The World

12/22/2025

We’re looking for New Year’s traditions from different countries and cultures from around the globe.

Send us a couple of lines or a short voice note telling us about a tradition that you celebrate in your country.

“One of my favorite New Year’s traditions is that, at midnight, you grab an empty suitcase and run outside — sometimes just around the block — but you bring your suitcase with you so that you will get to travel in the year ahead,” said reporter Tibisay Zea, from Venezuela, who has traveled to more than 30 countries.

Email us at [email protected], and your tradition may end up on our show!

Photos by AP and courtesy of Tibisay Zea

12/22/2025

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Every morning, the editorial team at public radio’s international news show The World meets to plan what they’ll cover that day. Want to see what’s on deck? Sign up for our daily newsletter, TOP OF THE WORLD, and get the big stories we’re tracking delivered to your inbox every weekday mornin...

12/21/2025

An iconic café in the heart of Baghdad has witnessed decades of change in Iraq’s history. Through it all, the place has remained a constant — a place for intellectuals and other customers to reflect and connect — a tradition its owner hopes to hold onto.

An iconic café in the heart of Baghdad has witnessed decades of change to Iraq’s history. Through it all, the place has remained a constant — a place for intellectuals and other customers to reflect and connect — a tradition its owner hopes to hold onto.

12/19/2025

Sofia Neves, a reporter at the Portuguese daily newspaper PÚBLICO, joins The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler to discuss the shootings at MIT and Brown University, in which the suspected gunmen and one of the victims were from Portugal.

12/17/2025

A jewelry donation to a thrift store in Canada may be much older than it appears. Now, a group of researchers at Simon Fraser University is trying to decipher when and where the set originated.

A jewelry donation to a thrift store in Canada has turned out to potentially be a lot older than meets the eye. Now, a group of researchers at Simon Fraser University is trying to decipher when and where the set originated.

12/17/2025

China now produces nearly three-quarters of the world’s electric cars, and no city embodies that dominance more than Shenzhen, home to industry giant BYD. Once known as “The World’s Factory,” the city of 20 million has transformed into a global hub of clean transportation and high-tech innovation.

China now produces nearly three-quarters of the world’s electric cars, and no city embodies that dominance more than Shenzhen, home to industry giant BYD. Once known as “The World’s Factory,” the city of 20 million has transformed into a global hub of clean transportation and high-tech innov...

12/17/2025

When Venezuela’s economy collapsed, millions fled to neighboring countries — and Latin America responded with some of the world’s most ambitious, humane migration policies. But that era of openness is fading, and the region now faces a critical choice about the future of its migrants.

12/16/2025

The city of Edirne, in Turkey, is home to the world’s oldest continuously organized sporting competition — Turkish oil wrestling.

Dating back to ancient civilizations and the Ottoman Empire, the Kırkpınar tournament sees roughly 800 participants cover themselves in two tons of olive oil over the course of a week. In this sport, technique trumps size, allowing smaller wrestlers to defeat larger opponents thanks to the oil.

Reporter Durrie Bouscaren explores the tradition and cultural significance of this ancestral sport.

Watch until the end to see the final winner claim the championship and the grand prize!

The city of Edirne, in Turkey, is home to the world’s oldest continuously organized sporting competition — Turkish oil wrestling.Dating back to ancient civil...

12/16/2025

Forty years ago, Shenzhen, China, was little more than a cluster of villages, home to a few hundred thousand people. Today, it holds roughly 20 million residents and ranks among the world’s fastest-growing megacities. Yet, unlike other urban centers that have ballooned at similar speeds — Mumbai or Lagos, for example — Shenzhen has largely sidestepped the air pollution, overcrowding and failing infrastructure that often accompany rapid expansion. In the second of a five-part series, The World’s Jeremy Siegel explores how the city has avoided the problems typically associated with megacities.

Forty years ago, Shenzhen, China, was little more than a cluster of villages, home to a few hundred thousand people. Today, it holds roughly 20 million residents and ranks among the world’s fastest-growing megacities. Yet, unlike other urban centers that have ballooned at similar speeds — Mumbai...

12/15/2025

In India, mangos are known as the "king of fruits." But as wars disrupt trade routes and intense rainfall leads to mushy mangos, farmers are trying to innovate quickly to adapt to the new changes.

In India, mangos are known as the "king of fruits." But as wars disrupt trade routes and intense rainfall leads to mushy mangos, farmers are trying to innovate quickly to adapt to the new changes.

12/13/2025

Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Naomi Conrad from our partners at DW News about the obligations that s***m banks have when they find genetic abnormalities in their donations.

Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Naomi Conrad from our partners at Deutsche Welle about the obligations that s***m banks have when they find genetic abnormalities in their donations.

12/13/2025

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek is retracing the path of human migration. More specifically, the scientific community’s best guess for the likely path of early human migration. While walking through China, he visited the Academy of Sciences and met with paleoanthropologists there, who shared discoveries that cast doubt on popular theories of human evolution. He joins Host Carolyn Beeler to share what he learned.

Out of Eden Walk

National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek is retracing the path of human migration. More specifically, the scientific community's best guess for the likely path of early human migration. While walking through China, he visited the Academy of Sciences and met with paleoanthropologists there, who shar...