Do you care how journalists get their stories ?

In Britain, the House of Commons – and the Metropolitan Police – have launched an investigation into  claims that “News of the World”  journalists used phone hacking to get stories.

The Guardian claims up to 3000 high profile people were targetted from Elle Macpherson to the former deputy PM John Prescott.

Are we too quick to prescribe medication ?

Here’s a story from 2001 talking about how the world – particularly the developed world – was using too many prescription drugs.

Here’s a report from 2007 which warns that  ”the abuse of prescription drugs will surpass illicit drug abuse “.

 And here’s a report – one of thousands – which talks about Michael Jackson’s  reliance on them.

Dial M for MJ

You didn’t like MJ did you ?

Well, when i say “you” i mean , most of you listening in the U.S- she didn’t seem to bother anyone else.

For those who didn’t hear the programme, MJ is a “Gold Star Mom” – that is, a woman who’s son died serving his country in Iraq.

We invited her on to the programme (she’s been on before) because we wanted to hear people who’s lives have been directly touched by the conflict.

On air: Are you celebrating Iraq’s National Sovereignty Day?

Here’s a quote from the first e-mail i opened today :

“the atmosphere down here is feverish and electric, like a huge celebration or something, there’s a mixture of joy, pride, fear, and apprehension.”

The e-mailer is Lubna, our long time WHYS friend and contributor, studying medicine in Baghdad. For many of the WHYS community we’ve seen the story in Iraq through Lubna’s eyes.

Michael, Neda, and us.

The death of two people last week has got you talking – and some of you making comparisons between the two.

Neda Agha-Soltan was shot dead in the street in Tehran, and Michael Jackson died after a cardiac arrest at the age of 50.

When the Iranian protests began, we spent 7 of the next 8 days discussing the issue on-air, and here on the blog.

When Michael Jackson died, it was a huge story (i realise that’s a massive understatement ) but for some of you it wasn’t worth spending any time on.

WHYS Wednesday; an apology.

Yesterday’s programme from the tent in west London fell way below what you’re entitled to expect from us and i can only apologise.

It wasn’t actually our fault, (though i’m not saying i didn’t make any mistakes !) but that doesn’t matter – it was a tough listen and i can only hope we don’t inflict anything like that on you again.

If there was one saving grace, the BBC’s podcast system has been down for a while, so we didn’t irritate any more people than we already had.

I’ll explain :

Why is Africa Poor ? – Yekepa, N.Liberia.

Here’s the first of Mark Doyle’s blog posts while on the road..
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I’m in the mountains of Liberia, west Africa. 

It’s a place of towering forests and tangled greenery. There are majestic mountains and fast-flowing rivers. I love being here; the air is clean and the views are amazing.

Send me the money

Does your income rely on money sent from a family member working abroad ? Have you travelled away from home to find a job to help support your family ?

If so, you are part of a hugely important area of the world economy – remittances. Last year, an estimated 305 billion dollars of remittances were sent around the globe.

Save our Sounds

How often do you listen – really listen- to the sounds around you ?

Radio lovers know how important sound is to paint a rich picture and transport the listener to another place. Yet, perhaps less often we think about how sound also creates a sense of time. It has the power to evoke another age, or trigger cherished memories.

The whistle of a kettle, the ticking of a clock, the chime of my first bicycle bell, the revving of a car engine choking into life.

Each brings to life a particular time and place. But how many of these sounds will be forgotten?

And how soon will the sounds that are specific to the here and now be history: the ringtones on our mobile phones; diesel engines, dialing into a 56K modem?

On Air: Do you believe in ” fate ” ?

Have a read of this tragic story.

An Italian woman, who arrived too late to board the ill-fated Air France flight 447, has since died in a car crash.

It’s the fastest trending story on Twitter ATOW with many people saying “when your time’s up, your time is up”.

Another says “makes you wonder about destiny”.