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Producers: Lucy Pawle and Viv Jones
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
(Photo: President Donald Trump. Credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

When Donald Trump was re-elected on a ‘no more wars’ promise, his vice-president was his staunchest ally, criticising previous US foreign interventions, most notably in Iraq, as well as the US’ recent financial support for Ukraine.

And yet, the vice-president, who has substantial MAGA support and is expected to run for the 2028 presidency, now finds himself among Trump’s team negotiating an end to the US-Israel war on Iran, a war he was reportedly skeptical of launching.
What tactics will Vance use to secure both the interests of the president abroad, and his own domestic popularity among MAGA supporters who do not support the war? BBC Washington correspondent Daniel Bush joins us to discuss.

Producer: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins