The US celebrates 250 years of independence from the British Crown on 4th July. Accusations have flown that Trump has used the anniversary to celebrate himself, not the country. So what does it tell us about Trump’s place within America…and is it really that unusual?

Ada Barumé is joined by the Observer’s Americans, Erica Wagner and Evan Moffitt to discuss this moment in US history.

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Criminal gangs have turned Britain's waste system into a goldmine and transformed pockets of the countryside into toxic wastelands. But how do you hide an 11,000 tonne illegal dump in plain sight?

Reporters: Jeevan Vasagar and Jonathan Lewis

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lucy Stevenson

Executive producer: Matt Russell

Editor: Jasper Corbett

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Each year new temperature records are threatened to be broken. But the UK seems to respond not with innovative adaptation, but with shock. Why?

Ada Barumé is joined by academic meteorologist Rob Thomson and Dimple Rana, who is the Heat Resilience Leader at Arup, to discuss how we got here and where we go next.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re speaking to Frank Cottrell Boyce, the children’s laureate, who has spent two years visiting schools, libraries, and communities to discover what it means to grow up in Britain today.

He’s written about it in a new book ‘A British Childhood: How our children live now’

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Ordinary people are turning to illegally produced peptides in the hopes of a beauty quick fix. How are these shady black market drugs slipping through the regulatory gaps?

Reporters: Stephen Armstrong and Madeleine Parr

Producers: Madeleine Parr, Matt Russell and Amalie Sortland

Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Harmony Blaise

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Clips: ITV News, Channel 4 News, 5 News, Loreal Elvive, Ozempic

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A Sherpa was left for dead on Everest at the end of the climbing season. Stranded for almost a week thousands of metres up in extreme conditions, he survived. But his story is not a new story, and it raises questions about the mountaineering industry that has risen around the industry of summiting the world's most dangerous episodes.

We've been here before, so can lessons be learned?

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Children are being caught in a global grooming pandemic. This is the story of a mother whose daughter was one such victim.

Reporter: Rachel Sylvester

Producer: Matt Russell

Illustrator: Sara Andreasson

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

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